Fener Burnu

Mui has a group of friends in İstanbul … sometimes referred to as the “Mon Cher” Group. They are all high school buddies. This year, Mui made a concerted effort to get together with them for dinner … and more 😉

He flew up on Wednesday … to Sabiha Gökçen Airport (SAW) on the Asian side of the Bosphorus. Using Marmaray, he made his way to the Fenerbahçe District where Selim, one of the group members — who lives in Virginia with his wife, Selen — invited Mui to stay with them at their condo. He also convinced Mui to stay two nights instead of just one night … which bought them some time for a bit of sightseeing as well.

The group got together for dinner Wednesday night at the Turkish Divers Club. From what Mui described, it sounds like they had a great time … lots of catching up, lots of laughter, and lots of rakı (Turkish National Drink similar to Ouzo).

The next day, following a relaxed morning, Selim and Mui went on a short public transport cruise on the Bosphorus from Üsküdar to Aşiyan. A waterfront stroll in the Bebek District took them to a shop to buy some of the marzipan candy the place has been making since 1904. Somehow a box (or two) of baklava from his favorite shop — Hafız Mustafa — also came back to İzmir with him 😉

They concluded their outing at a coffee house overlooking the Bosphorus. Turkish coffee and fortune telling using the coffee grounds go hand in hand. But you need someone who knows how to interpret the grounds. Neither Selim nor Mui have that skill, but a local woman at the next table volunteered her services. She hit the nail on the head with her foretelling … including the suggestion that he’ll be traveling overseas soon!!!

Dinner with Selim and Selen that night was the perfect wrap up to his short visit with them.

Mui returned to İzmir this afternoon … a very happy camper … and ready to take me around İstanbul when we fly up to İstanbul on the 21st to embark the ship that will eventually return us to the USA! The only problem with his sightseeing plans? I don’t think we’ll have time to do everything on his list, so we’ll have to pick and choose.もっと詳しく