Istanbul

August 18th
Istanbul

Finally the port I’ve been waiting all cruise for, Istanbul! I had no idea what to expect, and with another unfortunate rehearsal planned, limited time to find out. I woke up early in the morning to get off the ship, took a shuttle into town with Mark (drummer) and some others (a shuttle in which I told the operator that crew are allowed onto for free, a complete lie, but saved me and my 4 friends over $10 each) to discover the city. Mark and I split off to head into the grand bazaar, which did justice to its name. It was simply a lot of shops selling fake (presumably) designer name clothes, linens, and water pipes. It was cool for about 5 minutes, but not having any desire to buy clothes, was easily left in search of more exciting options. Mark and I kept walking, exchanged some money, and went looking for some interesting places to sit down and enjoy the culture and vibe of Turkey. We ended up at a nice local-looking hang out, a large room with many couches, where one could buy food and drinks, well, that and a little more.
Driven by my curiosity to experience the culture and confirmed by Mark’s past experiences, I recommended a stop at this place for the prospect of seeing what the water pipe, or more commonly known as Hookah, was all about. The water pipe, which is a large vertical pipe, burns a flavored tobacco, filters it through water, and is then inhaled. These pipes, though usually associated with the middle east, can be found in the states, are totally legal, and even have found a place in Hookah themed bars. Now I’ve never done any drugs, nor have I even once picked up a cigarette, but the cultural significance of the Hookah made it a justifiable activity in my mind. So there I sat with Mark, drinking tea and trying this strawberry flavored Hookah, experiencing the culture. It was certainly interesting to say the least, but surprisingly light and fruity, not nearly as aggravating to my respiratory system as I was expecting. We made ourselves comfortable on the couches though, played checkers on some Turkish board, and just hung out till it seemed the appropriate time to leave. I guess you could explain it as a very relaxing cultural experience and it’s obvious why it has such a large role in a social context. There’s just something about “passing the peace pipe” that makes the environment very friendly…or maybe that’s the hookah as well. Regardless, it might be something not exactly respectable or even in character for me, but these adventures require taking risks and venturing outside of your comfort zone, which that experience most certainly was.
When I finished beating Mark at checkers we left to look for some possible food. We still had about $20 worth of the Turkish YTL, of which we knew could get us a great lunch. It wasn’t long till we found a sit down restaurant and ordered a couple dishes, of which I have no hope of telling you what they were called, but everything was very good. We ate quickly and left to start making our way back to the ship by walking. The bus ride into town didn’t seem especially long, and considering I had a map and am overconfident in my sense of direction, we set out on our trek. I did have a general idea of where we were and knew that if we could get to the water, I’d be able to ascertain our position. Getting to the water required a few things however. The first was easy: walk around some mosques to where I could get a good viewpoint. The good viewpoint, however, came from on a grass hill on some Turkish palace grounds. Apparently, they aren’t quite fond of Americans on their grass, and I immediately drew the attention of an armed guard who showed his disapproval via a very intimidating whistle. Honestly, at first I wasn’t even aware he was blowing it at me; I was focused on getting my bearings. Then, as the sound got louder and I saw a uniformed man with an automatic weapon on the adjacent hill, I decided it might be a good time to dismount my grassy knoll. I played it off well as if I got off on my own terms, paid no attention to my belligerent friend and pretended to be the ignorant tourist (maybe it didn’t take that much pretending). We exited the palace, and after a quick discussion and Mark relieving me of some excess pride, we grabbed a cab. I negotiated with the cab driver before we got in, which didn’t seem to please him too much as he seemed to take one of my comments as an insult, and we got stuck paying $30 to get back across the bridge. It worked out though because had we not gotten in the cab, even though I did know exactly where we were, the walk would have been too formidable to make in the 40 minutes remaining time, the extra fee was worth the peace of mind. Not to mention it’s just fun riding cabs in foreign countries, and now I can add Turkey to that list. Mark and I made it back to the ship in time for rehearsal and that was end of the excursion.
The rest of the day was as usual, so nothing more to write there. Thanks!