Istanbul is not Turkey

View of Istanbul from Maggie's rooftop

After Machine night we woke up at 1pm, surrounded by obnoxious cats. Maggie was a fun host but her house was filthy - not the best CS experience I've ever had. I'll spare you the details. Fortunately her party girl attitude and hospitality made up for it. She invited us to a belated Thanksgiving feast that just so happened to be 99% vegetarian. I stuffed myself silly while meeting a ton of foreigners. Yum.

The next day I went to school. Remember my "little and gay" Turkish friend Arda? He attends Istanbul Technical University (ITU) and invited us for a tour. We met up with Arda and Hilal and they showed us around the building. It was once a hospital and didn't resemble a university at all. Even the classes were a bit strange, with students coming and going as they pleased. It's a beautiful location with waterfront views, only partially blocked by the nearby high-rise Ritz Carlton Hotel.

In the evening I went to another school, the Bosphorus University. A friend of a friend from Bellingham has been studying in Istanbul for several months now, and I contacted her about meeting up. It's always nice to see someone from home...even if you've never met before! Liv showed me around her part of town and introduced me to a couple friends, Eileen and Momoko. She was rather busy making travel plans for her visa, so I was presented with a dilemma. In Liv's words: "You can watch my boyfriend and me make travel arrangements, or watch two pretty girls making dinner for you. Of course, if you come with me there will be plenty of witty banter."

I may appreciate witty banter, but there are some things I appreciate more. The decision was an easy one :)

The girls prepared manti and çeg kofte for dinner - both Turkish dishes. Çeg kofte was traditionally prepared with raw meat and spices pressed together, then eaten in a lettuce wrap or durum. Nowadays it's more common to find vegetarian çeg kofte because of health concerns over raw meat consumption. I think they use bulgar or something. It's tasty.

I considered staying with Eileen and Momoko (their couch was a bit more civilized than Maggie's) but unfortunately wasn't allowed to. The girls live in a dorm.Visitors are required to check in with ID and leave before 1am. So I reluctantly caught a late bus back to Taksim and crashed once again on the ugly red couch.

The next day Riaki, Sarah, and I set out to meet our American friend Maggie whom we had met a week earlier at Fethiye Guesthouse. Yes, there were two American Maggie's and yes, it was confusing. Ria and Sarah wanted to take the bus and I wanted to take the metro. Solution? A race! We had thirty minutes to cross the city - north of Taksim to Eminonu - via our preferred method. It was close but I managed to win by about 3 minutes. Metro FTW!

Together with Maggie we explored Istanbul's cistern. Several people had recommended the cistern to us so we had to check it out. Descending underground, we found ourselves surrounded by pillars and water. It was eerie. In the back of the cistern we observed two giant pillars, each with the head of Medusa carved at their base. If looks could kill...

Cistern

We also visited one of Istanbul 's most famous sights, the grand Blue Mosque. Shoes off for all; covered heads for the ladies, we marveled at the architecture while Muslim worshipers prayed around us. It was disappointing to see hordes of tourists with no respect for the holy site...yammering and snapping away while neglecting to wear the proper attire. Fortunately, no amount of ignorance could ruin the extraordinary sight and I enjoyed it immensely.

In the evening we stayed with a new CS host whose name escapes me at the moment. He has a big apartment 2km north of Taksim. Not as conveniently located as Maggie's but it certainly was cleaner! Our stay wasn't bad but I didn't feel overly welcome, either. Maybe he was planning on just having the girls come. Whatever the case, I tired of sleeping on the floor after one night and decided to part ways. I found a nice, centrally located hostel in Sultanahmet. Great location, waterfront view, comfy looking bed, and reasonable price. It seemed perfect. More on that later.

It was my last night in Istanbul. I wanted to go out with a bang, so we started the night out at Papillon. I met Sarah, Ria, and Toby, a German guy staying with them at guy-whose-name-I-can't-remember's place. Earlier I had purchased a small notebook to pass on to one of my fellow travelers. My idea: buy a notebook, write something about myself, where I am, and what I'm doing. Then give it to another traveler. They write in it and pass it on. I wrote my contact info and address on several pages, requesting that the notebook be sent back to me when it's full. We'll see what happens! Currently the book is in India with Ria...

After everyone wrote in my little traveling notebook we moved on to a CS meeting at Rouge wine bar. Istanbul has weekly CS meetings with 150-200 regular attendees. We stopped in for a few minutes and ran into a bunch of people from the walking tour. It was nice to see some familiar faces and say goodbyes.

Moving on, we found ourselves at the Araf rock bar. Back in Kas I briefly met a girl from Switzerland through our mutual CS host, Ümit. She happened to be in Istanbul on my last night and recommended that we attend this rock show. I'm so glad that we did. Daniela described it as Turkish gypsy rock. I would say it was Turkish Polecat. Regardless, the music rocked and we danced hard for a few hours. Eventually Sarah and Ria left and I had to say goodbye to my hitch hiking partners-in-crime. Sarah is still in Istanbul, heading next to Germany and then Morocco. Ria is traveling around India.

I caught a cab back to Sultanahmet with Daniela and her friends. Their hostel was just around the corner from mine, which turned out to be quite convenient for me. After saying goodnight to them, I tried entering my hostel and was locked out. At 2am. With a flight the next morning. Bummer.

I knocked on the door for awhile. Some guys across the street tried to help by yelling the owners name, but no luck. The place was closed up tight. I didn't know what to do...my bag was inside and there's no way I'm paying for two hostels in one night. So I went around the corner to Daniela's hostel and talked to the night manager. He was completely understanding and tried calling my hostel, but still nothing. He offered me a discounted room and I accepted.

In the morning I ran into Daniela and her friends at breakfast. They were surprised to see me and we enjoyed a quick meal together before I headed back to Hostel Lockout. I needed to retrieve my bag and had no intention of paying for a night's stay. Lucky for me there was no one at the front desk! I walked in, grabbed my bag, and walked out. Apparently it was no loss for them, as my bag had been moved and someone was sleeping in "my" bed.

On the way to the airport I reflected on Turkey. Overall I loved my time there, especially volunteering in Cappadocia and hitching along the Mediterranean. Istanbul was chaotic and fun, but Istanbul is not Turkey. It's a  European city in a 97% Asian, Muslim country. A sprawling, maddening multi-continental metropolis. Like Turkish coffee - it's potent and best in small doses. Of course, Istanbul has to be this way. One could say Istanbul is the center of the world, where east meets west. Cultures mix and clash. There are as many Starbucks, McDonalds, and Burger King joints as baklava shops and historic sights. It's not Constantinople. It's not Turkey. It's Istanbul through and through: one of the greatest cities in the world.