So, after a week in Istanbul, I am well known by "Dr. Delicious" the owner and proprietor of "Saїd's" the best baklava and pastry shop in the Sirkegi part of old Istanbul and "Muza" the Kurdish owner of "Enjoy", a small döner and şiş restaurant down the block.

My friend, Ahmed, who speaks rather decent German, has given me a break on my laundry and we've shared many glasses cay while my clothes tumble inside his underground shop.

I know I've logged 100 kilometers on foot since I arrived, mostly because I am afraid of taxi drivers (and circus clowns, but that isn't really relevant, is it?)

There is so much to see and do in Istanbul; it would take a lifetime to accomplish half of what I would like. I have seen whirling dervishes, men fishing for bait 24 hours a day on the bridges, Moslems rushing to prayer before the muezzins finish their calls, beautiful women with covered faces, homeless people sleeping on the street, children providing for their families by selling bottles of cold water for 50 cents each and some of the most beautiful mosques, churches and synagogues one could imagine.

In spite of all the wonders of the former Constantinople, I am off to Turkey's third largest city, Izmir (formerly Smyrna, population over 2.5 million.)

While the ancient city has great shopping, the famous Saat Kule (Clock Tower) the remarkable ruins of the Agora, the traditional Jewish quarter of Karataş or in Havra Sokak (Synagogue street) in Kemeraltıand and a beautiful park called the Fuar in the center of town, I was most impressed by the wonderful people I met.

The luxurious six hour coach ride from Istanbul winds through the rich agricultural countryside and includes a stunning 40 minute ferry crossing, yet the truly memorable part of the journey was meeting a delightful, modern, educated young Turkish woman named Kadriye Çetin.

Kadriye patiently answered all my questions about Turkish politics, economics, social change, customs and religion in perfect English for over two hours and then stayed with me until i was on the correct Pamukkale service shuttle to the correct part of the city where my lodgings were located.

She shepherded me to an Internet cafe to check the phone and address of the Vatan Hotel and even helped me wrestle my bags up and down stairs in the vast Otogar where all the buses from around the nation converge. Turkish coaches are like first class airplanes and the bus stations are a huge and complex as many US airports.

This lovely woman showed such patience and kindness, as well as informing me about the opinions of western, moderate Muslims, that she set the tone for my entire stay in this gateway to the Aegean.

I MAY have accidentally offered her a job at Champlain College.

In the next blog, I will tell you about an articulate, passionate journalist whom my daughter Vera (Champlain '02) met via the Internet and who turned out to be my guide and translator for the next part of my stay.

Stay tuned for the story of the two "Efe"s and the Turkish blogosphere. [g]

Ken