Ch 36, Day 14. The Hike East





29.5
kms, Aug 20, 2012






Today, the Traveler finds
himself alone once again. And he's determined to reluctantly bid the
"heart" of Istanbul goodbye, and start making his way
west... on foot.






It's a hundred kilometers
just to reach the edge of the city, so he obviously will still be
discovering Istanbul for several days of walking. But it's not the
Istanbul that tourists are drawn to... it's the Istanbul of the 21st
century. There's a cool little castle jutting out
into the sea and then... there it is, once again, the magnificent
Wall of Istanbul, with a flag blowing on its final tower. Never get
tired of seeing this amazing wall. But as soon as he exits the
Istanbul Wall for the last time and sees the highrise buildings on
the other side, he has a wistful realization that he will never see a
city quite like this one again.






But almost immediately
the Traveler finds himself in a neighborhood, Zeytinburnu that feels
likes it's own city, with cozy narrow streets and a “town center
feel.






After exploring it for a
bit, the Traveler heads on back to the southern shore to continue his
hike west... but not for long. Again he reaches what looks like a
whole new city with a long pedestrian shopping street, and its own
personality and feel. This is Bakirkoy and the Traveler can't
resist exploring it for a bit as well. He had kind of expected this
to be a hike past endless sprawl of soulless high rise apartment
complexes, but no, each of these neighborhoods have a lot of
character to it.






In his next neighborhood
it seems like he's going to hit a dead end at the Ataturk airport,
but decides to continue and see how far he can go. He reaches a shady
little park with little ponds and bridges. Here seems like a good
place to pause and play some music.






There are a couple of
boys loitering nearby. Suddenly a gang of boys come up to them and
for no apparent reason just start to beat them up, punching them as
these boys crouch down and just take the blows. It's a surreal
scene. No yelling and screaming, no outburst of emotion as the
Traveler is used to seeing in fights in other places. Just cold,
swift attack... then they leave, just like that.






Why? Are they rival
gangs? taking revenge for something? He doesn't know. It's the
first time he's seen violence here in Turkey. It is interesting to
see how calculating and unemotional the scuffle is...






Tomb
Cleaning Day






The Traveler loops back,
looking for a way across the highway. Finally he finds a pedestrian
crossing that takes him to a very crowded plaza/commercial center of
Atakoy--which feels like the center of a big city, all by itself...
once again, deserves a full exploring. Here the Traveler comes a
across a cemetery with a lot of people coming in and out. At the
entrance a couple of guys approach him with shovels and water
offering their services.






It seems this is a
special day when people come and clean up the graves of their
departed family members, clearing the weeds, planting flowers. The
Traveler decides to to walk around to soak in the experience.








The Traveler has seen
very little of how people deal with death here in Turkey. In some
parts of the world he has seen people who seem obsessed with building
and caring for the tombs of the departed. In other places, it seems
tombs are quickly forgotten about. Here in Turkey, it seems people
come to and tend to the tombs of their relatives, but on certain
days.






The Traveler watches
discreetly, seeing folks hard at work... but not outbursts of
emotion.






He continues on... trying
to maneuver his way through a maze of freeway interchanges... then onlagoon, and it looks like the best way around it will be
on the south






It's still a pleasant
area to wander through with a lot of people out and about, and no one
really disturbs the Traveler. Finally he reaches a large pleasant
plaza with is the heart of Kucukcekmese, where people from all walks
of life come and relax with their children.






It's time to call it a
day. While he didn't reach the edge of Istanbul, it looks like it's
also time to bring a close to his Istanbul Chapter. There will be
one more Chapter dedicated to this great country... and then it will
be time to bid farewell to West Asia, and hello to Europe.







Location: Istanbul, Turkey

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