And Now...

...speaking of the Grand Bazaar, I bought a ring from my bestest pal, Jimmy, but it was a bit too small. Since in addition to fleecing unsuspecting tourists, Jimmy is all about customer service, he led me to a place that does jewelry modifications and whatnot. It was literally a hole in the wall. Five guys worked there in an atmosphere permeated by cigarette smoke, the smell of hot silver and Besiktas (one of Istanbul's three soccer teams) mania. Here's the guy working on my ring:

I didn't know this, but apparently around half of the Istanbul jewelry business is made up of Christians. This is something of an amazing figure, as there are so few Christians in the country. Most are members of the Assyrian Orthodox Church. I have no idea what that's all about nor do I know why they gravitated towards the jewelry business, but that's how it is. I'd like to think there's a little bit of Jeebus-magic in my ring.