ISTANBUL PICTURES
Istanbul is the one place that nearly all Peace Corps Romania volunteers label as a must-see. They left out that it is not necessarily what you see in Istanbul but how it makes you feel that makes the city so extraordinary. One must become a primary source themselves to fully understand the mystery of a city with a soul such as Istanbul. Within this idea lies something deeper for me...I joined the Peace Corps to become a better historian/teacher (+ about a hundred cliche responses for wanting to help others), I wanted to experience things or learn from the historical residue that exists in places in order to fully understand all the things I've read in countless books and articles. For me, Istanbul taught me to close my eyes and listen to the voices of 27 centuries of human existence singing of love, struggle, heartbreak, peace, spirituality... I know it is mawkish for me to be saying all that as a lover of history, but I've outgrown the need to impress others with intellectual talk or other pretentious musings. Now my primary goal is to simply be real and honest.
Really and Honestly, I have to tell you that while walking past the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) and Hagia Sophia--I was like a child at Disney World, standing in front of Cinderella's Castle, whose parents handed a camera to and said go wild! Look at them...what would you have done?!
Getting back to the basics, Istanbul was full of history that overwhelmed me. I've spent hours reading over primary sources, art and architecture reviews, and archaeological records to better understand this city that captured my curious mind. Rest assured, I will sit down and talk with you about it, but I've learned to keep most of the history etc. to myself (not when I'm in the classroom of course, then it is my job to share) in order for you to develop your own opinions and emotional connections with places and topics.
It was incredibly fun spending time with some of my favorite fellow PCV's in a city such as Istanbul.
Day 1: We arrived at 3 am while the city was peacefully asleep and walked around the Golden Horn as the sun came up and the call to prayer rang out. We rested for a while before setting out to get a feel for the city and then went clubbing until exhaustion overtook us.
Day 2: We wandered city streets, gained a thorough understanding of Turkish carpets and how they are made, imagined the magnitude of the Hippodrome back in the day, had our futures told from Turkish coffee grounds, smoked some nargile (aka hookah), drank countless teas, and ate some delicious lentil soup.
Day 3: We took a group cruise on a public ferry to a small fishing village on the Asian side of Istanbul. There, we enjoyed some delicious seafood and did some shopping. Later we ventured into the Spice Market, sampled too many turkish delights, and let our senses be overwhelmed by the sights, sounds, and smells.
Day 4: A few of us ventured up to Topkapi Palace and found it closed for the day. We hustled over the Hagia Sophia to catch up with the rest of the group and luckily found them wide-eyed and curiously scouring the interior of one of the greatest structures in the world. We exited the Church of Holy Wisdom, now a museum, and were greeted by a deluge of rain. Our friend, Fire (his name means that in Turkish), led us to a restaurant with delicious kebab. Fire ran off to work while the rest of us soldiered through the rain to the Blue Mosque. We removed our soggy shoes, us ladies covered our heads with scarves, and we entered into the place of worship solemnly. Later that night, some of us braved the rain once again to see the whirling dervishes. It was a deeply spiritual experience influenced by Turkish cultural customs that caught me off guard with the magnitude of faith, love, and discipline exhibited by the members of the Mevlevi Order.
Day 5: Topkapi Palace was open so Rachel and I headed over to check it out. The view over the Golden Horn was spectacular, the religious relics were, for me, thought-provoking, and the Sultan's jewelry collection was blinding. I'm just going to give you a link to further read about it. The one thing I would like to comment on was how much it made me think of my Grandpa Mick. My grandpa is a proud, fez-wearing Shriner and so many of the symbols I've seen growing up around his Shrine temple stem from this part of the world. I can't wait to share it with him. After the palace, some of us hung around and enjoyed some tea and quiet reflection until the next move presented itself. We decided to go soak in some more of what Istanbul had to share and headed to the Grand Bazaar before once again partaking in some nargile.
Day 6: I went off on my own this day. I wandered for a while and witnessed an amazing sunset from the park between the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, and then headed over to the Archaeology Museum. There I saw the incomparable Alexander Sarcophagus, too many kuroi, indescribably beautiful tiles, and the Treaty of Kadesh (the world's oldest surviving peace treaty; a replica hangs in the U.N headquarters in NYC.) I was tired, but the girls talked me into heading out for a few drinks and nargile again. We made a new Turkish friend that barely spoke English. She took us to another bar near our hostel. We wrote our life story for the bartender, he wrote us a thank you note in return...
Day 7: I put off seeing the Basilica Cistern until the last day hoping that I could convince my friends it was worth seeing. I'm please to say I succeeded. The "Sunken Palace," as it's called, is an underground reservoir that can be seen in the James Bond movie, From Russia with Love. It was a sight to behold, and it was also shocking that I had been walking over something to substantial and beautiful throughout the entire week. After the cistern, we all had some shopping to do so we headed back to the labyrinth-like Grand Bazaar to barter with the salesmen, be called various names based on obscure pop culture references, and to drink tea. In Istanbul there is always tea.
Day 8: We scurried around the city finishing up any last minute must-need purchases, then we said goodbye to Istanbul and boarded the bus back to Romania.
**In my day to day recollections I have left out the countless moments spent in the Antique Hostel. We loved the place and had great times with a couple of the guys that work there. I can't say enough good things about the place.
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Lamartine said,
If one had but a single glance to give the world, one should gaze on Istanbul
It's a beautiful statement, and I am in love with Istanbul. But as for my heart and where I belong...I'm partial to my Midwestern home and Indiana sunsets coming up over cornfields and gleaming off of basketball backboards. Go ahead...make fun. I'll keep smiling!
