Istanbul

I keep meaning to blog about my time in Istanbul, through a mini-series that talks about touristy things and the less-explored parts of Istanbul, but I am having difficulty balancing the prose and emotions that I feel with the practical, do-this/do-that aspects of writing a mini-guide. Even if one ignores the whiny, self-indulgent anecdotes in his book, Pamuk's descriptions of Istanbul still fail to capture the full extent of life and living in Istanbul, making me wonder if anyone is capable of harnessing that beast of a city to paper. In any case, my part-time slapdash bloggery isn't going to reach success, and attempting even a partial transcription has been a painstaking process, which is why it's delayed.

In the meantime, our friend Kenan has written a truly thoughtful mini-series of his own, exploring his relation to the city and the impact it had on us all: Remember that time in Istanbul...?

I highly recommend reading it.

Istanbul: Breakfast

My typical breakfast (and lunch and dinner sometimes...) in Istanbul:

Istanbul: Pazar

I visited the market in my neighborhood on Thursday, and although the heat and heavy bags prevented me from taking too many pictures, I did catch this quick lesson on marketing: if you want people to buy your stuff, you have to be willing to wear it yourself:

Healthy living (plus three pairs of earrings!) on the budget of 40 lira or less:

Istanbul: Clear Directions

As many a Turk will tell you, traffic in Istanbul has improved significantly in the last ten years. People actually stop at red lights now, and honking - although still a lot - is much, much less than before. However, sometimes the attempts to control traffic, and particularly rush hour, can continue to be confusing for the innocent passer-by:

Istanbul: Cinarcik

June 14, 2012
In the summer there are regular boats that go directly to Cinarcik, a summer town where many Istanbulites have their homes. I went out there on Thursday, spending time on the rocky beach and swimming in the water.

For lunch I went to a cafe and ordered a beer. At first he was startled that a girl would order a beer, then when he realized I was serious he went to get an Efes. Only he brought back alcohol-free Efes. Now Efes is already quite similar to water, if you're going to get alcohol-free, you'd be better off just ordering plain water.

I looked at him a little confused and asked if he could bring me regular Efes.

"Oh, you want it with alcohol? Ok, look, I'll do something special for you."

"Wait, what?" But he had already run inside, returning a few minutes later with a beer glass and a shot of what looked and smelled like grain alcohol. I looked confused again.

"You can have alcohol in your beer now!" I started laughing. Stopped and stared at the scene in front of me, and then started laughing again. I wanted a regular beer, not alcohol specifically. Then I realized that he meant for me to mix the shot of alcohol with the beer, producing a "regular" beer. I laughed again and then sent the alcohol and beer back and got an iced tea instead...

It was explained to me later that this particular cafe was owned by a religious man and as a result they were prohibited from selling alcohol. The server wanted to get me what I wanted but since he lacked actual beer, he thought he could solve the problem by offering a shot of alcohol to throw in the beer! Creative but simply not what I was going for that afternoon...

The "alcoholic" non-alcoholic beer

The boat trip back to Istanbul

Istanbul: Boat Party!

June 9, 2012
On June 9th in celebration of Kenan's birthday he collected 50 of his dearest friends and we had a four hour boat party on the Bosphorus. It was awesome.

Can you see that other boat through the window? That's right. Another boat came up right next to us for no good reason and our captain had to make some ridiculous maneuvers to avoid getting hit. It's a huge water area with plenty of room for all the boats but leave it to the Turks to find a way to cause traffic issues.

The lights on the bridge at one point were flashing and dancing, as if in rhythm with the music we were dancing to on the roof of the boat

Istanbul: Kinali Ada

June 8, 2012
For 3 lira you can take a 30 minute ferry ride to several of the islands off the coast of Istanbul (Princes Islands) and one sunny Friday we decided to take the opportunity. I had never gone before, but it's the perfect day trip (as long as you don't go on a weekend!). On the island you can rent bikes, hike around, or get some sun, and it's the perfect way to quickly get out of the hustle and bustle of the city.

Istanbul: We are each other's saviors

Writing about Freddy reminded me of an interaction my brother and I had in January, when I was visiting him in Istanbul.

We had been on a dolmuş (minibus) on our way home from visiting my grandmother when it became suddenly clear that the little girl in front of us was likely to get carsick. She was with her mother, another woman, and a man. They were an obviously conservative family, with the women covering their heads and the man standing protectively over them. I reacted immediately, and told my brother to give them a plastic bag he was holding in case the girl was really sick. As he handed the bag over to the women, the man took it from him and then handed it over to women even though the mother was closer to my brother. Then we also broke off a piece of bread for the girl to chew on, which again was passed from my brother to the man and then to the mother and child.

I noticed these mannerisms immediately, and realized it was a result of their conservative religious beliefs. The man also wouldn't make eye contact with me and avoided talking to me. Nonetheless, the child was my priority and I was going to try to help regardless of what our religious differences were. After a few more minutes, the girl started feeling better and just then the family came to their stop. As they got up to leave, the mother stopped and looked at me and said, "Thank you for everything. People are each others' saviors" and left.

What she said was so correct for me and so important. We clearly had different values and beliefs and I most definitely did not agree with most of hers. But that didn't stop us from helping them or prevent them from accepting our help. I know that she would have helped us, too, had we been facing our own difficulties. So many people refuse to give or take help because someone doesn't "belong" to their group, but throughout human history it has always been people who ultimately demonstrate the grace and kindness that saves others. Whether that is due to divine intervention or something else is up to you to decide, but we always have the choice to open our hearts to others and I wish more people would remember that.