Greetings from Istanbul!
I am Istanbul! I just arrived this afternoon and I'm staying until Sunday for the Models and Groups conference. This is my third time in Turkey, previously having gone to Antalya and Çeşme. However, both previous times I was outside the city and along the coast. This time, I'm smack dab in city, and not even the busiest part. There's far too many cars clogging up the roads (and the air) and it feels a bit like Mexico how everyone drives weaving through lanes, which themselves only exist every once in a while. My taxi ride over had all the typical elements I would associate with such a locale: no seat belts in the back seat, the taxi driver zooming up and stopping at the last second, inches away from the car in front of him, people standing in the middle of a congested highway selling things (bananas, water), the big old trucks with black clouds of emissions.
I opted for the taxi since it was supposed to be faster than public transportation and I had forgotten to write down directions from the bus stop to the hotel. No matter -- traffic made the ride last nearly an hour and then my driver didn't even know where the hotel was exactly. He dropped me off and pointed behind some buildings. Since he was parked illegally and people were honking at him, he started driving off with my suitcase still in his trunk. Luckily, I banged on the car and he stopped again and apologized profusely. After a little bit of wandering and asking people for directions, I found out my hotel was only about 500ft down the street.
I unpacked, took a shower, and slept for two hours. Then I went out to get dinner, which was lamb kebab on a bed of stewed eggplant with a stretchy flat bread served on the side. Yum. It felt very strange sitting outside along a busy Istanbul street, when less than 24 hours ago I was at Fairfield teaching calculus to my students. And if I think it's weird arriving here, it's going to be even weirder going back and having to teach the very next morning. But I'll think about that when that moment arrives. Now it's time to experience Istanbul and finish up my talk!
I opted for the taxi since it was supposed to be faster than public transportation and I had forgotten to write down directions from the bus stop to the hotel. No matter -- traffic made the ride last nearly an hour and then my driver didn't even know where the hotel was exactly. He dropped me off and pointed behind some buildings. Since he was parked illegally and people were honking at him, he started driving off with my suitcase still in his trunk. Luckily, I banged on the car and he stopped again and apologized profusely. After a little bit of wandering and asking people for directions, I found out my hotel was only about 500ft down the street.
I unpacked, took a shower, and slept for two hours. Then I went out to get dinner, which was lamb kebab on a bed of stewed eggplant with a stretchy flat bread served on the side. Yum. It felt very strange sitting outside along a busy Istanbul street, when less than 24 hours ago I was at Fairfield teaching calculus to my students. And if I think it's weird arriving here, it's going to be even weirder going back and having to teach the very next morning. But I'll think about that when that moment arrives. Now it's time to experience Istanbul and finish up my talk!