Lu Ann and Kristi at "Capacity" mall in Istanbul

Wonderful old (13) female dog at the North Shield who always "stood guard" but on this hot afternoon was taking a little nap

The North Shield - our neighborhood pub next to the Cinar Hotel

Alice ready to go out for the anniversary dinner in her new earrings and necklace black pearl set commissioned by Randy and executed by Mary Beth Manifold

Jeff with his "last" beer in Turkey - Mom is watching

On the terrace at Beyti (where Jeff had more last beers)

33 years is a long time!

Anna with the meat chefs in Beyti's kitchens

Today was pretty chill.  We lounged around the terrace at breakfast for about 90 minutes (Randy, I, Lu Ann, Kristi, Anna and Jeff).  Jeff had returned from the living dead and was perking up.  Lu Ann, Randy and I then embarked on a 75 or so minute walk along the seaside and back through the residential streets.  It was fun and burned off a minute fraction of the calories we consume each day.  We chilled in the room (I was working) until 2 PM when we ladies (sans Anna) took a cab to a nearby giant mall and Randy took a cab to a fortress.  We ladies shopped a couple of hours and bought a little clothes.  The Turkish mall ("Capacity") was very nice, about four to five stories high with a mix of upscale U.S./international brands and Turkish brands.  The Turkish sizes are much smaller than in U.S. so I was reduced to looking at Large and X-Large - not so good for my ego.  Randy texted me during this time and told me he ended somewhere other than where he intended to go.  After he returned we figured out that he told the taxi driver the wrong place and was at a fortress, instead of close by as we planned, about as far away on the European side as you could get.  He was out of cash for the taxi back and we had not been able to get any money since there is something spontaneously wrong with our ATM cards (which had been working just fine).  Anyway, Randy cabbed back to the Cinar Hotel and Jeff (thank you!!) gave him the lira for the cab fee.  However, when Randy gave the agreed to 100 lira the cabby insisted on 140 lira.  A spirited argument ensued with the Cinar bellman and then desk clerk.  The cabby threatened to call the police and Randy (and the rest of us) had visions of him reliving "Midnight Express".  However, in the end (after about 30 minutes) reason prevailed and the cabby accepted the 100 lira, which was still a very high price.

For our 33rd anniversary tonight we share with the core group left (Jeff, Kristi, Anna, Lu Ann) a fantastic dinner back at Beyti restaurant.  We ate on the terrace and had an assortment of pretty much everything they could offer including grilled chicken, steak, water borek, smoked hot eggplant (one of my favorites), an assortment of meze, doner (Randy's favorite meat), kofte and, to end, kunefe with some kind of amazing cream along side.  As we were leaving, Anna (a master chef in her own right) expressed an interest in seeing the kitchen and I asked Mr. Beyti.  He was happy to oblige and sent us (Anna and I) with one of his assistants on a brief tour.  The kitchens were huge and spotless - I mean you could eat off the floor easily.  See the photos!  Dear friends, when you are in Istanbul, eat at Beyti often - you will never regret it.  BTW, our anniversary dinner was unexpectedly and overly generously gifted by Jeff who grabbed the check.
Tomorrow, we leave our sanctuary at the Cinar and head out by car through Anatolia.  A happily scary thought...