Two days ago while traveling through Istanbul Becca, Sinclair and I were on our way to the Grand Bizarre. Along the way we ran into a man who at first seemed to be hustling us. Being both the social butterfly and sometimes oblivious person I am, I folded to his requests of getting tea and argilah at a café he knew. The guide book we have stresses the dangers of such interactions, but I told myself I would be very wary of both what he and I bought.
We arrived at a small café with all men inside; it immediately reminded me of the cafes in Jordan. The men were collected around two tv sets on each side of the room cheering on a football match. After ordering apple argileh and tea we set into getting to know one another. The man’s name was Akay, he told us that his name meant: white moon, or man of all men. He spoke very slowly, showing his age in his words and mannerisms. He was the first man we have met in our travels to not undress my lady friends with his eyes. He was polite, a gentleman. It seemed like he merely wanted to talk and at times when lulls of silence breached the conversation he seemed content to just be sitting with us.
He asked us a lot of questions about our studies and interests and in return we learned quite a bit about him. He told us he had been married to a German woman for 17 years when she had one day turned into a fanatical Christian. Akay told us that he neither subscribed to a religion nor believed in their myths. He said at one point, “we are one universe therefore everything is one.” Turns out he considers himself a philosopher although he has never been to university. He reminded me of the stories of Socrates minus the beard and robe; he was a modern day Greek (well really Circasian) philosopher. Akay seemed to be stuck on the point of corrupt poli-tricks as he called it and tel-lie-vision. Dodging between the witty little jokes which we could all appreciate because of his knowledge of English there lay one prevalent theme. He seemed stuck on the fact that in humanity there existed so much evil. I tried pushing him into religious mythology with the story of Adam and Even (which honestly I don’t know too well). I asked him if he thought man was born flawed and in need of direction like Christianity believes. He told me that every human being is born innocent (Catcher in the Rye?). It is humanity that exists which corrupts the human soul. A lot of this conversation was lost in translation but there was one line he wrote down on his travel sheet of paper that stuck with me. He was quoting a famous Turkish philosopher who said, (something to the extent of) “Just because a man is wearing a suit does not mean he is good. All men wear suits but it could in fact be the man not wearing one who is truly good.” This is a pretty straight forward philosophy one that I could have guessed a man wandering the streets meeting traveling strangers might tell. At the end of the conversation, however, I was just glad to have met a stranger who was not hustling me and who merely wanted my company.
Experiences like this one can make or break some ones travels. Often time’s people are either too scared of one another to stop and talk or consumed with their own business. When traveling I have realized that time is best spent spontaneously, following the “glittery” things that catch your eyes. For us it was side-street art exhibits and dress shops, cafes and live music. It is important to see historical landmarks but if you set a rigid agenda you find that you missed out on the most important part of traveling: enjoying yourself. I am a creature of social interaction, I thrive off of chance encounters and cultural exchange, I am lucky to have realized this so soon in my life. At the end of our first 3 days in Istanbul we only made it to the Aya Sofia, a few smaller mosques, the spice market and the Grand Bizarre. We oculd have done more, but then we wouldn’t have spent the time to walk into a small art shop where we discovered the beautiful artwork of Melik Iskender and were offered delicious chocolate cake just because they were celebrating a friend’s birthday in the shop.
Although architecture from the past is massive and beautiful it is important to observe what exists today. Looking at graffiti can tell a lot about the neighborhood you stay in and our was definitely trendy. Something about Istanbul made me fall in love with it and I can’t explain it. It could have been the friendly dogs and cats wandering the streets, the artwork lining the walls of every house, or maybe just getting to see houses colored something other than beige for once. I’m just grateful that I was able to travel with two great friends with very open minds. Even though it was cold and rainy every day so far we have made the best of it and now we are at our second destination: the city of Goreme in Cappadocia. I’m writing this blog as Becca and Sinclair nap; I am too excited to explore the fairy castles to sleep. I think I’ll go sit outside of my room (which is a cave by the way) and sit on the roof pavilion looking out over hundreds of mushroom shaped castles and rock mounds. This trip has taught me a lot so far and I can’t wait for the 3 days of relaxation ahead of me!
Love,
Wylie of Arabia
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