Home Sweet Home

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Wednesday August 9, 2006 - Once I left the hotel in Amman, I almost missed my plane. I was having trouble getting a taxi to the airport bus so the hotel manager suggested I walk there. It's only 5 minutes, he saıd. So I walked and it took 30 minutes. I missed the bus I needed to take at 2:30 and had to take the 3pm bus instead. I was supposed to be at the airport by 3pm. Then I was told the bus would take an hour, not 30 minutes. So I would be there at 4pm and was supposed to check in before 4:05pm. Not looking good but what could I do? I dozed on the way to the airport a bıt and then rushed like a madwoman when I got there. I had to go through a special screening for women only at the airport security and then I rushed up the counter. Turns out they didn't care or notice that I was late. I even got an aısle seat in an exit row - my favorite. I sat around a bıt in the airport and then ıt was time to board. It was completely sporatic, unlike orderly American boarding by row and section number. The flight was only two hours and we even got a dinner with metal utensils.

Upon arrival I got ın line to buy my visa - a $20 sticker that the woman put on page 36. I removed it and put it on page 25, the next available page ın my passport. So much more logical. Got stamped into the country and then picked up my luggage, which arrived with me this time. I got directions to my part of town - I decided to stay where all the backpackers stay, in Sultan Ahmet, near the Aya Sophia mosque. I had to get the metro to the tram. I instantly fell in love with Istanbul - public transportation was already familiar and effective. I was even adopted by a sweet older man who worked at the airport and made sure I got all the right connections. He even paid for my tram token. Very sweet. Walked down to where the hostels were and tried the fırst one I found. They were expensive and full and directed me to the Motif guesthouse next door, slightly cheaper and they had space in the dorm. So that's where I stayed. It was already dark out and it seemed as good a place as any - right behind the most famous and beautiful mosques. The only problem was that it was hot and there was not even a fan in the room. Not pleasant.

I took a shower and decided it ıs one of the worst showers ever. Nowhere decent to hang up your clothes and the spray goes in all directions, making it impossible to shower without getting some of your clothes wet. Met an Italian woman who would be leaving early in the morning and went to sleep. Slept poorly due to the heat, and needed earplugs and an eye mask as the room looked out on the street where everyone hangs out and it's loud there and bright - no curtains.

Thursday - Got up early and had breakfast, which is included in the room price. Went to the Russian embassy to ask what exactly I would need to bring with me to apply for a visa the next day. I took the metro and tram there and had a good view of a lot of Istanbul. It's a beautiful city. I love it. Very European and very expensive consequently, but absolutely beautiful. I haven't liked a city like this since Buenoa Aıres. Once I made it to the right street I had to walk about two kilometers to get to the embassy, but it was a pedestrian street, so easy walking. I had to wait in the street with everyone else until they decided to let me in to ask my questions. Turns out I may not get a visa - they want an original copy of my letter of invitation from the Russian travel agency and that will cost another $82 to send! They also want a letter from the American Embassy. So I am unsure of what to do in this case. I went to the American Embassy, which turned out to be quite a way out of town, but a beautiful bus ride. I also tried to get some money out of an ATM only to find my card wasn't working. So I went to the embassy with only a couple dollars left. They told me they could give me a free generic letter, but the Russians might want the $30 letter. I could even charge it. But I declined and thought I would just try the free one if I could even figure out how to get around the original invitation letter problem. I met an American guy in the embassy and he helped me find the right combination of buses back to Sultan Ahmet.

I came back to the hostel and phoned Christian, the son of Barbel, my tent mate in Africa. He is studying Turkish here this summer and agreed to meet me for dinner. I fırst emailed my mom and asked her to see if she could fix the ATM problem and then changed some US dollars to Turkish lyra. We met up at the Galata tower - the highest point in the city. Sadist. But it's a beautiful old tower and was a nice place to sit a while. Then we took a ferry across the water - the whole of Istanbul is on the water and ferries are very common transport - and had a kebap sandwich and watched the sunset. We walked around a bit more and were both still hungry, so we got some more food wıth cokes and dessert. Then it was time to go and Christian walked me to the ferry where we met a local guy who sat with me on the boat ride back. We chatted and he walked me to the Aya Sophia where I walked back alone. Had a quick shower and went to sleep at the same time as my four Korean roommates.

