Ephesus was probably my favorite place for ancient ruins.  It has the third largest library of the ancient world, the only one still left.  The city is mostly intact, so you can really get a sense of what it looked like so long ago.  This is the same Ephesus mentioned in the Bible, St. John came here, as it was the capital of Asia Minor, and he looked after Mary in her old age.  According to legend, the house where Mary lived and died is here.  
The modern town here is Selcuk.  I stayed in a guesthouse run by a Kurdish man.  He had Kurdish Syrian refugees for neighbors and the terrace had an amazing view of Selcuk castle.  It was nice for eating breakfast or sitting in the evening hearing the Muslim call to prayer and watching the city.  He took me to the beach on his motorcycle.  Riding along the Mediterranean is one of my favorite memories of the trip.  The beach had Muslim women fully covered and women in bikinis and everything in between.  You can see the Greek island of Samos from the beach.  Unfortunately the international ferries were not running due to Covid.
The town has ancient Roman or Byzantine aqueducts in the center of town.  It is walkable, there is a huge Saturday market, cafes, teahouses (only men go to teahouses in Turkey).  It felt like the small Italian towns I've been to in the past.  In the evenings, people gather and walk around the town and socialize outside.  It's a nice feeling of community.

This was amazing.  The city of Troy.  Who knows if Helen was real.  The horse was probably not real.  But Homer was almost certainly there, as his descriptions match the city and landscape perfectly.  The site is very interesting to see the different archaeological layers, the walls are 20 feet thick, and there are still Roman water pipes in their original position.  This was one of my favorite days.  It was also a very pretty journey.  We drove past miles of sunflower fields and crossed the very vivid blue Dardanelles Strait.  I learned more about Gallipoli this day from some Australian tourists and why it is so important to Australia.  In the future I would like to see Gallipoli also.

I use a fast-acting insulin since I use an insulin pump.  In most of the pharmacies around town, they only had this form in a pen.  I need it in a vial so I can refill my pump.  I had to ask around to find it - a guy working at my guesthouse recommended a clinic.  They didn't have it, but they recommended a pharmacy near the university.  When I got there, they had to order the vials, but they would arrive in two days.  In the meantime, he gave me an insulin pen for FREE (with the correct type of insulin, just not as a vial....  so I did use this for my bolus.  Insulin pens in the US are about $100 each with no insurance, and the pharmacist here gave it to me for free because he felt bad that they had to order the vials).  I went back two days later, and picked up four vials of insulin for $12.50 (US dollars) each.  With no insurance and with no prescription.  In the US, a prescription is required, and with no insurance, they are $300 each.  I understand that the insulin would be free for Turkish citizens since they have universal health care.  However, I did meet someone later with a child with type 1 diabetes, and with the language barrier, I'm not sure if his son is not using a pump, or if he is not using a continuous sensor because of the cost. 
So, from what I can see, the basic need - insulin - is more affordable (free) for Turkish people as the price is not controlled by a pact of insulin manufacturers as in the US and healthcare is not tied to your employment status.  However, more advanced diabetes technology may be more difficult to obtain than in the US (although it is really only available to insured patients in the US).  Also, it seems the logistics are better in the US, as Novolog and Humalog (fast acting insulins) are pretty typical and can be found at any pharmacy instead of relying on specialized pharmacies near a university.

Outside of Sultanahmet, men are not aggressive and the city is fun and lively.  People were very nice and friendly and helpful.  Istanbul has a lot if interesting history (a lot of it is in Sultanahmet, you just have to get used to the men there).  I needed to pick up insulin in the university district.  This was my first time to a new part of town, and I couldn't believe the difference.  I stopped for lunch at a cafe, there was no harassment, prices were quite cheap, and the food seemed better.  The server was excited about buffalos in the US, and he taught chess to children.  He gave me a copy of his book that he wrote that he uses to teach kids (side note:  I do know how to play chess.  I learned in sixth grade.  I feel the need to explain that here because I know that sexist men reading this will assume that I don't know how to play).  It was nice to experience a new part of the city, and this was the first day I didn't feel like a target here.
I really liked the Beyoglu neighborhood.  It felt very European, but there are lots of cute shops and cafes and bars, and the shop owners are not harassing you off the street.  This is where the medieval Galata Tower is.

