Istanbul – Day 01

We’re here! It’s 7:30 pm and we just landed in Istanbul.
Our journey began very early this morning, waking up at 4:30 (for those who slept) and taking off at 6:45 am from the Pyrenees. Then, we waited more than 6 hours at the airport before our second flight.

On the bus leading to Istanbul airport terminal, we’re already meeting someone: Jorge. A very nice man who gives Côme a 5 TL bill (about a quarter) after hearing Doo explaining that there are different currencies in different countries. Jorge shows us pictures of his family, we chat about Turkey and we take a picture before saying goodbye.

After taking a bit more cash (5 TL wouldn’t take us very far), we’re going straight to the buses. There’s a 2 hours commute to city center and our hotel. We hop on the bus that is supposed to take us to a train (then heading downtown) but the bus driver “tells” us that we need a card in order to pay for the fare because he cannot take any cash. He is about to leave (next bus would then be 40 minutes away) and so he asks the passengers if anyone could take our fare on their card in exchange for our 30TL (1.70€). A young man gives his card and refuses to take our money for the gesture. We are very touched by people’s kindnessnd here.

When we reach the station, we find ourselves a bit lost in front of the ticket vending machines (they are acually machines selling top up cards). Once again, people help us. Communicating is really not easy because of the language barrier (Turkish people don’t seem to speak much English) but the interractions are pleasant thanks to their kindness and patience.

Côme is impressed by the subway and we are amused to notice cats “guarding” every station.

When we exit the station, we find ourselves in the heart of the old city. It’s 9 pm. There’s “craziness” everywhere: people, cars. Most shops are still open: shoe stores, children wear, even hairdressers! And transit is… well, it’s compete mayhem! We’re quick to realize that pedestrians do not have any priority and that honks are used to pass an intersection…

After 20 good minutes walking, we arrive at the hotel, well… we arrive at the address of the appartment we booked at the last minute (remember?). We ring the bell… et then…. nothing… no one…
Eric walks accross the street to ask a vendor in a shop if he can call the number we have from the appartment. The man walks out of his shop, crosses the street and goes calling a man sitting at a fast-food table: the owner of the appartments. He greets us with an earnest smile and takes us inside the building and up the stairs. And in Istanbul, stairs are like mount Everest, it’s very steep and you’ve got to be a professional athlete to climb. But you know what? Well, we are super happy to be there instead of the other one (the one that canceled on us). Alright, the “kitchen” is useless, the hairdryer must be from the 18 century BCE, but it’s clean, charming and really ideally located. The only problem (for Doo)? There are no curtains or blinds, so in the morning, it’s like we’re outside under the sun…

Before going to bed, we have our little ritual. It’s a ritual we had in France and we would like to share it with you. Every evening, during dinner, each one of us tells 3 things: one thing we did not understand from our day, one thing we have learnt and one thing that made us laugh (or that we particularly enjoyed). So here it is:

Côme:
Did not understand: why the stairs were so steep in the buildings of Istanbul.
Learnt: that saturday night, we party!
Laughed: when he made the robots fall in the video game at the airport.

Julia:
Did not understand: why the plane took so long to take off in Paris.
Learnt: that having a book on the phone was great with so many hours of waiting.
Enjoyed: Côme’s enthusiasm for this first day.

Doo:
Did not understand: how to buy train tickets.
Learnt: how to buy train tickets.
Enjoyed: seeing Côme laugh while hitting funny looking robots.