God (or the devil himself for the lack of a better word) brought me to Istanbul.
Passing through this magnificent metropolis is never easy. Not only that it is so big you could easily walk your whole life around and still find new places - it is also hell of a fun place.
I had three days and zero plans. I Arrived with the sunset and headed to my hostel immediately. The cheapest one in town - naturally. That is where you mostly meet the coolest crowd. Apart from very cheap places where that extra dollar serves as a filtering mechanism from total squats. And Istanbul is no longer the cheapest place in the world - probably never was. So in a place where small beer costs like food for a day, it is good to balance your budget...
It all started very innocently. I have entered the hostel Moon with a sparkling water in hand.
Last floor of the place was already vibing. It was about six or seven people in the room as I came in. Few beers on the table and all around. I smelled trouble immediately.
"I came just to have my sparkling water." were my initial thoughts. Before you know it it was time for second round of beers and I have joined the pack.
The night was still young and we have spend few hours in the "penthouse". Last floor of the hostel serves as a common area and boosts a balcony overlooking the busy streets below. Truly an atmospheric place.
Istanbul was carrying us around and about as usual. The real labyrinth of a city. But hey, take advantage of it. The more often you can get lost - so you can find yourself again.
Our group was truly multi-culti. Iranian DJ, Czech hitchhikers, Indian-Australian lady boy, French wanna be muslim... You name it we had it in this group.
If I would get to all the details of what we went through on the first night there would be no space for anything else, but rest assured it was action packed evening. It all started in NohRadio. Local hipster bar so popular some people just hang around it as in a park. Cars can barely drive through the crowd. It is pricey though and we soon embarqued on a wild walk to the sea. The atmosphere was legendary. This mix of cultures and yet similar mindsets was a refreshing and rare occasion.
Soon some Algerian gangsters gifted us their hashish close to the shore and we started vibing seriously. Afterwards we have crashed the party at noname kiosk, drinking their beer and tea supplies dry...
To end this already special night we entered an after-party in nearby techno club which name is too cool to be remembered and danced the night away. Not bad for my second night in Istanbul ever...
As it usually goes the second night wasn't that big.
We all have slept shortly and lightly. Slight hangover was following us for few hours before we found some awesome food in Grand Bazaar and surrounding area. Street artists and scammers were enjoying our presence and tried their best to keep us interested. We were all however very resistant to all these traps and didn't gave a chance to anybody. Maybe one ice-cream vendor in front of the blue mosque managed to rip us off with his pistachio ice-cream. Triple the price of any other flavour:)
So we grabbed some free copies of quaran in the mosque and the night arrived again. This time slower but still, we made it awake till four in the morning somehow... That is pure Istanbul right there.
You can sleep in other cities better I guess. The next day was already a departure day for some and the vibe changed yet again.
Me and Ben - the Indian-Australian lady boy - went for city cruise again. This time for the afternoon only. We picked a direction and the rest was an improvised tour of Istanbul.
To make things interesting again shortly after sunset we bought a bottle of wine...
Not that we would plan on it or wanted to get drunk. It was pure atmosphere of this place that made us do it. We just couldn't get enough of it.
One bottle was followed by another and we started encountering locals and strangers of all types. The most memorable one was a female dance director who claimed Kurdish origins and acted as pure mafia boss. Very witted person that I personally believed everything she had on her lips. From the talks of killing or crippling anybody who chooses to hurt her to her red lipstick:)
After she and some other random artsy looking companions jumped to the taxi and disappeared in the shadows it was time for us to do the same.
Finally on the last night I managed to be in bed before 3am...
Thanks for reading and till some other time...
Global Local