Istanbul, Turkey

I can't believe that I've been in Istanbul for a week! I stayed in a great youth hostel in Sultanamet for the first 3 nights and took in all the touristy sights: Hagia Sofia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, riding the tram, kebabs, baklava, etc. The Big Apple hostel had a great rooftop terrace, where after a long day of sights, the beer tasted even better. The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia were definitely my highlights, each domed and outrageously ornate. Going into the Blue Mosque, you have to cover your head and legs and take your shoes off. When I got in, I was totally overwhelmed...by the smell of feet. It was a hot day and holy shit, it was horrible. But after my eyes stopped watering, I was able to sit and reflect. Even though there were a maddening number of tourist groups, I found it quite peaceful.

Istanbul is such a cool city - half of it is on the European side and half in Asia. The Bosphoros Straight is the dividing line. I cruised out to an island one day...I swear I'm going to buy a boat one day...and worked on my tan :) The city has great energy. I had dinner with some people from the hostel and we ended up in an area where block after block are restaurants, bars and clubs with cafe style seating spilling out onto the sidewalk and cobblestone streets. All kinds of music competes with one another, guys are selling stuffed mussles and grilled corn on carts and persistent turkish men try to lure you into their rug shops with promises of tea.

I heard about this website called couch surfing and decided to try it out in Istanbul. Basically, its a reciprocal hospitality website where you offer your couch, meet and greet, night out, coffee/drinks to travelers from around the world and in turn you do the same when you're out in the world. The basic idea is to promote peace through learning and understanding of other cultures. So I've done my research, bc you know that's how i am, and I find Sercan (say: Ser-jan). He seems like just the type of person that I want to have in my life and I wasn't disappointed. He has hosted over 400 couchsurfers over the last 4 years and somehow always has room in his house, whether for 1 or 15. Jim and Matt, Sercan's friends, greeted me and I felt like I had know these guys forever. I was so quickly welcomed and included, I felt like I was home. We joked non stop, cooked dinner together and celebrated Jim's birthday, it was one of the most memorable experiences on my trip. I really wanted to experience how locals live, local culture and just be in it, and that's exactly what I got.