Istanbul

The other night I was with a giant group of friends, well at least friends of friends of friends. All of us were sitting outdoor at a pub on a rainy night with the awning keeping us dry.

I have to admit that more than being a part of the crowd, I was enjoying just watching them instead.

[These are my last days here and I've been a bit quiet. Not because I am so sad that I am leaving (which of course I am) but because I am falling in love for the first time in my young life, and it is with a city often personified as a woman than a man.]

- Earlier that day -

I spent the day with a friend whose company I very much enjoy. We did light jewelry shopping, coffee/cafe, and some filming (she makes documentaries - currently just shooting Istanbul for some practice with her camera). Perhaps it was the filming that really put me in an observational mode, and I was noticing so many little details of the city that kept making me smile. It was the horrible kind of day where it's chilly and rainy (although my favorite weather). It is particularly bad in Istanbul because the mud gushes out from the cobble-stoned streets and down the many steep hills.

People always talk about the difficulty of living in Istanbul. The melancholy, the sadness, the hardship of the fallen empire weeping in the dilapidated buildings. Forgotten monuments that aren't cared for with skyscrapers pushing them aside. There millions of people of every class living in such close spaces is not always pleasant. It's a hard city. It tests you everyday. My parents couldn't handle it and sometimes I wonder if I won't be able to.

--

An old man with an accordion played for a bit.
Funny people telling funny stories.
Friends coming and going, all staying for a responsible amount of time according to their schedules. But it's easy to come and go, to fit and sit. To have a drink, have fun, and call it a night. It's all very doable.

At one point my friend turned to me and said, "Can you imagine this being your life?"

I knew she was referring to the possibility of mild but necessary social interaction after a hard day's work in a beautiful city.

"But doesn't this happen in New York (where she lives)?"

"Nah man, you can't do this in New York. It's impossible to get a big group to sit outside so comfortably without planning."

Eventually, we called it a night and headed home.

And I caught a glimpse of the top of the Galata Tower.

And I was happy - in love.

This is going to be my home.