I arrived in Istanbul in time for the Ramadan.

Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. According to what the locals told me, it is intended to cultivate patience, humility and compassion for the less fortunate. Muslims take no water or food between sunset and sundown, while going about their days.

After each sundown they celebrate with a big dinner and especially like to invite people over to break the fast together. While chatting with Huseyin the shopkeeper, I was invited to one such dinner.

I bought a box of Turkish Delight as a gift and went over to his shop in the evening. Huseyin had also invited his siblings and friends. The table was covered with the special Ramadan sesame pita bread, plates of cucumber and tomato salad, and a potato, pepper and onion chicken stew prepared by Huseyin. We wolfed down the salads and bread in minutes. Then one of his friend looked up and asked me, "And, what's your name?" Everybody broke out laughing.

Everybody was polite and curious about me. Even though they didn't speak much English, we managed to communicate pretty well. They told me that they did not think I would be able to eat the spicy soup that was full of unpitted peppers and were pretty impressed that I did.

Time for dessert. For Ramadan there are special kinds of sweets, which come in various bright colors and forms, soaked in honey. Really sweet.

The hospitality of the locals is one of the many reasons that I fell in love with Istanbul. By the time I got on the train for Sofia, Bulgaria, I regretted that I only was able to spend five days there. Turkey, along with Russia, are the two places that I really want to go back for another visit.