The above term was shared with me by student Liz Buri from Malaysia; she’s seen it on T shirts in Asia. It speaks to the idea that wherever you are, some things are the same even though others are so totally foreign; at least that’s what I got from it. Istanbul was definitely that for me!
I arrived on Maundy Thursday, about 4:30 pm at my hotel, Istanblue, 
very near the square with Hagia Sophia/Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque….a long day from the home, to Gatwick, to Ataturk Airport, then by cab to the hotel. The manager was a great young fellow named Turgut; the tour booker at the front desk was Ocam….nice guys, both. My view of the side of the Blue Mosque from our breakfast room.
However, Ocam was determined to sell me tours; therefore, by the time I got to Aya Sofya, it was closed for the day. In terms of location however, I did well….a short walk up the hill put me in the thick of things in the Sultanatmet District, where the Sultan’s Palaces and most of the tourist attractions were.
Unfortunately, it began raining and turning cold immediately ("It was warm yesterday!"). I had not checked weather and packed light things, which I wore in layers all the while. I had a kebab from the shop downstairs, went to bed early and slept 11 hours!
Thinking I had only three days to see it all, I was up early the next day and skipped breakfast to get to a shopping area to find a stocking cap…that helped. Then first stop was the Basilica Cistern, an amazing underground maze of huge columns, a cistern of millions of gallons, built in something like the fifth century…an amazing place. Pictured a head of Medusa which forms the base of one of the columns. No one knows why; strange indeed.
On to Aya Sofya; a cathedral built in around 550 AD, turned into a mosque somewhere around the 1200’s or 1300’s, and then made a museum in the mid twentieth century. Impressive! 
Sadly, reconstruction going on, but still one is able to see the beauty and glory…pictured as well, a cobblestone ramp from the ground floor to the gallery, so paved so the potentates could ride their horses up to the gallery.
From there, Topkapi Palace! 
Wow, some wealth….it just didn’t stop. Particularly impressive, all the tile works, some great stained glass, the meeting rooms and council rooms,
but most impressive perhaps was the sheer size of the palace and harem or living quarters for the sultan and his families. Included were a museum of armor, 
of palace treasures, of the former kitchen, of ceramics, etc, etc. It could have taken a day, but I made it in three hours.
Next, on to the Art Museum, small but very nice. After, while waiting for the Blue Mosque to open to tourists, I stumbled on a carpet shop. Mistake. I can only say the young gent, Sirkan, was very nice, and the carpets were amazing….something came home with me the next day.
All of this was day one of three! I was pretty tired next morning, but again up and out early to get my fill. Tram down the hill, then walk through the spice market where I bought apple tea;
up the hill to the Grand Bazaar….spectacular, but overwhelming.
I didn’t visit but maybe one hundred of the thousands of shops before glazing over, and heading on up the hill to the Suleymanye Mosque, which I found to be softer, quieter, and more beautiful than the Blue Mosque.
The perhaps one half acre of prayer carpet impressed me....
The toilet on the grounds did not.
The tomb of the Sultan's wife was beautiful, much tile work and decoration....she's surrounded by family members.
Another gorgeous view, this one from the terrace of the Suleymanye Mosque....
Back by the carpet shop, met owner, Mr Ayuup Karar (maybe we’re related?), 
(don't worry, this is NOT what I bought) after many shared teas, taken to lunch by the young man, then went to an afternoon at the Dolcambace Palace. This was the newest palace built by a sultan, in the European style. An amazing place with crystal finials on the main staircase and huge assembly rooms…well worth the visit.
Next up the funicular to Taksim Square and its hero statue featuring the first Turkish president, Ataturk, Turkey's George Washington, still revered.
I had no idea there’d been a bombing there only ten days before, and that wouldn’t have stopped me from going to visit. A walk down that hill, looking for the Tunel, an underground down the hill. Not finding it, I took a cab back home. Another long day. That night, looking at my ticket, I realized I wasn’t leaving on Monday, but on Tuesday! I had much work to do in London, so think I just adjusted in my head how long I was staying. I was both delighted I had an extra day and terrified of getting home to extra work.
So Sunday, Easter, I was able to sleep late and have a wonderful leisurely breakfast before heading out. I went by tram to the New Town again, across the Galata Bridge, but couldn’t work the Tunel from the lower end either, so took a cab to the Galata Tower, where I met a couple of American kids. I toured the tower with them, and we had breakfast together. Then I worked my way back down the hill on foot, enjoying the shops and people on the way. Sadly my camera battery had given out at the top of the tower with the best view of Istanbul! I walked back to Spice market area, saw another smaller mosque with amazing tile work, was disappointed by the Archeological Museum as they had remodeling and had Alexander the Great's sarcophogas hidden away for restoration. But, the Guilhane Park was lovely. 
After, Ihad a dinner at the kebab stand,
(chef, already fired, hotel owner Turgut, me and Juva, kebab stand manager) and found I was locked out of my email! I’d decided not to take my computer and was using the hotel’s desk. Their keyboard is totally different with lots of characters that made it impossible to type, so not sure if I screwed things up or I was just too foreign…in either case, I had no email from then on to the end. I tried to facebook Gloria through one of my new friends; she thought maybe I’d been kidnapped and held for ransom, so wouldn’t respond! Oops.
Monday another nice breakfast, blackout curtains, a good long sleep. A short walk to the Cemberlitas Hamami, a bathhouse from perhaps 1500….as one lies on their back on warm marble in a steam room, one can count the 150 or so tiny skylights in the dome above. Then Hassan comes around, pours hot water on you, and eventually, scrubs and rubs away any excess skin and gives a pretty good massage and lathering. I felt revived and refreshed after his treatment! Next a tram back to the funicular, up to Taksim again, then the walk down the entire hill, and a tram back home. This last day I was able to give myself a bit more free time, and had a great day and evening, sharing drinks and dinner with the kebab stand manager Juvo (means Friday) in a friend’s restaurant, our second visit.
Tuesday the shuttle early back to airport, landed in Heathrow about 11 and home by 1:30 to the catch up work. A great trip! My learning: First, most of what I saw of Islam made me believe these people are much like us. Those who are religious are of two kinds: those who believe everybody should be like them, and those who are tolerant. One good Muslim described to me that “Isis are shit.” Everything I saw made me believe that same, most are good people, and different, they happen to have a different prophet, but believe we share one God. 
Second, the politics of Turkey isn’t good; both in that the ruling party is a controlling party, and second in that the Kurds who make a large percent of the population are treated as second class citizens…same, same, different.
I loved it. I’d love to visit again, for a longer time. I’d love to get Gloria to come along. I’d love to know more about Islam, not that I want to convert, just that I want to understand. I’d love to learn more Turkish than ‘thank you, delicious, good, and hello”. The people and the food were wonderful, the sites are spectacular, and the experience felt safe, friendly, and unforgettable. Same, same, different. Thank you, Turkey.
