Had a great day Friday. After working all morning and the first part of the afternoon on apartment stuff, job stuff, and favors for friends, I left for Beşiktaş. When I was near the place where the boats are, a woman approached me and asked me if I speak English. Of course I replied with a "yes", and a smile which was really the product of a, these days, rare feeling of capability. She asked me if I knew where the dolmuş (car-pooling taxi minibus thing) to Suadiye was located. She was going to the famous Suadiye Hotel. I had taken that exact dolmuş just two days earlier. She was about a five minute walk away from it, and I had free time, so I escorted her there. On the way she told me that she had come from Brazil to visit with her husband at his temporary work location and didn't know any Turkish. She lamented about how difficult it is to get around İstanbul alone without the language (well in order of strength she knew Portuguese, Italian, and English, but no Turkish). I knew exactly what that felt like. Five minutes later we arrived at the station and I asked around for the correct dolmuş. She climbed in and sat down. I told the driver in Turkish where she was going and he said that he would drop her off there. Then I turned and gave her smile, but I will never forget the look on her face. Complete relief and gratitude. I knew that feeling, too. I handed her the correct amount for the ride, but she insisted that she pay. I wished her the best and she thanked me.
As I waited for the boat, I listened to some Americans trying to translate the news coming over the TV. The Greek financial crisis, the BP oil f***up, and the weather were dominant. The boat ride to Beşiktaş was perfect. I took a picture for a young Turkish trio of friends. The weather was great and I bought a can of peach juice. When I go to Beşiktaş I met up with Safiye. We went shopping and perusing. We stopped for tea and later for beer. We were joined later on by Gökhan, my new crazy Beşiktaş friend. He and I paraded to the game with the other crazy Çarşı people.
The game was great. Highlights are
here. I have to say, I have a special respect for Beşiktaş and more importantly Beşiktaş fans. They are organized, dedicated, involved and very spirited.
Saturday was strange and Sunday was beautiful.
Saturday I went to a new bar in Bebek. The getting there was a bit of a story. I thought to go there the old familiar way, but the traffic was terrible. So I exited the bus and ran for 45 minutes through the night streets along the sea. I ran past motionless cars with their windows rolled down and music thumping as they waited for the car in front of them to move, but there were just too many people trying to go to the same places. I ran past couples sitting by sea, people fishing nearby, and people selling food to the people fishing and sitting. I was amazed that I was not getting tired. I guess all that weekly football is paying off. Ortaköy was bustling and bright, Arnavutköy was crowded but peaceful, and Bebek was vibrant. When I got to Bebek, I bought a bottle of water and chugged it at once, crushing the bottle in the process before immediately discarding it in a nearby trash bin. By the way, I did beat the bus there.
In the bar, I was greeted by the owner, Serdar. He welcomed me and I began to speak Turkish. He began to speak English, which was a nice surprise, and he asked who I was meeting there. I gave him their names and he escorted me to where they were hanging out. I had a lot of fun. After running so much and making it there, I felt like I had climbed a mountain. I was tired, but I was energized by the view. Or in this case, it was the atmosphere of the place and the friends were my reward. I have decided that I really like the place and the owner, and I will try to make it a place I frequent.
I will write a little about Sunday in the next post.
I had to push my way through packed crowds to even get a view of the chaos. People were gushing into the area by the metro-car-load, waving flags and yelling chants like "Kahrolsun İsrail" (Damn you, Israel). Flares were being lit, police were swarming. At one point everyone started yelling excitedly and when I saw the smoke I understood. A flag was being burned, but I could not tell what the flag depicted. Israel? Probably, but it didn't matter. Behind the crowds, a man was helplessly trying to keep the people out of the only remaining lane of the northbound Büyüdere Caddesi traffic. His effectiveness waned and 5 or 10 minutes later the cars and buses full of people were motionless. Their honking was mainly an attempt to encourage rioters to get out of the way, but I'm certain it was interpreted only as a show of support.
To sum up, I will just say that the people here are very upset by what happened. I don't mean just at the protest. Killing a dozen or so Turks on a peaceful effort to deliver aid to a struggling people is just such a terrible and unnecessary thing. When you have the guns, you have the responsibility. With that, I hope that the fallout from this is policy change, not more violence. Time will tell.
