Istanbul – My Experiences with the Natives

Istanbul is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and the exciting moments awaiting you are a lot more than your expectations. The architecture is stunning, the food is delicious, and the people are very friendly. On a recent trip to Turkey, I had the opportunity to spend a few days exploring the city of Istanbul. I gathered a great deal of knowledge about its history culture and I lost myself in the stunning beauty of nature.

I visited Istanbul in the year 2019 while I was returning from San Diego after a conference.  I deliberately booked the Turkish Airlines flight, so that I can have a three  day stopover in Istanbul. It is one of the cheapest ways to visit a new place. As I was going for an official visit to US, with a travel allowance and so it hasn’t affected my budget. Only three days were available to spend there but I decided to get the maximum benefit out of that.

I booked a hotel near the Taksim Square through booking.com. It is one of the European neighborhoods of Istanbul and was near all the major attractions like Taksim square, blue mosque and all. I’m pretty sure that if I try to explore any tourist destinations by myself, it will end up in a futile attempt as I’m not much experienced and unaware about the places. So, I searched in Airbnb experience and found that there is a video tour of Istanbul which was hosted by a similar traveler like me named Hazel. It was mentioned that they  take you for a four-hour tour of Istanbul and help you explore historical places and taste local cuisine and the operators offer you a four-to-five-minute free video of your tour experiences. That was the time I was intending to start a YouTube channel, but I was feeling a bit bashful to record and publish my videos. But instantly I realized that this is the best way to break the ice and I booked this tour at the drop of a hat.

The next day, at 8:30 a.m., I reached at Taksim Square and met Hazel and her  friend Usman. Hazel was a pretty, and charming young woman in her early 20s and Usman was also a handsome young guy. And they told me they both are college students, and this is their part time job. I was so impressed with them; I was happy to see the young generation utilizes the opportunities to keep themselves financially independent / find means and ways to meet their daily needs.

We walked to the Taksim square. As it was early morning, there were not many people. Then we visited many attractions. They took me to a place where  traditional Turkish breakfast is sold and we had a quick breakfast. The best thing I liked was the pickled juice, which was a bit spicy. I loved that. I am a South Indian and my taste buds quickly welcomed the spicy flavor. The next day I went alone to that place, just to enjoy the indelible taste of the same spicy juice pickle again.

The other thing that I tried was food – Midye. It was mussels. I was not sure whether it was cooked or not. They opened the shells and squeezed a lemon on it and gave me to eat. I tried it. As I said earlier, I love to try different cuisine from the places I visit. When I posted this video in Instagram, my friend Mustafa from Istanbul commented that he would not have recommend it as the mussels are collected from contaminated  water. Upon reading his comment all my excitement and the thrill of tasting a new and original food that has never been seen before had suddenly vanished, and a disgusting regurgitation sickened my thoughts even to have the next proper meal of the day.

The video which Hazel sent me after a week has motivated me and took off all my inhibitions regarding writing about all my journeys. Without much delay I began the You tube channel- ‘Mirabile’. So dear travelers if you don’t know how to start or  hesitated like me to begin with travel vlogs, this type of experiences will be a great beginning.

I was not carrying any Turkish lira, so I withdrew some cash from the airport ATM so that I can pay for the taxi and meet other kind of minor expenses. On the next day I went to a money exchange center at Taskim square to exchange the money and this exchange plan made me happy because it was  indeed a profitable deal.

The interesting fact is that no food is expensive at Istanbul and I  noticed that the living cost is much lesser here than the place, where I live now. I purchased some dresses and some other items like curios, souvenirs etc. I was tempted to buy more as they are high quality stuff and very much affordable. I also took another shopping tour through Airbnb experience. It was mentioned in Airbnb that ‘View cheapest local bazaars and save 40% cost’. I was introduced to a young man Mr.Rahmat, a PhD scholar from Bangladesh, and he told me to reach a metro station. The experience was amazing. He helped me in bargaining, and I bought some items much cheaper than before.

The second day I booked a local guide through ‘Showaround’ app. A pretty local tour guide, named Sali came to my hotel the next day afternoon and picked me up. She asked me whether I was comfortable to walk to the destinations. Due to overenthusiasm, instantly I said I’m OK, but later on I realized that I made a wrong decision. She walked so fast and I struggled to maintain her pace. We visited many historical places and local markets. She has a very good knowledge about the history and it’s always great experience to hear  true narratives from the  natives. She helped me to buy some gifts for my wife. I purchased a traditional Turkish Teacup set and some other random stuff too.

In the evening we went to the restaurant and had some delicious Turkish food. She told me to try the Turkish alcohol raki. Turkish alcohol beverage – a popular tradition in Turkey. During a celebration, it is customary for people to toast to each other and drink a toast of raki at the same time. Raki is made from a variety of ingredients including aniseed, honey and walnuts. It was different experience when I ordered the second glass of raki. She warned me as it was strong and may cause problems. So, I decided to have a Turkish Beer instead?

Even though it was a short trip. I made the best out of it. This is one of the places I wanted to go again and I’m eagerly look forward for it.

Hope to see you in the next blog with a tale of yet another trip….

Stay happy and enthusiastic always to be more productive in your life