Istanbul

This was the third of my trips to Istanbul. I'd been a few times and stayed weeks at a time years before when I was touring around Turkey with my Turkish friends. The architecture and design beckons me like a snake charmer. I'm mesmerized and always said that if I could do it all over and study design and architecture, I probably would've focused on the Ottoman era. Not to mention how I always absorbed myself in the culture - taking Turkish lessons even at Georgetown on a daily basis in grad school, reading authors who became some of my favorites - Orhan Pamuk and Elif Shafak. And the food...did I mention I also took Turkish cooking classes...how could anyone who loves eggplant not come away with an even greater love for a cuisine who makes over 100 dishes in different ways with the aubergine. 

Blue is the color - of the waterways, the sky - it surrounds you. When you're drinking tea, which is often in this tea drinking culture. Alma chai - apple tea. Yoghurt with honey. The fish district. Your friend's apartment that feels like you're shooting an issue of Architectural Digest while she breezes around in bare feet and her caftan.