From Budapest to Istanbul

« Return to Turkey

Just six minutes off the plane in Istanbul, a young guy asked me if I needed help finding my way to the city. It was the first random act of kindness from a stranger I had seen in a while. I wanted to hug the guy, but instead I asked him to finish three sentences as the light rail made its way from the airport to the only city that straddles two continents. As I type, I am sitting on a rooftop terrace in what is geographically considered Europe, staring across the Bosphorus at what is geographically considered Asia. Like the meeting of two great oceans, Turkey is a clash of these two separate worlds. Modern Europe is everywhere, but then so are the mosques, calling the masses to prayer over loud speakers that announce, clearly, my arrival in the East. “I have no doubt you will love Turkey,” says Koray, the young guy who helped me out at the airport. “Our hospitality is genuine and world famous!” After he jumps off, a man takes his seat and quizzes me in broken English. Ibrahim is an economics teacher at the university, and insists on helping me find my hostel in Sultanahmet, the main tourist strip of Istanbul. Given my morning (see above), I gladly accepted his offer. After an hour of walking with my backpack in the 34∞C heat, sweat was dripping from my shirt into my sandals. I had arrived with clear directions to the hostel, which involved a tram, but Ibrahim had other ideas. The sincerity of Ibrahim’s willingness to help, coupled with shock of walking through a crowded bazaar beneath enormous mosques of staggering beauty, somehow made this introduction to Istanbul appropriate. I was tingling with excitement and awe, seeing this world so different from any I have seen before. The enormous 17th century Blue Mosque opposite the fairy tale 6th Century Hagia Sofia is rare sight of architectural magic. The glory of the sultans of the Ottoman Empire is truly something to behold. In the other hand, I usually hold a donor kebab.

I found my hostel, a friendly house near the suitably understated Four Seasons Hotel. Tourists flock to Sultanahment because it is just a few minutes walk to the Mosques, museums and Topkapi Palace, the seat of the sultans from the 15th to the 19th century. Sultanahment was also the site of a bombing not too long ago ≠ Turkey’s secularism and cozy relationship with the USA offends the fundamentalists almost as much as the USA itself. Today, there are metal detectors outside the museums and palaces, and security can be tight. I met Ian, an American student who has spent the last year in Cairo, and enjoyed his impressive knowledge of Islam and Arab history. Together we explored the Topkayi Palace, imagining the world of the harem, with its enormous domes, rooms and carpets dating back centuries. In the treasury, an 86-carat diamond glittered with fist-sized rubies and emeralds. The value and quantity of these diamonds, gold, and ancient jewels defied belief. After a quick kofta, we jumped on a cheap boat up the Bosphorus, gazing at Istanbul’s ancient skyline. Docking at Uskudar, I took my first steps on the Asian continent before returning across the Golden Arm to Europe. At the 17th centuryYeni Mosque, I took off my shoes and sat beneath the enormous dome of the New Mosque. Low lights hung from the massive dome, creating the impression of being beneath the heavens. The Suleyman Imperial Mosque, built in the 1500’s and the largest in Istanbul, was more impressive to me than all the churches of Europe. Its size, opulence, colour and tranquility contrasted the dark, threatening and thoroughly glum Western tributes to the Catholic Church. Outside, I drank a beer in a yellow plastic cup so as not to offend - a fair balance between religious respect and secular compromise. The table opposite was full of women head to toe in black robes. Ege, an ambitious Turk with plans for world domination, calls them “ninjas”. I wondered how these women don’t keel over with heat exhaustion. A walk through the bustling spice bazaar later, I was ready to keel over myself, and headed to the Orient terrace for an Efes beer (or three).

“Foreigners do not understand Turkey,” says Ege over a beer before the belly dancing. “We are a secular country, but 98% of the population are Muslim. We are economically strong, but the EU has been afraid to let us in. We take things seriously that the West does not, like faith, and honour, and hospitality.” Turkey’s history is full of glory, the seat of civilizations that have come and gone, from the Holy Roman emperors to the powerful sultans that conquered three continents. Today it is bus-full of tourists, and friendly men who want to know where you come from, how are you today, would you like some tea, would you like to see my family’s rug business, I can make you a great price! My final day of Istanbul took me to the Hagia Sofia, the grandest church ever built and ironically the model from which all the great mosques are carved. Constructed in the 6th century, its enormous dome and walls still feature gold mosaic of Jesus from the first millennium, as well as the Islamic modifications made by centuries of ensuing Sultans. The great religions of the East and West collide right here, in this ancient building. Across the gardens in the Blue Mosque, the carpets were worn from men in prayer touching their heads in prostration. I wrapped a blue sheet around my bare legs and looked at the marble indent in the wall that faced Mecca. There is much for me to learn about Islam, and there is much for me to learn about Turkey. It may be ridiculously crowded with tourists, and the friendly harassment will soon wear thin, but like others before me, Turkey is my gateway to the East, and the next chapter in Modern Gonzo.

Bahaus Hostel
Sultanahem, Istanbul

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