We Came, We Saw, We Shopped, We Joined a Feminist Parade, by Frances E. FitzGerald
"Buy a carpet!" We shook our heads no, and the proprietor asked, "But what am I going to do with all these carpets?" As we walked out of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul early this afternoon, another carpet vendor said, "You're not carrying any carpets! Is not fair!" We survived our gift-buying trip, and even talked a few of the vendors into lowering their prices by more than half, thereby reaching the price they probably had in mind in the first place. Laden with T-shirts, Christmas ornaments, scarves, earrings, and more, we returned to the apartment. Now we're trying to figure out how to pack all this stuff in our carry-ons. I wrapped the scarves around the breakable Christmas ornaments and the T-shirts around the breakable plate we'd bought on our Ephesus trip the other day. I just hope it (and we) all get home in one piece Sunday. Later, 12:49 a.m. Tom and I walked over to Istiklal, the promenade near our street, a