Turkey is the first 3rd world country I’ve been to with no street dogs. There are street cats, however, hundreds of them, and the locals feed and play with them.
This morning I visited the spice market, an immense L-shaped covered bazaar crammed with small shops that sell much more than spices. To wit: blue and white glazed Turkish tiles, cheese by the gram, dozens of kinds of shiny olives, saffron from Iran, coarse apple tea, sardines, sticky pistachio candies, evil-eye charms, perfume vials, and yes, mounds of  scarlet, deep green and mustard-hued spices.

The salesmen all have similar pitches–”I have everything but customers, won’t you come in?” and “Today everything is free….almost.” 
One shop had a small sign with our president’s picture on it that said “Obama approved.” I had one conversation with a young man who on hearing I was from Denver (it’s more recognizable than Colorado). told me he had been skiing once. “I strapped on special shoes and went 200 meters without falling!” Surprisingly, there are ski resorts in northwestern Turkey (and in Morocco, too).
Next to the spice bazaar is the so-called “new Mosque”–it’s only 400 years old. Although Turkey is Muslim, most people are not devout, but the men do go to Friday prayers. I sat outside on the steps and watched hundreds of men sit on small plastic stools and wash their feet from water spigots, then put their socks back on and find their place on prayer rugs spread throughout the outdoor courtyard and terraces because the interior was full. The imam’s sermon was broadcast and included exhortations and song.
I also stopped at an art museum that featured rather poor contemporary pieces (the work reminded me of CU grad school art form the ’70s–conceptual and obvious). Even so, there was an exhibit of Turkish Naval paintings–from sailing ships to WW II battleships. It reminded me that one’s interpretation of the world depends on one’s perspective. What we decry as the massacre of allied troops at Gallipoli in WWI, they celebrated as a great national victory.
Barbara