Istanbul-Chapter 2 Cont.

Another driver takes us to the family restaurant, which is really nice. This family obviously knows a thing or two about business. They are staying open late for us and we are the only people there. The rug man orders INSANE amounts of food and alcohol for the three of us. They bring out the fish selection, (which is 10-20 whole fish) and ask us to choose which we would like and how we would like it prepared. We decide on a fish and the rug man suggests a method of preparation where they pack the fish in salt, bake it, bring it to the table, light it on fire and chip away the salt with a small hammer. It was incredible. This was after we had eaten the largest prawns I had ever seen, anchovy salad, vegetable salads, small fried fish, bread and probably alot more stuff that I don't remember. The rug man had been talking non-stop about himself and all of the money he makes in his business dealings (questionable), but had started to yawn and was visibly tired. But we MUST have desert and then he can take us to the disco! This man is a maniac! We already bought the rug! What more do you want from us-it's 1:00 a.m.! We opted not to go to the disco and took a cab back to the hotel. Buying a rug took us about 10 hrs.

We realized that this was just their mode of doing business-they take tourists around town and sell them rugs. But here's the interesting thing: we ran into the carpet man two more times and both times he invited us to do an activity. We ran into him on his way to the gym, and he invited us to come along. We ran into him near the store, and we HAD to go in and have some tea. These people are nothing if not hospitable-I loved Turkey. The Czech Republic could learn a thing or two from their Turkish neighbors.