Wow! So much has happened! Istanbul is a feast for the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth! It is truly amazing! The colors! Vibrant, in your face, store fronts, traditional clothing, restaurants, carpet stores, antique stores, travel agencies, massive domed mosques everywhere you look, the Grand Bazaar (supposedly the largest shopping "complex" in the world), it's almost overwhelming!!!!
All of the merchants yell at you as you walk by, "Hey Lady, come into my store!" and, "Hey lady, how can I take your money?" If you go into one guy's store, when you walk out, the guy next door will yell at you, "Okay, now is my turn!"
It really freaked me out at first because the guidebook talks about all the scams, about how Turkish men disrespect for women, etc..... but I must say that after being here for a few days, it is all bullshit! These guys are great! I have never seen so much chivalry and hospitality. You walk into a store and are immediately offered the local Cay (Chai) or Apple Tea. You get explanations of the handicrafts, geography lessons on the regions, and a great sense of humor. No woman is allowed to open the door for herself, carry her own luggage, light her own cigarette, etc. They are open and happy people who view a personal relationship more importantly than business and I could really get used to being taken care of like that.
Of course, the sales pitch (and seemingly the alterior motive) is very evident.... but for some reason it doesn't bother me. They make up for it.

Istanbul is so cosmopolitan. There are definitely Muslim women around with scarves on their heads, but there are also plenty of others walking around just like you and me. There is techno, American hip hop, and Turkish music all mixed in together. There are night clubs, scantily clad women on bill boards advertising whatever, etc. Not at all the scary, conservative, Islamic culture you hear about on CNN.
The mosques are beautiful! They all consist of a very large dome with two very tall spires standing free on each side. You have to remove your shoes to enter, but I have not yet had to wear a scarf.
It is so different from Europe and I have finally gotten back the excitement that I love so much from travelling.

We met some very hospitable Turkish rug salesmen, who took us into their shop, gave us Turkish coffee and apple tea, ordered us pizza, and explained everything there was to know about Turkish rugs. Of course, then they wanted us to buy some and even in Turkey they are still way too expensive for me. The rug guys didn't really care about our business... they knew it was Thanksgiving and actually wanted to cook us a Turkey. Instead we settled on dinner at a nearby restaurant. We ended up eating some absolutely magnificent Turkish food and drinking the local liquor called Raki (yuck). After dinner, we went upstairs to a club to watch belly dancing. The belly dancer girl pulled me on stage to dance with her. It was all rather embarassing and I remember wishing I had drank more Raki to help out with that. It was all a good laugh.... and luckily Pam snapped a few good photos.
We have been shopping in the Grand Bazaar (it's like Peir One on crack.. and actually reminds me a lot of the shopping in Peru) and today we will go shopping in the spice market and hit the Turkish baths.