I arrived in Istanbul, Turkey about twenty hours after leaving LAX. It was a gray and cool morning; much like you would imagine east Europe as being. Turkey is not necessarily Eastern Europe though. It is unique because it is caught somewhere between East Europe, Europe, and the East. I sleepily found my way to the metro station and took the thirty minute ride into Sultanahmet, what I was told was the center of the city. I set off with my back pack and twelve hours to do Istanbul. To tell you the truth, after those twelve hours were over, I felt like I had spent a week there. I don’t know if I could have spent another day there seeing things. I wandered through the bazaars past shops filled with carpets, tea sets, nuts, fruit, turkish delight, baklava, and all sorts of random nick nacks and tapestries. I toured the usual: Hagia Sophia,Sultanahmet Camii (Blue Mosque), Topkap Palace.

Istanbul is built by the sea and on a mountain side so walking into the town is more like walking (or hiking) up to town. I walked along the banks of the Marmara Sea (which opens up to the Mediterranean) and up into the winding cobblestone streets past houses older than America. One of the highlights of the day was stopping to get some fresh squeezed pomegranate juice on the side of the street (see picture). I sat and drank the equivalent of two pomegranates and watched the men try to yell people into stopping. I decided that they needed a little help so I grabbed an apron and started yelling the gibberish that they were using. After being told the correct thing to yell I stood on the street and sold pomegranate juice for about thirty minutes with these guys. Apparently I was pretty good because when I left, I got recruited by the stand across the street. I stayed loyal to my stand though and had to decline.
I continued walking until my feet hurt, playing soccer with some boys, watching birds, and sitting on curbs. Another highlight was going to the “Java Studio” coffee shop. I passed it early on the day and then spent about two hours looking for it that evening. I finally found it and it was worth the search. It not only has free wi-fi with a cup of coffee (turkish of course), but the interior design would beat many coffee shops. Yekta welcomed me in as it was his home and chatted with me while I just hung out and rested my feet for a few hours. After regrouping I made the trek back to the airport with a belly full of baklava and Turkish coffee (and some blisters).

Java Studio: Istanbul, Yekta Kuyumen (212.517.2378)

Cankurtaran Mah. Dalbasti Sok. No. 13- 34122 Sultanahmet

Wednesday 26 November 6:30am Istanbul Turkey

Beirut to Istanbul…after searching four thirty minutes trying to find an outlet for my computer at the Istanbul airport I sat down at trusty Starbucks, plugged my computer in to write, and Billie Holliday’s “I’ll be Seeing You” came on. It was the perfect song for how I’m feeling now after being gone for about ten days. I say about because there’s no telling how many days were lost or gained in traveling. I don’t even know what day of the week it is, whether it is 6:30 am or pm or whether I should sleep or try to dodge yawns. Whatever the case may be, I am glad to be heading home. This trip was perfect and I am starting at the end with this post and will now try to recap the trip with accompanying photos. So here it goes…..Los Angeles to New York to Turkey to Lebanon to Iraq to Lebanon to Turkey to New York to Los Angeles.

Hey everyone. I’m at JFK right now waiting on my flight to Istanbul. I’ll be posting as much as possible, but I don’t know yet what kind of access I’ll have to the internet. Keep checking back.