Turkey Is Not Morocco

The Turkish people have fought hard for the freedoms and 'liberalisms' that they have. Steve made the mistake of once saying, "In Morocco..." and had his friend and co-worker sternly reprimanded, "Look. This isn't Morocco." They enjoy surprisingly modern codes of conduct, dress, driving, law enforcement, and cuisine.

This modernity is especially true in Istambul, where I met Steve this week. I think Istambul has more tourists than residents. We saw the Hadjia Sophia, the Park, the Museum of Islamic Contribution to Science, the Blue Mosque, the Cisterns, and the Grande Bazaar.

We had a great time in Istambul, but we both had travel difficulties on the way home. The fun part of my travel was an 11 hour layover in Madrid, which I spent in the Retiro Park doing Tai Chi with some Chinese swordspeople, after which I took the wrong flight home accidentally. The not so fun part was getting really sick in the midst of many layovers and being stranded without an operating train. It took 30 hours to get home, but I made it!

I look forward to the schedule consistancy resuming tomorrow. I'm excited to go back to school.