Istanbul:

Istanbul:

Istanbul:

Istanbul:

Istanbul:

Istanbul:

Istanbul:

Istanbul:

Istanbul:

Istanbul:

Istanbul:

After two very happy days in Istanbul it turns out we've all been in close contact with a baby who's got chickenpox, so we'll be leaving much sooner than we planned.

Too many things to be worried and upset about - and I am very worried and upset to go into it here.

Istanbul:

I'm not listening to music these days very much. Put on a Tori Amos CD today, Marta asked what language it's in - English. She said she didn't understand anything, I told her she didn't have to. She listened for a while - "Precious Things" - then gave me her verdict: "This is a sad song, Veronica!" - and ran off to watch Bob the Builder - in Arabic, which she doesn't understand, either. Then she was eating pancakes with Mishah - and asked him what 'sahib' meant. I've looked it up: 'sahib' seems to mean 'master.'

Svyatoshyn, Kyiv - June 3, 2008: