Istanbul. Tasting The Orient

Amazing city with historic monuments, fun people, and a taste of oriental culture.

When we arrived at the Greek-Turkish border we first turned over our passports into a basket and waited a half hour. Then we proceeded over a river that divides the two countries. In Turkey I immediately saw military enforcement and a lower standard of development. At the passport control office in Turkey I had to scheme up 45 US dollars for the visa fee. This was the first time since September I’ve held USD in my hand. Meantime, the inspectors emptied all the bags out of the storage compartments to search for any large quantities of items that could be resold in Turkey.

On the bus we met a group of Muslim Turkish-Americans who live in Istanbul. They gave us information about the land, building, and cities we were passing by. When arriving into the otogar (bus station) I saw the Olympic stadium which was built in hopes for an Istanbul Olympics in 2004. Around the area were destroyed & abandoned homes and buildings. Apparently many Turks build on land without permission and the government comes by and destroys it. More poverty than Greece and a harder lifestyle immediately separated Turkey from the rest of Western Europe.

While in Istanbul I toured the magnificent sites of the Sultan Ahmet Camii-Blue Mosque, Aya Sofya Mosque, Yerebatan Saray-underground Byzantine cistern, the Kapali Carsi-Grand Bazaar, and Musir Carsisi-Egyptian/Spice Market.

Whilst in the Sultan Ahmet Camii we were offered a tour from Ilhan, a tour guide but carpetman in disguise. We were first educated about the Blue Mosque then taken to his gallery of carpets where we were forced to listen to the entire spiel from thread counts to durability. For my college student budget they provided a carpet large enough to put one foot on. The showcase of carpets included pieces priced in the thousands. Very beautiful I must admit, but I held strong and walked out.

After my carpet show I continued to be vulnerable to the Turkish vendors selling all sorts of goods. Soon enough my friendliness and eye contact wore off after the 500 “hi my friend …Where are you from”s lost its novelty. The best line I must admit, was the one just wandering around the bazaar and receiving “so you changed your mind, welcome back, I have a better deal for you this time”. I never saw him in my life, never went into his store, but I smiled because it was a well done performance. You will meet all sorts of con artists, some saying they studied in Alabama and Seattle. They are all selling techniques to make you, the buyer, comfortable and spend those dollars. Naturally you develop sound proof hearing by walking on and ignoring everything.

Away from all those carpet hagglers I found a very cool Turkish man named Mehmet, behind the Aya Sofya. I was caught by the Turkish music playing from his small shop and felt no pressure once I entered. He was in a backgammon session with a friend and didn’t bother to chase me out of the store. I ended up spending the remainder of my evening, 4 hours long, over a Turkish lunch and drinking local tea. This was true Turkish hospitality. Later I found out that he was featured in the Lonely Planet. I recommend visiting Mehmet while in Istanbul because he’s an honest man with whom you don’t need to bargain.Visit his website: www.halievi.com

Whilst in his store I sipped his 10 year old Doluca wine and met his friends from Japan who are studying Turkish. One gentlemen was departing for Germany to present a research report about the identity crisis Turkey suffers to the European Union. He was a very bright individual who spoke more than five languages. After my long day at Mehmet’s I headed back to the Orient Youth Hostel.

On my way back, I caught Aya Sofya and Blue Mosque in a stunning evening light. I started taking pictures and on the fourth shot I was approached by a similar sized young man offering his postcards. I was alone and nobody was around. I fell into paying him his 2 millyon lira with a 10 bill just to get him away so I can finish the shoot. He gave me back 6 and put one of his books on my hand while my wallet was open. He tried to reach into my wallet. I didn’t know what to do because nobody was around so I ended up taking the 6 back and walked away not prepared to defend a battle. Little things like that can irritate but its better than quarreling.

In Istanbul I also experienced a real Turkish bath where the locals go at Sifa Hamami. The service is like no other. First you strip down into a thin towel and rest in a marble floored sauna to relax and sweat your tensions out for a half hour. Its too bad my tensions just built at this point because I wasn’t sure what to expect. Then the Turkish man returned to the room, opened the door, screamed, then left again. I looked around and everyone seemed to be just hanging out. Later he returned, took me out, sat me down and started scrubbing away with a special rough handglove. Basically your nude at this point and its just you and this 60 year old man using scrubbing techniques foreign to a westerner. He then rinsed me off and lathered me with soap. During the lathering portion he laid me down, started massaging my muscles, and surprisingly he cracked my back. Afterwards I felt ‘like a millyon lira’ ($1) and i sat back down in the sauna to relax again.

The next day I walked through the Grand and Spice Bazaar where you will find all sorts of antiques, oriental jewelry, ceramics, spices, Turkish sweet shops, tea shops, carpet stores, perfumeries, etc. The place is similar to a luxurious indoor swapmeet with a natural maze. Prices are high in the bazaar so I didn’t make any purchases. Walking through the bazaar was an experience.

Istanbul is a inexpensive location that Backpackers use for awaiting visas to enter further eastern countries. Istanbul is also the starting or ending point for many travelers destined for the Middle East. At the hostel I met many independent travelers who were spending weeks at a time in Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Israel, and Egypt. Their stories are intriguing and will make you envious. All I heard was how nice and wonderful the people in these countries are and makes you think about view back home….(no comment).

Turkey in relation to the rest of Europe is different in many ways and has untouched tourist attractions that make it special. Also, your money will go unbelievably far with the best dinner you’ve had for only $4. Turkey’s culture is one of a kind. I would like to add that amongst the many Turkish people I met, I felt that people displayed far more friendliness and respect to an American than the rest of Europe. Once again, something totally different from all the trash I’ve been hearing from ‘people’ who haven’t even been there.

Pictures of Aya Sofya, Sea of Marmara, Sultan Ahmet Camii, Yerebatan Saray, Kapali Carsi in Istanbul