The Globe-trotting Teacher

Pictures didn't do Istanbul justice. Magnificent mosques, beautiful buildings with interesting histories, and the best food I'd ever eaten. We'd begun the day at the Topkapi Palace and the itinerary said we'd visit the Hagia Sophia before lunch. After a brief overview of Topkapi's history, our tour guide told us we could split up and explore on our own. Absolutely!
I left the sacred relics building, blinking in the sunlight, and realized I couldn't see any of my fellow travelers. I wandered down a tiled corridor, my concern increasing by the minute. I heard my name. Jen and Steve, the young hipster couple with our tour, came out of the tunnel stairway to my left. They too were feeling left behind.
We discussed the situation and decided to go on. As Steve said, we had to keep to the itinerary, right? We left Topkapi and headed up the street through crowds of tourists, playing "Guess Their Nationality" - Japanese retirees here, French teenagers there? A pushy carpet vendor tried to convince Steve to buy his wife a rug, but we claimed shipping costs as a deterrent.
The Ayasofya, according to the signs, was obviously on everyone's itinerary that day, judging by the length of the lines. Jen, Steve, and I took turns holding our places in line and looking for our tour group. No one appeared and we entered the ancient basilica turned mosque turned museum. It was huge. My apartment building could have fit under the dome. And beautiful. The partially restored mosaics depicted saints and our trio (none of us religious scholars) quizzed each other on who they might have been. We snapped photos, explored the galleries, and marveled at how many feet must have passed over the floor to wear the stone and tiles down to their present dips and grooves.
There was still no sign of our group and we were hungry, so we headed up the street once more to the restaurant indicated by the itinerary. We found a table by the window and ordered. Tavuk shish (chicken kebab) for me and Jen, chorba (lentil soup) for Steve the vegetarian. As our food arrived, our tour guide appeared. We waved. He nearly knocked over a waiter in rushing to us. Our group had never left Topkapi! They had been looking for us, paging us over the loudspeaker, and had considered calling the police and local hospitals.
To this day the others insist we got lost. Steve, Jen, and I disagree. We just followed the itinerary.