A 24 Hour Love Affair

After arriving in Istanbul late at night, I was prepared to set up camp and curl up on an airport bench until the next morning. I figured I'd be able to ditch my bag for a few hours in a locker and then have all afternoon to tour the city until my connection left from Istanbul to Dakar (including a brief and sketchy stopover in Tunisia of course). Though the idea of a 20 hour layover may seem absurd and inconvenient to a lot of people, I thought it was just a bonus of my ticket and an opportunity to see some of a city that I'd heard such wonderful rumors of.

After landing, I decided to head to the Turkish Airlines desk and find some information out about the city before finding a cozy corner to curl up in. This turned out to be, arguably, the best decision I made this trip! I was instantly asked where my accomdations for the night would be, and when I said, "here," pointing to the floor of the airport, the desk attendents just laughed.

Apparently, with little to no coercion, on layovers longer than 10 hours, Turkish Airlines books you a room in the swanky, five star, Radisson Blu Airport Hotelo. The whole concept of a free room seemed quite foreign to me and I kept insisting there must be some catch. The room did turn out to be free - no strings attached, and made the 24 hours I spent in beautiful Istanbul that much more fun and rewarding!

I woke up at 7 a.m. the next morning and took full advantage of the Raddison Blu complimentary breakfast (mornings like these are so amazing after traveling for a month in cheap hostel accomdoations). Afterwards I checked in with the front desk about check-out time and learned Turkish Air had booked the room up until 5 p.m., when I would need to leave for the airport!  How exciting! That meant I was able to leave my bags, and all my valuables in the safe confines of my locked room. I left the hotel with happy stomach, and a ligther bag than I've carried in weeks (it's really the little things that make a difference sometimes)!

Istanbul itself is gorgeous and the tumultuous history including the rise and fall of many empires is evident in it's architecture. It is also huge. The city itself is the size of Delaware (around 2,000 sq miles) and a metro population the size of 10 million making it the 12th most populated city in the world. There are as many people in Istanbul as there are in Michigan or Ohio! Thank goodness they have such an established public transit system. I jumped on the metro at the airport and easily navigated my way to the tram stop that dropped me off right in front of the Ayasofya.

I walked around the former church and mosque for awhile, amazed at the impressive New Testament  mosaics and huge circular tapestries praising Allah. If only there were a couple of minorahs thrown in the mix it would've been a complete site of worship for all Abrahamic faiths!

The Blue Mosque was also quite impressive. Not as blue as I thought it would be, but stunning none the less. People were preparing for prayer during ramadan outside, cleansing face, hands and feet in the gold lacquered faucets that surround the mosque.

I decided to just walk around aimlessly for the rest of the afternoon. I strolled through the historic Markets, which were closed in creating a simliar feel to the Old City in Jerusalem, but much bigger with wider and cleaner streets making it less chaotic and claustrophobic.

Out of the market, the streets have a very European feel, but still quite Middle Eastern. It's a nice mix. It's relatively clean for a city, with some tall buildings and cobblestone streets, littered with outdoor cafes, similar to what you might find in cities like Prague or Vienna. The Middle Eastern feel comes from the buildings painted in shades of pink and aqua marine and shops spilling out of the doors and onto the streets with merchants luring you in with promises of good prices. I really enjoyed the overall feel of the city, very urban and chic but full of life and a character of it's own.

By 2 p.m., I had to talk myself in to getting on the train and heading back to the hotel to pack. My layover in Istanbul had turned into a nice little addition to my travels thus far, and I look forward to coming back in the future and giving it, as well as the rest of Turkey, more time to explore.

Hipsters Occupying Tel Aviv

I felt awakened as I passed through the rolling hills, greenery, and desert sand of Israel leaving behind Jerusalem as a small speck in my mind. I sometimes find it hard to appreciate things in Israel after seeing places like Deheishe, however, the whole point of enrolling in Tel Aviv University was to challenge my thoughts and awaken myself to both perspectives. The further the bus drove from Jerusalem, the further we got from the conflict. It was easier to open my mind to the other side, which eventually made me realize why it was so easy for the other side to close their minds to what is going on outside of big cities like Haifa and Tel Aviv.

I was looking forward to spending time in Haifa, a beach town in the north of Israel. I was often told it was like being in a different world, a world living without a clue as to what conflict is. For those who spend much time in Jerusalem, or in the border areas, I can see why they feel this way, but for anyone coming from outside, signs of the conflict are still everywhere. The buses and trains and even beaches are filled with soldiers in their green uniforms, their M-4's hanging casually off their shoulders. For me this signifies anything but a conflict free area. But I can't complain too much. The beach was wonderful, besides the jellyfish that kept being washed on shore, and to be honest, the soldiers are hot!

After two days Alejandro and I (yes we meet again!) headed to Tel Aviv via the train. We arrived at our overbooked hostel ('tis the high season apparently) and settled into our lovely tent in the backyard! We spent the day walking around the streets of Tel Aviv and, of course, visiting the beach. I can definitely say that it will not be very hard to move to this city! If Haifa is a place removed from the conflict than Tel Aviv is a pradise where conflict never even existed. Now, honestly I know this statement could not be further from the truth. Tel Aviv has a violent history of occupation, war, and conflict that dates back to biblical times, but mostly youth dominates Tel Aviv now. And what a youth they are!

Tel Aviv's artsy hipsters give places like D.C. and New York a run for their money! And as my fellow D.C.ers are aware, that is no small statement. Seriously, Black Cat, Brightest Young Things, the Red Derby.... Tel Aviv may have you beat in the ways of overzized specs, crimped hair, gaudy red lipstick, skinny jeans and the "i haven't showered in a few days" eau de perfume.

The streets are full of artwork and people. Nearly every wall has some type of graffiti (and not just tagging), or posters, or painting. And then there is the awesomeness of Carmel market in the old Yemeni district that rivals the size and yelling of the souks in Cairo, though not the touching, thank goodness.

I really enjoyed my time in Tel Aviv, and left with the comfort of feeling like I'd made the right decision about choosing to go to school there. I am nervous and excited about this part of my future, but as my coffee cup read - the thing I am nervous about will turn out well. Enshallah.