I thought for a moment, trying to remember from my flashcards how to ask for someone to take our picture. I remembered and turned to the gentleman standing behind me who had been joyously rooting for Galatasaray along with everyone else. (I made sure nothing exciting was happening in the game at that moment.) By then everyone around me knew I was American because I had been talking a little with Pınar. They had asked me where I was from, if I had ever been to a Galatasaray match before, if I know any Turkish, etc fln. Anyway the man happily agreed to take our picture.
The match was awesome and it was mostly because of the fans. Shortly after the game began, the man standing in front of Pınar turned around and asked her if she could see. She said yes but he scooched himself over and offered for her to stand in a free space next to him where the view was much better. Later some room was made for me too. Another man I stood next to offered me a cigarette. The girl over my right shoulder was friendly and we chatted for a bit. The atmosphere was incredible. Fans were chanting and Pınar was translating the chants for me. Although one chant in particular was obvious: "sarı! kırmızı! şampiyon! Cimbombom!!!" (yellow! red! champion! Galatasaray!)
I have been a fan of Galatasaray for about a year. There came a time where after hanging out with Turkish people so much I needed to pick a Turkish team to root for. All my friends root for different teams and so with nothing else to go on I just picked the team with the nicest colors. I included a video clip that is not particularly interesting, but it gives an idea of what it was like to be at the game. Here is a video of the goals of the match. Cimbom defeated Kayserispor 2-0.
The scene in and near the stadium was just a blur of yellow and red. Thousands of happy and determined people were walking every which way. Even as we drove near the venue, the streets were crowded with yellow and red clad people. We were driving from a fancy restaurant where we had enjoyed kebobs and Turkish food in other forms. Before that, we spent a lot of time at Dolmabahçe palace.
Dolmabahçe is a palace. It happens to be the place where Atatürk lived and died. It is most grand. The walls and ceilings of just about every room are covered with gold leaf. The interior is filled with statues, oriental carpets, carvings, chandeliers, and those sorts of things. We wanted to just walk in and look around, but tours were mandatory. So we took an English tour. The guide was a friendly Turkish lady. At one point she said in Turkish to her friend that she was very tired and not in the mood for giving a tour. Still, it was a pleasant and very informative experience.
Going out and about today was highly necessary because the weather was marvelous. In the morning, the beauty of the day made it hard to resist going outside and taking some pictures.
The match was awesome and it was mostly because of the fans. Shortly after the game began, the man standing in front of Pınar turned around and asked her if she could see. She said yes but he scooched himself over and offered for her to stand in a free space next to him where the view was much better. Later some room was made for me too. Another man I stood next to offered me a cigarette. The girl over my right shoulder was friendly and we chatted for a bit. The atmosphere was incredible. Fans were chanting and Pınar was translating the chants for me. Although one chant in particular was obvious: "sarı! kırmızı! şampiyon! Cimbombom!!!" (yellow! red! champion! Galatasaray!)
I have been a fan of Galatasaray for about a year. There came a time where after hanging out with Turkish people so much I needed to pick a Turkish team to root for. All my friends root for different teams and so with nothing else to go on I just picked the team with the nicest colors. I included a video clip that is not particularly interesting, but it gives an idea of what it was like to be at the game. Here is a video of the goals of the match. Cimbom defeated Kayserispor 2-0.
The scene in and near the stadium was just a blur of yellow and red. Thousands of happy and determined people were walking every which way. Even as we drove near the venue, the streets were crowded with yellow and red clad people. We were driving from a fancy restaurant where we had enjoyed kebobs and Turkish food in other forms. Before that, we spent a lot of time at Dolmabahçe palace.
Dolmabahçe is a palace. It happens to be the place where Atatürk lived and died. It is most grand. The walls and ceilings of just about every room are covered with gold leaf. The interior is filled with statues, oriental carpets, carvings, chandeliers, and those sorts of things. We wanted to just walk in and look around, but tours were mandatory. So we took an English tour. The guide was a friendly Turkish lady. At one point she said in Turkish to her friend that she was very tired and not in the mood for giving a tour. Still, it was a pleasant and very informative experience.
Going out and about today was highly necessary because the weather was marvelous. In the morning, the beauty of the day made it hard to resist going outside and taking some pictures.
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