Monday I arrived in Istanbul tired but excited to finally sit still for 2 weeks and recuperate after weeks of nonstop traveling. While I love the nomadic life, too much is too much and I needed to get back into some sort of routine.
Burakhan, Pinar, Brandon, and Baba met me at the airport to drive us back to Çengelköy on the asian side of Istanbul where Burakhan's family lives. Burakhan was Brandon's host brother 3 years ago when we were hear studying with NSLI-Y, and graciously invited us to stay with his family again for our 2 week vacation. On the way back to the house we stopped for some delicious cai at a beautiful cafe along the Bosphorus, right near to Boğaziçi Köprüsü (the first bridge connecting the asian and european sides of istanbul). After we headed back to the house to unpack and relax--waiting for anne to get home from work so we could go out and expore
That night we met up with one of Burak's friends for some traditional nargile (hookah) in downtown Çengelköy. Sitting there on the roof, smoking, watching the bridge glow different colors it felt completely natural--almost like we'd never left. Baba picked us up afterwards to bring us back home (thank goodness, with all of the hills in Istanbul it is an absolute nightmare getting up all of them after a long day of traveling).
Tuesday Burak didn't have school so we headed out to Ortakoy for waffles and kumpir (basically a baked potato amplified with delicious turkish add-ons). Ortakoy is one of my favorite spots in Istanbul--right near the bridge, with a whole bunch of cute little shops and places to eat at on the water. We sat down after getting our food in a little cafe as it started to rain, playing backgammon, smoking more nargile, and getting to know Burak's girlfriend Pinar even better. They've been dating for over a year now and are right on track for getting married here within the next few years. She's the cutest little thing ever--all smiles and broken english with a deep love and addiction for social media. We became great friends while I was there despite the language barrier.
Wednesday and Thursday Brandon and I were basically left to our own devices, which when you're traveling with Brandon Holden immediately means: shopping. I wasn't too upset about it since I had been living quite conservatively out of my backpack for the past 4 weeks and was dying to get a few new things to spice up my dull wardrobe. Especially needed clothes for going out on the town, which I finally found at Cevahir mall (one of the biggest malls in Europe). It took fucking forever to find my shoe size (most turkish women are very small all around), and a lot of people didn't even know that they made shoes that size. So, feeling like a crazy ogre, I had almost given up hope when I finally came across the black flats I had been looking for. We also made the arduous trek up to Camlica, a gorgeous little look out over the city, super romantic.
Friday we met up with our old Turkish teachers Ozan and Nazim from when we went to Istanbul last time with the State Department which was a nice change of pace. Nazim is a graduate student at Boazici University (one of the top universities in Istanbul) and Ozan teaches political economy at anohter reputable university. The pair of them together embody the idea of a true intellectual, and so picking their brain about a variety of different topics from the role of turkey in the middle east, to sexual discrimination and mandatory military service took on a whole new robust intercultural meaning. Talking with them also reaffirmed my desire to continue on with school and add to the realm of academia--they're really well read and respectable men. Just the kind of people who should be leading/influencing the next generation.
Since we arrived in Istanbul around the time of finals, the two of them had to head out kind of early to continue on with their studying/grading. Brandon and I, lenient about turning in early, opted to stick around taksim and get a few drinks ourselves. That night I had my first drink of turkish raki, which I had been toold by Brandon was the most absolutely vile drink ever. Having tried it though, I'd definitely say that the greek raki was far more disgusting, and mixing the raki with water is really the way to go. It didn't take much alcohol to get me talking, and we sat their swapping experiences and life stories for a good hour or so before heading home to the asian side.
Saturday we had planned to go out on the town with some friends Brandon made the last time we were hear, but since they had decided to party on Friday night they were too hung over to do a back-to-back night out. Regardless: we were set on going out. Pre-gamed with Burak in his room before heading out to Taksim to explore the nightclub scene. Went into several places and got lots of free drinks, before ending up at the gay bar a bit away from the center of taksim. I've already written about that experience in a past post, so I won't go into that again here. I'll just say again: amazing time.
