Istanbul is a gigantic city, meaning lots of diversity in people and places—in fact it's split between Europe and Asia, bringing a whole new meaning to being in two places at once. With its rich history, beautiful sights, and crazy-busy-insane-ness, there is much to love about Istanbul, and the fact that there isn't really any other place like it.
Even though it can be an overwhelming, and sometimes rough place to be, the feeling of being in a city with such character and activity is very energizing.
During the day, we would fill our time with seeing the sights that were offered: underground basilica cisterns, peaceful mosques and the crazy grand bazaar and at night we would hang out with new friends from our hostel. One night, Galatasaray was playing a match so we went out to a bar and watched the game on tv. Locals celebrating a birthday/watching the game were also there and it was cool seeing normal Turkish youth hanging out at the bar. Even though Galatasaray lost, we all sang happy birthday and danced to Gangnam Style which is the most popular song in Turkey it seems. They played the song three times throughout the night, everytime it was met with much dancing and cheering.
On our second final night in Istanbul, we said goodbye to Miguel on our hostel's rooftop terrace and played funny games that the Germans staying at the hostel taught us. We parted with Miguel in the morning as he was headed to Germany for Oktoberfest and Alex and I were exploring more of Turkey. With now only two of us, we were off to Ankara—our first stop of many in Turkey before making our way to Greece where we would fly back to London. Istanbul seemed to be the middle of our trip—it was the longest trek to get there and it was where we split our group—and now it feels like we on our the end side of our trip. I think I'm excited to be heading back home soon, but I also realize that I will quickly miss the adventures that I've been having. It won't be as easy coming home this time too, as I won't be able to fall back into my friend groups and familiarity. I guess my travels will be coming to an end soon but I won't be getting that comfortable life back anytime soon. Maybe that's a good thing.
Even though it can be an overwhelming, and sometimes rough place to be, the feeling of being in a city with such character and activity is very energizing.
During the day, we would fill our time with seeing the sights that were offered: underground basilica cisterns, peaceful mosques and the crazy grand bazaar and at night we would hang out with new friends from our hostel. One night, Galatasaray was playing a match so we went out to a bar and watched the game on tv. Locals celebrating a birthday/watching the game were also there and it was cool seeing normal Turkish youth hanging out at the bar. Even though Galatasaray lost, we all sang happy birthday and danced to Gangnam Style which is the most popular song in Turkey it seems. They played the song three times throughout the night, everytime it was met with much dancing and cheering.
On our second final night in Istanbul, we said goodbye to Miguel on our hostel's rooftop terrace and played funny games that the Germans staying at the hostel taught us. We parted with Miguel in the morning as he was headed to Germany for Oktoberfest and Alex and I were exploring more of Turkey. With now only two of us, we were off to Ankara—our first stop of many in Turkey before making our way to Greece where we would fly back to London. Istanbul seemed to be the middle of our trip—it was the longest trek to get there and it was where we split our group—and now it feels like we on our the end side of our trip. I think I'm excited to be heading back home soon, but I also realize that I will quickly miss the adventures that I've been having. It won't be as easy coming home this time too, as I won't be able to fall back into my friend groups and familiarity. I guess my travels will be coming to an end soon but I won't be getting that comfortable life back anytime soon. Maybe that's a good thing.
Blue mosque during prayers. 
We love the simplicity and story of the Turkish flag. 
No comments:
Post a Comment