First Night in Turkey

As I write this, I am sitting on the rooftop of the Germir Palas Hotel in Taksim, one of the hippest parts of Istanbul. I cannot even describe the feeling to be sitting here at night viewing one of the most incredible cities in the world from the towering skyscrapers downtown to the banks of the To the banks of the Bosphorus, from the cafes below booming with techno music to the towering minarets of mosques in the distance.

So much has happened since I last wrote. After an uneventful flight to D.C., I arrived for the pre-orientation, where I met my fellow travelers (who are all such amazing people!) and learned more about my travels. On Thursday afternoon we boarded the plane to Frankfurt. I was lucky enough to have a great window seat, where I could look out and see both a beautiful sunset and beautiful sunrise from above the clouds. I even managed to catch a few hours of sleep in between! In Frankfurt we switched planes for the rather short ride to Istanbul. The descent brought back all the good memories I have had in Istanbul, as I stared out at the sprawling city and the blue of the Bosphorus.  At once I was reminded of my feelings towards the city when I was here before. It is a city of layers, historically and culturally - It is a city of duality. Istanbul is a city of both a welcoming nature and an air of mystery. And perhaps that’s why I love it – it can be whatever I want it to be.

The Turkish AFS staff picked us up at Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport, and they took us to our hotel here in the heart of Istanbul. Want to know our first meal after arrival in Turkey? Pizza Hut. The AFS staff thought it would be a good idea for us to adjust our digestive systems slowly to Turkish food. I, however, would much rather have had a kebap. Hopefully tomorrow we will have some real Turkish food!  We have the whole day here tomorrow for more orientation type preparation, and then we fly on to Adana on Sunday morning (my birthday!). Although I wish we could spend longer here in the city, I cannot wait to meet my host family on Sunday. I definitely want to come back to Istanbul during my stay in Turkey for a longer amount of time, and hopefully that will work out.

As for now, I will go to bed with the window open, feeling the cool breeze, smelling the lingering wafts of smoke, and hearing the beat of the disco music, the murmur of people’s voices, and the calls to prayer from the mosques in the distance.