Ortaköy

Finally, a picture with all three of us!

I should say a bit more about the three of us, actually. We have a routine.

I wake up first, and check the internets. Then Hyde gets up and sits next to me on the couch, also checking the internets. A while later, Sonia emerges talking about how much she slept. She turns on her computer and there is always a loud voice that says "Virus database has been updated!" We chuckle about this. After a while of typing in blogs and stalking each other on Facebook, we get hungry and leave the apartment in search of food. Then we get on a bus or a boat and crisscross the city. I try not to look stupid in case Hyde is taking a picture. Let me just say, oops!

To be fair, it's hard to keep a straight face when there's a large cat behind you.

Hyde and Sonia try new foods and see new places. I explain a lot of the subtleties about life here in Turkey. At some point, we usually talk about how jealous our mutual friends are of us.

When we return home in the evening, we look at all of Hyde's pictures. Sonia and I make threats about what we will do to him if he posts certain pictures to his blog. Then we split a delicious beer, fix some snacks and watch Coupling.

Heybeliada

 

Our team of three needs a nickname. Hyde-emy-sonia? Sounds more like a desperate request for Sonia to hide me. Well ok.

Hydeemysonia went for a trip to Heybeliada, the second largest of the Prince Islands (which for some reason people frequently call in English the "Princes' Islands" ...I thought the possessive was already implied). Anyway, the weather was hot and we wanted to swim. We found a beach but they charged an admission fee, which I talked down to half price. It was worth any price to swim and relax in the sun. Heybeliada, like the other islands, forbid the use of cars. Hence the whole place is very quiet save for the occasional cloppity-clop of horse-drawn carriages tours of the island. Heybeliada struck me as being very similar to Büyükada, which I've been to twice. They both have people fishing and jumping on trampolines at the docks (not the same people, at the same time, obviously). They both have those carriage tours, a large plaza slightly uphill from the docks, flowers everywhere, cafes along the water, a healthy dose of tourism, etc.

We will counter all that relaxation with some crazy European-side adventures this weekend. Count on more pictures and sarcasm from Hyde, as well as some notes from me. We'll develop some of Sonia's pictures and try to post them soon.

Out on the town with Hyde and Sonia

What a day.
Hyde, Sonia and myself payed a visit to the Hagia Sophia, aka the Ayasofya, which is in 'Tourist Central', Sultanahmet.

It's sometimes hard to get a picture of two photographers, especially when you don't have a camera on you. I convinced Hyde to relinquish his and had a lot of fun shooting my companions in front of the Hagia Sophia.

Hyde found the same enjoyment in this brief photo-shoot called "Making Jeremy's Sister Jealous". My sister, being the only person to know well both of the subjects in foreground and a great admirer of the ancient structure in the background, is doubtlessly captivated by the photo above.

In shots such as these, it is important to look at the people walking around for scale. This place is enormous.

I credit Hyde with every photo in this post. He's brilliant with the camera, though he takes maniacal pride in getting awkward shots of me when I'm not paying attention:

After a long and thorough inspection of the Hagia Sophia, we went to the Galata Tower an hour before sunset when the light was best for pictures. It was a wonderful time had by all. The weather couldn't have been better. The air was refreshing but not cold, and there was a steady breeze.

A view back across the Bosporus toward Kadıköy.

That eye!

Those eyes!

We capped the adventure with a trip to nearby Güllüoğlu. They are a really famous maker of baklava and people in İstanbul know that the best you can get is at their shop in Karaköy. We got two plates with a variety of baklava and kadayıf and of course healthy scoops of kaymak. It was awesome. We were sugar-buzzed and delighted for the rest of the evening.

At night, we all went out for some beer in Kadıköy with friends. We stayed out later than we planned, but that's just because we were having such a great time.

Football in Kadıköy

This picture about sums up football yesterday... Me walking toward Şükrü Saracoğlu with a Turkish national team jersey on. The sounds of the crowd winning a battle with the traffic. Hyde and I decided not to get a ticket because our friends were waiting for us elsewhere. Turkey won 3-2 against Belgium. It was an epic and excellent result.

In other news, a wonderful friend of my sister named Sonia has come to visit and the three of us have started visiting the sights of İstanbul together. Next post is coming soon and will be loading with anecdotes and pictures.