england and istanbul

Last saturday, Sean (who worked all 6 weeks at dh) and i flew to istanbul. I hadn't been to istanbul since i lived here in 2005 and 2006. Whenever people ask me if i liked living here, i generally reply that didn't have a great time here, but that i don't think that was istanbul's fault, as it had more to do with the person i was living with! I've been talking for sometime about giving it a second chance, so i sort of came with the idea of seeing if i would like to try living here again. And i think i might. It would be relatively easy, as i've already got some contacts and a start on the language. We'll be back there in about 10 days, and i'll think more about it then.
Our 3 days in istanbul were spent dying of the heat - it was something like 38 degrees! - and seeing the sights, sampling the cuisine and catching up with some of my old friends. I finally got to Topkapi palace- the number one tourist attraction in istanbul, which i had somehow managed to miss before, despite spending 5 months here! It was horribly expensive, and you pay separately to see the harem, which is one of the most interesting bits. Another highlight was seeing the collection of relics. Due to a complete lack of information or map about what was in the palace, we had no idea what was there until we stumbled upon it. It was a lovely surprise to find the actual rod of Moses! The very twig with which he parted the red sea! There was also Abraham's saucepan, which might have been the very one in which the mess of pottage was cooked and sold for a birthright (or whatever- i must look up that story again sometime). I was also amazed to see Joseph's turban, in a nice neutral colour that must have looked lovely when worn with his technicolour dreamcoat.
There was also someone's arm. And a bit of skull. And enough of Mohammed's beard to fleece a horse. And there was an actual person sitting intoning verses from the Qu'ran over them all, which was a nice touch. A sign at the entrance told us that there relics would be preserved as long as the world exists. It's nice that they have something to aim for.