Beer Goon in Istanbul

I had a good day in Istanbul today. As none of you know, right now is Ramazan Bayramı, a 3 day holiday marking the end of Ramadan, and the beginning of regular calorie intake. Hence, English Time is closed, and we are officially on holiday. Being that these are my first few days off in... oh... a month or so, I decided to head over to Sultanahmet.

After a brisk (It's about 8 degrees Celsius here. I have no idea what the hell that means. It's cold, but water is still wet) ferry over to Europe, we took the nice, new, air-conditioned tram a few stops down to the heart of Istanbul, Sultanahmet. Now that Ramazan's over, the area is actually navigable. We paid our 15YTL (12 USD) each to enter the Hagia Sofia, and wandered around inside for about an hour. This Church-cum-Mosque-cum-Museum dates from near the beginning of the Byzantine Empire, some 1500 years ago. And, like most really old things, it is impressive. However, it is much more impressive being that it is really old, and still absolutely gorgeous (a rare commodity here in Istanbul).

Afterwards, Em and I decided to take advantage of our situation, and explore the area a bit more. So, we headed for the back alleys of Cemberlitas and found some really, really nice areas. We had a great dinner in a traditional-seeming-for-the-tourists restaurant, where the food was actually the same price for Americans as for Turks! Then, we had tea (and Emily had nargile, but when I smoke the stuff, I feel like I'm going to die) in a charming tea house, which was, oddly enough, in the middle of a cemetary. Those enterprising Turks... Feeling satisfied and satiated, we walked back along the tramline, window-shopping, and admiring the beautiful shops and lanes (Yes, lanes! And not highway lanes! Lanes, lanes! There are actually peaceful, cobblestone lanes in Istanbul! And I found them! Ha Ha!). We stopped for bone-full fish sandwiches near the Galata Bridge, before we caught our ferry back to Kadikoy.

Now, as I finish this email, Emily is preparing for our friend Ibrahim to come over. He's bringing sarma dolma for Bayram, and he's got a bottle of wine he picked up in London. Tomorrow, we're going to our students' house for a Bayram dinner, and Sunday, our roomate's friend/lover/spiritual guide is taking us to see him whirl (he's a dervish).

Why did I just tell you about my day? Why should you care? What the hell is sarma dolma? Here's the point: Being dropped in the middle of foreign country is difficult, especially when you have no money, have no friends, and are shooting vomit all over your beautiful new dorm room. Sometimes it's even more difficult as time goes on. As you are consistenly charged 3 times the price for things because you're an American. As you spend hours every day cutting through the most insane traffic you've ever seen. As you learn, the hard way, not to turn the lights and the shower on at the same time in your new apartment. As you begin to forget about things you always took for granted, like safety, politeness, and honest business practices. And sometimes, it doesn't get any easier. Just when you think you might be being too harsh, you see a man attack a woman with a machete. Or, you see an animal slaughtered on the street. Or your landlord's friend tries to turn your living room into the office of the import-export business you "promised" to open up with him.

And maybe they're never going to improve. Maybe I'll always feel uncomfortable here in Istanbul. Maybe I'll always feel like a piggy bank surrounded by hungry kids waiting to crack me open. But hey, if I wanted comfort, I would have stayed in America. If I wanted things easy, cheap, and clean, I would have stayed in Prague. Much of the world is dirty, polluted, seedy, and insane. And I wanted to see the world, didn't I?