A Friendly, Familiar Istanbul

Happy to Be Back in Istanbul

Coming into the Ataturk Airport, I thought I was on the last part of my journey.  How soon I forgot the long lines and detours customs hands you, before you walk out of the airport with your luggage.

I forgot to go through the "Visa" line, before I went to the "Passport" line.  So, I waited at least an hour in the "Passport" line before I was told I needed to go to the "Visa" line first.  I thought, "What?  I'm not staying long.  I'm only staying for 3 weeks!"  But, I forgot.  It doesn't matter, they just want to charge you money before you enter.  It's not a big deal, just a necessary step before the "Passport" line.

Then, the line I got into to finish the process was very slow.  There was a young man they wouldn't let through and it held up my line for about a half hour.  When I was about to get called up, they closed the line and I had to move the line to the right of me.  I didn't figure getting frustrated would help a bit, so I just lowered my shoulders and watched the hundreds of people being processed through customs.  (When I say I was watching them, I mean without being obvious)

When I got to the baggage claim area, my luggage had already been taken off the belt and set in a group of luggage, ready to go to the claims office.  Last time that happened to me, I didn't see my luggage for three days.  I grabbed it out of the group of luggage and the man who was taking care of the luggage looked at me and gave me a "thumbs up".  Guess he was glad he had one less bag to lug to the office.

My Friend, Birim on Car Ferry

My friend, Birim, was outside the terminal, waiting for me.  It felt so good to see a friend after all those hours traveling.  She looked beautiful in her royal blue dress, jewelry, as she always does.  We got into the Istanbul traffic right away.  It took us two more hours to get to her apartment, but we chatted and chatted while we dealt with the stop and go.  She got into the line for the car ferry, so that helped save some energy fighting traffic.  It's a nice trip by ferry across the Bosphorus, to the Asian side of Istanbul, where Birim lives.

Car Ferry

I was surprised to find I had an instant reconnection with Istanbul. It wasn't a place that belonged to someone else, anymore.  A part of it belonged to me.  I lived here, I got lost here, I taught here and made friends here.  The streets and skylines started looking familiar.  Seeing the ships everywhere on the Bosphorus made me smile.  It was familiar.

Istanbul

Honking cars, people selling water and simit on the streets, walking between cars to sell through the windows. The buses, trucks and taxis weaving through the slow traffic.  The glowing lights of the bridge, the city beginning to light up from water's edge up the hills, as far as you can see.  People were feeding the seagulls bread, from the ferry.  The small fishing boats were out on the water, bobbing around in the wake from the ships and ferries.  

Seagull by Ferry Waiting for Bread

Birim showed me some fresh fruit and vegetables she bought for us.  When I saw a brownish fruit, I said, "What is this?"  She said, "You've never eaten a fig, before?"  "Yes, but only dried figs."  She slowly peeled back the sides of the fig, like a banana, while we were stopped in traffic.  It didn't look very good, but it was delicious.  I found out they're in season now.  I'll be eating my share of them before I return to the U.S.

A last note:  Happy Birthday. Brendan!!