My friend, my friend

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I’m going to write a separate entry for each port city. Of course, I haven’t written these in the moment, but the only way I’m going to get any details out to you is if I do my best to recap my experiences in retrospect and then post them individually. Internet is way to scarce here in Europe for me to try and write this stuff on the fly.

So to start, let’s go back to the beginning with Istanbul since I didn’t really give too much insight then. We had 24 hours in Istanbul, but we had some extra rehearsals to deal with, so the outings were sporadic and short. I took a lot of pictures of the city as we sailed in. It was the first big city I’d seen since I got on board and it really is breathtaking. Every spare bit of space seemed to be occupied. There were buildings on top of buildings on top of buildings and then there was a mosque every mile or so. It’s amazing to think that these cities have been around longer than anything I have ever known . . . and you can tell. This city was ragged and had the wrinkles of an ancient city. It’s also a booming metropolis, so imagine lots of traffic and the natural weathering of an ocean side city, coupled with the fact that this city has been built over more times than an Indian burial ground, and you’re beginning to get the picture. Everything about it was old and tired. I did manage to get a decent picture of a rainbow though as the overcast sky was clearing up just as we sailed in.

This was also the first time I’d actually ventured out into a city where I truly was out of my element. I didn’t know the language and I couldn’t even read the signs. I had no idea where to go and I’d heard how much the Turks hated Americans, so I did my best to keep to myself and avoid the stigma of a tourist. I definitely wasn’t about to go out on my own—which makes it harder to get out and see as much as possible, but it’s a sketchy town and I was going to step lightly.

So a few coworkers and I went out for an early dinner. It was about a ten minute walk from the port, down a few city streets and back out by the waterfront to an area that had several restaurants and a very “for the tourists” kind of vibe. Of course, the entire walk consisted of vendors and restaurant owners trying to draw us into their establishments. I think Turkey invented the “hard sell”. We found an ATM with an English option so we could get some Turkish Lira (not knowing exactly what the conversion rate was and hoping that 50 Turkish Lira was enough and also not too much comparatively—turns out it equals about $40). The restaurant we finally did walk into had menus in English, which was great, but they also had a very American menu. There was pizza, pork chops, and fajitas listed. Not quite the authentic Turkish meal I was looking for, but I was a rookie in the crowd and didn’t want to rock the boat (so to speak). The irony about the American menu is that the wait staff had no idea what we were asking for when we ordered. It was like they’d never read the menu. We had to point to what we wanted. My friend Molly ordered a chocolate shake and it took a good two minutes to clarify. I ordered the lamb chop, because I figured lamb was as close to authentic as I could get in a place like this.

Slowly our food came out one by one, and somehow, I got a chocolate shake without ordering one. But my meal never came. So the best we could figure is that when I said “lamb chop” they understood “chocolate shake”. In the end though I was fine with my shake (which actually tasted more like chocolate milk) because I actually wasn’t that hungry, and I really didn’t want to attempt to get my lamb now that everyone was almost done with their food.

We walked back to the ship as the sun was setting. It was really pretty seeing the sun set over the water and the city. My friends were walking fast, so it was hard to stop to take pictures, but I got a few of the buildings we passed. There was free internet available from the bow of the ship, so I tried to check my email and such. The connection was super slow and hard to hold onto, so I didn’t stay on for long. I did notice while I was out there though, that there were about a billion jellyfish down in the water around the port. And since I had free internet, I took a moment to research the phenomenon. Apparently, it’s a bit of an epidemic this season and not that common in Turkey. I think the jellyfish are actually ruining a few vacations. I wouldn’t recommend going for a swim in Istanbul anytime soon.

After rehearsal that night a few of us decided to venture out to a hookah bar to hang out. The town was still sketchy (particularly at 1am), but we were a large enough group and a few of my coworkers are pretty tough looking. Besides, there’s a hookah bar pretty much around every corner, so we didn’t have to walk far. Everywhere you look is a land of beanbag chairs and coffee tables outside just waiting for you to plop down and chill. It was a nice way to finish out the evening. And it’s cheap. I had some apple tea which was pretty fantastic and I was able to get to know a few people from the entertainment department, so all in all, it was a good night.

And that was Istanbul, Turkey. It was my first and last time seeing it on this ship since we won’t be going back to Turkey before we cross the Atlantic. I didn’t see a lot, but it left enough of an impression to stay with me for a while.

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Comments

[JM in Transit]

istanbul on $40 a day?
wow this sounds amazing even though you only got a little glimpse. I can't wait to see what pictures you did take. I'm dying to get to turkey. be safe! miss you!