Gobble, Gobble

The next day, Daniel was kind enough to drop us off at the Tel Aviv airport for our flight to Istanbul.  We quickly realized that arriving three hours ahead of time was not good enough, at least according to the entire airport staff. This moment was pure frustration to say the least. The everlasting process, a twenty-person line, turned into a two hour wait as we were watching the entire staff lolly gag around and not take their job seriously. First off, the security lady drilled us about what we were doing in Israel and where we were traveling. We expected this question to come forth but not, “how many brothers and sisters do you have/how old are they?” type of questions that lasted a brutal ten minutes. After more conflictions, our bags passed through the security belt but a required sticker on Garrett’s bag fell off and he was demanded to resubmit his bag. Time was ticking quickly as the lazy workers gathered around socializing like it was some sort of Speak Easy bar we attended to in London. Our flight was leaving shortly and we still had to wait for inspector officers to go through our bag and test every article of clothing. Our bags were finally ‘bomb free’ and we were able to cut the next security line in order to show up to our gate minutes before departure. In summary, I hope no one has to go through this dreadful nightmare of an experience.

As we arrived to Turkey, things were looking a whole lot brighter than the Tel Aviv airport. A quick cab ride to the city of Istanbul was en route and we were ready to get involved with what Bernard said was a “must see city”. After weaving through traffic along the coast of Istanbul, we had made it to the lively and welcoming Orient Hostel. It was nestled in Sultanahmet, the historical peninsula of Istanbul, on a narrow stone road running parallel to the water with hookah bars, hostels and inviting outdoor restaurants. With surprise, an exchange of high fives and pounding fists between the friendly Turkish staff and us made way. Honestly, we weren’t sure if this was some sort of fluke or that this hostel actually contained true outgoing employees. We were quickly checked in to our six-person dorm room and back on the front porch to enjoy an Efes draft beer tower and chicken kebabs with French fries. This snack was crucial. After travelers started to vanish from the front patio we were confused as one of the Turks advised us that they had an upper deck bar. As we topped the hostel, fireworks began to fill the sky along with a late mosque service that lit up the surrounding darkness. Everyone was having a good time drinking Efes, smoking hookah, and getting to know each other. This was the ideal hostel scene that we anticipated. After, we felt it necessary to take in the Turk culture and smoke some hookah ourselves, or what they call a water pipe. We lounged in a relaxing hookah lounge, socialized with our neighbors, and called it a great start to our time in Turkey.

Morning loomed, as we got ready to leave for a busy day of walking around the city to see the spectacular sights and feast on authentic kebabs. We met Rob, a nice roommate from Los Angeles who provided an abundance of energy to our early start. We asked the receptionist about the sites to see and were given a map and a quick briefing on the matter. We first stopped at the Blue Mosque. The Blue Mosque was only a two-minute walk but we learned that the mosque would close every time they would have a service for Muslim practice. We waited an hour but it was well worth it as we got to peek in the windows to watch and hear their worship. The mosque was massive, possessing the most beautiful mosaic artwork I had ever seen. Although called the blue mosque, it wasn’t particularly that blue, but it still provided the beauty and admiration of a Muslim masterpiece. Next, we walked to the AyaSofya, a church that was built around 400 A.D. by the crusaders. but later demolished, conquered, and taken over by the Ottomans. It was turned into a mosque hundreds of years ago and is presently a beautiful museum. The size alone got me thinking of how these massive towers were built without our present cranes and futuristic building technology. Quite the feat if you ask me. Day was breaking as we decided to head back to the Orient for another kebab and a nap before attending the pub-crawl that our hostel was hosting. Our enthusiastic receptionist, Mehmet Shark, was the leader of this event and was quick to earn nickname, The Legend. He really was a legend with his everlasting energy and happiness, marching around the hostel making sure everyone was participating and ready for a night of fun. The pub-crawl explored the nightlife in Taksim and proved to be one of the most fun nights of the trip.