safe in ISTANBUL, not constantinople

<-- the Bosphorus from the hostel's terrace restaurant - my first view of istanbul in the daytime

I have never tasted anything like it. Sweet and yet bitter as if someone boiled fruits in water and then transferred that water to a coffee pot. Thin and watery at first, and then increasingly thicker with every sip, until you get to a solid spoonful of coffee at the bottom, ground so thin that when wet it looks like solid chocolate…

I still cannot quite believe it - I am sitting in Istanbul in a (perhaps a little touristy) coffee place overlooking the blue mosque. I arrived yesterday evening after a three hour flight from Berlin on Turkish Airlines. Even though the flight was so short, they passed around a fancy menu while we were sleeping. A girl sitting beside me – a nurse in Berlin going to visit her family in Turkey – collected the menu for me while I was sleeping. When she handed it to me I said that it wasn’t possible. She looked at me strangely and said of course we get food; I wouldn’t fly if we didn’t. Low and behold, my “braised chicken with a creamy mushroom sauce and country potatoes” arrived and was delicious. Apparently that happens on all flights within Turkey too – taking airplane food to a new level… what a great tradition! Not only did I have two wonderful people sitting with me (the old man in the window seat did not take his jacket off until we were ready to land, because he said he did not want to disturb us… he then wished me a lovely stay in turkey about four times before we parted ways), but I recognized an ethnology professor from the Humboldt! I was a little too shy to slip her my email (how nice would it be to get a research position on a plane ride), but she was on her way to do a field study in Georgia and told me about her research. Hopefully I will run into her again later this semester.

And although she had to wait an hour for me, the adventurous Jessica Weaver greeted me with screams and open arms at the airport. There is no better excuse for visiting Turkey – we hardly get to see each other when we’re in the US, so why not partake in her time abroad?? Of course, we have much to catch up on, and the two of us chatting in rather loud voices on the bus ride into Taxim Square is just the start. We went briefly to a Turkish bakery chain for some tea and a pastry that I didn’t catch the name of (an egg-noodle-ish dough with spinach inside, mmmm….) before we realized how late it was. She loaded me into a taxi and got the driver to give me the pre-midnight rate, even though it was around 11:55, and then she picked a bus (I think?) to head north to her “Superdorm” near the english-speaking University.

I, for once, came very well prepared with a map that I had printed out in an internet-café earlier in the day in Berlin. On it was my hostel, the “Orient Hostel” that I had found via their website. Unfortunately the lack of detail in the map caused my taxi driver to go in a few circles. He asked at another hotel for directions, and stopped a few people in the street for more help. Oh no, I thought… I am a typical tourist, with no ability to negotiate for a reduced fare. We finally arrived, where I delighted in the fact that they had received my reservation and were expecting me, even though it was way past check-in time. Two Bostonians were discussing breweries in Fenway in the common room as I was checking in, and I felt comfortable there right away (the cheap prices help too, of course). The other three backpackers in my room were already asleep, so there was nothing left to do but get ready for bed in the dark.

the Orient Hostel, Istanbul

In the morning I got to know my roommates and enjoyed my incredibly greasy breakfast on the “rooftop terrace” – it sounds a bit more romantic that it is, but the view was breathtaking! The Bosphorus river in the distance, slight fog over the old buildings on the other bank, a few ferries in the harbor, and rooftop gardens nearby. Not only is the breakfast included in the price, but they have free wi-fi! How lovely; that meant that I could spend some time navigating the excrutiatingly complicated Freie Universität website to register for my summer semester classes in alle Rühe, at my own pace.

<-- some Christian mosaics at the Aya Sofia

Once showered and with a few good course possibilities (as always though, I have to check with Chicago first!) I was ready to see some of the city. I could barely sleep the night before because my toes were literally tingling with excitement; the postcards just don’t do this place justice! The view from my taxi ride of the city at night would make even the most devoted couch-potatoes shudder with anticipation. I counted around ten grandly and beautifully lit Mosques, although considering we did get a bit lost that might have been the same few a bunch of times… I walked through the smaller cobblestone streets around my hostel, noticing the tourist-aimed merchandise and trying to pass right by the waiters advertising their restaurants. I walked to the Aya Sofia, not too far, and drank a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice in a small cafe just in front. Unfortunately (or fortunately? I’m still not sure) the owner of the juice stand and café engaged me in conversation and I mentioned that I’d like to visit the Mosques and churches nearby. He gladly came to my (never asked for) assistance. He brought me to the back entrance of the Aya Sofia, had me waved in for free (that’s a good six euros saved) and then he didn’t let me pay for the orange juice! Not only that, but he found me a tour group to take part in. Hmmm, I’m going to have to ask Jess if that sort of “unwanted assistance” happens a lot around here. But he left and I had a nice informative tour (for free) and then wandered around the ancient church-mosque-museum for an hour or so. Really beautiful, but I can’t say that I can keep track of the Justinians and the Constantinians enough to tell you when or why or how it was built in the first place. The fourth crusade though… that was an important one.

Aya Sofia, the first step to learning a liiiiiiittle about turkish history...

<-- the ten-story-high scaffolding was clearly not enough to warn tourists of the building site in the Aya Sofia... The renovations have been going on for twenty years, which is quite long for a cathedral that was built in only five in 532 A.D... (i got a little wikipedia help on that one)

Without a headscarf unfortunately I could not visit inside the Blue Mosque. I watched from the outside as men took off their shoes and cleaned their feet in small baths lining the walls, and as women – some with brightly colored headscarves, some wearing all black – filed out of the mosque after their prayer. Jessica, who had a class on Mr. John Milton this afternoon, will be meeting me at my hostel in a few for some more adventuring.

the Blue Mosque

The one thing the guide book said over and over again is that the one thing one will NOT do in Istanbul is get bored. I really feel the energy of this place, even after being here one day. And man, have the people been friendly so far. Yes, I look like a tourist and most want to sell me something (in my hostel too), but the two people on the plane were great, all about getting to know each other and wishing each other well.

a corn-on-the-cob vendor in front of the Blue Mosque

I am here until Saturday night, when Jess and I will make our way to a different airport in the city (I dearly hope it’s in the city somewhere) to get me on my 3 am flight to Switzerland. After that I will find myself some swiss francs, hop on a tram and go to my aunt Lisie’s apartment. Although it will be incredibly early, she will have been up for a good couple of hours fretting about my arrival and watching for me from her little kitchen window. There is no doubt in my mind that three days in Istanbul is far too short of a visit, but I am mostly glad to see Jess again. I’m only here for a little taste of the orient, a little sip of the coffee, a little bite of the Simit (Simit are rings of dough with sesame seeds… sort of like Montreal bagels stretched and thinned out a bit!). Once again, seeing places that I’d like to visit again and in more detail with Robert or Jessica or my family later on.

me and Jessica, the quintessential shot

 (insert background here: maine, cambridge, ecuador, tuscany, istanbul... )