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Published: November 25th 2006
We had no intention of heading to Istanbul. It so happened that we flew with Turkish Airlines and were given the opportunity to extend the layover at the capital. What a blessing. This city is an immense, proud and fascinating place. On arrival we were blown away by the vastness of the city. Very intimate and walkable, it is the sheer expansion that is impressive. The description of it being a blend of East and West seems about right. That said, I have become more confused as to exactly what that means. I think I grew up in a cultural atmosphere that implied "what is good is Western. We have brought modernity to the world." From this assumption I was predisposed to see a foreign city with a mix of poverty and wealth as being a mix of Western and Other elements, with the West getting credit for the better half obviously. And while it seems accurate to say union action, technological advances and democratic institutions in western countries have brought increased leisure and luxury to the middle classes, it doesn't logically follow that a high standard of living is necessarily Western. So, basically, I don't know if Turkey is a
blend of West and East or whether it is an interesting blend of order and chaos, history and modernity all forming a unique global city. Whatever the reason, there is a massive middle class here that fishes, shops and enjoys their free time. The markets here range from sketchy to elegant, all being packed with people. The are a central part of both modern and historic Istanbul and much pride is taken in their Bazaar. A muslim country, the urban areas of Istanbul that we visited seemed very tolerant both within their culture and towards outside ideas. Women, veiled or not, mingled easily on the streets. And while there was the public broadcasts of prayer five times daily, a substantial number of people appeared comfortable going about their day without noticeable interest.
Our favorite neighborhood was called Ortakoy. It was obviously the most hip, so we instantly fit in, and had excellent fruit stands and a weekend market of artisans. It is located on the European side just west of the bridge if you ever head this way. The food was simple: meat. I got a little sick for a few days after a suspect day of eating. The central
Mosques
The architecture for the mosques we have seen is remarkably uniform. neighborhood for tourism and lodging is Sultanahmet. It is pleasant enough and features an excellent tram system. There is a fairly annoying intro from the vendors that goes like this: " Hello, where are you from? Oh, really! My ______ is from there and you should come in and have a tea." From the tea it is a slippery slope towards learning the wonders of Turkish rugs and having to awkwardly escape. This ploy can be easily evaded, but for a fella from the NorthWest it is downright rude to ignore people and I am embarrased to admit I found myself in their solicitous webs more than once. Another characterstic of note was the noticeable lack of women. It appears that the Muslim tradition has drastically cut back on the public appearances of women. Boooooo. Well, it was a short stay and that's about all we noticed. Although perhaps it is important to say that we did not feel threatened once during our time. The people were either uninterested or generous in their relation with us. With the unfortunate divide supposedly setting the Muslim world and the West at odds, in this instance at least that image seems more political
Dog
They had an interesting system of tagging the street dogs with numbers in their ears. I don't know why they did it, but it exuded orderliness. than practical.
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mehmet
non-member comment
prejudices and centro-european arrogance
I think you need to stay more in Turkey and travel to other cities too in order to get rid of your prejudices and centro-european arrogance.