Turkey

I visited Istanbul in 2020, and it's a city that is constantly showing off. The Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque face each other across Sultanahmet, the Grand Bazaar swallows you for hours, and the red tram rattles down İstiklal Avenue past churches, kebab shops and the old arcades of Çiçek Pasajı. Then you take a ferry across the Bosphorus to the Asian side, just because you can.

I ate so much baklava. Every pastry shop window is stacked with trays of it, and I tried them all. I read A Little Life by the hotel pool, which was a mistake if I wanted to stay cheerful. My sandal snapped halfway through one day, and I spent the afternoon hobbling over cobblestones, laughing at myself. Istanbul is ancient and modern and loud and beautiful, and I'd go back tomorrow.