Staying out until 6am dancing was, in retrospect, probably not the greatest idea since we had planned a family picnic the next morning at 10 am. After barely sleeping, we dragged ourselves out of bed, nearly comatose, for a day out enjoying the sun at the black sea. Picnics are a traditional turkish family outing, and when we arrived there were plenty of other families set up for their day of relaxation -hammocks, traditional music blasting, more food than anyone can ever hope to fit in their stomach with any type of pleasure. To take advantage of the sun we went tanning and swimming in the sea (freezing...absolute ice cubes). Played monkey-in-the-middle with Burak, Fatos, and Brandon before realizing a little scary fact about the black sea.
It's filled with jellyfish.
I. shit. my. pants.
There were so many of them--clear so they blended in with the water, of various shapes and sizes. In the states, if someone saw a jellyfish the logical response would be to get the fuck out. To the turkish? Pick them up. Keep swimming. Throw them at people.
Not. Funny.
I repeat: not funny.
That was the end of me swimming in the black sea, which was fine since it was about time for us to gorge ourselves on delicious barbecue. After rounds of chicken, grilled vegetables, kofte, bread, and other meats I was begging for death. Ended up passing out on one of the picnic tables as the others lounged under a shady tree, trying to catch up on sleep and recover from the night's slight hangover. Anne woke us up about an hour later for some tea, after which we packed up and headed back to Istanbul. I slept for 12 hours that night.
Monday Pinar joined the three of us for a day at one of Brandon and I's favorite tourist destinations: Buyukada. Buyukada essentially means "big island" and is one of the chain of islands right off of the coast of Istanbul--super beautiful, secluded, quiet (no cars allowed), and beautiful. We rented bikes and decided to ride around the island to soak in all of the beautiful views. Sounds like a nice time, but by about halfway through I was dead. So many hills, such scorching heat, such little shade. Istanbul definitely took it out of me with all of this physical training. I was grateful for the experience, but also glad to stop being anally raped by the bike seat after a while.
Tuesday Brandon and I headed out alone to one of my favorite little backstreet flea markets in Levent. The clothes there are super cheap (between 2-10 USD), essentially overstock from companies that manufacture a lot of their clothes in Turkey (definitely have seen h&m stuff in there). After that success we moved on to the more expensive Sultanahmet for a taste of old-historic Istanbul. Haggled a bit in the grand bazaar for some jewelry, flirted with sexy shopkeepers, and visited the beautiful blue mosque before meeting up with Burak and Pinar for dinner. Through her father's connections, we were able to eat a luxurious Turkish meal right on the bosphorus completely free of charge--getting to try some new traditional dishes that just added to my already deep love of turkish food. I was so stuffed by the end I could hardly move.
Wednesday Burak wanted to show us the University he attends just outside of Istanbul, so we went with him by bus to visit while he turned in one of his final papers. The school was really pretty--set in the middle of a green forest which was a great breath of fresh air after the stuffy city. The bus ride home was hotter than hell (Istanbul in general, hotter than hell), so we rebelled for the rest of the day by calling it a "stay inside where it is cool with the internet" night. Watched a scary turkish movie about demons (not usually my thing, but I agreed to give it a good try) and nearly pissed myself when afterwards the lights went out in the entire neighborhood. To top it all off, Pinar passed out from being so scared which made us think that SHE was possessed by demons, which made it even more scary. Turns out it was just a routine energy saving power outage, but still. Too much.
Thursday we went to Boazici University to visit Nazim who is a student/teacher there. Boazici is a beautiful university--very green with lots of shade, so different from the rest of the city that you almost forget you're in Istanbul. The University is 150 years old and very regal looking--like I said before, an ivy-league Turkish school. I'd love to go back there and be a temporary professor later in life. Definitely a new goal on the list of things to do.
Friday we spent another lazy day inside prepping for the Turkish house party we had gotten invited to by the same friends who ditched us the week earlier. While awkward in the beginning with the langauge barrier, after the alcohol started to flow it became a lot more fluid with our social interactions. Met some cool turkish people, as well as some very interesting friends from Iran. To me, they were complete anomalies and I was shocked at how much we had in common. Besides being in love with cats and preferring them to dogs, they were also obsessed with the show 'Friends' which, as anyone knows, is my life. I particularly connected with one in particular, Hamid, sharing poetry and many other philosophical outlooks on life. Hung out with them for the rest of the night and came to learn a lot more about trusting people and breaking down stereotypes/cultural fears.
