Thunderstorms delay our departure 3 hours.
Us, the ever-light travelers, today burdened with three 50 pound suitcases, plus carry-ons, plus briefcase and backpack full of books and electronics.
Security going in, and passport control coming out… a breeze. Yes, TSA is definitely worth it.
First stop, Arnavutkoy, a hip section of European-side Istanbul, where we’ll stay for eight days until our apartment in Kadikoy on the Asian side, is available. Arnavutkoy translates to Albanian Village, where Suleiman settled commandeered Albanian workers to build/rebuild streets and roads of the newly conquered Constantinople. The place has gone thru changes.
Here’s some visual impressions taken in the first two hours of our arrival, before a meal of olive-stuffed grape leaves and spinach manta, then to stagger off to bed, where I lay awake for hours, while Nancy happily slept.
Like most sections of Istanbul along the Bosporus, the contour rises steeply from the water along organic, winding streets and alleys. We are about halfway up the steep trek to Arnavutkoy’s upper hilltops.