Ch 36, Day 4: The Great City of Istanbul

6.2
kms, Aug
25, 2010

The
city of Istanbul itself actually spreads out for about 60 kilometers
east of the Bosphorus, and 100 kilometers to the east of it. To the
north it is bordered by the Black Sea, to the south, the Sea of
Marmara.

Despite
it's enormous side, much of Istanbul is very lightly populated.
Almost all of its population is crammed along its southern shore.
Here, the sea of highrise apartments stretch on almost endlessly.
Along the way there are many "cities within a city", with
their own downtown, religious and commercial "soul".
Hopefully the Traveler will be able to explore a number of these
sub-cities.

He
gets off the train right on the shores of the Bosphorus. The
glorious sights of Old Istanbul are right on the other side, just a
short ferry ride away. But today he is going to experience Asia for
one last time. He also has someone to meet: David, an old friend and
fellow traveler is now working as an English teacher here in
Istanbul. It's going to be fun to hang out with somebody familiar.

The
Traveler meets up with David at the ferry terminal, and they set
wander about the Kadikoy cozy restaurant district. "With good,
cheap food available outside my door, I never really need to cook"
David tells the Traveler.

"So
do you think you'll settle down here in Turkey?" the Traveler
asks.

"I
feel I'm at the point where I need to decide. I speak a bit of the
language, and know my way around. I feel quite comfortable here.
But I'm not fully 'part' of the Turkish culture. I'm not sure I want
to be. My close friends are mainly ex-pats like me. I'm not sure if
I want to fully become Turkish"

"Will
you be accepted if you decide to fully immerse yourself in their
culture, as a foreigner?"

"Yes...
if I marry a Turkish girl and live by their cultural norms... I would
be accepted"

"What
about religion? Would you have to become Muslim?"

"Here
in Istanbul there are two Turkeys: you have the religious,
conservative culture. And then you have the culture that cares
little about religion. No, I wouldn't have to become Muslim—but
there are still a lot of expectations... Expectations I'm not sure I
want to live by..."

They
head up to the roof of David's apartment where, across the Straits
you can catch a glimpse of the minarets of the Sultanhahmet Mosque,
with the sun sinking in the background.

"It's
like living in Paris with a view of the Eiffel Tower..." muses
the Traveler...

Day:
5 Night walk along the Bosphorus

9.1
kms, Aug 26, 2010

And
so, today it is official: The Journey will take the Traveler from
Asia to Europe. He waits on the ferry in the pre-dawn hours. The
Bosphorus Strait is still dark except for the Maiden Tower, shining
alone in the middle of the waters.

This
should be an epic moment—crossing from the vast continent of Asia
to the mighty continent of Europe. Two worlds... with two very
different cultures and histories... From the world of the East to the
world of the West...

Except...
it's not. At least not to those around him. For almost all of the
people on this ferry, this is not a journey of a lifetime, this is
their daily commute. A commute from one part of Istanbul to the
other part.

On
the European side, the Traveler will find a city that still feels
very Middle Eastern/Asian. In fact,
it feels a bit more Middle
Eastern than the Asian side. On the Asian side, Istanbul is mostly
just miles and miles of high rise apartment buildings, shopping malls
and busy highways. Blink and you might think that you're in any
generic, big European city.

In contrast, on the
"European" side, Istanbul is crammed with something the
Traveler has really missed seeing in much of his journey through
Turkey: history, lots of history.

Here you have majestic
mosque overload, as each Ottoman Sultan would leave his signature by
ordering yet another grandiose mosque to be built. Here, the streets
are still narrow and windy and you can still get a feel of what this
city was like hundreds of years ago. This is the city that ruled
much of the West Asia—along with parts of Africa and Europe--for
hundreds of years. So the Traveler decides that European Istanbul,
and European Turkey, will still be counted as part of West Asia.

Here in Istanbul the
constant contradiction of Europe and Middle Eastern is even more
obvious. Look one way and you see a mosque… look another way and
you see a porn shop… It’s Ramadan, and tables are being laid out
for people to break their fast--and yet the fasting Muslims don’t
seem the slightest bit bothered to see other Muslims eating, drinking
and smoking openly. This would be absolutely unheard of, in some
Muslim countries, where no one would dare eat out in the open during
Ramadan.

