One of my lovely new shipmate friends, Lindsay, and I decide to explore the Grand Bazaar today. It requires the Metro to get there, which neither of us has done in Istanbul, but we are both game to try it. We struggle a bit with figuring out where to get a card, and how to use it, but she finally gets one that should be enough for a round trip. On the way back, Lindsay swipes the card repeatedly, trying out all the turnstiles, but can’t get it working. A young man comes up behind us and tells us: “finished.” Meaning, the card doesn’t have any money on it. I start looking around anxiously, trying to figure out where we can get another card. He looks around too; but there don’t seem to be any ticket machines nearby. Then he motions us toward the turnstile, swipes his own card for both of us, then walks away without saying a word.

Lindsay and I both stand in stunned silence as we watch him walk away. He glances back at us, sees our grateful faces, and returns a smile. I wish I’d had the presence of mind to at least get a picture of him. (The man in this photo is NOT that young man).

So thank you, kind stranger, for making our day. It’s travel moments like this, that stay with me forever.