“To the City”

“Stin polis” is Greek for “to the city”, and the Turks simply converted it to “Istanbul”. We pulled into Galataport, a new grand and gleaming complex for ferries and cruise ships right at the confluence of the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus Strait, and the Golden Horn. Our final day, the weather glorious as it had been since Dubrovnik, and our dear friends Margaret and Scott met us for Turkish coffee. It was the last day of Eid and, though Margaret warned us, we weren’t prepared for the throngs that would crowd into the historic center as we excursioned to Topkapi Palace and the Blue Mosque. The City is filled with treasures protected by men with machine guns, and on a warm day in the midst of thronging hordes most women had their heads covered. Not our culture, and not our scene. We were grateful to return to our ship and say farewells to the “dear and beautiful people” on the crew who had made this truly the voyage of a lifetime: Cheeny, Archie, Mubarak, Elard, Recalyn, Russell, Dani, Jennifer, Indra, Patrick, Daniel, Aaron, Ashwini, Suzanne, and the rest. We miss them already.Read more