After three days in Istanbul, I can answer the question so many people asked before I left: Yes, it's dangerous here. And all of the danger can be summed up in one word: traffic.

These narrow cobbled streets were never meant for cars, much less hulking tourist buses. One-way signs mean nothing. In many places, the streets are lined with cast-iron bollards to keep the sidewalks from becoming roadways. Sidewalks, if they exist at all, vanish without notice. The only saving grace is that most of the time the cars are immobilized by jams.

But none of this matters when you're on the water. I enjoyed an obligatory Bosporus cruise this morning, culminating in fabulous views of the hill where Suleyman the Magnificant built his mosque (the one on the right).

So I enjoyed hiking uphill through the neighborhoods to the mosque, which is famous for its intact kitchens (closed for renovation) and Suleyman's tomb (closed for renovations). But the mosque was beautiful and had great views back from whence I'd come.

I upheld tradition and had a nice time getting lost on the way back to my part of town. I stopped at a tea house to enjoy a traditional Turkish tea to revive my energy.  Sitting next to me were two symbols of the new Turkey: drinking strong tea in tulip glasses, puffing on their nargilehs, and using their iPads.

Tomorrow I catch an early flight to Izmir, on my way to Bergama, a town famous for the Roman ruins of Pergamon. I have no idea how I'm going to get from the airport in Izmir to Bergama, but I'm sure it'll all be clear when I get there.