I left my Heart in Istanbul

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If I say I fell in love with Istanbul yesterday, I think now would be a good time to start sending out the Wedding invitations. Things between us are starting to get pretty serious. Not only does Istanbul have a charming, timeless beauty like so many ancient European cities, but it's architecture, culture and history make it stand out head over heels above ther rest.

Our second and final day in Istanbul got off to an interesting start. Still jetlagged, we woke up late for a continental terrace level breakfast. While I don't have much good to say about the breakfast of mini pastries and sour orange juice, the hotel made up for it with its fabulous rooftop view. Observing the city from above gave me one more reason to fall madly in love. Towering turets, Ferries and fishing boats sailing the bosphorous, not to mention a view of the already amazing Blue Mosque that was to die for. While breakfast may have been lackluster, my feelings towards Istanbul were not waivered by it...I mean even prince charming has a few flaws...

After breakfast we got off to an early hike through the Sultanhmet district, the oldest and most central area in this ancient city. We visited the hippodrome which was full of ancient columns and fountains built by ancient Turks or awarded by foreign nations to famous Turkish Sultans. We then moved on to admire the Blue Mosque and the World famous Hagia Sofia, this time both from the outside, since Mondays are days of worship and the public is not allowed to view during these very intimate and private Muslim services.

Okay, so here's the part where I have to admit perhaps my greatest travelling flaw: I can't read a map. Like at all. Even in English, so put the map in a foreign language as confusing as Turkish and you're asking for a disaster. That's the story behind our next hike through Istanbul. We were supposed to walk to the Grand Bazaar, but we took what I'll go ahead and describe as "the scenic route". Don't get me wrong, the streets in Istanbul are all amazing. Tiny little local shops in old buildings all full of friendly people, and the scenic route did offer us the chance to get some pretty amazing views, but it also made for some worn out travelers. Afterall, Istanbul is anything but flat. The roads are narrow and hilly, not exactly the most pleasent to navigate your way around.

However, after our scenic route, we eventually found a few ATMs, a starbucks and finally the famous Bazaar, which lives up to all its hype believe me. Now, I will admit, to a shopping enthusiast such as myself, just the idea of visiting essentially the worlds first commerce center (code for world's first shopping mall...), the reality of stepping foot inside the Great Bazaar is awe inspiring. And from my first few steps inside, I knew the massive shopping center would live up to my expectations. There were rows and rows of little shops and boutiques selling everything from fancy jewlrey and leather jackets, to world reknowned carpet, local trinkets, blue jeans, and children's toys. The only part of the Bazaar that did frustrate me was the mass amounts of over enthusiastic salesmen and women trying to coerce me into shopping and spending money at their shops and stands. If I could have had 1 turkish Lira for every time I heard "Lady please come here." or "You want this" or some other variation of give me your money please I would have had enough money to buy up the entire Bazaar. I did end up buying some Turkish "good luck" jewelry for myself and some friends at home, excited by both the price and the symbolism of the accesories. Plus, who can't use a little good luck?

After a full hour of crowded, hassled shopping, we finally found an exit to the Bazaar and went on to look for some authentic Turkish food. The night before our jetlagged sense of adventure found us eating nothing more than cheese and sausage pizzas (although believe me these were not your typical dominos style pizzas). We eventually picked a small outdoor cafe where we all ordered meatball ka-bobs (ka-bobs being a Turkey/Istanbul specialty) and sat around relaxing and soaking in the view.

Perhaps one of the most fun things about Istanbul is the stray cats that wander around the city. You see them everywhere, under your table at restaurants, on rooftops, balconies and ledges all throughout the city. At lunch not only did 2 come straight to our table, but we also witnessed 3 or 4 scaling the city rooftops as we ate. Locals seem barely phased by the feline invasion, often talking to or petting the cats as they pass them on the streets. But for someone who lives in a society dominated by the Human Society, PETA and other pet rescue organizations, I'm not used to such a large amount of unclaimed pets.

From lunch we decided to rough it and figure out public transportation as we headed back to the Istanbul airport to pick up my uncle. Now as frustrating as language barriers are, they're even more frustrating when combined with technology, which I learned when trying to purchase subway tickets. Reading subway maps in Turkish isn't easy either, ask my fence hopping Grandmother who illegally bypassed the subway entrance to try and read it, while the rest of us watched in hilarious horror, hoping not to have a run in with Turkish police...

We did eventually figure out both the subway map and the ticket machiene and we made our way on what we assumed would be a short adventure with Turkish public transportation. However 1 wrong stop and over an hour later we finally found ourselves back at the Istanbul airport. Don't get me wrong, public transportation is a great way to really experience a city. It puts you right next to locals and forces you to see parts of the city you'd never see walking or through a taxi cab. Buses were one of my favorite parts of studying abroad, not only because of the interaction with the locals but also the sense of accomplishment you get when you finally figure out how to get where you need to go.

After picking up my uncle and another hour of subway rides and transfers we finally got off at Emilou and found ourselves a ferry boat for both beautiful nighttime views of Istanbul and a trip to the Asian side of the city so we could all cross another continent off of our list (I'm at 4 of 7 now). Granted by this point it was cold and rainy, and not exactly prime ferry boat weather, but its not everyday you get the chance to experience 2 continents so we made it happen. The boat actually turned out being my favorite experience in Istanbul...the city is phenomenally beautiful at night, and hearing the call of the prayer being yelled from lit up mosques and turets on both sides of the Bospphorous is one of those moments I'm pretty sure I'll remember forever. When we reached the Asian side, it was surreal realizing I was walking on a whole different continent.

After our cruise we found a small, ritzy fish restaurant off the river and got dinner and a bottle of wine to celebrate our final night in Istanbul. The waiters brought out carts of freshly caught and slaughtered fish asking us over and over again which fish we wanted for dinner...he even made the shrimp dance. The wait staff at the restaurant were EXTREMELY complimentary as well, apparently blue eyes and blonde hair are a hit in Turkey, they kept telling my family how beautiful I was and even brought free dessert to our table after dinner.

As we walked home in the cold rain that night, the weather sort of symbolized my feelings about these being my last few hours in Istanbul. In only a few hours I fell in love with the culture and people of this city and in only a few more hours I'd be leaving it. My mom, brother and I took one last walk in the pouring rain, soaking in as many of the last minute sights as we could, admiring the Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque by night.

Waking up to the call of the prayer this morning truley was bittersweet, knowing it was the last one I'd hear, but also realizing that in a few more hours I'd be landing in Athens, a city I've dreamed of visiting since the first time I learned of it in second grade. So as I packed my things and soaked up one final view of the Blue Mosque in all its early morning glory, I was forced to break it off with Istanbul (afterall we all know long distance things never work out), and hope that my heartbreak of leaving Istanbul behind can be soothed by our arrival in Athens

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Comments

[raj maitra]

gap/ turkey/ tour leader like ataturk
great tour of istanbul/turkey. compliments to a fearless tour guide, all of 25yrs age with gap tours, thank you gap, khoran, and turkey, raj and margaret