Oliver grew up in Istanbul, so when I knew that I would be coming here in October, I asked Oliver to bring his dad over to my classroom when he was in town. In May of last year I met Recep, Oliver's dad, who is a prominent man in the tourist area of the Old City. Everyone seems to know him.
Friday after my symposium I met up with him for dinner. He took me out on the town with a woman from San Francisco who will be running in the Athens marathon next week (2500 anniversary of the real thing!).
We went to this amazing fish restaurant off the Golden Horn.
Recep ordered the food, which was presented as a large number of small, well prepared dishes. Fantastic food: octopus, squid, mussels, etc.
We stayed in the restaurant eating plate after plate of food from about 9 to 11 pm. The patrons in the restaurant shifted from the tourist crowd to the locals. Soon a band started playing and the young folks started dancing.
After the dinner we walked along a street just jammed with restaurants, clubs, etc.
After walking the streets of Istanbul, Recep drove us around the city showing us the places with the hopping nightlight, the downtown business district, and the old city walls. I saw the exact place where the Ottomans breached the Byzantine walls in 1453. We were driving, so I couldn't get a good picture.
Recep dropped me off at my hotel a bit after 1 am.
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