Snow Day

30 Days in Istanbul: Day 27

So much snow, this morning. In the sky, on my balcony, on all the rooftops around us. I was so sure I was going to remain in place that I didn’t even take a photo. There’s no way anyone’s flying into Istanbul today, I thought, let alone from Budapest, which is where the next AirBnb guest was coming from.

first Turkish snow-person sighting

"Natalie,” my host messaged. “She says her flight will be on time. I don’t know how this is possible.”

I didn’t know either. But I knew it meant I needed to get out of there.

Askin had a friend who lived nearby with lots of space who was happy to host Django and me. And a family friend who works nearby offered to drive us, which meant we wouldn’t have to deal with a taxi. I didn’t have much time to make the decision, so here we are, about 10 minutes from our previous spot. Staying in, because you could not make this shit up if you tried, a magical haunted house full of sacred relics and with antiques stuffed in every corner—the family home of two brothers, one of whom has Down syndrome and dresses in full police uniform, the other a photojournalist and who will be off to Syria next week to photograph someone I am afraid to even name here.

We may or may not be attending a dinner party tonight hosted by a Russian photojournalist named Sergei.

Stay tuned. I know I will be.