Tea and Games

I snapped this picture of a familiar scene around Istanbul: people playing backgammon. There is a place to stop for chai in Istanbul on virtually every corner, and when the weather is nice, the patios are full. There will be generally a few pairs of men playing backgammon while they drink their tea (and usually smoke). It was a little cold when we first arrived, but now we are starting to see this more and more often. Chai, like cappuccino in Italy, is a much more economical and quick affair here, something you can buy from a tea seller on the street in a plastic cup, on a ferry crossing the Bosphorus, or in one of the many tea gardens that dot the city, for just a lira or two (around $1.00). It's part of the fabric of the city and we use as many excuses as possible to stop to drink it!