Sunday 19 Mar 2006 fin

Start reading up from the 'artseyish writing' post - these do want to be in order

Heckling of naive tourists overloaded in Sultanahmet, sketching reminds me that tourists heckle too. The natives hear 'toilets where?' and other culturally and common-sensically ignorant questions good for a lagh and a grit of the teeth. Sketching makes you a bit of a native that way, you become part of the scenery, aware of being a part of the show, while you're merely trying to conduit visuals eye to paper, with hopefully a good bit of fact being burnind into your brain. I have not, however, been driven from a place sketching by a boy inching his way closer to me until i have to leave.

more repetitions throughout the day.... carpet boy returned as a fun chat in the bar that evening, and partner in a walk to the park yet again, catching the blue mosque reflected in the still pool as i had in the morning, both outside the normal time of tourist flocking and fountain energy, both beautiful. Moonlight as clear in evening as the rising sun had been on my rediculously early walk around the palace along the walk. I found out a little more about the tricks of the carpet trade hidden from me in my predatory amble with the two of them - the born-again question is valid because there are a large number of missionaries to Istambul, how distasteful, and the salesman often walk away with pamphlets.... and the hapless missionaries with carpets presumably. The older had thoroughly impressed me by pinning me as an engineer's daughter.... the younger told me he had just shook his head, about 30% of males in the US can pin their job as some sort of engineering... just good odds. Weird after-knowledge, weird experience.

cennet, the authentic place seen on the first day, returned to with a native turk, a worker in the hostel who decided he could talk to me once he decided tony and i weren't a couple. interesting conversation on turkish life and systems, and how a degreed guy came to be working in a hostel. more apple tea, of course, and same musicians parading.

A good day - full - and memorable. Talking to real people certainly adds a lot to the experience, pleasant or not.... enough so that i left out the museum i saw, and the food i ate, and any number of things.

Picture is from the wander on saturday