Friday - I have decided to get my Chinese visa today and wait on Russia, considering Russia is making it so difficult that I might not go there and either way I am definately going to China to meet Stephen. I made the mistake of walking to the bus station, which took me about an hour in the sweltering humidity and heat. Then I had about 40 minutes on the bus - it was in the same direction as the US office but even further. Nice coastal ride though. I had to wait outside until they called my name, and then it only too a few minutes. They didn't even request all the paperwork they told me to bring originally. Then they said I would have to pay for it at a specific bank, so I started walking. On the way there someone stopped and offered me a ride to the bank. He had been at the embassy also and I accepted. I got to the bank and had to wait about 20 minutes in line then paid and I was on my way. Driver guy was still waiting and said he was going to Taksim square and he could drive me. He said all this ın Turkish siınce he didn't speak any English at all, but it was easy enough to understand. I knew how to get home from there so I agreed. Then we drove to the Polish Embassy. It turned out he worked for a company that gets visas processed for their clients and he had to pick up a visa at 1pm. The problem was that it was only noon. So I had to sit in his car for an hour since I dıdn't know where we were. He bought me a burger and a coke and I ate lunch. Then he went to get the visa and we started driving again. And we drove and drove. Finally I was a little concerned and he said he had to go some other place BEFORE we went to Taksım. That took what seemed forever but then we did eventually get to Taksim. He said he could drive me to the Aya Sophia after this stop, and I agreed. It would stıll be quicker now, and it was already 3pm. I finally got back to the hostel area around 3:30pm. Ridiculous. Was glad to be back and done with creepy driver guy.

I came back to the hostel, wrote in my journal, met my 5th Korean roommate who was sleeping above me and was covered with some kind of festering sores. Turns out she might have been bitten by some insect that didn't agree wıth her. Indeed. After an hour or so I decided to walk around the town a bit more. Saw a lovely garden and walked there for a few minutes and then came out and ran into the guy who had walked me home from the boat last night. He invited me for some dinner so we went to get some kepabs at a place near the hostel. I then checked my ATM card again and it worked - mommy magic. Then I wanted to go check my email and kept trying to explain this to my dinner patron, but he wasn't listening or didn't care. I finally had to tell him I didn't feel comfortable with the whole conversation and that I was leaving. It was a nightmare - two creepy guys in one day.

Saturday - Today I met Chistian and his friend Christine for some sightseeing. I walked over the bridge to the ferry only to walk quickly back to the other side of the bridge in order to catch a scenic boat ride that would vbe leaving shortly. We had a nice time and enjoyed the views, chatting all the while. Once we arrived we got some spinach pastry to share and then some chips. The we waited for a bus to catch back to Taksim square. The bus we got on unfortunately was not airconditioned and Christine didn't want to ride it out, so we got off and waited for another. It took an hour or so and then we were on our way. On the ride I started to feel a bit sick and once we arrived, they looked at some crafts shops while I snuck into a hotel to use their pristine facilities. Beautiful. After that we said good bye to Christine and headed to the Egyptian spice market for a look around on our way to the Grand Bazaar. And grand it is - WOW. The place is enormous. It has everything you could ever want to buy as a tourist and ıt just goes and goes and goes. You could easily spend a day in there and I think I might do that before I leave for good.

After the market Christian and I sat outside the Aya Sophia for a bit and then walked to my hotel. He had never seen any of the guesthouses in Istanbul as he has relatives to stay with there and I needed to move my things to my new room. Though it was 6pm and check out is at 11am, my room was still not cleaned so we waited a few minutes for them to put new sheets on. There were also two kittens who kept coming in through the window - super cute but dirty. And hard to keep out. The room itself was ok but dungeony, in the basement. We moved my things in and then Christian had to get on his way. Once he left I walked around in search of food and found my way to the water where I picked up a cheap kepab type sandwich. And who should I run into? That's right - creepy boat guy. Again. I think it is called stalking. So he walked me back to the hotel where I told him good bye and yet he did the whole creepy guy pleading thing to get me to hang out. I finally had to leave again and it was akward, again. What a mess.

Went back to the hotel and relaxed - showered, wrote in my journal, swept the room because it was dirty and listened to some music while waiting for Maurits to arrive. He decided to meet me in Turkey when his other travel plans fell through. Maurits finally made his appearance after 2am - there was a lot of traffic and he was coming from the further airport. Once he got settled in we chatted a bit and then called it a night.

Sunday - Did very little today. Trying to learn the art of relaxing, which I'm normally very bad at, but Maurits is teaching me. We had a late breakfast, visited the park near the hotel, and caught up on our lives.

Monday - Got up at 5am in order to kill all the mosquitos that had gotten into the room overnight and were eating us alive. Then more of the same. Read in the park, wrote in my journal, listened to philosophies on life from someone studying philosophy. Had a good dinner and a McDonald's sundae for dessert. What - you didn't think I would completely abandon McD did you? It was yummy.

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