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It's the weekdays, so not much to report.
August 11th was the first day of work, and I was cranky from the wedding going so late. For lunch I had some kind of Turkish pizza. (see pictures)I took a picture of it because it looked like a boat.Our office is right by 2 mosques and we hear the calls to prayer throughout the day. At first it surprised me every time, but I think I am getting used to it. The hotel is only a quick 5 minute walk home past a vegetable market.I had a fantastic chicken kebab for dinner, courtesy of room service.
August 12th didn't start off well. Getting ready for work I nailed my ankle on the bed. Then I tried to pull my power converter out of the wall and got electrocuted. I definitely made a noise I haven't heard since I got electrocuted in the Beijing Marriott in March - at least this time, the wall wasn't burned.
For lunch we had Chinese.Apparently when you spend $13 USD for Chinese "Sweet & Sour Chicken", you don't get rice. That costs an extra $4.50.(My currency translations are basic guesses).
I took Charles and Lyuba on the Ferry to the European side. We were planning to go to the Galata Tower, in the Beyoglu district. The tower was built in 1348 during an expansion of the Genoese colony in Constantinople. The nine-story tower is 66.90 meters tall and was the city's tallest structure when built. The tower was once used during the Ottoman period as an observation tower for spotting fires.It is quite a hike to get there, but I wasn't thinking about that when I was putting my heels on. Hiking up cobblestone in heels.Definitely "Off Exploring". We got to the top 95 minutes later (kidding, but it felt like it), got our tickets and got on the elevator for the observation deck. If memory serves me correctly, the tickets were more expensive than the Eiffel Tower in Paris. (I could be making this up too… not sure).
At the top, there is about 1.5-2 feet of space to walk around. Put about 50-60 people up there, and it's a little crowded. As we inched (literally) our way around the top, trying not to get toes stepped on and trying to get some decent pictures, we did stop to enjoy the view - it was fantastic, and we were there at sunset.
After coming down the tower, there were dogs sleeping in the plaza. I had a good laugh when I saw that one dog decided to sleep in the planter… guess the concrete wasn't his style. (see pictures) We walked around and found a Turkish restaurant where we ordered Turkish pizza as our appetizer and kebabs for the main course. I, of course, was drinking the apple tea I now have an obsession with. Our entrees came out before our appetizers, but both were good. The Turkish pizza was a very thin crust with very small amount of toppings that Charles and I couldn't decide what they were.None the less, it was good! We couldn't finish it all, and of course there was a stray kitten around that looked like it was super hungry, so I managed to drop some chicken pieces that I know it was grateful for. The walk back down the mountain was interesting because we truly thought we took the same route down. Nope.Very different. Got home safe, sound, and tired.
As for today, the 13th, it was really busy. Not much going on.For lunch I had Turkish ravioli, which was good, but a little too much oil for my taste. Always good to try new things!Tonight I thought about going to the gym, put on my work out clothes, and then decided I had one more night of excuses regarding the jet lag. However, if you considered all the mountain climbing I did on Tuesday, I think it's acceptable.
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