Travel observations

Upon reaching Taksim square after an afternoon in Kadikoy, we decided to relax, have  a nice dinner and get ready to leave. The airport “limo” was to pick us up at 10 a.m. the next day to get us to Ataturk airport so we could go through security before my plane departed at 1:15 p.m. Istanbul time.
We decided on an Indian restaurant that was a half block from the hotel. In America, when you go Indian, rice is served with almost all meals. Not in Turkey. Rice was a separate item. It was not a deal breaker, but little things like that often happen when traveling.
There were no wash cloths in our hotel room. We asked for them, and the maid said “No washcloths.” affirming and denying my request. I suppose it is important to bring a few with you while you travel, or one of those polyester puffs. Another thing that was different, but not unusual was the absence of a top sheet. A duvet over a comforter took its place.
Money is important. I worried about that part. I set out from here with 12 US dollars in my wallet. I returned with $2 and a few coins worth about 15 cents in Turkey. I suspect most of the things purchased there were rounded up to the nearest lira. Before I went, I visited my bank to make sure my debit card would work in the ATMs in Istanbul. I also called my Mastercard company to let them know I was traveling, including the dates so the card could be used abroad. These instruments both worked well. On a couple of occasions, the ATM said wrong pin, and I immediately withdrew my card, and went to another machine. The Mastercard was excellent for meals. No, I did not eat the card.
At ATMs, I would withdraw small amounts, like 80 lira ($40) so I would not be loaded up with foreign money at the end of the stay. This would not have been a problem since there are exchange kiosks at the airports.
The Metro pass was a mystery to me. Meg solved it. We had to put down a 7 lira deposit to acquire a plastic card at a store. Then, we had  to go to a machine near the Metro stop to get it charged for the amount that we estimated would be needed for the rides that we intended to take. Meg put 10 lira on the cards for each of us. The Metro plastic purchase was a bargain when compared to a taxi both in time and cost. We used the cards for ground travel and the ferry to Asia. It was really neat speeding along the streets by rail, missing the traffic tie ups and the vendors who seemed to know that the cabdrivers in the traffic jams  needed sunglasses and water, and if I rolled my window down, someone was bound to come up to the stopped vehicle with water or looking for a handout. The Metro was great, used mostly by working people who enjoyed the smile and flashing eyes of the baby.
We never figured out what to do with the cards to get our deposit back, so we left one with a friend who was staying another day, and the other in the room as a partial tip.
Security at airports always seems to be a hassle, but I suppose it is effective. At the Ataturk airport, it was necessary to pass security immediately on entering the facility. Bags had to be placed on conveyor belts, and everyone walked through a screening booth with hands held high. I had a laptop in my luggage that Meg wanted me to bring home. At first, the security person requested that I remove the laptop and send it through separately. I fumbled with several zippers on the suitcase, opened the wrong one, fumbled with the zippers on the second case, and the line was getting backed up. Finally, he said never mind, and I was through. I went to the line to get my boarding pass and check my bags.
Another screener asked if I had a laptop, and I answered yes. "Is it yours?" she inquired. I realized that I could claim ownership, but the next question in my mind would have proven me a liar, and then I might be sent to jail, so I said "No, it belonged to Yale University." The truth. She brought me back to the original luggage scanning area, and asked that I open the case and remove the laptop. Yale was written all over it, and threats about stealing it. She put it through the screening line, and then asked me to turn it on. Somehow, I found the button. She looked at the screen, pressed some more buttons, turned it off and returned it to me. She then ushered me to the head of the line for boarding passes. that was neat. I am not sure whether she put some stickers on the bag or not. Soon the bags were on their way to the plane.
When it came time to board, I went to the gate. Attendants looked at the boarding passes of the travelers, and showed them to the waiting area. As I walked through, I handed the attendant my passport and boarding pass, and she pointed me toward a ramp that led to a table. "Why are you traveling in Turkey? How long have you been here?"   "Why me?" I thought. "I'm just a gray haired old man!"  "One week, on a pleasure trip" I replied. They presented me with a sheet of paper that I had to sign twice in little boxes that were next to each other, as if to prove that I could sign the same way twice within 10 seconds. One of my signatures filled both boxes, but I wrote the second one over it. They put some stamps on my passport, and I was free to go.
Reentry at JFK...more to come.