As tornados hit Hawaii, our lives have become a whirlwind of craziness. We finally arrived in Istanbul on Sunday night, following a late plane, missed connection, and a long layover in Doha (not far from where Osama was getting his lights put out).
Now that we are here, we are slightly overwhelmed by the size of our new city! Depending on whom you talk to or what you read, Istanbul has a population between 11 and 20 million people.
So far, these are the things we have noticed about the city:
- Contrary to what many people say, there are not a lot of English speakers (at least not "good" English speakers)
- It is very similar to NYC in that you can get anything you want anytime you want (like running socks on the street corner at midnight)
- Despite the appearance, one cup of Turkish coffee is equivalent to two shots of espresso and can cause hyperactivity for extended periods
- Mosques are like Starbucks... there is one on almost EVERY corner
- Smokers are omnipresent indoors and out
- Tap water is not potable
- Internet, while available, is closely guarded with crazy passwords so as to prevent illegal activities
- Turkish Pides (sandwiches made with doner kebap meat sliced from a rotating spit, tomatoes, pickles, and peppers in their version of a pita) are DELICIOUS
- Gyms are very expensive and pools are almost impossible to gain access to (among the many requirements are blood tests and a urinalysis)
- The end of May is going to have to have some seriously high temperatures in order to bring the average high temp up to the historical 70 degree average (it's been pretty freaking cold here: see our AccuWeather gidget above)
No comments:
Post a Comment