The weather is overcast, like my mood. I'm mentally fatigued. I cannot get onto the WIFI. Maybe Istanbul is too challenging for me. And now I cannot get out of my room.

The Grand Bazaar is as large and noisy as you would expect a 5,000 store shopping mall to be. Rick Steves says to spend about 2 hours here, which is about as much time as a human has before their retinas start to melt.

I'm in Istanbul for less than 2 hours when I'm sucked into the carpet shop across the street from the hotel. I had studied the process of rug buying and was planning to buy a small kilim.

The Hotel Han is even more vibrant than the website indicated. This restored Ottoman home stands on top of the Basilica Cistern in the heart of the Sultanahmet, within walking distance of many of the sites I wanted to see