Sure is nice to see some familiar faces in a land far from home. Ben and Sierra arrived three days ago, smelly and smiley, and the four of us have been constantly talking since (check out Sierra's excellent postings here: sierrasworldatlarge ). The day they got here we went to get soup and ayran (a drink of yogurt, water and salt) and then headed over to sit and talk at a park that was full of the kind of trees that have little puff balls and are planted all over Rincon Valley. On the way back we stopped to drink tea and smoke a nargileh on the waterfront as the sun set behind the old mosques. It's been fun exploring the city with them; counting jellyfish in the water, taking the ferry to Asia at dusk, philosophizing in the Grand Bazaar. Today we went searching for boza, a fermented bulger drink that's said to look like mucus and impart vitality to the imbiber. The store has been there since 1876, but were out of boza. We had some shira, fermented grape juice, instead and were refreshed and revitalized. We're looking at going to Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque soon, so Ben and Sierra can have their first mosque experience. For now they'll have to settle for the call to prayer through loudspeakers. Sigh.