istanbul interlude

so, i have set my new date to come home: may 19. i have to say i'm ready. dare i say i may even be truly homesick for the first time in my life. what a thought. this means, among other things, that i won't see the mediterranean, which is kind of a weird thought considering that's all some people in turkey, but i'm working on the assumption that i will be back. probably sooner rather than later. ongoing issues of secularism and my idealism of a world where there is an open border between armenia and turkey ('open borders' was the name we produced our collaborative film with an armenian, a turk, and a jew under) mean that i'm sure i'll find myself here again soon, except i'll have seen most of the major sites and will be free to explore random and less-travelled parts of the country. and relax on the med.

since i decided against a whirlwind trip to the med before i leave tomorrow on my final adventure out east, i've had quite a nice time in istanbul. saturday night nicole and i went out for ice-cream-cake to celebrate her birthday after i spent all day sleeping and recovering (see last post).

sunday, after heading back to church in the rain and relaxing in the afternoon, i had a great experience. nicole and i had tried to get tickets to the big galatasaray-fenerbahçe game, but we ended up not being able to. instead, we met up with the two australian girls i had met in göreme (michelle and danielle) and we watched the game at a bar on istikal. the screens were great and we got there just in time to see galatasaray score the only goal of the game and pull ahead of fenerbahçe in the standings- first place! but the real kick was that we wandered out of the bar just in time to join a crowd of deliriously happy galatasaray fans celebrating the win. we crouched down and jumped up, shouted cheers, marched down istikal, and generally enjoyed the revelry. afterwards, danielle, michelle, and i had a nice dinner.

on monday, after reading in the morning i met up with danielle and michelle. we took a ferry over to the asian side, to kadiköy, where we wandered around a bit and had lunch. then we returned to europe to tackle the spice and grand bazaars. this was a lot of fun, and i made a purchase. it was especially fun tasting lokum (turkish delight) in the spice bazaar (i'll be bringing a lot back, especially the pomegranate). also, danielle is a superb bargainer, and it was a treat just to watch her haggle. we then went over to their hostel in sultanhamet, where i sat in the terrace bar writing and drinking while they settled in and packed up, and where one of their friends tony eventually joined us. we went out for a good meal (danielle, michelle, and i always seemed to end up with good choices in food). it was generally a really enjoyable day. again, meeting people randomly and getting to see them again during the course of travels is a really cool experience, and worth spending some time in hostels just to make the friends!

tuesday, after another good morning of reading, nicole and i went up the golden horn to the 'western districts.' in fener, we saw a beautiful orthodox church (both inside and outside were great). it was actually built in vienna, shipped down the danube, and assembled in istanbul. then, we hopped on a ferry (it was a beautiful day) and went to eyüp. i need to go back to see one of the holiest mosques in islam, but our activities were fun. we went to the 'pierre loti cafe' where a famous french writer apparently came for inspiration, and where the views of the golden horn and istanbul are incredible. you can make out the hagia sofia from the other end of the horn. before ferrying back, we noticed the paddle boats and couldn't help ourselves. paddling around a couple small islands on the horn was a great touch to a very lovely day.
later that night nicolai and i went off to watch the barcelona-manchester united match, where we were disappointed to watch a terrible defensive mistake result in an all-england european cup final. yeah, i've become a bit of a football (soccer) junkie.

wednesday, i wandered around the north part of the bosphorus on my own. i took a bus as far north as sarıyer, strolled along the shores for awhile, hopped back on a bus, and intended to visit both the european and asian fortresses. the european fortress museum is closed on wednesdays, so i snapped a few shots, decided i didn't care enough to cross to asia, took some ugly digital zoom pictures of the asian fortress and the oldest yali (wooden house) on the bosphorus directly under the fatih bridge in the asian side.
this was also the day i changed my ticket, and due in part to this, my failure at visiting the fortresses, and too much time thinking on my stroll, i was in a bit of a strange mood. so i went to homers (my favorite bookstore here) and spent money on books, which is usually what i do when i feel too contemplative. the evening was a relaxing and unproductive night at home with uğur playing instruments and music from the internet while i drank way too many cups of tea.

today, thursday, is may 1, labor day for the rest of the world and really big deal. i really had no idea. it actually commemorates massacres after an anarchist-communist demonstration for worker's rights in chicago in the mid 1800's- this is part of why the us has shunned the day in favor of our september labor day. well, here especially, its a big deal. worker's days are long, and union rights are not exactly the best. moreover, a demonstration on 1 may 1977 in taxim square left around 30 dead. since then, demonstrations at taxim have been banned, and every year the unions try to stage something there. this year, rhetoric surrounding the use of the square was high, and today, many demonstrators tried to get to taxim. there were 100's of police. no, i didn't join the demonstrators. the main street right around the corner from our apartment provided enough excitement, and our crew had enough sense to stay away. this became true when a tear-gas bomb flared on the other side of the street from where we were watching and a crowd ran. we went home and ventured out about an hour later to watch demonstrators and police give and take ground right at our intersection. there were young leftists throwing rocks, more tear-gas, and police tanks shooting water. all-in-all pretty incredible, and nicolai and my eyes stung two hours later when everyone had dispersed and we wandered out. it leaves me thinking about 'democracy' and 'activism' in america and what we take for granted. it also makes me laugh at bored berkeley students sitting in trees like its the end of the world- but then i'm not always pleased with berkeley activists and find many going to a protest just to go to a protest (not that i never went to a protest, but... well anyways, the point is that demonstrations here are the real-deal, politics spill onto the street, being a leftist takes on more than just a way to be young, cool, and radical...)

so, i'm pretty glad i stayed in istanbul this week. yes, i missed the beaches of the med. but they'll still be there next time i'm in turkey. instead, i got some real taste of turkey (ha ha ha).

okay, tomorrow i leave for big trip out east, which i will probably blog in portions to break it up. then, i get back to istanbul, have a weekend, and am on my way home. see everyone soon!