Hagar Gomaa, Koç University Exchange, Fall 2013
It’s hard to believe that my time in Istanbul is almost coming to an end. This past November, I celebrated my twentieth birthday in Istanbul. It was fun to be with my Turkish and exchange friends and to be sung happy birthday in many languages including Turkish. It seems very odd to me that I have only known my friends for a few months because they are already starting to feel like family.
Since my time in Turkey is coming to a close, I decided to do some more sight seeing. I visited two palaces, one on the European side and the other on the Asian side. The first was Dolmabahçe Palace which is built in the European style with some Ottoman characteristics. The other palace was Beylerbeyi and is a similar style to Dolmabahçe. Both palaces stand in sharp contrast to the older and more traditional Ottoman style palace, Topkapi.
I mentioned in my previous posts that I really wanted to further explore the Asian side of Istanbul. I have since visited the Asian side several times although it is a long trip. The advantage to being on the Asian side is that it is less touristy since it is more residential which also means it is a lot cheaper! Kadıköy is one district on the Asian side of Istanbul which has many nice restaurants and little shops. The other day, I went to Kadıköy with a friend and watched her get a tattoo. Many of the exchange students are interested in getting tattoos to remember their time in Turkey (also because it is cheaper here).
I was very lucky to experience genuine Turkish hospitality. I have a family friend living in Istanbul who invited me to her home on the Asian side. She introduced me to her family and made me a traditional Turkish breakfast. We also watched Turkish soap operas and had Turkish coffee. It is tradition to read the coffee leaves after someone has drank their coffee and predict their future. My friend did this for me and we laughed about her predictions. It was very different from being on campus or eating in a restaurant and I’m glad that I had the opportunity to experience a Turkish household. I feel very blessed to have met such friendly people who welcomed me into their home.
During my trip to the Asian side, I discovered my favorite place in Istanbul. My friends and I heard that there is a huge hilltop from which you can see all of Istanbul. We took a chance and hopped on a bus hoping that we would make it there. After asking many people, getting lost, and walking uphill for ages, we finally made it. It was definitely worth it and the view was incredible. I want to return to that hill again before I leave Istanbul. My next blog post will detail something I have been neglecting thus far and which deserves its own post, Turkish food!
