I am listening to Istanbul, intent, my eyes closed…

Istanbul: Alone (best if read by David Attenborough) 

If ever there was a city that held its history in every step, it is Istanbul. Here, at the crossroads of cultures, continents, and climates, one cannot help but feel the importance of the place seeping through cracks in the skin with every gust of wind from the Bosphorus. Even the historically inept (speaking from personal experience) are brought to wonder at the significance of Istanbul. The taste of apple tea blends with the aroma of the breeze from Black and Marmara seas, the budding trees at Topkapi, and of course the kebaps.

The trip started with me flying to Riga with my friend, Shine. 

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Next day, we parted ways and I was off to Istanbul alone. I wandered the streets, trying to just soak up as much of the strange new city as possible. 

We couldn't decide, so we just dropped it altogether. I suggest you do too.

 I got lost, then remembered my boy scout training, "if you're ever lost, just find the aqueducts and follow them downhill."

I chatted it up with some guy fishing on the bridge. Not a whole lot you can say when all you know is merhaba (hi) and how to count...then again, count chocula gets by with less.

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The next morning I walked the length of the old city wall...pretty incredible

"Itinerant gypsies...there are those who find no music in the broken rhythm, the mounting minor...For myself, I can listen as long as the musicians will play." Little gypsy kids would play pipe music all around the city. Apparently when they're not working, they play like normal kids.

This man randomly grabbed me off the street and bought me some apple tea (so good) at a local old-man-tea-drinking-place. He then started showing me how to get to a temple in the depths of Istanbul, and his little daughter came running out to greet us. I was shocked at the almost creepy niceties of people here. He eventually led me to the Chora Church, with it's amazing frescos (go to Istanbul if you want to see them). 

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The Arrival of One Master Wesley

My good friend Wes joined me that afternoon, and we began the big tourist things in Istanbul. This made it so much easier to take pictures with me in them (making them better, right?)

The cisterns were first, and incredible...more than 9000 sq meters of video-game-level worthy columns.

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The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) came next. This was likely my favorite place in Istanbul. So peaceful, so comfortable (especially for my sprained ankle), and so incredibly beautiful.

 

 See how great it is? Wes certainly seems to be enjoying himself.

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Not pictured: Aya Sophia. That's what you get for being expensive. Now think about what you've done.

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I've wanted to visit the grand bazaar for as long as I've known it existed. It's the oldest bazaar in the world (arguably), and I've always been fascinated that it has pretty much stuck to selling the same things generation after generation. It leads directly to the spice bazaar, which is equally impressive.

 

We spent hours and hours wandering the catacombs of this ancient bazaar. Most of these people have been doing the same thing for generations, growing up around their trade, knowing the ins and outs of a carpet weaving business. Later, Wes and I met a man we labeled "the most interesting man in the world." He wore his already gray hair long, and he dressed very fashionably. He spent money buying drinks and cigars for instant friends (I missed out on the spending spree here, but that's alright I guess). His mannerisms were so extravagant it was hard to believe they were sincere--but mind you, they were. He had a character that you only read about in books, and never believe. Travelling the world off the profits of his carpet shop, he searched for rare and exotic fabrics that could improve the business he grew up in...looking for adventures at every stop. 

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Definitely the most intriguing part of Istanbul was the archaeological museum. It's likely the most extensive collection I've ever seen, full of really great byzantine sculptures and sarcophagi (I'll save these for a later post, they were super interesting), remnants from Troy, the Kadesh Peace Treaty (oldest one in the world), and endless other treasures.

Wes, appreciating good things

 Zeus and I

 I'm not sure if Hayley reads this, but that's our face. 

 Raise the chain!

Really beautiful Ottoman tiling with an even more beautiful foreground...

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The time finally came to bid dear Istanbul farewell, for the time at least. 

 
 Wes enjoyed a glass of pickle juice on the bosphorus

 View 1 from breakfast site 

View 2 from our hostel. Incredible really.