Taksim and Shopping in Istanbul
Seasons greetings from Istanbul,
Today I did what any gentleman with a love of life would do, woke up and hit the town. Threw off my sheets, did a somersault into my shorts, skipped the shower, took long strides down the steps and ran into the streets of Istanbul…
Enjoyed a fresh orange juice served by a gregarious gent, rolled into the spice market and bought a load of pistachio nuts, while consuming such said nuts, bought 10 pairs of socks and enough boxers to send a full box home. Returned to such said bed and crashed for a few hours.
Upon arising, took a the tram to Taksim to buy a friend of mine Benny a birthday lunch. I’ve ran into him in Bangkok, Budapest and now Istanbul. He is a polyglot and an interesting individual, it’s nice to hang out and chat with someone who lives a similar lifestyle to yourself.
Taksim is cool, if one lived here it would be in that area. It’s basically the pulse of the country if you were to ask me. It’s where all the main shopping, clubs, banks and everything is. A very nice area but don’t expect to find a Turkish delight in the way of deals, yes? He’s a vegetarian so we hit up some place that name eludes me then headed to Ada Cafe.
One must rest up tonight, tomorrow I’m flying to the Middle East. Besides Dubai, never really ventured there before. Even Dubai was still for a only a day so might as well be my first time, full details in tomorrows update. I’m flying with Royal Jordanian Airlines and looking forward to 10 days of discovery and immersing myself in everything the country has to offer AND MORE.
Istanbul truly is an awesome city, as I stated yesterday, it is where Asia, Europe and the Middle East intersect, not to mention the history and incredible architecture. I was going to visit the Hagia Sophia last time I was in town, just wasn’t in the mood. I knew I’d be back and sure enough, I’m here now. I’ll be in Jordan until the 19th then back in Istanbul and will visit it then. Frankly, if you want to discover this part of the world, Turkey is somewhere you’ll probably just keep coming back to, Istanbul in particular.
Last night met some interesting people and get this, they actually have twitter!? It’s not everyday such occurrences happen. Can count on one hand the number of travelers I’ve met who use it. If you’re interested it was Marty Smiley and Olimpia Barnes, fun people. They headed to Taksim later and yours truly retired, yes!
Tomorrow will get a shave, maybe pick up some collared shirts and head the airport. Considering my last experience in a shopping district was in Bucharest in a depressing mall, was awesome to buy stuff from someone on the street again, it truly makes all purchases that much more pleasurable.
In closing, I’d like to stress that it has always been the people that make any place, the more places you visit, the people you’ll meet. The more people you meet the more you’ll mature and your understanding of the world will expand.
