I had high hopes for Topkapi Palace, and I wasn't one bit disappointed. It had all the elements of Islamic architecture that I find so beautiful -- the calligraphy, the geometric shapes, the color palette -- plus one impressive treasury of precious stones. Like an 86-carat diamond. And boxes of "extra" emeralds and rubies that had yet to find a surface to adorn and call home. Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed so I couldn't take any pictures of the stones, but I was very happy to take photos of everything else.
After Topkapi, we headed southeast to Ankara, the capital of Turkey. Along the way, we stopped for lunch and snacks (nuts and figs) at a fancy rest stop. The sauteed greens tasted so good -- I missed my veggies!
I took a long afternoon nap on the bus because the schedule from the day before was so exhausting. When we arrived at the charmless but efficient hotel, obviously geared towards people traveling for business,
Mohamed picked up someone else's luggage accidentally. She freaked out momentarily, but all was quickly well. For dinner, we decided to eat fish at a cute restaurant across the street from the hotel. The creamy cheese stuffed inside the pickled peppers provided just the right contrast, and the fish were grilled and deep-fried to perfection (we ordered a lot because we were hungry). The waiter brought out a warm gooey cake topped with ice cream "on our house" -- which I thought was a very sweet gesture.
