Oh boy, this one is hard to even begin. I suppose you travel to give yourself a wider context of what is truly out there in the world, and that is what happened to me in Istanbul, Turkey. I wanted to come to get to close to Asia as I could despite all the COVID restrictions, but what I ended up really finding was just an incredibly massive, vibrant city with so so many layers and people and sights to be seen.
Coming here solo has been such an experience. It is such a sensory interaction to walk through the streets all on my own, to listen, feel, and observe all that happens around you. The city is so very bustling— especially on the European side— just in the three days I’ve been here I truly feel like I’ve just gained a wider understanding of the entire world.

You could start with the Muslim culture. Almost 100% of Istanbul is Muslim, which means folks are praying five times a day and all the mosques broadcast chants at these times. Many women covered their body and hair, some even cover their faces, while others walk around with sleeveless tops like mine. The cultural and ethnic diversity must be some of the greatest anywhere, even more than America. Practically anyone here, black, Asian, Caucasian, can pass as a Turkish.
Oh did I mention the language barrier? I kind of realized this is my first time truly not being able to speak to someone. The only other countries I’ve been were either Spanish speaking, many people spoke English, or they had a Romance language where I could parse through words and spellings. Not here though, not at all. Unfortunately my taxi driver did not speak a word of English (which no offense, I wouldn’t expect from a taxi driver servicing the airport) which meant that I couldn’t even understand if he actually knew the destination of my hotel from the amount of confusion and back and forth we had. Learning experiences! Otherwise, it’s just a lot of nodding, facial expressions, and the occasional mutual understanding that has gotten me this far.
The Istanbul Airport (IST— airport codes matter, more on that later…) was quite a doozy. I took a chance on arriving with no COVID test from Tanzania because everythinggg said I didn’t need one. Sure enough, no one at passport control checked whatsoever! It was only in boarding in JRO Tanzania where the flight attendant was trying to convince me that I wouldn’t be allowed into the country (in which I then showed my vaccine card).
I stayed in the Istanbul Terrace Hotel (more of a hostel, really) for originally 2 nights and extended to 4 because the host Ali was so friendly and generous, it had an awesome terrace with wifi, and most importantly the most balanced, included breakfast you could hope for! It was quite nice that breakfast wasn’t served till 8:30 AM, which meant I got to sleep in a little and slowwww down, not something that I often get on my crazy trips. The first evening I arrived after 24 hours of traveling, I just took a lap walking around, got my first corn on the cob for 4 lira (like 50 cents!) and got ready for the next day ahead. Oh yeah, forgot to mention the airport taxi sucked. Huge line for the taxi and taxi was still very expensive and Istanbul traffic is horrible. I was happy I bought a SIM card at the airport for data, though I definitely would’ve saved a lot had I waited to town to buy one.
My first full day in Istanbul was incredible! I started off by walking 20 minutes from my part of town (Laleli, not much to see, but close to two universities!) over to Sultanahmet Square, the heart of Istanbul’s tourism. Both the gorgeous Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia border this square which again do be looking a lot like Disneyland. I apologize that my history is so horrible that I didn’t really know the significance of the Hagia Sophia until I was inside of it…. But it was still very majestic to see and visit! To enter the mosques, you need to wear a headscarf, so I did just that.
Many cats roam around the town-- even inside the mosques!
From there it was a day full of walking, but I think surprisingly I only did about 10 miles which is on the low end for me. I really enjoyed walking through (H district) over to the Galata bridge, then crossing the bridge over to Karakoy, a pretty hip neighborhood that I think quite resembles a Greenwich Village. I stopped not for food but to rest my feet at the randomest cafe on the block, Recon Coffee, but it did give me a fun diversion talking to a Turkish businessman that wanted to chat and up his English exam score for US universities. He had his eyes set on Berkeley’s school of business!
From there, I walked up to Galata and the Galata Tower, but of course when I saw it cost about $12 USD to go to the top I instead decided to just take a bunch of pics for free at the bottom. The streets adjacent to the tower are extremely picturesque and fairytale-like, but unfortunately I got scammed by a restaurant here so I left kinda pissed. After confirming the price of my supposedly cheap veggie wrap, the man insisted on giving me the smallest cup of juice which cost like 4 bucks. That’s how they get you!
From here, I meandered back over to Eminonu, which is the side of Istanbul where I was staying and where the historical center is. Everything on this day was in the Europe side of Istanbul (tomorrow is Asia, stay tuned!) Walking back was super fun because it took me through the Old Spice Market and through some crazy alley ways, past the Suleiman Mosque, and down the trendy university street. After struggling to find where I wanted to catch the best Istanbul sunset, I settled on a Bosphorus Sunset Cruise for 3 hours!
Very touristy seemingly, but nonetheless worth it because we rode up the straight through the Golden Horn (the name of the body of water), through countless bridges and past famous buildings and all the way up to Rumeli which was an old fortress at the top of town! I met some fun characters on the boat from around the world, got to see soooo much of the city at golden hour, sunset, and nighttime, and was fascinated by just how many neighborhoods line this city. It even rained briefly but it was no problem!
Even though I think I might have been able to find a similar sunset cruise for half the price (I only paid 20 bucks to begin with, so I’ll take it), I am happy I booked this one because a shuttle picked me up and dropped me off, an essential for traveling alone and in dark hours! All in all my first day in Istanbul was exhausting but also energizing just to be part of such a huge magical city. 15 million people strong! Istanbul Day II (Asia/Kadikoy, Grand Bazaar, and more is coming soon!)