Istanbul day 12

 My last full day on the Bosporus. Hopefully today I’ll get to see some sites, I’ve only gotten them in passing. Naturally, I began by sleeping in and running an errand. On my way to by moisturizer (probably easier here than Samarkand) I passed Phottoman. My friend Raphael and I have been texting back and forth, enjoying the punny names businesses have here. When I told him about the Sultan’s photo op, he demanded I go. I told him there was no damn way I was going to take a dumb photo like that.

He won this one

Up the coast to Taksim for moisturizer. Funny enough, the cream I bought was packaged for the US market, the Turkish box was just a sleeve around the outside. Made it easy to read the instructions. For brunch, I promised a restaurant owner I met last night that I would come by after he insisted. Predictably it was closed. I resolved to instead enjoy a most heinous local treat, the wet burger. For about two bucks, you get a hamburger with Turkish spiced tomato sauce that’s been sitting in a steamer long enough to soak the bun. Cheap, filling, heinous. Why is it wet? Who thought this was a good idea? I have so many questions. I scarf it and head back to the golden horn to try and do something cultural.

The tram is passing by the sites and the liens are absurd. To hell with it all, I’ll have some tea. I try to buy a ticket for an attraction from the restaurant. Maybe doing this step now will save me from a line later. I’m foiled by the poor IT infrastructure. Fuck it, hammam. If I can’t see culture, at least I can rest about it. I get to the door and it’s reservation only. No problem, they’ve graciously left the QR code outside for me. No men’s appointments for January. None. The section is closed. I retreat to my hotel room. At least there’s a bed there and I have a piece of lokum left.

Odd mosque architecture with no information online

To finish my day I went to Kadikoy for dinner. Kivilcim recommended a fish place there and I was in the mood for something simple and not all red meat. I washed it down with a beer at a nearby Irish pub, having given up on the domestic offerings. This is a hop neighborhood and I’m hearing more German