Adventures In Istanbul, The Saga Continues

Well, Merry Christmas.  After slaving over our annual Christmas decorations, we have finally finished decorating the tree.  15 ornaments and 16 bows later the work is done and we are ready to celebrate.  Unfortunately the branches are so low there is no room for gifts under the tree and I had no 220 volt lights, so its beauty is simply reflected in the joyous light that shines from Nori's deep brown Eyes.
The only traditional sign of Christmas on the streets of Istanbul are the thousands of chestnut roasting grills.  The smell of burning charcoal over loads your senses and unfortunately does not conjure up any holiday memories.

Just another day of light foot traffic at the bazaar.  We had to go to the Grand Bazaar to get a document from the document guy for our residency permit.  Unfortunately it was saturday the the streets were crowded.  At one point in an intersection we were literally trapped by the crowd, unable to move in any direction as people poured in from all four directions and the we simply became a swirl of humanity.  We could not even pull our arms from our sides and it was like being glued together with hundreds of new friends.
When we finally finished the day and returned to the tramway to return home, the trams were so full you could not get on.  Finally after waiting for a couple of trams, we had gotten close enough to the door that it looked like we might get on.  We stood our ground and waited for passengers to plow their way off before we loaded.  All at once, a lady started to cuss me out and then swung her big purse and hit me.  She just kept yelling and swinging her bag.  After we shoved our way into the tram, Nori looks at me and asks, "what did you do?"  I told her I had no clue.  I have racked my brain trying to understand what I could have done to provoke her, but I was just the tallest member of a crowd and I know I did nothing.  Hopefully I will not just have a repelling effect on the people of Istanbul.

This picture does not even reflect the degree of steepness of the various sidestreet hills in the city.  San Francisco holds no record for steep and amazing passageways.  You can not see the little old lady that was near the top when I started up the street.  I overtook her at the top just as she grabbed a light pole and hung on to catch her breath.  She looked as if she were going to pass out.  I ask her if she were ok and she just replied in a winded voice, "Evit" (yes).  Just one of about 4 hills I had to traverse on my way to get a document signed.  My legs are getting stronger.
Seviyorsunuz, fred and nori