Istanbul, Turkey - Day 3

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After waking up at about 2:30PM in the afternoon, I rolled out of couch and became semi-functional. Sibel was coming down with a cold, so she was pretty much out for the rest of the weekend. But, Tufan was hanging out on Ikslik street at his friend's Japanese shop. So, I eventually wandered over there to have a coffee with him and his friend. Tufan makes a mean coffee. In fact, the Turkish coffee that I was used to having in Albania is not at all like the Turkish coffee that I've had in Istanbul. There are no coffee grinds and it is more like American drip, then espresso. It's also kind of fruity...it's hard to explain.

His friend didn't really speak English, so it was mainly Tufan and I chatting. I find the attitude and concepts of thought from the few Turkish people I've spoken to be similar to Greece. There's sort of a rebellious, kitchy spirit wrapped in a layer of proper tradition. It's not at all the way I imagined after having been in Albania for so long. I think my views of Turkey may have been somewhat clouded by my Albanian experience. Istanbul is a very cool, chill place that is quite European. Something of note, while on the tour, we passed the area called little Albania which is apparently very wealthy and right next to the wealthiest neighborhood in Istanbul called Bebek, which is where the famous people live. It makes me wonder why more Albanians don't immigrate to Turkey.

I took the metro to the train station with Tufan's help. The train station is right outside of the Sirkeci stop on the tram. I wanted to buy a train ticket to Sofia. However, the train rails are under construction. So, I would have had to pay 44 lira for a train ride that would take 5 hours to the border, then a 13 hour bus ride. Apparently, there is a bus place around the corner (Payyukalle (sp?)). The bus ticket is 46 lira and takes only 8 hours. It leaves at 10PM, 8PM for the shuttle bus from the train station shop (free...and 30 minutes late). It then arrives in Sofia, Bulgaria at almost exactly 6AM. You have to wake up at about 1AM to go through the border crossing which is cold! It takes about an hour and a half to get all the way through. But, it isn't too much of a pain.

After I checked my options, I decided to head back to the hostel by walking...I got lost...very lost. It took me a couple of hours to find my way, and only because some guy walked me there. Men in Istanbul are VERY friendly. Though, usually it's to try and sell you something or get you to have tea. They seem to be pretty harmless...unlike in Barcelona. This guy was quite nice and walked me all the way back to my hostel. Otherwise, I might still be looking for it.

Once back, I took a tiny nap...then, got ready to go out again. I met up with Tufan, and I was late. It's a good thing they are Turkish, because if they were American I'd have heard an earful for my lateness. There are def some things I really appreciate about being in other countries...forgiveness for lateness is one of them! We met at the local meeting point this highschool on Ikslik Street that has these really beautiful old columns. Tufan was with his friend from the store and his brother who had married a Japanese woman, which was the inspiration for the store.

We went out to a bar and went to the top for live music, but we didn't have reservations so we were turned away. Apparently, the weekends are all about reservations. Instead we hung out in front on the little walking only street/alley drinking beer. I had turkish Raki for the first time. It's like Greek ouzo (the black licorice), it was highly unpleasant. But, I finished it like a trooper. We chilled there pretty much all night just chatting. Tufan's friends left a bit before us, I think they were frozen out, because it was def getting colder as the night wore on. At about 3:30Am, we went and grabbed a shwarma at the edge of Ikslik street, then I hopped in a cab back to the hostel. This time I had brought a map. Though, the guy totally tried to be a jerk and drive the wrong way. We got into it a bit, but ultimately I only ended up paying 15 lira from Taksim to Sultan Ahmet. And, finally, Sleeeeep!

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