This morning some relatives arrived. The night was terrible, as mosquitoes kept us awake, biting and buzzing and I don’t think I got more than 2-3 hours of sleep. In the morning they arrived, rather to my surprise as I’d thought they were coming in the evening. Meanwhile the GF had developed a very slight sore throat, which was similar to one I’d had a few days earlier and seemed unlikely to be COVID as no other symptoms of that illness were apparent. Nevertheless we thought it best to be safe and booked a flat for the guests. In any case it’s not the most comfortable place for guests, so it is good they’ll have a nice place to stay.
We went for breakfast near the Galata tower, and of course the hills nearly destroyed them. It was faintly gratifying, though, that I was not nearly as tired. Clearly a couple of months in Istanbul has got me more used to uphill than I had realised. Breakfast was followed by a trip to the farmer’s market – an error as it turned out, as they were both exhausted by now, so we returned and they rested for a bit before we all went to dinner at an ocakbasi where another relative and spouse also arrived. They are staying at a very fancy hotel in a very fancy part of town. The meal was delicious, with the lamb chops going over especially well.