There’s a reason I don’t tweet: I’m a compulsive sharer. And I know you guys are too busy to hear about how I made one last healthy choice here at the airport (chicken nuggets + apple slices + water) before I go off on my yoga-less Foodie Binge in the Bay of Baklava. Anyhow – I’m here at the airport with plenty of time before my flight. It’s a lovely day outside… so I’ll blog until I board. I thought a nice history lesson might be a good place to start to introduce the rich history of Istanbul (I already sound like a marketing ad). But really — there’s a whole lot of history behind all that culture, so let me give you a glimpse while I have a few extra minutes…

Istanbul is the fourth largest city on the planet – 13.2 million, and counting – behind Shanghai, Delhi, and Karachi (Pakistan… yes, I had to look it up). Once the center of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, Istanbul is a megacity as well as the cultural, economic, and financial center of Turkey. It extends both on the European and on the Asian sides of the Bosphorus River which joins the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, making it the only metropolis in the world that is situated on two continents. Like Rome, Istanbul has been called “The City of Seven Hills” because the oldest part of the city is supposedly built on seven hills, each of which bears a historic mosque. To show how advanced Istanbul is, when the city was part of the Ottoman Empire there were over 1,400 public toilets all around the city – but at the same time in history, there weren’t any even at palaces in France and the rest of Europe. (I thought a little potty humor might spice things up… p)

During its long history, Istanbul served as the capital of the Roman Empire, the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, the Latin Empire, and the Ottoman Empire before the current Republic of Turkey was proclaimed in 1923. (The city’s name was changed from Constantinople to Istanbul in 1930.) The city is currently bidding to host the 2020 Summer Olympics. Most importantly, though, Jon Bon Jovi performed here just last month. I told Lee I was certain he would have rearranged his tour dates if he had known we were coming… Alas…

So, now you know what I’m heading into. They had toilets before France did. All joking aside, I am super excited about the trip. As soon as I get there, I’m headed to the Hippodrome. It’s Ramadan and there’s a party at sunset (more on that later). One full day is dedicated to shopping the bazaars. Another day we’re taking a ferry up the Bosphorus and then ambling from town to town along the waterfront (including tea at the Four Seasons) and dinner in Ortakoy on our way back down to Sultanahmet. But I’m getting ahead of myself – perhaps I should doooooo it before I tell you about it… Oh, well… you know me – compulsive sharer p. See you from the other side of the pond.