Istanbul

4 years ago, it never occurred to me that the first stamp on my brand new passport will take 4 years to come by and that it would be that of a country whose borders span 2 continents. Turkey. “Welcome to Istanbol” said my neighbor in the plane, music to my ears after 19 hours of flying and boring transfers.

(PS: this was when I started drafting the blog… now when I am posting it, I have been to two more countries :P )

Everyone has their favorite pick of every city they travel to. Well, if u ask me about Istanbul, I could say “the grandeur of the ancient Aya Sophia” or describe the streets if “Kapali” Bazaar, the grand bazaar in exquisite detail…. But it wouldn’t be honest. The only honest answer would be the sea – her moods, her colors, and her strength.

I am truly, madly and deeply in love with Istanbul’s “Bosphorus”. On board a ferry at different times of the day, you’ll notice how she dons diverse costumes – to look like liquid gold in the soft morning light, stunning crystalline blue through the day, molten lava during a fiery sunset, fluid silver on a cloudy afternoon and into a restless black cascade by moonlight. She will make a romantic out of any one who pauses, and takes a while to observe her =)

A friend suggested that I read Orhan Pamuk before venturing into Turley. I managed to grab a copy when in Turkey and start reading… he describes turkey as having its own ‘melancholy’ (huzun) in his words… I could not agree more… to take that last ferry across the sea and feel a quite descend over the city… and wake up to the prayer calls of the mosques at dawn… its heart breaking and endearing.

I regret not being able to travel out of Istanbul to explore the whole of turkey - hope to do that on my next trip :)