I don’t remember how we came up with Turkey; the country popped out of thin air, and the next thing I knew we had booked a hotel and a flight and had a guidebook ordered from Amazon in our postbox. Don’t all trips start like that, anyway? Not really knowing where to go, settling on an idea, and slowly warming up to it? Maybe not all of them, you’ll say (and I’ll agree: only the best trips start out that way!). All trips are special in their little way – but Istanbul was different. It was exciting.
I was sick for the first few days (shout out to Lila for the gastro virus!), but I dragged my sick self out of bed because no virus could stop me from seeing the Hagia Sophia.
It was easy to spot the Column of St. Gregory, dubbed “the perspiring column”, as there was a line of tourists waiting for their turn to stick their thumb into the hole, hoping it would come out damp. People believed for centuries that this column weeps holy water and that it cures infertility and eye diseases. Flashbulbs were popping away as people posed with their thumbs in the hole, trying to look solemn for the camera. At this point, Lila was antsy and wanted to get her hand in there.
And yeah, like any other tourist, I snapped a photo. With flash. Sometimes you just have to join in.
Currently listening to:
The Dirty Projectors
Swing Lo Magellan