Istanbul...

Istanbul'un sunduklari hayal edilemez guzellikte. O hic uyumayan sehir... Bu postta Istanbul'da kucuk bir yolculuga cikiyorum, bana katilmak ister misiniz?
What Istanbul offers is amazing. It is a city that never sleeps. In this post, I will take a trip in Istanbul, want you join?

Insanin kendi sehrini sevmesi kolay tabi, ama bu sehir Istanbul olunca cok daha kolay oluyor. Bu fotograf Kadikoy'den, Besiktas iskelesinin uzerindeki kafeden gorunen bir Istanbul'da gun batimi... Asya'dan Avrupa'ya bakarken yani :)
It is easy for one to love their own city, but when one's own city is Istanbul, it is very very easy to fall in love. This photo is taken at a cafe in Kadikoy, at sunset, looking towards Sultanahmet... While looking to Europe, form Asia :)

Hadi yolculugumuza baslayalim... / Let's begin our trip...

Kadikoy'de dolmustan* indik, karsimiza ilk cikan manzara bufeler, ve dizilmis donerler...
We get off the minibus at Kadikoy, the first thing we see the kiosks that sell doner (gyro)...

Donerleri ardimizda birakip, Haldun Taner'in arkasindan Besiktas iskelesine dogru yurudugumuzu hayal edin. Belki 9-10 yaslarinda bir cingene kiz darbuka caliyor, cicek satan annesinin yaninda... Bir yandan denizin havasini icimize cekerken, bir yandan da kizin yetenegine hayret ediyoruz...Sag tarafimizda ayakkabi boyacilari, onlarin arkasinda tum hasmetiyle Haydarpasa...

Leaving doners (gyros) behind, imagine that we start walking towards Besiktas port, behind Haldun Taner (a theater, also a common meeting place, people usually meet in front of the theater and go wherever). When you are walking behind Haldun Taner, you have the Bosphorus on the right side, and the building on the left. May be a 9 or 10 year old Gypsy girl is playing her darbuka, next to her mother, who sells flowers. We, while enjoying the sea weather in every breath, are thinking how talented this girl is. On the right side, we see the shoe painters, right behind them is Haydarpasa (the building in the photo, it is a train station)

Sonunda Besiktas iskelesine ulastik, diyelim ki 16:15 vapurundayiz. Bir kac simit aldik, ve vapuru takip eden martilar ile paylastik... Ruzgari hissettik kemiklerimizde... Bogaz havasi aldik yani. Yanindan gecerken kacamak bakislar attik Kiz kulesine, kralin kizini ve Hera ile Leander'i andik. Bogazici koprusunu selamladik... Sonra tum gorkemi ile Galata kulesine merhaba dedik, dort bir yanimizi saran tarihe, Istanbul'un yasanmisliklarina hayranlikla baktik, her seferinde oldugu gibi. Istanbul'a hayranlik sozleri dustu aklimiza... Istanbul'da yasamislari dusunduk, bizden cok oncekileri... Sonra Omer Hayyam'in dizelerini hatirladik:
"Niceleri geldi neler istediler
Sonunda dünyayı bırakıp gittiler
Sen hiç gitmeyecek gibisin değil mi?
Onlar da senin gibiydiler"

Finally, we arrive to Besiktas port (It is in Kadikoy, but called Besiktas port because the ferries leave that port goes to Besiktas), let's imagine we took the 16:15 ferry. We bought a couple of simits, and shared it with the sea gulls following the ferry. We felt the wind, in our bones... We breath some Bosporus air... When we were sailing close to the Maiden's tower, we glanced at her, shyly, and thought about the king's daughter and Hera & Leander. We saluted the Bosporus bridge. Then we said hi to the Galata Tower, and to the history around us, everywhere in Istanbul. We looked at the realm of the life in Istanbul, in the past, and in the present... We admired the beauty, the history and the soul of the city, as always. We thought of the people who lived in Istanbul, yesterday, and 100s of years ago. The we thought of Omer Hayyam's lines: (Sorry for the poor translation, it is really hard!)
"Many arrived with many wishes
Then they left the world,
You feel like you will never leave, right?
They were just like you"

Duygu yuklu yolculugun sonunda vapur Besiktas'a demir atti. Saat 16:35-16:40 civari olmali. Kalabaligi takip ederek iskeleden cikiyoruz. Simdi karar zamani, Ortakoy mu Istiklal mi???
After our emotional ferry ride, we arrive in Besiktas. It should be around 4:35-4:40 pm now. We follow the crowd to get off the ferry, then pause a little, to decide, Ortakoy or Istiklal???

Devam edecek... / To be continued...

(Edit) *: Ankaralilarin dolmus dedigine biz minibus deriz, dolmusla minibusu karistirmayalim lutfen :)))