When I first arrived in Istanbul last April, it seemed massive and insurmountable. The streets and buildings flowed ceaselessly over and around the hills of Europe and Asia like spilled milk. The Bosphorus appeared to me as a giant levy holding the shops and streets and restaurants and apartments back from sprawling into the water, too. When I shut my eyes, I could imagine the buildings doubling and doubling into numbers too many for the banks to hold and falling one by one into the waterway, building upon building until the channel was plugged with a sea of malls and petrol stations. The more I've travelled in Istanbul, however, the more I've gotten to see that the take over of the Bosphorus is not necessary. Not when the city has no limits.
The two bridges that connect the continents seemed like too weak of ties for a city of almost 20 million, most of which live in Asia but travel to Europe everyday for work. "A one hour commute is normal," said one of my first coworkers who made that very commute, "you get used to it." I thought forty minutes was extreme then, and now it takes me the average Istanbul hour just to get to school. She was right though, you do get used to it.
Europe seemed like the best of Istanbul. Not only did it have all of the cool history, old buildings and beautiful views, it also had a nightlife with neat bars, good music, interesting people and good eateries. It had youth and vibrance, the feeling of expectance. There was always some protest on Istikal, and always some day to curse or celebrate. It seemed like you were always going to get scammed, even when you bought a soda from the bufe store. You most likely were, but you don't think about what is only going to anger you. And there was also an ever lurking danger that waited in the back streets, like the ghosts of murderers past still lingered in the doorways and broken windows. Hairs on your neck would stand up on a wrong turn, and meeting anyone - and child, a family, an old woman - would make your heart skip a beat you were so much on edge. But, that was the thrill and excitement of living in Europe. You were asking for things to happen to you.
I'm now an Asian convert. I like the structured streets (well, semi-structured, they still sprawl and one ways confuse me, but there's more order than Europe and that's close enough to "structured" for me). I like the clean area and access to parks and the view of the Prince's Islands. I like my large apartment that would be impossible to get anywhere close to Europe. I like how clean it is, that there's a big screen TV for me to watch Buffy on, that there's peace and quiet all of the time and that I can jump around my living room without the worry of creepy onlookers. I like the balcony where I play my guitar to the quiet back streets of Istanbul, the ones in Asia that don't arouse all of the hairs on my body to stand on their ends. I like 8 to 5 job I have (most days) and the people I work with. I don't like the commute, but that's apart of the life here. So without it, I guess I'd be a fake Istanbulian. I like the access to downtown if I want it, but also the access to the beach and to the nightlife of Kadikoy. I like the friends I've made here and the people I've gotten to meet. I like that I've gotten to do all of this with Brendan, and I love the world we've built together. I think this is the Istanbul we were dreaming of while in Korea, and I think it's now safe to say that we can call it home sweet home.
For the time being at least...
