istanbul

that first evening, all i could manage was a shower, a short walk outside and a çaj tea with the hostel worker, then i fell right back into bed. i did however bump into mike (i probably didn't mention him earlier) from the hostel in thessaloniki, just on a random street in the middle of istanbul.

the next day, i moved to another hostel, which was a bit more pricey but way bigger and more spacious, located in the nightlife district taksim. i wanted some good company to celebrate new years with, so i figured it'd be worth it.

the next days consisted of eating cheap turkish food and exploring every corner of the city, while the nights were reserved for a pinch of partying and not so much sleep. i stayed there for a full week and was able to attend breakfast a grand total of two times.

i knew that i would be in istanbul for a while, so i got onto tinder and bumble again. among others, i met ipek, who turned out to be a fellow couchsurfer. she promptly invited me to stay with her for a couple of days, and so i did.

i had a bunch of new impressions i could talk about, but that would take ages, so here's the low down:

- first time (except the us) where i experience things that are truly new to me, not just recycled european cities
- istanbul has like 25 mil population, so it's an insanely big, lively, at times very chaotic city
- everywhere you look, you see gigantic turkish flagpoles or huge illuminated mosques in the distance and you hear muezzins singing from the minarets all the time
- super friendly people, but in a genuine way and not obnoxious at all
- lots of stray cats, some are insanely big and people care for them well with food and shelter
- no more 18yo 1 month europe travelers to be seen in the hostels like in italy / france
- government and police are very keen on image and security (also, police drives ferraris and bentleys they confiscated in some big razzia and park them in the touristy areas)
- 1 in 4 wears women wears a hijab, a couple even full niquab
- there were no fireworks on new years eve, everybody just took to the streets and cheered

fantastic city, can only recommend 👏Read more