Most women were covered from neck to wrist to ankle. Younger, trendier women wore Western-style fashions but with a skin-tight covering underneath. Often the covering was black while the clothes, especially tank tops and skirts, were brightly colored. Oddly enough this contrast drew as much attention as a Westerner without the under- cover. These women did not mind showing off their figure.

A ludicrous but common sight was a black-burka’d woman accompanying a man wearing a polo shirt and capris. By contrast it made the men look half-naked at first glance. The heat must’ve been unbearable for the women but I never saw anyone fanning themself or showing any signs of discomfort (though of course the men did). Overall the burkas reflected not on the culture or the women, but on the men accompanying them. I would look at them and my mind would spit ‘Prick!’ in disgust.

Headscarves were a lot less common outside of Istanbul, and nearly non- existent in Çıralı. None of the many women working at Hotel Canada wore one.

15 days
1 turban
74 GB of photos and video (RAW and HD)
30 calls to prayer
4 flavors of homemade jam at each breakfast
2 overnight buses
$0.65 price for 1.5L bottle of water
2 shirts worn
102 deg F highest temperature
4 boxes of Turkish Delight
11 hour flight each way
1 other American (aside from concert)
1 shot of rakı
2 Wonders of the World
(?) miles covered by GPS

Too many to count:

Cups of tea
Headscarves
Minarets
Carpet shops
Bottles of water
Kebaps