trip: London to Istanbul
how:  by plane, easyjet.com
miles total: 2505 km
days: 5

I guess it never occurred to me the actual magnitude of Istanbul. Broken into two different continents (Europe and Asia) , Istanbul has the population of  14 million and you can sure feel it. After sleeping at Gatwick airport the night before I was ready to get some rest. Those of you that know me know that I am not the most delightful person to be around if I don’t sleep.  I need a minimum of 8 hours of sleep like most people need basic life necessities such as water, food, coffee, or cigarettes.  Nonetheless, instead of expressing my need and concern about my lack of sleep to G, I gave him a believable ‘yes’ in response to his enthusiastic ’let’s go explore!’ comment.

I am about to leave Istanbul now and I am glad that I did say yes on the first day I arrived. I’m in love with this city! It’s a fantastic mesh of cultures, religions and societies. Maybe it was because our CS host made our stay so fantastic, never hesitating to help us in any way (thanks Eray!). Or maybe it was because of the 100s of years of history that every mosque, bazzar, church, and museum have. Or it could have been because of the food that was vegetarian friendly and a very delicious indulgence every time I ate.

It was for sure not the men that stand outside restaurants trying to lure tourists in by saying, ‘I have sexy table for you’ or ‘just wait till you see my menu’.  Or perhaps threatening me that the street food I was eating was not fresh and could make me sick… I mean honestly guys… have these lines ever worked for you?

Well, allaha ismarladik!
L