Istanbul Experiences

Well, it's hard to believe that 6 weeks have almost ended.  On Tuesday an amazing time will come to a (temporary?) end when I head back to Kelly and Paul in the UK.  I did a "test pack" of all my stuff today because I was worried that a few things here and there had turned into too much to get back.  It JUST fit.  So I guess I'm set to go.

I'm going to slowly work my way through my weeks here - fortunately my digital camera keeps good track of when I took which photos so I have a handy reminder of what I did and when I did it!

But before I start let me just say that Turks are amazing people.  I knew that already, but living here for these past 6 weeks have reminded me how wonderful they are.  Everyone should be like the people I met here - kind, hospitable, helpful, loving, interested in life, interested in the world and ready to experience what's out there!  

Also, here are a few of the people I've met while I've been here:

• A war photographer.  He's been in Afghanistan and Iraq, and was held hostage by the Kurdish PKK group inside Turkey for a while
• A woman who is part of a group called Mavi Kalem.  They fight for the Health and Reproductive Rights of Women in Turkey, and the Health and Education Rights of Children.  
• A modern dancer who used to have a company in the US based in Long Beach.  He is now teaching in Istanbul, but the Joffrey Ballet has some of his pieces in their repertoire.
• A very smart and kind professor who also used to be the president of the International Gay and Lesbian Alliance.  He has some fantastic stories, including meeting with the IRA in Northern Ireland in a secret location.
• My friend Suphi's parents who were fantastic hosts in the mountains of the Black Sea region of Turkey.  I'll have a post dedicated to them later.
• A woman who used to work for the International Red Cross in Geneva and who now lives here in Istanbul doing real estate.
• My Turkish teacher who introduced me to his cousin, who works for the Turkish security company that screens passengers at the airport for flights to the UK and US.  But guess what - we wouldn't give him a Visa to visit our country!  What's that all about?  We trust him to make sure out flights are safe but we won't let him come to visit the country he is protecting?  That's simply wrong, ungrateful, rude and outrageous.  Amazingly, he was very gracious about it - I would be hopping mad if it were me!
• Lots of lots of people who asked me what I think of President Bush.  Those were always interesting conversations...they definitely have an opinion, and it was universally one that I share!  :-)

Anyway, now for a few photos of my first days in Istanbul.

I arrived on June 1.  Nice an easy to remember that.  This is the view from the apartment I rented.  I have more which I'll post as I get to them - I know this isn't much, but maybe it gives an idea of 1) the weather while I've been here and 2) the size of Istanbul!  Maybe 20 million people live here!

It's in a part of town called Beyoğlu.  That's across the Golden Horn (this link takes you to a really interesting Istanbul site!) from the old historical part of Istanbul called Sultanahmet (Sultan Ahmet - one of the Ottoman sultans.)  Of course this part of town was called Pera, and has a long history itself.  It was long the center of the European traders, so it has some fantastic buildings.  

The main pedestrian street is called Istiklal Caddesi.  That means Independence Street.  I was told by several people that it's estimated that on the weekDAYS approximately 1 million people walk on this street for the shops, cafes, restaurants, etc.  On the Fridays and Saturdays they estimate that 3 MILLION people are here.  You can believe it if you are walking around! 

Here are two shots one evening soon after I got here.  The second (Balik Pasaji) is a great little street off of Istiklal - Balik means fish, and there are fish restaurants up and down the street.  Very tasty!

One day soon after I got here I walked down the hill and the up along the Bosphorus for a bit.  It's a beautiful walk along the shore.  Just two photos for now - the first is of the Tophane Mosque with it's fountain in front.  And the second is of the fountain and front windows o another mosque - I can't remember the name.  But I thought it very beautiful.

That's it for now.  I'll load up more in the next few days.  Maybe not too much before I leave, but then I'll have 6 days in the country in the UK so I'll get some things posted!  It's nice to be back, but sooooooooo sad to think of leaving Istanbul!