Saturday we went with the entire family to this cute restaurant on top of a hill overlooking the city. Brandon went there with the family last time we were there, listening to traditional live Turkish music and taking in the views. There was also the opportunity to dress up in old traditional ottoman robes and take themed pictures, which we took advantage of and looked AWESOME. Also paddled around the lake and danced to the live band with anne and baba, sipping cai and basking in the ambiance of the place.
Sunday was another repeat picnic at the Black Sea--this time with more of the family. Convinced myself to swim fora little bit despite the jellyfish, till this dumb turkish boy thought it would be funny to chase me around with a big one in his hands trying to throw it on me. I ended up grabbing a shoe and threatening to beat the shit out of him if he came any nearer, after which he finally relented. Brandon and I also got invited to play some football on the beach with a large group of boys which was SO unbelievably hot I got blisters on the bottom of my feet. But we did each score a goal, so it was worth it. Ended the day with a large feast and lounging about in the hammock.
For my last day in Istanbul I wanted to go back to Sultanahment to get some gifts for back home. Walked around the spice bazaar for the first time, trying different turkish delights and taking in the beautiful spices. Finally converted Brandon to baclava which was absolutely divine. Walking around a city for the last time is always weird as you are trying to take so much of it in, but it also is hard to believe you won't be standing in that place for a long time again. That's how it was with Istanbul--deep down I knew it was only goodbye for a short period of time.
That night the family went out for balik ekmek (fish sandwiches) on this boat restaurant on the european side to complete my "to-eat" checklist. Afterwards we met up with another old friend of Burak and Brandon's and went out to Fenerbache to smoke nargile for the last time and generally just hang out since I was leaving early the next morning on my flight. The sports bar was really laid back and the company was great--definitely ended the night with some of the greatest people in Istanbul. Pinar in particular was a hilarious drunk, so that was fun to see. After coming home at the end of the night at around 1am, I decided to just go ahead and stay awake and pull an all nighter for my flight. Wanted to take in Istanbul until the very last second.
Overall, I loved Istanbul best probably out of all the cities I visited this time. That's hard to say because each place comes with so many great memories and people along the way, but there's just something about that city that gets me--and maybe it just is that special place I'll always hold for it as the first place I traveled to. The people, the food, the architecture, the culture, the exchange rate, THE SEXY MEN...it was great, and I already miss it. I will definitely be going back soon though. Istanbul, seni seviroyrum <3
That night we met up with one of Burak's friends for some traditional nargile (hookah) in downtown Çengelköy. Sitting there on the roof, smoking, watching the bridge glow different colors it felt completely natural--almost like we'd never left. Baba picked us up afterwards to bring us back home (thank goodness, with all of the hills in Istanbul it is an absolute nightmare getting up all of them after a long day of traveling).
Friday we met up with our old Turkish teachers Ozan and Nazim from when we went to Istanbul last time with the State Department which was a nice change of pace. Nazim is a graduate student at Boazici University (one of the top universities in Istanbul) and Ozan teaches political economy at anohter reputable university. The pair of them together embody the idea of a true intellectual, and so picking their brain about a variety of different topics from the role of turkey in the middle east, to sexual discrimination and mandatory military service took on a whole new robust intercultural meaning. Talking with them also reaffirmed my desire to continue on with school and add to the realm of academia--they're really well read and respectable men. Just the kind of people who should be leading/influencing the next generation.
Saturday we had planned to go out on the town with some friends Brandon made the last time we were hear, but since they had decided to party on Friday night they were too hung over to do a back-to-back night out. Regardless: we were set on going out. Pre-gamed with Burak in his room before heading out to Taksim to explore the nightclub scene. Went into several places and got lots of free drinks, before ending up at the gay bar a bit away from the center of taksim. I've already written about that experience in a past post, so I won't go into that again here. I'll just say again: amazing time.
It's filled with jellyfish.
