Where Have You Been Lately?

Lita Albuquerque, artist

I was drawn to Turkey because of the gold and blue, my signature colors. Also, I’m half Turkish and had never been there. I went with my two daughters. We stayed in an old part of Istanbul, right on the Bosporus, at the Sultan’s Inn, close to the famous Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. The baths were done in the 16th century. There’s a palace in Istanbul called Topkapi that really was of the Ottoman Empire. We got a tour of the harems there. There are amazing gardens. Also, they have one of the largest diamonds in the world.

Discovery: There is an Egyptian market on the Bosporus in the old quarter. You get food that explodes in your mouth, it’s so fresh: walnuts and cheese and olives.