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| With the Assistant Manager of Hotel Senatus (who I think looks a lot like Jacques Monet, SJ) |
I spent a very relaxing day in Istanbul, made more enjoyable by the experience of a real Turkish bath. I started the day by visiting the Modern Art Museum which has a very fine collection of Turkish modern art. I was very impressed! I then took the tram and funicular to reach Taksim Square and had lunch on the street that leads back to the center of town. The highlight of the day was to go to a real Turkish bath. The one I went to was 350 years old and still functioning. What I have learned since being in Istanbul is that most of the hamani (as they are called) are adjacent to mosques and, at one point, were part of a mosque's complex of buildings. I suspect you were expected to be clean before going to pray. The bath itself was thoroughly relaxing. The attendants treat you like you're a sultan. It was a totally sybaritic experience!
And with that, it is time to bid farewell to Turkey, as I head to New Delhi tomorrow on a late afternoon flight which gets me into New Delhi early Sunday morning.
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