Making Turkey my 24th country on the travel list, it was definitely the most interesting and wholesome of all the countries I’ve visited. Living near a city called Dearborn, Michigan (which is one of the largest concentrations of Muslims outside of the Middle East) I had seen some cultural aspects of Lebanese (both Christian and Muslim) Yemenis, and Chaldeans (which are Christian Iraqis. Turkish people are rare to see where I am from (unless they are a Chaldean who has lived in Turkey which doesn’t count). Traveling to the previous countries I also remember people asking me countless numbers of times if I was Turkish or of Turkish origin. Taking a holiday on American Thanksgiving week to Paris in 2017 and Tokyo in 2019 I figured that I’m going to keep this little tradition of visiting a world city and visit Istanbul, Turkey. Ironically, I visited Turkey on a holiday where we eat turkey 🦃.

Anyways let me stop talking about myself and why I visited and talk about what I think about Turkey, Turks, and Turkish culture in general.

(Also I understand Istanbul does not represent Turkey as a whole. I’m sure if I visited cities closer to the Syrian border it would have been much different as well as visiting even the capital Ankara).

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The journey there.

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• So in terms of flying, my accommodation and transportation definitely weren’t great. Before my 24-hour journey and two connections from Detroit-Chicago-London-Istanbul, I had two women who were rude to me because I didn’t have a certain pass. Annoying but whatever. The first flight was fine. The second one was delayed three hours which had me be switched on the next available flight which made me arrive in Istanbul 6 hours later than expected. It could be worse and to be fair I paid 400 USD together since I bought an American Airlines (terrible airline by the way) credit card that gave me points for a cheaper flight. In all honesty, I should have paid extra for a nonstop Turkish Airlines ticket. Credit cards that give you points for signing up are a rip-off. Nothing is free I guess.

The accommodation.

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• When I arrived in Istanbul my Airbnb host had an assistant who was a German lady of Turkish origin help me check-in. She was very helpful and attentive. While the Airbnb was lovely and had a great view - after a few nights I noticed bed bug bites on my back and arms. I told the lady about the problem and she changed me to (no charge) a hotel that she also worked at. It was an okay place. I didn’t complain because these things happen and it wasn’t devastating. I did ask very politely if there was any way I could get a partial refund if I wanted to switch and the owner of the hotel and Airbnb told me “thank you for your goodwill and I will fully refund you”. I know this sounds like a Yelp review but it showed me how Turkish will help you in times of distress. It could have been because he didn’t want me to leave a bad review (which I wouldn’t have) but then again I didn’t appreciate it. It also was a blessing in disguise staying at the hotel because they had a PCR Covid test when mine didn’t verify before I arrived back in America. Basically I would have been fucked.

The vibe of Istanbul and its districts.

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• Istanbul is very fascinating seeing the balance of old and new. As much as I loved seeing the old town and its touristic sights I loved seeing the hip lifestyle in the areas of Cihangir and Moda. Cihangir was where I stayed which was definitely the most liberal part of the city. I am gay and could definitely see visible gay men walking around in somewhat feminine outfits. The hills and buildings were beautiful to take pictures of. Moda was the hipster spot where all the locals hang out, dress up and eat sushi and shit. These were two of my favorite areas. Karaköy was also nice but seemed more touristic than the other two. The one place I didn’t care for was Taksim Square. It was mostly homeless under the metro station as well as Arab tourists smoking in my face. The two parks I visited were Atatürk Kent Ormanı and Yildiz Park. The first one was extremely hilly which created a beautiful ambiance. Yildiz was more family-oriented but also nice.

The Turks themselves.

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• Turkish people are very unique and lovely creatures. Being that it is a mixture of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East I would say it’s like you took France, Lebanon, and just a hint of Kazakhstan and mixed them together. It’s very ethically diverse being that some look white, some look middle eastern, even some look central Asian. The women were very cute and natural looking whereas the men had a more handsome look. If I had to describe their personality-wise they are like the stray cats of Istanbul. Most mind their own business but if approached are usually friendly and warm. The few cats who are skittish would be a good example of the shopkeepers. They are persistent. All in all Turkish people have a special place in my heart.

