Waking A Stranger~Picture of the Week

"He's asleep. What should I do?" Brian asked me as I crammed our souvenirs into our REI backpack. We had to take an early flight from the Atatürk International Airport so Brian could get to his temporary work place in Little Chesterford at a decent time.

I tiptoed from our room to the lobby where the front desk man was fast asleep. His head rested on his upper arm while his forearm covered his eyes. Horizontal on the wee couch he snored. If we were in a cartoon, the lobby chandelier would be swaying to-and-fro as the over-weight man inhaled and exhaled.

My walk back to the room was not quieted by tiptoes because it was going to take an earthquake to wake this dark-haired man from his deep slumber.

"We don't have a phone to call a taxi so you have to wake him up," I responded.

"Do you want me to wake him up?" I asked Brian expecting him to turn down my offer.

He replied how any loving husband would, "No, I will do it."

As Brian disappeared around the corner, my heart steadied it's pace and I sighed with relief. I was afraid to wake a complete stranger in a foreign country. Was it polite? Would he be angry when he woke up? Does he speak English?

"Is he up?" I asked when Brian returned from the bear's den.

After a few laughs and a couple deep breaths Brian gave me a quick update of the situation. "Yes, he is awake now. I had to shake him a few times before he finally opened his eyes. I apologized for waking him, but he said it was okay. He is calling for a taxi now."

We stayed a couple blocks from this view in Istanbul. It's a 10 minute walk from the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque) and the Ayasofya (Hagia Sofia). Even though we had to disturb the front desk man from his nap, we -- without a doubt -- would stay there again.

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Who is hungry for Turkey?

It was late when we arrived. Our breaths condensed as we exhaled and stepped out of the taxi. We were ecstatic to arrive and finally get some rest. But we were in for a surprise.

After talking to the guy at the front desk our jaws dropped. Our booking for the night was not confirmed and they had a full house. How was this possible? And how were we going to find a place to stay at midnight in Istanbul? Thank goodness for Istanbul hospitality, the receptionist let us use the internet as he called to find a room for us. Without him we would have been left outside to brave the cold night.

To put it modestly Istanbul was amazing. How many cities in the world can you travel to and experience history founded in 667 BC? Even Turkey's flag represents its epic history; the crescent moon is a symbol of the Greek goddess Artemis. Also don't forget Istanbul is the only city in the world that spans across two continents.

A weekend gave us little time to see this great city, but we managed to visit the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque), the Ayasofya (Hagia Sofia), the Galata Tower, the Basilica Cistern, the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar.