The Student: Istanbul and Back Again

Some long weekends are better than others. This last one was probably the best one I've ever had. Monday, while working on a research design proposal for a class I received a text from a friend asking a simple, "I've got something to ask you. Wanna go somewhere next weekend?" Istanbul was already on Imran's mind...and as soon as I checked that I could afford it the tickets were booked. The planning stages took a whole hour and a half. I've never felt so unprepared for a trip. I didn't have time to be nervous. I would give a presentation over the EU's internal energy market Tuesday, turn in a research design proposal Wednesday, go to an event that night and then Thursday hop on a flight to Istanbul. No time to think (and barely enough time to pack).

We landed late and had to get a bus into the city so we didn't get in until after midnight and it didn't take us more than 2 minutes to get lost. The instructions to our hostel were a little less than clear, and after walking some back streets for a while we asked a man in one of the shops that was still open. He didn't speak English but after hearing the street name he motioned the general directions with his hands, and 5 minutes later we found the hostel (with no help from them since there wasn't a sign or anything).

This trip was great because Imran and I both are the type of traveler that doesn't mind if they miss something as long as it's relaxing and you get a real feel for the city. I always hate having a set schedule and rushing all over the place to see the sights. I want to eat around the locals and walk among them in the streets, and on this trip that's definitely what we did.

The first day we woke up early and started the walk toward the Old City, which we were told would take 20 minutes but is really closer to 30-45...at least when you don't know where you're going. After walking down Istikal Avenue, the main shopping street, most of the way we saw the big change in Istanbul. Crossing Galata Bridge to the Old City is like going back in time. This is the area we got lost in several times, but is also the area that you would think of when thinking about Istanbul. It has all the big mosques (we saw the Yeni or New Mosque, and Sultanahmet/Blue Mosque), as well as the Grand Bazaar, Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Hippodrome, Basillica Cistern and more. We were here on a Friday, which is the holy day for Muslims and so Imran went inside the Blue Mosque for prayer while I waited outside and watched the overflow as they did theirs. It's really a totally different experience being in a city where you constantly hear the calls for prayer throughout the day over the city noise.

I just realized that I'm not sure how to put this vacation in a post. I want to tell you everything. I'm really going to cut this down to the main points I guess.

We spent a lot of time in cafes having tea and baklava or trying whatever other food we could get our hands on. I tried kokorec (which is tripe on a sandwich essentially), kofte, beyti kebab, kizilkayalar burgers, ayran, sahlep, raki liquor, and several Turkish beers...as if you didn't guess I'd search those out. Imran and I both decided that we could easily live in Istanbul. The people are friendly, and after getting used to the language it takes on a bit of charm.

The second day sort of got lost because we were so tired from the first day we decided to sleep in a little bit, and then I had to go get a new pair of shoes because when I finally took them off at the hostel the first night I held them up and there was light coming through the bottom and several parts where the sole was completely gone. While trying on new shoes the guy working asked what I thought of Obama, which I attempted to avoid altogether since you never know what you're going to get if you tell your real views, no matter what they are.

After that we went back to the hostel for a bit and met some other people staying there, and we all decided to go out as a group that day to the Grand Bazaar; lucky for us because we'd planned to save that until the next day, which is the one day it would have been closed. I got a few knockoff jerseys as well as a rug, some gifts and an awesome Turkish tea set.

The third day we took a ferry across the Bosphorous to the Asian side, which didn't have a ton to see but was interesting nonetheless because of its differences. We didn't stay too long, but it was good to say we've been at least.

There are so many little things that happened that I'd love to tell you all but I really don't want to make the post too long so I'm going to save them for myself I think.

Our trip to Turkey was truly one of the greatest experiences I've ever had. I honestly don't know what to say about it other than it changes your perspective when you get to do things like this.