June 15th - Goodbye Istanbul & a friend from Jordan

Today was my final day in Istanbul so I decided to spend it walking about. There was so much of the city that I still needed to see. I walked from my hostel over to the spice Bazar and then across the Golden Horn to Galata Tower.  I then decided to try and get near Takism Square despite the ongoing protests. A number of locals I had met suggested that this would be completely safe during the day. I ended up in Takim and it was very calm. You could see the protesters camped in the park with police nearby. The craziest part was that tour buses were bringing people to Takism.

At 4pm, I headed back to the old part of town to see Ay again. She wanted to wish me well before I departed. We then connected with a friend of hers from Jordan, named Munir, that was staying at her apparent through Airbnb.  He works in Internet retail and was visiting Istanbul for a few weeks. I throughly enjoyed talking with him because of his knowledge concerning the Middle East.  As an American, I will be the first to admit that I harbored a strong uncertainty against the Middle East. I have concerns about militant and fanatic Islam, terrorist attacks and kidnapping of western people that travel in the region.  All of these predispositions were challenged in the three hours I spent with Munir.  What I have learned through travel, over and again, is that most places never match their reputation. I also firmly believe in cultural exchange because there is no greater ambassador for a nation than its citizens. It is my hope to travel to Jordan someday to meet with more Middle Easterners and I challenge more Americans to do the same. Traveling to learn their culture and share ours would help remove the misconceptions and pave the way to a more lasting friendship rooted in mutual understanding (Also not propping up dictators in the region would help as well).

Finally thank you to Ay for the parting gifts!! They were wonderful. And I really enjoyed the fish sandwiches and pistachio desserts.

Photo: Galata Tower

Photo: Protestor tents in Takism

Photo: Tour bus inTakism 

Photo: The three of us! - Ay, Munir and I

June 12th - Part II: Two events of circumstance

I studied German in high school and was often told that I should have taken Spanish. As an American citizen, I can understand the reasoning. Spanish is the second most spoken language in the US and is growing rapidly. Regardless, I wanted to learn German because it seemed more applicable to my long-term interests to work in technology and travel throughout Europe.  Today my decision was vindicated. Strolling through Istanbul and ending up quite lost as I searched for my hostel, I decided to ask for directions. I'd heared of Turkish hospitality and decided to put it to the test but ran into one hiccup - no one around me spoke English.  They still wanted to help and there I stood surrounded by three Turkish women pointing to the address on my iPad. Then one of them said "Deutsch"? When they only speak Turkish and German, and I only speak English and German, you use German! Five minutes later I was escorted down the street and straight to my hostel. Vielen Danke!!!

Photo: In the Grand Bazar

Later after checking into my hostel, I headed out for a walk. I grabbed a doner kebab for dinner and walked to the grand bazaar. On my way back, a young man approached. I was skeptical because I read to many stories of street scams. He quickly explained that he was only 16 and simply wanted to practice his English. So there I was sitting on a park bench serving as an English teacher and picking up some Turkish. Afterwards he was so thankful, he took me to meet his uncle and offered me Turkish apple tea. The tea was incredible and was pure apple. I guess my friend Geoff Lewis was right - when traveling "just say yes" and you are often rewarded with unique experiences :) Finally, it turns out the uncle has a background in electronics and studied in Switzerland. He owns his own rug whole seller in Istanbul. He invited me over for lunch tomorrow and promised to teach me about Turkish carpet making so I can identify a quality rug! One adventure leads to another.

Photo: Turkish Carpet with Medallion Design. 

Regarding carpets, I leaned that the difference between Persian and Turkish is the knots. A Persian rug is a single knotted carpet while a Turkish rug is double knotted. This makes the Turkish rugs less likely to fray.