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You can do a lot in three days
That’s what I thought anyway, so I tested the theory by going to Istanbul to see a friend that I hadn’t seen in almost 10 years, and DJ with him.
This is the short, clean version. Only close friends and family know otherwise, which might not be good to post on the interweb.
11-hour flight to Frankfurt followed by a three-hour flight to Istanbul. Having never been, I absolutely could not sleep on the plane, so crossed time zones with little sleep. Arriving in Istanbul in the middle of rush hour Friday, my good friend Murad met me at the airport and we proceeded to figure out the best way into Asia, where he lives. Hopped in cab to the ferry terminal, hopped on a boat to Asia, then hopped in his father’s car who was kind enough to pick us up and bring us home. Freshened up at home then the three of us walked out into their amazing neighborhood, Bağdat Caddesi, and had a nice meal.
Yuksel (dad) walked home and Murad and I walked a few blocks to his good friends’ house, where they meet ritually every week. This doesn’t happen in the US, or at least not very often (meeting every week or more with the group of friends). I met the group of close friends, and we spent the evening getting to know each other. Everyone was really great, and I learned a bit of Turkish. Home and in bed by 5am, we both got around 6 hours of sleep, then back up again to start the day Saturday. Took another stroll down Bağdat Caddesi to buy a jacket and visit a Starbucks. I didn’t want to go in but then quickly realized that Starbucks in other countries with nice cultures are actually really good. I had my first Turkish coffee (kahve), which is essentially the same as a swift punch and kick to your head and stomach all at once, in a cute little Starbucks mug. Maybe not the best choice given my lack of sleep and jet lag. Again, too excited to notice.
Next, we planned on meeting up with the sister of one of my best friends from college, Anna, from the US. She and I had never met, but she had recently moved to Izmir to teach English, and so it was decided that we would meet for the first time in Turkey. Why not? She brought a co-worker and the group of us sat (at another Starbucks) and chatted for a while, then separated so Murad and I could go back and have dinner that Yuksel was preparing for us. We sat and had a nice dinner and chatted for a while before it was time to get ready for our gig.
We were picked up by a friend Cem (from the night before) and went to his apartment to have some pre-gig drinks. Nicely glazed, we hopped in a cab and crossed an amazing bridge from Asia to Europe. P r e t t y c o o l. The taxi dropped us in the middle of Taksim Square at midnight, where there were hundreds of other people. Taksim Square in Istanbul is the hot spot of the city, where most of the night life and clubs are located. We navigated our way to Club Mute, got in and settled, and set the night in motion with Kosheen as the headlining act. Late night there starts around 4am, so I was fueled by some Red Bull of course, to get me ready for my 5am set. Played till 6 then we packed up and headed out, to catch a brilliant sunrise as we crossed back over the bridge from Europe to Asia. Back at Cem’s apartment, we winded down, then Murad and I jumped in a cab and headed home to meet up with his girlfriend for brunch. Yep, that’s right, no sleep yet. We spent all of Sunday lying around in our PJs watching movies and ordering takeout, which was really perfect for me. Some might be thinking that I’m crazy for being all the way over there and not wanting to run around hopping from mosque to mosque, but the trip was about people, and I was with the people I wanted to be with. So PJs + takeout + chill was PERFECT.
I think I got a half-nights sleep before my eyes popped open at 4:30 am. We were out the door by 8am walking home, where we had a couple hours of downtime (which I used to wash my smokey club hair) before heading back out to the shopping district to buy a Galata Saray jersey. We then jumped in Yuksel’s car (dad) and they took me to do some site-seeing, which included a one-hour ferry ride around the Bosphorus. After that we were back in the car cruising up the Europe side of the Bosphorus, during the sunset, making our way to the Black Sea where we had an amazing meal at a wonderful fish (Balik) restaurant called Barinak. If you’re ever in the area, go there. LONG ride home in rush hour traffic, but it was time to pack then chill for a couple hours before heading to the airport at 2:30 am.
The ride home was the same, although I arrived in Frankfurt very crispy from no sleep, and accidentally tried to enter germany. Oops. Luckily I had enough brain cells to find my gate and stumble onto the plane with 300 other people.
Whirlwind indeed. I never expected to meet the amazing people I met, share the amazing adventures we shared, and be so taken care of. I felt very at home, and learned about their culture, which is really amazing. I literally walked into family, and I will never forget every second of that trip for my entire life. Murad and I will meet again, to of course rock some serious music at some parties. This I am sure of.
3 Responses to You can do a lot in three days
Kevin
December 19, 2011
Oh Nic. I absolutely loved reading this. I know you’ve been abroad before, but it’s different when it’s about people and not about the place. There’s traveling to see a place, then there’s traveling to experience a place. It’s hard to experience it by just being there. This is why on my yearly travels, I typically go to where my friends are. “it’s like walking into family”
I was confused though. Asia? Like “Mongolia to Japan and Philippines — Asia??” I looked on the map and searched, couldn’t find anything that resembled Asia in Turkey? Maybe I’m dumb for asking, but I also have no shame.
Reading this, I utterly know what you were feeling, it’s the same thing I experience in Copenhagen, Barcelona, and London. Cherish this, never forget it. I wish LA were designed differently enabling all of us to not rely so heavily on cars. I think a weekly meeting of friends is tainted in a city like ours because everyone convinces themselves that they have just a shred of energy left enough to drive home. Then we stay up till stupid hours of the night tweeting and face booking. Haha. I’m interested in finding a way. Let’s make it interesting.
. Challenge our selves to do it, for our own sanity!
Hope to read more!
sparatik
December 19, 2011
The Bosphorus splits Turkey between Europe and Asia. It’s pretty wacky. Some live in Turkey on the Asia side and have to get to work on the Europe side. It’s very cool. So some of the time I was in Asia and some in Europe and a couple days both! Of course the further east you go you’re heading more towards the middle east, but the areas that I was in are very European. Some things you learn by actually going to a place.
The driving here is NOTHING compared to what I experience there. Horrendous traffic. LA times four if I had to estimate, and very congested. But somehow they actually make the trek to be with their people.
Kevin
December 22, 2011
Wow! I never knew it extended all the way to Europe like that! VERY cool!! It’s really confusing because of the Black Sea, and how the Ukraine and the Middle east sort of share it. I guess I sort of cut off Asia at the north western side of Mongolia, then south along Kazakhstan and continuing down the full western border of Tibet, sweeping east following the Himalayas above India to Nepal – then straight(ish) east towards China etc. etc. It just doesn’t seem very – - Asia(ee) haha! I would have been dumbfounded! Yeah Spain was like that for traffic too, but judging by your comparison – I think I’d do well in Barcelona’s traffic as opposed to Istanbul’s.