People of Istanbul

These are ice cream vendors in traditional Turkish costume. This is a picture of Malia and me, looking into a glass enclosed exibit in the palace "harem" rooms.

It is intersting to see the muslim women decked out in their black clothing in the hot and humid weather. The modern version has young women in jeans and t-shirts with a hip head scarf and sandels. We also heard the Islamic call to prayer, which happens 5 times a day. People sing/play recordings from the minarets (towers) all over the city. See this Youtube video as an example of what we heard at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. But we didn't see people stop work and get on the ground facing Mecca to pray, as happens all over Egypt. A hotel manager told us the Muslims are more liberal in Istanbul. In general, the Turks in Istanbul were rather rude, pushing their way past in a crowd and not uttering any polite "sorry" or "excuse me" words. They do not make eye contact and are not friendly to strangers as in other countries - except for the tourism workers, who are extremely nice and helpful. I actually gave two waiters a brief Reiki energy hit/Oneness Blessing and they enjoyed it.