Good morning Istanbul, I woke up to the noise of the two ladies discussing things that didn’t seem important to me. A quick breakfast as defined by Merve in a small restaurant lasts a bit more than one hour. It was a collection of cheese, meat, eggs, vegetables and so on. They called it “Very very breakfast” in Turkish on the menu.
We started our day trip to discover and rediscover Istanbul. The weather is a bit cold and cloudy but still pleasant in a way. We started by Hagia Sophia which I didn’t visit in the previous two trips to Istanbul. Merve was not happy that we were not impressed by Hagia Sophia. She said that we were not intellectual enough to appreciate the beauty of the cultural mixture between a church and mosque. For me, it was a church that has Islamic writings. But it was yet another church.
My mother’s family has its roots in Turkey. Therefore, we have a certain Turkuphilia in the famiglia. A few years ago we met in Istanbul for a week or so and we loved it. My mother’s favourite spot was the blue mosque, also called Sultan Ahmet Mosque. For this trip, mom asked me to kisse every mosque for her.
We arrived to the blue mosque and I had my washing for the prayer in the space around the mosque. Christina and Merve went inside to visit the mosque and later I followed in. It is a special place where certain emotions stir inside of me. Can’t really describe them. When I think of Istanbul, there would be my spot.
I won’t go into details describing the architecture or the beauty inside the mosque. You should go visit! google can give you a good idea on how the place looks like. But no technology yet will convey the feeling inside the mosque. Despite the noisy tourists at the back of the mosque, the front of the mosque is a different world. The silence, the humming of the dispersed worshippers, the feeling that everyone around you is probably trying to connect out of this world.
We sat there for a while and then went out to visit the Basilica Cistern where the last scene of the movie Inferno took place. There, Christina had a photo-shooting session in an Ottoman costume that matched her beautiful blue eyes.
Turkey is a holy place for food. Merve decided that we will eat at Sultanahmet köfte, where she took us and already ordered for us the dishes in the quantities that she estimated without even consulting us! She has some sweet dictatorship about her that I often found very cute. She ordered two portions for me and one and a half portions for each of them. The köfte was a melody. Its tender, juicy and rich taste triggered a wow from Christina and me while Merve was romanticising on how she does not want to leave Turkey. We love you Diljit, but this Köfte!
A short walk later lead us to the grand bazaar, which was nice and full of nice goods that we are mainly not interested in 😀 We were joined by Ezgi, Merve’s cousin for a short time and bought a few souvenirs.
A small dessert and then Galata tower. We climbed the tower to see a higher view of Istanbul. It was already dark and the lights shone over the mosques in the horizon in different directions. The call to the prayer started while we were up which is often special for me. Christina has a lot of questions and a vast curiosity. Merve said “you spent enough time” and pressed us to leave.. it was cold..
We took a taxi and went to a nice cafe to rest from the day.. Sitting there, smoking shisha and reflecting on the day. As Christina says, “it feels like we had breakfast 3 days ago”. It was a full day that was perfectly organized by Merve. I feel lucky to have the opportunity to travel with the two ladies. I am always skeptic about traveling in groups, but this company was for me very entertaining and enriching.
We spent a few hours in the cafe, then had some “Wet burger” in a small street restaurant. We were tired and it was not long before we go back to the accommodation.
Merve: I want to tell you something.
Me: Tell me.
Merve: no, ask me to tell you.
Me: Why would I ask you to tell me? Just tell me if you want.
Merve: I want you to insist that I tell you.
Me: It is hard for me to understand. This is Merve.. either she wants to tell me or not. If she wants to tell me, she will tell me. If she does not want to tell me, she won’t!
Merve: no.. no.. this is Merve (represents herself with a small cosmetics item).. She either (written by Merve):
1- wants to tell you something but expecting you to insist!
2- does not want to tell you something but if you insist enough she will tell!
3- wants to tell you something no matter what!
4- will never ever tell you she swears to Allah.
5- is indecisive and does not have enough energy to reflect on her enriched mind.
Good night to all the habibis!