in Istanbul waters

The Bosphorus.

I have been in Istanbul for about five days now; and it has been cold and rainy throughout most of it.  It's a shame, because this historical city must be quite gorgeous in the brightness of the sun.

Drinking tea on the ferry.

Oh well. can't control the weather!   And besides, there are lots and lots of warm little cafes to sit in and drink tea (Turkish people drink a lot of tea!).

I gave another chance to the touristic neighborhood of Sultanahmet today, with the intention of visiting the "Blue Mosque" and the "Grand Bazaar".  I was looking forward to interacting with the place and the language on my own, without the help and translation of my friend.  I was also very much looking forward to getting lost in those myriads of narrow, sinuous streets that make for so much of Istanbul's charm.


I left the apartment around 9:30 and walked down the hill to the Bosphorus, which is the strait at the heart of Istanbul and thus her main feature.
I found a street vendor and finally got myself one of those Simit: a "Turkish bagel" covered in sesame seeds, which I found out today is served with fresh creme cheese and olive tapenade!  "Teşekkür ederim!" I said to thank the young man before hoping on the ferry boat that would bring me from Kadiköy ("Asia") to Eminönü ("Europe").
Then I sat on the ferry and observed, as subtlety as I could, the locals' appearance and behavior.

I'd say that, despite being halfway around the globe, I haven't felt especially unsettled or culturally shocked so far.  Everything looks modern, western... thank you Atatürk (details below).  Some women wear the hijab, many don't; it's pretty much just like Montreal!  As seems to be the case wherever I travel, what is most other to me are the food and the language.
Otherwise, it's the same souvenirs stands, only with a different flag.  It's the same hopes for deep human connection, and the same frustrations about the commodification of our traditions and cultural crafts.

Warm "castanes" on a rainy day...
4 Turkish liras = 100g.

I sound jaded I know!  My apologies, 't must be the rain, 't must be my unresolved feelings about the phenomenon tourism.  I'm sitting in this pub near the Blue Mosque (It was closed due to prayer) and I'm waiting for the rain to calm down.  I'm hungry.  Every price on the menu is almost thrice as high as it is in residential areas.  A minute ago, the waiter cleared the table of two American women who had each left an entire kebab with rice on their plate.  Man! I wish I was a shameless scavenger sometimes...

I walked through the Grand Bazaar for a time.  Carpets, stones, flavored tobacco, baubles, silks.  I remembered the markets of Oaxaca, and those of Sao Paulo.

Grand Bazaar

There are, of course, lots of little marvelous things I enjoy about Istanbul.  For instance, most pubs (although maybe not the ones that are cathering to tourists) apparently have only one beer on tap!  No need to make hard decisions between three kinds of IPAs and amber and lagers... you just ask for the desired size!

 And I must say that those pubs Ezgi brought me to are quite beautiful.  I haven't been particularly astonished by the architecture here (except for the mosques!), but the interior of those pubs, which are often built on three or four floors, are just astonishing!

Spanish gypsy music in Moda.

Ceramic fireplace!

I also very much like the bag-down-the-window system, whereas people living on the top floors of buildings send a plastic bag down their window for merchants to fill with their order!

Simits on their way up!