NOT THE ONLY ONES AROUND

Three flights with two intermediate stopovers (Washington's Dulles and Frankfurt) plus well over an hour negotiating Immigration proceedings eventually brought Heidi and Lee, some thirty hours later, to Istanbul at long last.

Our hired car-and-driver, with cellphone help from our host, finally deposited us on the doorstep of our AIRBNB rental apartment in the Galata neighborhood.  Lee got right to work, camera in hand, while we waited for the arrival of the key.

Once in the apartment, we found it much to our liking.  Settling in took very little effort; we even had time for a brief but relaxing rest before setting out on our initial explorations.

Our first stop was the two level apartment house rooftop deck with its stunning city views, taking in the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara as well as the Topkapi Palace, Haga Sophia and the Blue Mosque across the Golden Horn.

Then we trekked downhill and up, out of our quiet hillside neighborhood, into the midst of the tourist swirl around the Galata Tower.  Dating back to the sixth century, the tall stone tower has been used as a watch tower, a prison and a naval depot.  Today -- as the crowds attested -- it is the most recognizable landmark on this side of the Golden Horn.  We ate nearby outside on the square at the Guney Restaurant, basking in the sunny, late afternoon, seventy degree weather - a satisfying conclusion, indeed, to our first afternoon in Istanbul.