b'Buying nuts andHagia Sophia Mosquedried fruitsPHOTOS: IMAD ALASSIRY ON UNSPLASH (CHESTNUT SELLER), LINUS MIMIETZ ON UNSPLASH (MOSQUE)One of my favorite things to do when I travel to a new place is to go for an early morning run. On my first trip to Istanbul in August 2024, I was up at 6 am and ran from my hotel past Taksim Square down to the bank of the Bosphorus Strait. I could hear the hauntingly beautiful ezan call to prayer Turkish tea (ay) emerging from various mosques, drawing me into the heart of the culture. At the waterfront, I stopped to look around. I watched the sun slowly rising over this city with so much history and listened to the alluring ezan in the distanceit all felt so very peaceful. As I ran back to my hotel, I witnessed the city slowly waking up. The Bosphorus Strait divides Istanbul into the European and the Asian sides and connects the Black Sea in the north to the Sea of Marmara in the south. On the European side, the old Sultanahmet district has some of Istanbuls most famous sites. Most significant are the marvelous Hagia Sophia, once a church and now a mosque, the Blue Mosque, renowned for intricate mosaics, graceful arches, stained glass, domes, and minarets, and Topkapi Palace, the opulent home of Ottoman sultans for 400 years. Another time, I went to the Bosphorus and took a ferry from the European to the Asian side. My guide and I walked on the Asian waterfront and stopped at a local coffee shop for traditional Turkish coffee made on hot sand, often served with Turkish delight candy. Unlike in the West, Turkish coffee is not filtered. The preparation and brewing techniques and rich communal culture of Turkish coffee are listed under UNESCOs Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Once you finish drinking your coffee, you turn the saucer over your cup and make a wish while rotating the cup and saucer clockwise three times. The cup is then flipped over, and aChestnut seller falc (fortuneteller) reads the dregs and offers insights or guidance. This experience made me feel like I could easily have been in North Africa or Central Asia. ENCHANTING TRAVELS\x1a27'