The Galata Bridge connects Old and New Istanbul, spanning the Golden Horn. It is a rather low bridge with two levels. The upper level includes three lanes of traffic, two streetcar tracks, and a very wide sidewalk on each side. Lots of men fish from the upper level of the bridge. The lower level has restaurant after restaurant after restaurant - on both sides. There must be around 80 restaurants - lots of competition. To attract diners, each restaurant has a waiter outside the restaurant whose job is to convince passers-by to eat there. After surveying the choices, we picked a place and settled in to watch the sunset while enjoying some appetizers and fish. We would learn that this cuisine represented one of three food cultures in Turkey. As we finished our meal and watched the sunset, a couple musicians - guitar and violin - began to play. Our location enabled us to watch all of the ferry boats come and go. Occasionally, we'd see small fish being pulled up by the fishermen on the level above us. Throughout the entire time of our meal - about two hours - we had the restaurant to ourselves. The waiter said he was usually the best at pulling people in, but that he was having a down night. It didn't matter to us, but it did feel a little strange leaving the place empty while the two guys were playing, but we had had a big day and had another one planned.
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