Jet lag was still with us for several more days but that didn’t prevent us from walking several miles in the popular Fatih neighborhood of Istanbul all weekend. Istanbul is a marvelous mixture of modernity and antiquity.

I got my fill of people watching in the Grand Bazaar and allowed my senses to be overwhelmed to the point of becoming vulnerable to swindling. Something happened to me, and I ended up buying not only a silk Turkish rug, but also 7 kilos of tea. I hope Customs doesn’t suspect me of drug dealing.

My senses were gratified at the end of the day when we watched a Sufi whirling dervish prayer ceremony. The practitioners of this ritual attempt to reach truth and divine unity by revolving around in a circle, much as the planets revolve on their own axes as well as around the sun. With one hand facing the sky and the other reaching towards the earth, dervishes believe “from God we receive, to man we give, we keep nothing to ourselves”. In our tired state this haunting music, chanting and pirouetting dancers put my friend Dotty and I into a spiritual trance.