Parts of the city I love and hate

I love İstanbul. It has something for everyone. However there is one part of town I never liked much: Sultanahmet. It is the most touristic district by far, and I don't really like tourists. I don't like tourists much because I feel that a lot of them just take pictures and a souvenir and otherwise don't really give a damn about the culture, language, politics and/or what I would call the 'real lives' of the people here. I suppose that's always the complaint about tourists.

So here's the thing... I don't hate them so much anymore. In fact it's been so long since I saw a bunch of tourists that it's kind of fun to see them and they make me really curious. Anyway, I was in Sultanahmet and that queasiness I was expecting to get never came. Indeed I sort of enjoyed myself. I even went there twice this weekend.

The first trip was to several market places including the so called Grand Bazaar. I had a few items on my shopping list. One fellow in particular on my mind was Brett, who briefly told me of his most recent trip to the bazaar in 1974 and how, but more interestingly why, he bought a cane. I saw some canes and thought of his story.


Being in Sultanahmet with my pal Stewart from work, we stopped at the carpet shop in which he used to work. I had been there once before and the warm greetings, delightful conversation and free beer was waiting once again. However, this time there was something else. They had a craftswoman making a carpet. What a thing to observe! That was Saturday.

Sunday was glorious. I met the sisters and a cousin of one of my friends from work. This included a walk through Kadıköy to the docks and a trip to Sultanahmet. When we got to the docks, I saw something that made me really quite happy. The Social Democratic Party was having a traffic-stopping march. I love to see people out on the street representing their political views. It shows that people care in a world where it seems all too few do.

It seems that most Turks living is İstanbul pretty much never go to Sultanahmet, despite the high concentration of historical sites and similar attractions. So my trip there with my new friend was more of a trip for her than for me, even though she has lived in İstanbul all her life and I only just came here.

The whole weekend was really nice, especially since the weather was nice. Monday was ok, too. In the evening on Monday, I went to Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium to witness the chaos of the Fenerbahçe fans getting ready for a big match.

On my way there, one thought I kept having was that it is too bad I am not a Fenerbahçe fan. I mean, how convenient would it be, given how close I am to the stadium. I thought of my friends and acquaintances in the US who are Fenerbahçe fans and how jealous they must be of me in that moment, standing in front of the stadium with money enough in my pocket for a ticket.