Thank you, Starbucks. Thank you, Burger King.

I’m in Bursa for my weekly observation of the sermon selection meeting at the offices of the mufti. The ferryboat from Istanbul arrives early so I always have about three hours to kill. I’ve found that the most comfortable place to hang out is the Starbucks at a mall near the mufti building. This is also one of the only places where I can charge my laptop and sit for hours without being engulfed in cigarette smoke.

Thanks for the electricity, Starbucks.*

After a few hours there I catch lunch upstairs at a restaurant with healthy homestyle food, out of place among the McDonald’s, Burger King, and other fast food joints in the food court.

After lunch I hang out in the middle of the slightly smoky food court and connect to a really strong wi-fi connection provided free of charge, perhaps unknowingly, by Burger King.

Thanks for the wireless, Burger King.

*I caught a grammatical error on a Starbucks napkin. It made me wonder if they have the same napkins in the U.S. and if anyone would complain.