I went on a business trip to Istanbul and Ankara in the early 90s. I had a great time--rode the ferry from Europe to Asia after work one evening, which was a real adventure! We also found time to visit the mosques, went to the bazaar (got a rug, of course!), and had some excellent meals. People were very friendly, too. Mimi--apparently cats are very much revered in Turkey. If I'm not mistaken, the people believe that Ataturk will come back as a cat.