No one cares what I had for lunch...

... but the grilled Levrek I ate had been pulled from the Black Sea only hours earlier. Mark tells me this means the fish was contaminated with whatever pollutants make up Black Sea goo. I say, never mind his naysaying (even if he has a point) -- it was delicious.

Before lunch, I hiked around the rocky shore of this particular inlet, about a 45 minute drive from the city. That's not accurate though -- this little beach town is actually a part of Istanbul, even if the acres of trees along the shore make it feel worlds away. I've written at length about how dirty and crowded this city is, but drive twenty minutes north on a traffic free day and the cramped apartments and city side walks are replaced by verdant forests.

Hello friends!

It was windy and hot at the sea today. Like before, the horizon was filled with ships waiting to pass through the Bosporus. We ate by the water, the clean, salty sea air ruffling the umbrellas overhead and the table clothes underplate. A lunch worthy of description, if there ever was one.