What’s your business?

Last night my friend Elif and her new/first husband convinced me to come to the island.

There are a few islands an hour or so away from the city called the Prince’s Islands. They were at Buyuk Ada (translation: Big Island). I’d never been to the islands and the only plan I had for the next day was to familiarize myself how to work by public transportation so I won’t find myself arriving late on my first day.

So this morning, I woke up fairly early and figured out which bus would take me to Kabatas Iskele (dock where the ferry leaves). Done.

Make it to island in an hour. Done.

Have an INCREDIBLE day filled with seriously serious biking (no cars on the island, just horse-drawn carriages and bikes !), gorgeous views, witty banter, and two remarkable people. Done.

Go back to Istanbul in an hour. Done.

Then I had to figure out where the fuck I was, where the fuck I was going, and how the fuck I was going to get there.

I lost count of the number of subways and bus rides I took. Too many. Too, too many.
These roads make no sense. They twist and turn to places you didn’t know there were places. It’s messy/confusing/intense. Since Istanbul is so old I think they just never planned anything out. They just kept building wherever anything could fit. Then one thing would collapse and lean over and they just kept filling the holes (but you cant just fill holes)

I kept thinking to myself that I am a sad lost little puppy. Over and over again puppy puppy puppy.

And once more I went underneath the city to the subway and found myself sitting across from a puppy in a cage between its owner’s feet.

He was a tiny, super uber ugly dog, so ugly it’s like a joke. And I just kept staring and staring at this other puppy (me being puppy 1& ugly being puppy 2) imagining myself stealing the puppy so we could live ugly lost puppy lives together and how we deserve love too and we could live merrily puppy after. He (assuming it was a he) stares up at me with his buggy eyes and telepathically queried, “What the fuck is your business in this city?”

My giggle crescendoed into a full blown chortle. Done.


Istanbul, day one is done… You bitch.