You might remember that Sophie and I returned to the US not only because we were exhausted and had gone just far enough past the edge of sanity that we had named our luggage, cameras, and hairbrush, but also because we needed to facilitate getting visas to India. Just before arriving in Turkey, we discovered that our original plan to apply for visas at the Indian consulate in Istanbul would’ve led to us being denied and redirected to the embassy in Ankara. Which in turn would’ve led us to spend a week in a town the tourist highlight of which is something called the Monument to a Secure and Confident Future. So we opted to go home and get them the good ol’ ‘MERican way.
Seth Madej
We’re Still in Pittsburgh
My observant readers will have by now noted that we were supposed to have taken off back for Istanbul a week ago today but have been curiously quiet about whether or not we actually left. Those observant readers would then be able to confirm that we have not actually left by checking their spare bedroom and noting that all of our crap is still spread all over it and that my old model of an X1-class TIE fighter has not been returned to its box. But for the rest of you: the “Where are Seth and Sophie?” map is correct. We’re still in Pittsburgh. There are a bunch of reasons for that, which I’ll lay out in some separate posts over the next few days. For now, here’s the summary:
Hot Naked Camel
I still haven’t pulled together the energy required to write anything about Morocco, so in the meantime here’s a quick video I shot on camelback.
We’re approximately here, on our last morning in the desert, riding back to the hotel. Most of the time we were out it was just me, Sophie, and our guide Athman (in the blue and yellow), but at camp on the last night we met up with seven other people who all rode back with us. That’s who you can see in the convoy ahead of me.
A Slight Detour
I’m exhausted. In the two days Sophie and I have been in Istanbul, we’ve been able to bring ourselves to see a grand total of two sights. Today we sat on a bench in front of the Topkapi Palace ticket office for 20 minutes trying to will the energy to go in, but in the end we went back to the hotel to take a nap. This trip has been wearing us out like an old rechargeable battery that runs for a shorter and shorter time after each charge. So for that and other reasons, after days of talking about it, yesterday we made plans to come home for a two-week break.
Attention Mary C. from Philly
This blob belongs to you. You’re welcome! When I hear from you it’ll be on its way…
