Our far flung correspondent checks in from Istanbul …
Oh man, what a great discovery you’ve made! I’m in Istanbul now, and this city is mad about jazz – and blues, and rock, and anything else that allows people to get together and have a good time. There’s a huge series going on now, Jazz in Ramazan, where the city is opening up some of its really famous sites (Ayasofya, Topkapi Palace, Hagia Irene, etc) for live evening concerts on the grounds. U2 is playing here on Monday, and they’re basically expecting the city to shut down for it. And the Istanbul music festival, through the entire month of July, draws big-name shows and bigger crowds from all over Europe.
This country is amazing. LOVE IT!