I can't lie.  It took me a few days to like Istanbul.  I loved it once I got the hang of it.  As a solo woman, there is ZERO room for small talk.  I stayed in Sultanahmet, the old town, and salespeople will pounce and harass you.  One friend described it as "hunting".  My very first day in the city, I went to Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.  They are close together, and in between there was a long line of people purchasing museum passes (they are way over priced).  I was looking around trying to figure out if I needed tickets for either the Hagia Sophia or the Blue Mosque, and immediately a man in a tie moved in.  He answered my question about not needing tickets, and he said he would show me the entrance to the Blue Mosque.  As we were walking that way, he said he has a carpet shop nearby and asked if I was interested in purchasing a carpet.  I said I wasn't, but I might stop in later in the week to look around.  Well, the Blue Mosque was closed for prayers (I'm sure he already knew that), and he talked me into "just looking" at his shop, and then I can return to the mosque after prayers.  
I should have known.  I've been to carpet and textile shops in India.  It was the same thing.  Some guy claimed to be the first guy's uncle, laid out a bunch of carpets on the floor and kept saying there was no pressure to buy.  But of course there was a lot of pressure.  They were pushing me to buy two $1000 (US dollars) carpets.  I said I don't make large purchases like that without planning ahead.  He said if he were me he would buy the carpets and then adjust my budget for the rest of my trip.  I said I had to leave, so then they tried to talk me into leather handbags in the $400 range (again, US dollars).  I got myself out of there, heading to the mosque, and the guy tries to get me to see he friend at a travel agency to book a tour to Cappadocia.  I did mention to him that I was planning to go to Cappadocia, as lots of people do from Istanbul, but I said I wasn't ready to book anything.  Something in my snapped, I said I had to leave, and I walked out the door.  The guy followed me into the street, yelled at me, caused a scene, and called me a dishonest American.  As soon as he walked away, another guy walked up to me to ask where I was from.
All over this part of town the men are pretty aggressive in selling things, getting people to come to their restaurants, and even just talking to women.  One block advertised a "harassment-free zone" as they didn't have men shouting at you trying to get people to eat at their restaurants.  Walking through the grand bazaar a guy at a carpet shot asked me to look in his shop.  I shook my head no and kept walking and he called out "Why not?"  I had two different men at two different restaurants make roses out of napkins for me.  I quickly learned to make no small talk at all.  Absolutely none.  As someone from the midwest, this is not easy, and it feels a little rude, but it's just the way it is.  You need to make eye contact just for a split second so they know that you know they are there.  Any longer and the men think it's an invitation to talk, flirt, or sell you something.  And no smiling AT ALL.  Also hard as a midwesterner, but it's a necessary skill to survive Istanbul.

I was here just long enough to sleep in a comfy hotel room.  With jet lag and the long flight, I didn't really feel like trying to explore the city.  By the time I got to my hotel room, it was about 8 pm, and I needed to be back at the airport the next day by 9 am.  I took a shower, had dinner, and went to sleep.  Not much to report.
I did make a few observations.  (I did do a three day stopover here on my way to India in 2019, so I did see the city earlier...) The subway has a special car for women and children.  Men caught in this car are fined.  The airport is beautiful and silent.  There are no announcements, it is very clean and bright.  The airport really feels more like a fancy hotel than an airport.
I did have an unusual experience going through passport control.  My last name was different than the last time I was in the country (I was a little late changing the name on my passport), so I had to go to a special office and they scanned my eyes.  That's the end of the story.  Not a lot to it, but it was the most exciting story I have so far trying to get into a country.  For a few minutes I wasn't sure I would be allowed in.  They were very nice and efficient, and within a few moments I was through the gate and on my way.