I. shit. my. pants.
There were so many of them--clear so they blended in with the water, of various shapes and sizes. In the states, if someone saw a jellyfish the logical response would be to get the fuck out. To the turkish? Pick them up. Keep swimming. Throw them at people.
Not. Funny.
I repeat: not funny.
That was the end of me swimming in the black sea, which was fine since it was about time for us to gorge ourselves on delicious barbecue. After rounds of chicken, grilled vegetables, kofte, bread, and other meats I was begging for death. Ended up passing out on one of the picnic tables as the others lounged under a shady tree, trying to catch up on sleep and recover from the night's slight hangover. Anne woke us up about an hour later for some tea, after which we packed up and headed back to Istanbul. I slept for 12 hours that night.
Monday Pinar joined the three of us for a day at one of Brandon and I's favorite tourist destinations: Buyukada. Buyukada essentially means "big island" and is one of the chain of islands right off of the coast of Istanbul--super beautiful, secluded, quiet (no cars allowed), and beautiful. We rented bikes and decided to ride around the island to soak in all of the beautiful views. Sounds like a nice time, but by about halfway through I was dead. So many hills, such scorching heat, such little shade. Istanbul definitely took it out of me with all of this physical training. I was grateful for the experience, but also glad to stop being anally raped by the bike seat after a while.
Wednesday Burak wanted to show us the University he attends just outside of Istanbul, so we went with him by bus to visit while he turned in one of his final papers. The school was really pretty--set in the middle of a green forest which was a great breath of fresh air after the stuffy city. The bus ride home was hotter than hell (Istanbul in general, hotter than hell), so we rebelled for the rest of the day by calling it a "stay inside where it is cool with the internet" night. Watched a scary turkish movie about demons (not usually my thing, but I agreed to give it a good try) and nearly pissed myself when afterwards the lights went out in the entire neighborhood. To top it all off, Pinar passed out from being so scared which made us think that SHE was possessed by demons, which made it even more scary. Turns out it was just a routine energy saving power outage, but still. Too much.
Thursday we went to Boazici University to visit Nazim who is a student/teacher there. Boazici is a beautiful university--very green with lots of shade, so different from the rest of the city that you almost forget you're in Istanbul. The University is 150 years old and very regal looking--like I said before, an ivy-league Turkish school. I'd love to go back there and be a temporary professor later in life. Definitely a new goal on the list of things to do.
Saturday we went with the entire family to this cute restaurant on top of a hill overlooking the city. Brandon went there with the family last time we were there, listening to traditional live Turkish music and taking in the views. There was also the opportunity to dress up in old traditional ottoman robes and take themed pictures, which we took advantage of and looked AWESOME. Also paddled around the lake and danced to the live band with anne and baba, sipping cai and basking in the ambiance of the place.
Sunday was another repeat picnic at the Black Sea--this time with more of the family. Convinced myself to swim fora little bit despite the jellyfish, till this dumb turkish boy thought it would be funny to chase me around with a big one in his hands trying to throw it on me. I ended up grabbing a shoe and threatening to beat the shit out of him if he came any nearer, after which he finally relented. Brandon and I also got invited to play some football on the beach with a large group of boys which was SO unbelievably hot I got blisters on the bottom of my feet. But we did each score a goal, so it was worth it. Ended the day with a large feast and lounging about in the hammock.
For my last day in Istanbul I wanted to go back to Sultanahment to get some gifts for back home. Walked around the spice bazaar for the first time, trying different turkish delights and taking in the beautiful spices. Finally converted Brandon to baclava which was absolutely divine. Walking around a city for the last time is always weird as you are trying to take so much of it in, but it also is hard to believe you won't be standing in that place for a long time again. That's how it was with Istanbul--deep down I knew it was only goodbye for a short period of time.
Overall, I loved Istanbul best probably out of all the cities I visited this time. That's hard to say because each place comes with so many great memories and people along the way, but there's just something about that city that gets me--and maybe it just is that special place I'll always hold for it as the first place I traveled to. The people, the food, the architecture, the culture, the exchange rate, THE SEXY MEN...it was great, and I already miss it. I will definitely be going back soon though. Istanbul, seni seviroyrum <3
