Istanbul
We are leaving Istanbul tonight after a stay of four days and three nights. I know already that this has been the highlight of my trip, though I won't write about it at length since I can't say anything that you won't find in a dozen tourist guides. We still didn't see all of the major spots (we missed Dolmabahçe Palace, for instance), but our stay here consisted mostly of visits to the great landmarks of the old city: Aya Sofya; the "Blue Mosque" of Sultan Ahmet I; Topkapı Palace; the Basilica Cistern; we even caught a Mevlevi Dervish ceremony (the "whirling dervishes") at Sirkeci Station on our way out of town.
I do recommend seeing some of the "real Istanbul" beyond the tourist areas: this we did by going to Űsküdar (on the Asian side) where we ate very cheaply (fresh fish) before walking to Selacak to take a small ferry to the island fortress of Kiz Kulesi (which has been turned into a not-so-cheap café).
I have not been a great world traveler, so take it for what it's worth when I say that Istanbul is the most beautiful city I have ever seen, far surpassing Vienna. I was stunned at how deeply blue were the waters of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn even on gray winter days like these; by the site of the Blue Mosque at night during the call to prayer, with the seagulls circling between the minarets; and by the tasteful way the city's ancient treasures and Ottoman monuments have been preserved, restored, and presented for the edification of the public (which is to the credit of the Turkish government -- no one's favorite and least of all my own -- though the archaeological museum, which is still superb, nevertheless strikes me as scandalously neglected).
The Blue Mosque, Istanbul
Turkey economizes on modern national heroes: Atatürk is as ubiquitous as the Turkish flag itself and the only figure on the currency. I don't know much about Turkish politics, but I get the distinct sense that the secular pieties of the Kemalist ideology favored by the military are wearing thin with the people at large, though there are few who would say so to anyone in public -- let alone an American -- since "insulting Turkishness" is still a criminal offense.
There looks to be a lot of new multi-family housing under construction on the outskirts of the city, at least along the train route. The conventional wisdom is that there will eventually be a bad earthquake here, so this could be sleazy real estate speculation.
Mevlevi Dervish ceremony, Sirkeci Station, Istanbul