Tourist Guilt

Today my friend/neighbor Darrin and I walked all over Istanbul taking care of various errands and sightseeing, killing two birds with one stone. We both agreed we have been terrible tourists even though I have more hang ups about it than he does. Although I have seen many an amazing sight here, I still feel like I am being a lame traveler.

I know this is in part due to the fact that I'm not necessarily here to just "visit". I'm here to be with Kevin, here because I love to travel, and here because what else was I going to do? The fire left us homeless. We were very lucky to have amazing family and friends who let us stay with them, but crashing on people's couches a week at a time just leaves you feeling unsettled to say the least. So the irony is, even though Istanbul is this new exotic place, it also feels like home. And even though the apartment we're renting isn't ours forever, it's the first place in a while that we've been able to make our own. I feel less compelled to leave it.

With that said though, I do savor every new experience and adventure I have here. And today was really good. We started our excursion by heading to the Spice Bazaar across the Golden Horn in the Sultanahmet district so I could pick up some gifts. Normally I just walk there but Darrin suggested we take the Tünel train, one of the oldest underground subway systems in the world. Calling it a "subway" is rather generous since really it's a train car on a pulley that takes you one stop down the hill or back up it. And here I was walking that hill like a sucker all this time. It's pretty great. Once we got to the bottom of the hill, you can cross the bridge by walking it or taking the tram. Darrin showed me an even cooler way though, by going down along the water and taking one of the various "ferries" across the Golden Horn. "Ferry" is also a generous term since it's usually some guy's rowboat with a motor attached and little else. For the locals, it costs about 1.50 to ride. For us, 2.50. And that was only because Darrin had done this before and was able to talk him down from the original 10 lira EACH asking price. Oh to be a tourist.




Fun ride!

Once we got to the Spice Bazaar, I was pleasantly surprised to find everything I needed fairly quickly so we decided to head to the Grand Bazaar where we sort of meandered around doing our best not to make eye contact with the sellers. God forbid they mistake an eye twitch for a hello and then they're all over you, asking you where you're from, telling you you're their friend, how much they love you, and oh yes, please buy my rug/hookah/dish/scarf/belly dancing costume. Happily tourist season is winding down now and I think their pushiness is too. It was almost pleasant walking around its labyrinth-esque corridors.


The Spice Bazaar, smaller than the Grand Bazaar and much more fun.

After that we headed to Sultanahmet Square where the top tourist sights are. I'd already been there but it was still fun to go with someone new and I hadn't seen the Hippodrome obelisks yet. Needless to say, they are hilariously unkempt. They're old and important, but they are pretty disappointing to look at.
Exactly how I imagine meeting Bob Dylan today would be like.


The Serpentine Column that was topped by 3 entwined snake heads that were decapitated. Um, impressive.


The Column of Constantine, once covered in gold-plated bronze that was stolen by the Fourth Crusaders. Now it's just looks like a really old Jenga tower.


Mr. Dylan.

Afterwards we walked through the amazing Topkapi Palace gardens. It was so grand and peaceful and shut out the noise of the rest of the city. The Ottomans really knew how to keep their distance from their people.



It was nearing dinnertime by this point so we headed back to Beyoğlu for some çay (tea). There I saw some of my people, filming a scene at a bookstore turned cafe. I wasn't able to compare how the set was in comparison to American film & tv sets I've been on, but it seemed pretty much the same. A few people running around like mad with everyone else standing around scratching their asses.



There we decided it would more thrifty AND delicious to cook up our own fish that we got from the local market. The fish markets are excellent here with very fresh fish sold daily. Since they clean and fillet the fish for you, it's very easy to have a delicious fresh fish dinner at home. That and a friseé, parsley, beet, carrot salad pretty much capped off an awesome day. I think I'm too tired to feel tourist guilt now.