Istanbul: clean, green, and selling everything…

Touchdown!  Day 1.  Istanbul!

I have a confession to make: it’s been a slightly rough start.  You know how girls can’t go on a trip without getting their nails done?  Apparently, it’s a matter of life and death for me : I picked to trot back home in just my flip flops after pedicure over the risk of damaging the polish.  On my last day in Kiev. With thermometer escaping zero degrees mark by a hair’s breadth.  Now I have gorgeous toes, major sore throat and a minor bladder infection.  Well played, eh?

But you know what?  Nothing, absolutely nothing could spoil Istanbul for me today.  Neither being a little under the weather, nor getting mistaken for a Russian few hundred times more than I prefer.  What a city!

First thing that strikes about Istanbul is it’s neatness.  Think Frankfurt. Hell, think Munich!  Second thought: these people are obsessed with their plants! From construction sites around the airport to squares of Sultanahmet – everything is surrounded by most elaborate flower beds and the grass is bright green everywhere! It’s October for Pete’s sake!  Didn’t they just have five thousand days of summer?  What kept local flora from turning the same shade of poo-poo brown as the leaves of Kiev chestnuts this August?

The only downside is the bazaar factor.  NYC’s Canal Street meets Venice’s Ocean Front Walk multiplied by infinity.  It’s lovely when you’re walking through a row of spices or local tapestry, but is getting a little annoying when confronted with a wall of bras (not a metaphor – check out photos).

To sum it up: Istanbul has grandeur of Rome, coziness of Amsterdam, and the ancient aura of Athens…  My modest phone pictures can’t possibly do it justice, but even they are better than any words.  Or I’m just saying that to sign off and head down for a drink.