Jumat, 15 Januari 2016
Once Upon a Time: When I was in Istanbul
I arrived late on a Friday night. The airport was empty, and was absent from the smell of sweat and garlic like I was promised. As we all stood in line, a crescendo of struggle and argument became the reality of an unknown conflict. Everyone moved closer to see the fight, which was happening in front of the immigration booths. I couldn't see much, a flash of bodies trying to contain an obvious upset Turk, who was putting up a fight. The men took way too long to gain control of the situation, in my opinion, and once it ended, it appeared that i was now in the back of the line from everyone moving inward.
I walked out into the arrivals hall, every step, just a guess. Levent spotted me right away and came to greet me. Never was I so happy to see the familiar in the unfamiliar. We took the shuttle back to his hotel, which was beautiful and modern. We slept for a couple of hours, woke up and ate breakfast. For Ramadan they open breakfast at 3am, it was full of breads, cheeses, fruits and yogurts. We went back to bed just in time for me to listen to the first prayer call. It came from the nearest Mosque, out of the speakers that were perched from the top of the minarets. The muezzin, the prayer caller, sung a powerful calming chant that went on for about a minute.
We ventured out into the city the next day, it was hot and sunny, but with the clouds rolling through and the wind blowing, it made for a tolerable experience. We hopped on the bus, which seemed to run more like a subway in the middle of the freeway. Designated lanes and islands for scheduled stops, we got off and found ourselves on pedestrian polluted streets. Men, woman, children, covered, not covered, tourist and locals. We made our way to the Grand Bazar, weaving through the crowd and dodging the aggressive drivers. The bazar was a strategically confusing maze, every aisle more similar then the last. Jewelry, lamps, purses, trinkets, and more jewelry. All the vendors had opening lines in English, I kept quiet and let Levent do the talking, the less they knew the better off I was.
Resurfacing onto the streets, we made our way towards the Hagia Sophia Museum and the Blue Mosque. Passing by tempting food venders, I couldn't resist helping myself to some hydrating watermelon. The Sophia Museum is a beautiful oxymoron, a Catholic mosque. It was first built in the year 537, as a church, then was later conquered by the Turks and turned into a mosque in 1453. Rather then destroying the images of the Catholic religion, the Sultan Mehemed II, covered it with plaster and tile. Now, along side with the mosque's traditions, are these perhaps unintentionally preserved works of art. How lucky and grateful was I, that we can witness such two different religions hanging in the delicate balance of this world with such harmony. The Blue Mosque spoke for itself really, with it's multiple domes, blue stain glass windows and tiles and six minarets, it's uniqueness and grand gesture was truly stunning.
Making our way down closer to the Golden Horn, a water way that stretches its way up in the creases of Istanbul, we awaited for a good friend of Levents. We watched the tour boats and fairies glide in and out of the piers, ate some delicious mussels that were stuffed with rice, lemon and pepper, and passed the spice bazar. Cihangir, picked us up and took us on a whirlwind of a tour through the narrow and winding streets of the city and outskirts. I wanted to observe and take in as much as I could, but sadly gave into my jet-lag and fell asleep for most of the car ride. Cihangir had hopes that we would eat the best fish Istanbul had to offer at this restaurant near the water, only to find that it was a Ramadan fixed menu. This, though, did not stop the boys, and ordered a special request just for me. How sweet it was of them to go out of their way, so show me their pride of the city. Cihangir begged us to come out to his home to spend some time, but with commitments to other friends and such limited time, we said our goodbyes and thanked him for his priceless hospitality. We met up with a group of friends, all who I had met in Los Angeles, with an exception of one, at Taxim Square. We took shelter from the cool wind, in a cafe on a hill that opened up to perfectly framed Bosphorous Bridge. It was so disorienting, having conversations with the same people I had conversations with over dinner in LA just months ago. But It made me smile as well, a sense of comfort came over me, this was a gift.
Very tired, and very sore. Sunday was a slow moving day, slow to get up and out. Once we finally did though, we made our way back to Taxim Square. We strolled up and down the pedestrian highway, which reminded me of the streets in Buenos Aires. Here, Levent had me try an array of food. What they call a wet cheeseburger, I think it's called, a fried mussel sandwhich, yogurt drink, desserts, and the best lemonade that I have ever tasted. We jumped on the bus and met up with some of the friends from the night before. We walked along with restaurant after restaurant trying to decide where to settle in. So with following the lead of one, we found ourselves right next to the water in an empty high end lounge that wasn't technically open yet. We sat for one expensive drink, telling each other riddles and using our glasses as props. We spotted a pod of dolphins swiming through, which was surprising and exciting for all of us. The waiters were somewhat aggressive in us having more drinks, which we couldn't afford, so we moved a couple of restaurants down to continue chatting over tea and ice cream.
The last day we meet up with a good friend of ours for breakfast. It was an out doors place, surrounded by leafy trees, that when you relaxed your eyes and looked up, seemed like millions of butterflies swarming up in the branches. The place was also inhabited by some stray cats and kittens. They would jump from roof to roof, lounge in the grass, and come rub against your leg for food. After we ate we drove into the old part of town, where the Blue Mosque was, to walk around and get some shopping done. We spent some time in a small strip, looking at rugs, jewelry, and Turkish towels. We passed through a block of street vendors who had works of art and food, and finally stopped at Mavi, a popular Turkish chain and bought some T-shirts that featured Istanbul. Levent and I were then handed off to his best friend from high school, Saygin, who drove us by to see where they went to school and where they hung out. We entered into a part of town that seemed to go back into time. Small narrow roads that were steep at points and barley fit one car. Feeling like they were made with cobblestone, they twisted and turned like a maze. Right in the middle of it all was a beautiful tower that used to belong to the Italians. A tower that took you to the top for a birds eye view of the whole city and water ways. It was a great way to take it all in, to get the perspective that I had been wanting. To fathom where I was standing in the world at that point.
Kyla Mares
SMC, Turkish Circle, Arts Author
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