Before I jump into into Italy, I want to wrap up a couple thoughts about Turkey.
Turkey is trying to rebrand itself as Turkiye. This launched a few months ago and many people were unaware of the change. Our tour guide shared it took roughly 200 years for
“Istanbul” to evolve from “Constantopolis”. I’m curious to see how long it’ll take to change the country’s name. Such a major rebranding during these times seem odd when there are other pressing problems.
I was drawn to Istanbul for the history. I was not sure what to expect and knew very little outside of what I read in the papers. The disconnect between the government and its people became obvious as we continued to meet locals. The election next year should be interesting to follow.
We went to dinner with Taner, our tour guide, after touring a few mosques including Hagia Sophia and the Grand Bazar. The evening was memorable and one not to be forgotten. We had very open and candid conversations about life and the state of the world. Aren’t you worried about getting shot in America? Is it true you can buy sperm from a bank? At one point in the night, we accidentally offended Taner by using the word “Hookah”. In California, the word “Hookah” is very commonly used and is what we call a water pipe. In Istanbul, locals frown upon the use of the word because of its Arabic origin. Taner proceeded to educate us on the differences between the two cultures and the correct word to use. It was a topic neither Emily, Chris nor myself knew very much about. I appreciated the conversation and Taner’s openness to have the discussion. I would have not known otherwise. In the two weeks spent in Turkey, I left more informed and with an even greater appreciation for the culture, the people and traditions.
From Istanbul we pivot to Rome. One ancient capital to another.
The Romans have done a phenomenal job at making drinking water accessible all over the city. You can even get sparkling water on tap! This is very refreshing after spending so many days drinking from only bottled water. Chris and I indulged in Roman cuisine and averaged 12 miles of walking per day to offset the calories. Outside of revisiting a few attractions, we met up with my colleague and found a couple interesting markets. There are no feral cats left in the Roman Forum. Where did they all go? Rome was even more charming than I remembered. The knowledge and life experience gained in the last 15 years made the biggest difference in how I saw Rome this time around.
Yesterday we traveled to Perugia. We spent one night there and picked up our rental car today to drive around Tuscany. Tonight we’re in Montalcino, home of Brunello di Montalcino. We’ll be driving around the next few days.
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