I was jolted awake by the sound of prayer emanating from an unseen speaker.
“Allahu Akbar!”
It was loud. My watch informed me it was 4:28am. Peering through the curtains, I could see the lifeless street. It was dark, with the occasional street lamp spilling incandescent streams onto the cobbled road.
“Allahu Akbar!”
We were several blocks away from the mosque, at the “Cheers Hostel.” I didn’t see any speakers on our rush in last night. This meant one of two things:
- Turks are very good hide-and-seekers, or,
- The mosque has a sound system worthy of a major concert venue.
“Hayya ’alas-salāh!”
Oh well. I was going to get up pretty early anyway to explore Istanbul before it became packed. The announcement is called the Adhan: the call to prayer. It happens 5 times during the day, reminiscent of the church bells that ring out in Western Europe. Despite my morning grouchiness, I grew fond of it during my time in Turkey. I threw myself out of my bunk, packed my camera, and ran downstairs.
The most I knew of Turkey was through my friend Okan. He had great things to say about his country, but I didn’t really know much about it. Admittedly, I mainly booked the flight here because I was able to get an insane redemption rate on my airline’s reward program. Also, my friend Maia really wanted to see the balloons fly overhead in Göreme. Turkey is technically in both Europe and Asia, so I’m calling it a “bonus stage” for my euro bike trip. And so goes our bonus stage itinerary:
- 1-day layover in Istanbul,
- A few days riding around Göreme,
- Bus to Izmir, and bike to the Athens ferry in Çeşme.
Cağ kebap my love
My friend Rennie was waiting there for me, also prematurely roused by the adhan. Our plan was to visit the Asian side of Istanbul. We met some locals while eating cağ kebap (grilled, thinly sliced lamb) who tipped us off that that side is the “actual” Istanbul where people live. Phew. I’m not a huge fan of dense cities, nor did I have an appetite for visiting endless mosques and museums. Getting the vibe of the residents sounded much more my vibe.
They’re cute and they know it
By the time we rolled into the neighborhood, it was 6:45am. We were greeted not by people, but by cats. They were EVERYWHERE. The whole city was an open-air cat cafe. Despite being street cats, they were well cared for, with numerous cat houses and offerings of cat food and water made readily available by the citizens.
This side of the city starkly contrasted the cold, congested, expensive European side. The people walked slower, the streets were greener, and the interactions were warmer. It felt like a place I could imagine myself living.
We stopped by a bakery and fell in love with our very first simit, a Turkish bagel of sorts.
We had to head back early to the European side to catch our ferry and transfer to the airport. Why so early? Istanbul is known for a lot of things, but amazing public transportation is not one of them. It took us 2 transfers to get from the airport to downtown!
Anyway, I think I much preferred the skyline from afar than up close.
And with that, we left Istanbul and landed in Kayseri to transfer to Göreme. I don’t think I’d make another visit here soon. It’s simply not my style. I want to get that human connection and see the natural beauty of the country. In the city, you just can’t get that: it’s too hard to break past the tourist label, and I usually end up just associating with travellers. Next up: GÖREME!