Positives

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• Kebab 🥙. I appreciate the green pepper that is added to give spice.
• Çay tea 🫖. This was definitely the first thing I had every morning. It was light but at the same time bold.
• Soup 🍲 okay you guys make some bomb ass soups. There was this chickpea soup that was bussin. Also, lentil soup was very good.
• Bread 🥖 since Turkey is a mix of Europe and Asia so is the break. I appreciate the variety of baguette bread as well as pita or thin bread.
• Breakfast 🍳 I actually don’t like breakfast in general but a traditional Turkish breakfast is really good and healthy. I don’t like eggs in general either but there was this egg and tomato dish I liked (Menemen).
• Fashion sense. Okay so there was a post on here I think where someone said “Istanbul is the only place where you can see a woman in a little black dress sitting next to a woman in a burqa”. This is absolutely true and what I like about it is that people have the freedom to express themselves. I am not Muslim and don’t have enough interactions to have an opinion on the religion (aside from places that are extreme like Iran or Saudi Arabia that don’t value women or gays at all). I noticed people wear a lot of black clothing (could be a “big black city effect") where people in larger cities tend to wear all black) but it was more alternative and a bit soft grunge in some aspects (doc martins, women wearing boots, black makeup). Men either dressed properly or casually. Scarfs happened and turtlenecks made their appearance.
• Metro System. I am a geography major with an urban planning minor in university so metro systems are my fetish. I rode the Paris, Tokyo, London (tube), New York City (subway), Prague, Budapest, Berlin, Montreal, and Toronto (probably more if I can recall), and Istanbul definitely did not disappoint. It was similar to the Paris metro but much cleaner. East to ride and simple.
• Everyone spoke Turkish at first to me. This sounds dumb but it made me feel kinda cool passing as a Turkish person. I’m not sure if I was Chinese or Black if Turkish people would have spoken to me directly in Turkish but if it’s because I pass as Turk I felt special ♥️
• The street cats 🐈
• The bidets. The only other country that had these is Japan (the bidets over there were a bit techier than the ones in Turkey) but a clean butt is a happy butt.

Negatives

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• Turkish coffee ☕️ just didn’t like it I guess. It’s like mud to me.
• Maybe it’s because I was in a bigger city but people run to the metro seats and push and shove a bit.
• “I give you best price” okay so you can get scammed easily here. I didn’t go to the Grand Bazaar because there was no point in me wasting time buying touristic nicknacks. Even my favorite places like Cihangir and Moda had mild scammers so why waste my time in a market that’s crowded with tourists? Turkish don’t even go there.
• You can get run over by a car very easily here. I think I was more in danger of the traffic than anything else.

Neutral observations and moments

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• Turkish don’t like to be photographed. Maybe I was being a little American in my own world taking a photo of things like McDonald’s menu and old men sitting down but I was told I couldn’t take a picture in a McDonald’s for some reason and the old men looked at me like “what the fuck”. One of them yelled back. It was funny afterward though and I have a hilarious photo.
• Marmaray line that connects the European side to the Asian side confused me in terms of having to buy a separate ticket.
• Ferries. The seem hectic at first but the view is nice. Also, they serve Çay and have outlets for your phone.
• Most people don’t speak much English aside from very basic things. I was surprised at this being the amount of tourism and cultural influence going through the city at first but then realized the majority of people I spoke to or people watched were Turkish. They don’t need to speak English so unless they watch Netflix shows in English (like someone I hooked up with told me how he learned English) it’s probably not on their radar.
• The people who weren’t Turkish were usually tourists from Russia, Central Asia, and Arab countries. There were a few Italians, French and Spanish as well as Koreans and Chinese but not to the extent of other places. You can spot a Russian tourist by their duck lips and skimpy outfit (women) and ugly face (men). The Arabs just smoke hookah in Taksim and the Italians wear very flashy outfits like they’re trying to be boujee.
• Plastic surgery on tourists. My friend who wants to get his teeth done here told me he would go with me and if I come back it would be awesome to tag along (he’s a tall black guy)

Special moments

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• When I was in Moda and it was raining I went into a store to ask for an umbrella. The guy said “no umbrella but wait” so I did. He was stacking sodas in the fridge and I kinda was just confused until after he finished the box and gave me the box as an umbrella. This man must be protected at all costs.
• Countless street cats fighting in the street
• The guy I met in the club (who was half Korean - half Turkish) told me I was different than Americans in terms of my intelligence. Makes me feel good that people notice me as worldly.
• There was a Kurdish guy who was flirting with me at first and then when he found out I was American told me “you are my husband and I want American passport”. Made me almost shit myself. I ended up paying for the guy and his several friend's kebabs what didn’t cost me much because of the currency conversion. Literally the man translated for me that night it’s the least I could do. He even told me to be careful walking home at night since the homophobes come out.

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Conclusion.

I understand that my experience as a tourist may be different from the fact that I only saw the sights and I don't speak Turkish. I also know that the lira is crashing as well speak which is why my trip was cheaper for me. I hope the best for Turkey and its economy and understand this is a serious matter. I have read that people are protesting now and I honestly hope your economy recovers soon or Erdogan helps the situation (I am not sure about the politics of Turkey so please forgive me).

With much love to Turkey and the Turks - Teşekkürler!