The Traveler finds
himself in what seems like the commercial heart of the city which is
subdivided into districts by product… there’s a street that sells
mainly just shoes… another street that focuses on car parts… then
a back alley where you find a lot of fur coats (legal?)… a lot of
these are one lane streets that seem to be in constant gridlock-- and
for this reason you see hundreds of guys on foot with handcarts
loaded with boxes, pushing them up and down the steep streets.
Apparently that’s the quickest way to get goods delivered to your
shop around here. It’s fascinating to watch--to an outsider it
might look like chaos and frustration, but it seems they’ve got a
system going here and folks have somehow managed to adapt to these
claustrophobic conditions.

Then suddenly he comes
around a corner, and there are the ruins of some enormous Roman
pillars in front of him! They’re just sitting there by the side of
the road as the hustle and bustle of modern day Istanbul continues on
around. It’s a sudden reminder of how many times this city has
risen and fallen and risen again… and that modern day Istanbul is
just one of many phases in this city’s great history.

The Traveler pauses in
the courtyard of a mosque, a haven of peace from the din and clamor
outside, then he heads back out to start his search for lodging. He
figures this gritty wholesale/commercial area should be a good place
to find a cheap hotel-- merchants from all over the country probably
come here to load up with goods-- and they need someplace to stay.
Sure enough, he soon finds a 10 Euro “Otel” with piles of boxes
stacked everywhere and not very cheery looking folks waiting in the
cramped lobby… perfect… it’s cheap and an authentic taste of
“real life” in the back alleys of Istanbul.

He's tired, but the
Traveler can’t resist the lure of the city… so he drops off bags
and head out the door again. This time he heads down the hillside
towards the sea. Suddenly he finds himself in a glitzy little
tourist trap stretch sparkling with lights with waiter calling me to
come check out their overpriced restaurants… quite a contrast with
the neighborhood up the hill.

He continues on to the seaside
where there is complete calm. Just the twinkling of lights all along
the shore and from the passing ships headed up through the Bosphorus.
There’s a pleasant park all along the shore where tea vendors have
some plastic chairs and tables set up in random locations, and
families lay out a picnic spread in preparation for fast-breaking
time.

The Traveler on a bench just to soak in the moment as
the melodic call to prayer echoes from a mosque--then another… and
another until the air is saturated with their musical voices.

Welcome to the Heart of
Istanbul.

The Traveler follows the
shoreline for a ways, with the sea to his right and the ancient city
wall to his left-- and the majestic, lit up Blue Mosque beckoning
him. Finally he finds an entrance through the wall, and re-enters
the city. At first he finds himself heading up a mysterious dark
street with a stone stairway… but then the city bursts to life with
endless jolly teahouses, restaurants, and all sorts of tourist
centered shops. It’s clearly another tourist trap-- but a very
fun and entertaining tourist trap at that. Some of the teahouses
really go all out to create a Middle Eastern vibe with huge pillows
and carpets laid out on the sidewalk where you can relax and smoke
shisha.

And then there’s the
Blue Mosque with it’s very thin minarets reaching high into the
sky. Despite having seen so many glorious Ottoman mosques throughout
this Journey, he still can't help but be awed by this one—and the
fact that it still stands after so many centuries... so many
earthquakes.

And then, when he thought
his night couldn’t get any better, there in front of him is a real,
honest to goodness dervish show! It’s free to the public as a part
of Ramadan celebrations. He's not sure to what degree it’s a form
of entertainment and to what point it’s a genuine expression of
faith--but it is really cool to watch this guys spin around to the
melancholic mystical tunes…

Finally he decides to
call it a night, soaking in various elements of the Istanbul night
street scene.

The Turkish ice cream
vendor seems to be a traditional fixture here. Dressed in
traditional attire, this guy clowns about doing all sorts of
acrobatics, like balancing the cone and ice cream and the end of his
ice cream digger and then dropping it right into your shirt pocket!
(The ice cream is pretty hard, so it clumps together well). The
Traveler's curiosity gets the best of him, so He has to try
some--only to find that the show is better than the taste…