Karaalioğlu Parkı

I was up 'early' at 6:30 AM and decided to journal vs. re-sleep - only to discover that I killed a pen!! This always pleases me because it seems rare.

Only now I lack a pen with which to journal. Hmm. Surely I can find that, here, in a city of 2.5 million souls.

I hit the rooftop to get bendy instead and it feels so good to yoga in hot humid morning with the sun a pale disc in the heavy air, so dense not even light seems able to move quickly. As I heal from recent maladies and challenges I am excited to feel my physical strength return. I found myself pushing much harder than I had planned, flowing through a harder practice than I've done in weeks. Sanity through perspiration.

"Don't come here in August" said my tour guide Zuzu yesterday. She is right. It isn't that the heat is unbearable, it is that views are obscured, the inevitable smells of city life are more fetid, the flies are overjoyed by these conditions, and all people have a narrower band of patience by virtue of everything being harder to enjoy. It just isn't as nice.

I'm still quite glad I came.

After some sweaty yoga I towelled off and went to find coffee. Finally found my first chocolate croissant in Turkey! The coffee was good. The croissant, good enough. As I started eating, a pretty blond coyly approached the table to see if I wanted company. She realized quickly that I wasn't interested and moved a table away to lick her feet on her own terms.

I can hear the city waking up - It isn't a morning place despite the delightfully cooler temps compared to later. I think I'll miss the minarets and the calls to prayer. I am certainly enjoying them while here. I won't miss the sea as I am headed towards more of it, but I know that I've missed out on exploring a great deal of amazing coastline.Read more