Arrived in Istanbul, tired and drained from a very long travel day of mini-buses, planes, metros, and trams. Promptly fell in love. Istanbul, Istanbul, Istanbul! My hostel, off the beaten path in a little local neighborhood, is brand new. I was guest number 6. The boys who own and run the place are three early 20-somethings who had all gone in on this gig together and were eager to meet their new visitors to make a good go of their endeavors. It was their home away from home as all three were sitting around playing Play Station when I arrived. Super nice guys, really great place. Hostel 68.
Upon my arrival, met Michael, an American/Ethiopian, who was visiting Istanbul in between finishing his first year of law school in Boston and heading home to Ethiopia for his summer break. Great sense of humor, fabulous stories to tell, and a connection to Africa. Exactly the company I needed. So much fun exploring and experiencing Istanbul from Turkish delight to baklava, Turkish coffee to apple tea, and all of the incredible sights in between the sweets and caffeine stops. Conversations of African life, Middle Eastern experiences, and travel as a way to connect with people. Fabulous good fun.
My universe found many ways to ward off any possibility of loneliness in Turkey because 1., Michael was absolutely hilarious, endlessly entertaining, and generally great company, 2., I had the incredible good fortune to meet up for dinner with my two LOVELY sweetheart Jordan girls, Liz & Laura, as we had one night over-lapping in Istanbul, and 3., my most favourite travel buddy EVER, Deb came to join me. Deb has just spent 7 months exploring Central & South America from well-trod paths to the tiniest corners untouched by Western influences. She was chilling out in Spain before her return home to Canada but when we realized how close we were, finally on the same continent again, she flew to meet me here. Almost peed my pants on the way to the airport to meet her… SO excited!!!
Istanbul is a pretty easy place to get stuck for a while. Endless elaborate mosques, sprawling bazaars filled with the most beautiful ceramic tiles, gorgeous fabrics, and enticing spices, a busy and perfect people-watching waterfront, and an easy, easy transportation system. Not as warm to travelers as I had hoped, but still able to find opportunities to meet and chat with locals amid the swarming crowds. Timing is a bit off as kids are getting out of school and high season kicked off around mid-May so lots of lost foreigners finding their way around town but I’m in Turkey… it’s all good!
Our last night in Istanbul wasn’t at hotel 68. Drama, drama, drama. Upon our late return the night before, our three lovely entrepreneurs greeted us with excessive apologies. They said something had happened with the sewer system and they had arranged to re-locate us to another place for the next night. They would take care of the difference in cost and they were so, so, SO sorry. It was no big deal to any of us but these poor guys just seemed so concerned.
As Deb and I waffled about in the kitchen area the next morning, no real plans and kinda sorta throwing our stuff together, one of the guys approached us and asked if we were ready to go as they were going to take us and the other guests to the hostel. Oh, okay, umm, not really but I can get my stuff together quick, quick. Then came a knock at the door. Two official looking men purposefully entered the building with serious looks on their faces and clipboards in hand. Tension spiked and a wide-eyed, apologetic, very worried looking owner hustled and bustled about herding us up and out the door now, now, NOW. Quick goodbye to Michael as he was flying to Ethiopia that afternoon and a handful of us trucked our backpacks up the road to the next place. What just happened there? Police raid? Building inspector shut down? Some other underground illicit activity that we were unknowingly part of? We weren’t getting any answers.
The owners of our old hostel and new hostel were obviously friends so after some “investigating” (asking a lot of nosey questions), it seems that the boys opened up, hoping to catch a full and busy high season, a little before the ink was dry on all of the necessary paperwork. Chained and padlocked door, no one is getting in anytime soon. Such a shame as it really is a great place. Hope they muddle through the bureaucracy in time to catch the tail end of the season. Always something exciting going on.
A good luck day of hospitality, however. Where we stopped for lunch, an older man who spoke no English hopped around like a child who needs to pee, clasping his hands, laughing, pulling his hair, and trying oh so desperately to communicate with us with when we shared that we were from Canada. Shortly thereafter, his nephew shows up, (obviously summoned) excellent English speaker as he had lived in the States, and a long chat ensues. Family owned restaurant for several generations and they also own a water buffalo dairy farm. Yep, water buffalo dairy farm. Who knew?! He outlines a highly recommended travel plan for us so off we go to book tickets for ferries and such. Lovely! We could now wander the rest of Istanbul with tickets in hand and a plan ready to go.
Back at the hotel the night before we’re ready to go as we’re reviewing our time in Istanbul and our upcoming travel plans, we ask for directions to the ferry (because where we bought our tickets apparently isn’t anywhere close to where the ferry actually docks). A long term guest steps in to help. We show him the plan, he shows us how the ticket we bought wasn’t actually such a great plan and it isn’t exactly where we want to go. Oops. Water buffalo guy tried but hmmm… let’s make a new plan. So he and Deb poured over maps and routes to devise a new plan while I packed and repacked. At the end of our now NEW plan, long term guest guy offers to drive us to the ferry port the next morning! Wow! Thanks! Lucky he did too because the ferry port was NOWHERE near where we were staying. Life is good in Istanbul.
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