almost famous
--Jun 6, 2005

We spent the morning starting to explore Sultanahmet. There is a ton of stuff to see here (Topkapi Palace, the Blue Mosque, Aya Sofya Mosque, and much more).

Bill, Amy, and Robert

Right now we’re taking a lunch break, looking out across the Hippodrome. The seating is low slung benches with pillows and rickety old wooden chairs. We’re just resting, trying to kick jetlag, sipping our Turkish tea, and taking it all in.

Then a woman leans over from a nearby table, and asks in an American accent, “Excuse me – do you guys, by any chance, have a travel website?” Why yes, as a matter of fact we do! It turns out that Amy, traveling with her husband Bill and another friend, Robert, have read our site. They’re travel buffs and have taken a number of great trips, so they’re fluent in all the online info available. Nonetheless, we’re stunned - recognized by complete strangers (a credit to Amy’s memory more than anything else, to be sure). And if that isn’t enough, Robert goes on about how he’s sent our link to lots of his friends (whether it’s true or not, it sure was a nice thing to say).

We happily chat with them for a while, they give us some good advice about Istanbul (they’ve been here a few days longer than we have at this point), we get their contact info, and head on our way. Over the next couple weeks, we keep turning to each other and saying, “Can you believe that happened? It’s crazy!”

	chance encounter #2 Somewhere, in a photo album in New Zealand, or maybe on a website, there are lots of pictures of our new acquaintance in front of things like the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids, and Angkor Wat. Oh yea! We had another chance meeting a few days later (as if one crazy coincidence wasn't enough). This time, we had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of another world traveler, an enourmous kiwi bobblehead (from New Zealand of course). The conversation centered around the various famous world monuments in front of which we had taken our picture. A true kindred spirit!