Wow, there's a lot of understated drama here, including an unmarked police stop and entry into two forbidden zones. You've got nerve under pressure and then some. Even risking a rental car on dirt roads is something I've only done once in my life.
And then you have the usual great pictures!
The Near East Relief reference also brought back childhood memories since my paternal grandparents met through them in Istanbul in the early 1920s. They had quite a few stories to tell that I remember still.
"Vernissage," by the way, is technically the opening night party for a new art gallery show . . . not quite what you had here I guess. ("Floor varnishing" somehow comes out with that meaning in French.) All close enough, maybe?
So congratulations on another off-the-charts great trip and write-up.