Not having actually been anywhere yet, the people of Istanbul have already showed us what a lovely country Turkey truly is.
Our hosts here are extremely kind. After showing up so late due to us being stupid and American and lost, we were ushered into an adorable, cozy apartment and treated to a delicious, authentic home-cooked meal. Julie and I are sharing a tiny room with two couches, and our hosts provide us with literally everything: sheets, food, towels, blankets, you name it. Oh, and this all comes at no cost. They make us feel so at home and it is hard to describe that kind of kindness in words. But it is something to really marvel, like a unique gem I've never seen before.
Our main host is named Kazim, but he lives with 2 other mates and they're all great guys. One of the guys, Ido, is literally a tan version of Daniel Radcliff. It's pretty mind-blowing and quite fantastic. Kazim is super well travelled and a true sweetheart. It's amazing how complete "strangers" can spend the night having the most interesting conversations. And his photography speaks for itself. The pictures of everywhere he has been are all over his room and they are breathtaking. I hope I can do the places I visit justice with some decent shots, but that may be a "long shot" HA HA, get it? (Sorry, that may be the jetlag talking).
After dinner, we spent the rest of the night drinking Turkish black tea, conversing, playing with Muslim Allah beads, listening to Kazim play accordion and clarinet (is there some law of life that just dictates all Europeans to be so much cooler and more interesting than us? Is is genetic??), planning out details for what Julie and I should do tomorrow, and just hanging out.
So yeah, you can say things are already going swimmingly. Tomorrow will be our first official day "out in the town" exploring the sites that Istanbul has to offer, so maybe I should try and get some sleep in my second little Istanbul "home." (:
Our hosts here are extremely kind. After showing up so late due to us being stupid and American and lost, we were ushered into an adorable, cozy apartment and treated to a delicious, authentic home-cooked meal. Julie and I are sharing a tiny room with two couches, and our hosts provide us with literally everything: sheets, food, towels, blankets, you name it. Oh, and this all comes at no cost. They make us feel so at home and it is hard to describe that kind of kindness in words. But it is something to really marvel, like a unique gem I've never seen before.
Our main host is named Kazim, but he lives with 2 other mates and they're all great guys. One of the guys, Ido, is literally a tan version of Daniel Radcliff. It's pretty mind-blowing and quite fantastic. Kazim is super well travelled and a true sweetheart. It's amazing how complete "strangers" can spend the night having the most interesting conversations. And his photography speaks for itself. The pictures of everywhere he has been are all over his room and they are breathtaking. I hope I can do the places I visit justice with some decent shots, but that may be a "long shot" HA HA, get it? (Sorry, that may be the jetlag talking).
After dinner, we spent the rest of the night drinking Turkish black tea, conversing, playing with Muslim Allah beads, listening to Kazim play accordion and clarinet (is there some law of life that just dictates all Europeans to be so much cooler and more interesting than us? Is is genetic??), planning out details for what Julie and I should do tomorrow, and just hanging out.
So yeah, you can say things are already going swimmingly. Tomorrow will be our first official day "out in the town" exploring the sites that Istanbul has to offer, so maybe I should try and get some sleep in my second little Istanbul "home." (:
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