Rolling in Istanbul

Istanbul, Turkey
Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Over Easter break, I hopped the Orient Express to Istanbul with three friends. This mighty “City of Seven Hills” has repelled countless invaders throughout the ages. For six days, we four brave adventurers valiantly laid siege to it. We ate the food. We toured the mosques. We climbed the fortresses. But alas, we befell the same fate as the many who’d come before us. We retreated; Constantinople still stands.

The highlight of our trip came in the shadow of the Haghia Sofia, Istanbul’s most famous landmark and one of the world’s most significant religious monuments. As a nearby tour bus unloaded, an American couple – identifiable by the husband’s red flannel shirt and mesh John Deere hat – approached their guide, yanked on his sleeve and asked, “Ya’ll got bowling here.” Six hours later, we hunted down the city’s only bowling alley and rolled a game in honor of Uncle Sam.