Istanbul Photos


Well, it's true that despite how my last post ended, I was techinically still in Europe for most of my stay in Istanbul, but it sure didn't feel like Europe. I finally reached a place that has a culture dramatically different from the U.S. Beautiful mosques dominated the skyline, Islamic prayer chanting was played over loudspeakers several times a day, and Turkish music was played at the bars and nightclubs. Many women wore scarves around their heads and a few were even in full burqas with only their eyes showing. I happened to visit during Ramadan, so restaurants were packed at night since adherents to Islam were not allowed to eat or drink during the day. Ramadan is also a time during which Muslims spend a lot of time with their families, so the grassy areas and parks were all packed with family groups at night.

Whenever a local asked me where I was from, I responded as usual, "United States". Each time, the person gave me a puzzled look, so I said, "America", to which they always said, "Ohhhh, America".

I started out staying in the more modern part of the city, known for it's night life. Although technically in Europe, this portion of the city suffered from Asian-style trash management. The hostel bathrooms each had a single toilet and shower in the same small area, undivided, which I have found is not uncommon in hostels. What was extra special about this hostel is that the shower not only had no curtain, it had no drain. Every time someone took a shower, the whole room was sprayed with water, the toilet, the mirror, the walls, everything. Even worse, the floor became a lake, with only evaporation to dry it.

I met some drunk Italians who invited me to come out with them to a bar, so I did. The ring leader was a high-paid advertisement cinematographer. He said his rate is 1000 Euros an hour and he only works four months a year and travels the rest of the time. From his stories, it sounded like he had been all over the world, but he claimed that he had been to less than one percent of it and anyone that claimed to have visited more than one percent was lying. We almost got kicked out of the bar because he hooked up speakers to his iPod and started playing loud music. He would turn it down briefly after being asked by the waiter and then would turn it back up again shortly afterwards. On the way home, he ran along a line of taxis who were stopped in traffic and shoved his speaker with the music playing through each driver's window. Then he went over to a Turkish guy sitting near the street and shoved the speaker in his face. The Turkish guy started yelling at him and for a moment I thought there would be a fight, but then the Italian ran off. I think he was trying to share his happiness with the world, but all was doing was drawing their ire.

There are children of all ages peddling various wares on the street. The older ones sell bottled water while the younger ones push products that are lighter and easier to carry such as spinning tops and tissue packs. A couple of times I saw kids who looked no older than seven sitting curled up with their knees at their chest napping during the day next to the street, their unsold tissue packs lying next to them, quite a sad sight. I certainly hope they had a place to sleep at night other than the sidewalk. When I was stopped, waiting to cross a road, a kid, maybe 12 years old, came up to me and tried to sell me water. He shoved the bottle at me and in a demanding voice said something in Turkish. Then he yelled, "50" at me, ordering me to buy the water. I told him "no thanks" but he just kept yelling at me with a mean expression on his face. When I ignored him, he started laughing in a very strange and harsh way. After I gave him a "what is wrong with you?" look, he finally walked off.

I had read that there were falafel carts on every street corner in Istanbul and I was really looking forward to it. I love falafel. I search around everywhere for it and asked kebab street vendors where I could get it. They always said, falafel is everywhere here. I even met a group of girls who were asking around for it too. We never found any falafel.

There are lots of feral cats in the city and maybe half as many feral dogs. The dogs had tags in their ears, I assume part of some attempt to stem the problem through sterilization, but the cats had no such tags. The people ignored the animals and the animals ignored the people. It was tough to see lone dogs roaming and sleeping throughout the city because I know they are pack animals and don't typically do well alone. Cats tend to be more independent, so maybe they are happy enough on their own. I assume they eat food dropped by humans, but maybe they eat rats and mice too. Maybe they keep the rat population down, which might otherwise be a problem given the trash situation.

A Dutch friend I met in Istanbul, Drewes, had a memorable experience at one of the Turkish baths. In the sauna, one of the other guy's towel was open a bit and he had a partial boner. Drewes thought, "well, it happens sometimes" and ignored it. Then they other guy started masturbating and pointing at Drewes and then back at himself. As Drewes was leaving the building, one of the staff members asked if he had enjoyed it. He said that it was nice except for the aggressive gay guy in the sauna. The employee said "No, no, we don't have gays here."

I paid a visit to a barber my last day in town and it was a similar experience as in the U.S. except for the end. After he was done, he took a wooden dowel, dipped in alcohol, lit it on fire, and then proceeded to brush the flame against each of my ears. It was a bit painful. I guess Turkish guys must have so much ear hair that they have to singe it off.