After a month in Istanbul, this is what we look like...

Actually, this fine drawing comes to us courtesy of a neighbor, eight year-old Alican. The son of a co-worker, Alican (pronounced like "Ali John", since the letter c in Turkish makes the "j" sound) is a bright and very friendly boy. And pretty talented, too: not only does he like to draw (Indiana Jones is a favorite), he also plays the violin and is an avid chess player.

His sketch above reminds us of the following cartoon from The New Yorker, called "Portrait"—although Alican's artistry obviously outshines little Billy's, by far:

"Mrs. Hammond! I'd know you anywhere from little Billy's portrait of you."

Below is an animated version of that New Yorker cartoon. And who knows? Maybe one day Alican's artistic talents will lead him into animation, too. Disney and Pixar, watch out!

Thanks a lot, Alican, for a really nice drawing of us!