We flew back to Istanbul for our last night in Turkey. Mark and I, with Martin and his sister hopped on a boat and toured the Bosphorus, the same tour others took on the first day in Istanbul before we arrived. As we walked along the shore we were surrounded in a cloud of the strong smell of the whole-fish sandwiches the locals eat and the corn of the cob for 1 YTL snack vendors every twenty yards.
One last panoramic view of the skyline, palaces on the shore, mosques and minarets. One last float on the Sea of Marmara. One last walk through the city. One last cup of apple tea.
On our way back to the hotel we walked back through Sultanahmet Square, it's Ramadan, and after everyone broke their fast for the evening the square took on a carnival like feel. Down by the water, a van was handing out free meals to people to break their fast. One of the five pillars of Islam is Zakah, or alms-giving, is the practice of charitable giving by Muslims based on accumulated wealth, and is obligatory for all who are able to do so. We people watched and ate popcorn. It was a little surreal. Last night I had turned on the television. In a rather New Years Eve style count down, they were showing people ready to break their fast while they waited for the evening call to prayer to finish.
I made sure to buy a couple jars of
rişne re