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| The Caucasus - My Journal |
Standing on Two Continents
Istanbul, 23rd to 24th July
Well...it's been an amazing first few days in Turkey in the breathtaking city of Istanbul, but getting down here took some time...and by "some", I mean "lots"...
I arrived at Sofia train station about an hour before my Istanbul bound train was due to depart as I didn't want to be rushing around at the last minute in a station with no English signs. But, on looking up at the board I noticed the number "20" next to the train. After quickly working out that there was no platform number 20, I realised that this was the delay in minutes. Ok, a 20 minute delay for a train that's come all the way from Bucharest is quite reasonable. So I sat back on one of the simple benches and began to read my book.
As the scheduled time of departure begin to approach I glanced back up at the departure board...the 20 had changed to 60. An hour's delay. Great. I moved closer to the departure board and sat on my rucksack, much more comfortable than the hard benches, clearly made to prevent people enjoying their train station wait, and prepared myself for the longer wait.
But like a game as fun as watching paint dry, the 60 became 80...then 120...with the train finally arriving more than two and a half hours late. On the good side, most of the passengers on the train were foreigners looking as bored and restless as me, so the conversation helped to pass the time.
The train carriage I was in was pretty empty, with only a handful of backpackers and not a local in sight. This meant I had a three bed carriage all the myself, as did every other solo traveller! The train, although a little old and worn, was more than comfortable enough for a good night's sleep. Except for the 3 rude awakenings from passport control and customs, starting about 5 hours into the journey.. The Bulgarian passport people were nice enough to board the train to check our paperwork, as did the customs people. However, about an hour later we all had to climb off the train, still half asleep, in order to buy our Turkish visas and have our passports stamped by the Turkish authorities.
Our scheduled arrival time in Istanbul was 8am, but with the long delay from earlier, I didn't expect to get in much more 10am. However, the empty fields, interspersed with a few small towns, continued to fly past at 10am....11am...12 noon...1pm...and finally, just after 1:30pm, the train screeched to a halt at Sirkeci train station, Istanbul. Fınallyö we had arrived at the city famous for sitting on the Bosphorous and straddling two continents
I stepped off the train, expecting to be immersed in a sea of touts offering beds, foods, souvenirs and everything else...but there wasn't even a puddle. All of the backpackers made it to the exit of the station without so much as a whispered offer of a room or a "special price". Strange...but very refreshing!
 I'd already reserved a room on the internet and the directions I had were very simple. My hostel was in Sultanhamet, famous as the backpackers ghetto of the town, and located a stone's throw from all of the major sights. So I stepped into the heat and glaring sun...not quite sure what to expect. Something between Berlin and Bangkok perhaps? In fact, the first thing I saw were the sparkling new electric trams zipping past the station silently. The streets were spotless, the roads packed and the city was bustling. First impressions of Istanbul were of a modern, friendly and very clean city. And a lot more westernised that I would've guessed!
I got to my hostel without problem and settled into a crazily packed dorm room. 13 beds in one room...6 bunks beds around the edges and a lone, single bed in the very centre of the room...I hope the person who had that bed was happy to be the focus of the room!
Because I'd arrived so much later than expected and because my camera batteries were dead, I decided to limit myself to a small city wander today, and leave the real explorations until the next day where I'd be fully armed with my photographic equipment.
 Sulthanhamet really is an enclave of backpackers in the middle of the city. Hostels, travel agents, restaurants, bars and laundry services sit, packed close together, making a semi-surreal world of beers and kebabs, inhabited by backpackers and budget travellers. However, Sultanhamet is the perfect base for exploring the city. Almost every major sight is within easy walking distance...Aya Sofia, the Blue Mosque, the Covered Bazaar, Topkapi Palace and more than half-a-dozen museums. The nearby tramline also creates an efficient link to the metro and every other part of the city.
Although my hostel was firmly in "tourist town" I only had to walk for about twenty minutes to leave it behind and find a corner of town where it seemed to be only me and the local folk. Also, I found my tanned complexion, which keeps my background and nationality ambiguous, to be very useful for blending in, and avoiding the calls of "Hello!! Hello!! Come look at my carpets/gifts/spices!"
Walking slowly through the hubbub of the lively city apparently disguised as a local I took in the goings on around me: kebab spices filling the air; merchants shouting loud advertisements; shoppers pushing through the Aladdin's Cave of different wares; couriers struggling by, stooped under boxes three times their size; strange foods being fried and carved; old men, with leathered faces sitting hunched with a set of bathroom scales; the distinct call to prayer suddenly filling the air, young men sipping tea while making considered moves in their Backgammon games...I suddenly felt alive and excited. Shivers ran down my spine and I smiled inwardly. This was the reason I travelled. To be completely immersed in a different world, watching life pass noisily by, to be close enough for every sense to be tingling with the overwhelming stimulation. Istanbul, so close to home, but so far, really was an amazing city and I instantly knew, I was going to love it here, and not want to leave for a long time...
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To know the road ahead, ask those coming back
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