Location: Istanbul, TurkeyDate: January 27, 2010
The people. My new acquiantances are unlike any other kind of people I have met thus far. The vide that reverberates through Istanbul is strong, there are people all over the streets, outside the cafes and stores, luring the passerbys into their dens.
Traveling as a solo woman, it's a bit difficult to ward off the many men who follow you up the street, saying, "Hey, I know you!" or, "In Turkish tradition, you just must take a cup of tea!" The first day I would talk back to all of these shop owners, telling them politely where I was from and answering their questions. I was even shown to a steel and leather shop where I saw how they made their jacket designs. I felt guilty for refusing the offer of a Turkish coffee, but it was probably my 10th that day and I couldn't drip another drop. Strolling along the snow covered streets of Sultanahmet, I experienced a wide range of emotions: exhaustion, exhilaration, happiness, confusion...all these new people and they all wanted to share a tea with me? Why?
The people are what make the city so beautiful...there is nothing quite like walking along an ancient city path, hearing the call to prayer, and drinking a cup of "Ottoman Special Hot Drink," or Sahlep (a sort of rice pudding in a drinkable cup that I fell in love with). Right off the bat, Istanbul took a little piece of my heart, and I am sure to be back.
As soon as I got to Istanbul, I had a pile of dirty laundry that needed to be done ASAP, so I took it next door to the laundry man. The man gestured for me to come sit next to him by the computer and proceeded to open up the Turkish-English translator online. During the next 45 minutes, we had a full conversation by typing and pressing "translate" on the computer. Although I had a few extra pairs of underwear and tshirts in my next load by accident, it was still a nice experience to get to know a bit more about my laundry guy is such a unique way!
After my first day of talking with all the shopowners (who are all male), I realized that I didn't need to answer if I didn't want to. When I asked someone about how to politely ward off the callers, he said, "You are going to feel rude about it sometime, so might as well stop now. Just walk right by- ignore them..." so, I heeded his advice, and passed just with a slight smile, and suddenly I wasn't being followed anymore...as much.
Below is just a sampling of some of the amazing, colorful local people I met (of course, I met a handful of amazing travelers as well, but I will talk about them in a future post...). When buying something, or even looking, it is traditional for the salesperson to offer tea or coffee, and sometimes 5 minutes can turn into 2 hours, and you just spend your day drinking tea and chatting.
The lovely lady across the street who sold earrings. I ended up sitting on the floor with her for about 3o minutes and sorting through the boxes of earrings, and talking about each of the designs with her.
How can I not mention Lilu, the 4th month old puppy who welcomed me whenever I came back to the hostel.
The lights and the movement of the Spice Bazaar, that sold everything from Turkish Delight to Cardamom.
The fishers who spend hours on the bridge in the freezing cold.
Shamos, my friend in the marketplace who sold lamps.
Ali (male) and his crew, at the Baklava shop around the corner. I spent about an hour trying everything in the store before I settled on the baklava I would have that evening.
Frank, the baklava worker around the corner from the other baklava store. I saw Frank everyday when I passed him on the street, each time he'd hand me a new one to try (needless to say, I have a little extra padding from the baklava...it's worth it though!)
Gerkin, Cancer and Ali, the three brothers who worked at the marketplace. I became good friends with all of them and observed their selling techniques in their stores: scarves, jewelry and paintings respectively.
Gerkin, as he and I enjoyed one of our many teas.
The fishers who spend hours on the bridge in the freezing cold.
Shamos, my friend in the marketplace who sold lamps.
Ali (male) and his crew, at the Baklava shop around the corner. I spent about an hour trying everything in the store before I settled on the baklava I would have that evening.
Frank, the baklava worker around the corner from the other baklava store. I saw Frank everyday when I passed him on the street, each time he'd hand me a new one to try (needless to say, I have a little extra padding from the baklava...it's worth it though!)
Gerkin, Cancer and Ali, the three brothers who worked at the marketplace. I became good friends with all of them and observed their selling techniques in their stores: scarves, jewelry and paintings respectively.
Gerkin, as he and I enjoyed one of our many teas.Again, just a tiny a sampling of some of the people I had the pleasure of meeting in Istanbul. If I could, I would fill the pages with pictures and stories of the people I met....
