This spring, I was lucky enough to go on a trip to Greece and Turkey. I never thought I would end up in either place this lifetime, but I am so glad I did. I saw and experienced so much in such a short time. I want to go back and do it all again! One afternoon, (or was it morning? It all blurs together a bit…) I went against all advice given to me about going “off the beaten path” and following a local to a different location. The result was amazing. Just like the last time I did this in Zambia. That, however, is a story for another time. This day, my friend Judith and I had trekked all over Istanbul looking for vendors who sold beads in bulk. We found success in the Spice Market (which we both thought was much more interesting than The Grand Bazaar). We followed a vendor out the back door, down a few alleys and down, down, down under the city! Wow! There is an entire marketplace underground there! He kindly took us to a section for beads, bead findings, and more beads. Making sure all the while that we kept up with him and saw numerous vendors. And, he brought me us my favorite, apple tea. There are more beads and bead shops there than I had ever imagined in my life. It was overwhelmingly cool to see. I wanted to just spend the day there looking and taking it all in. But, since this was our last day, we still had other sites to see, so we only spent a few hours on one of our whirlwind days in Istanbul, an incredibly beautiful city that I will always cherish.
