In 2008, when I was 21, I came up with the idea of booking an Interrail ticket and touring Europe for a month. I decided travel to Paris, Madrid, Granada, Barcelona, Venice, Rome, Athens, Istanbul and Vienna. And I felt the strong urge to do this tour alone.
Day 22 to 25 – Istanbul (Turkey)
After Athens, I took a train to Thessaloniki (Greece) and from there a night train to Istanbul where I arrived on Sep 20th. I loved the fact that the city is easily accessible on foot as well as quite affordable and budget friendly from a German perspective. I was able to indulge on delicious street food and baklava without burning a hole in my pocket, all the while taking in the sights and architecture.
And honestly, even though the weather was grey and gloomy, the city and its people were amazing. I was just wandering around the city on foot and got approached so many times by strangers to strike up a conversation in surprisingly good English and German. A couple of times this involved somebody trying to sell me something (I was asked to buy a carpet more than a handful of times even though no one could have seriously assumed that I would want to buy one at 21), but after I politely declined they just continued with pleasant an curious small talk, usually with a glass of tea.
This is very different from street interactions in Germany, we usually don’t strike up with conversations with strangers. Also public street life in Istanbul back then seemed very much dominated by men. For these reasons, I was a little bit taken aback the first couple of times these encounters occurred, suspecting ulterior motives. But with each pleasant meeting and positive interaction, I grew to understand that this was part of the culture and no obligations arose from them. I had so many lovely and insightful encounters with locals. It made my exploring of the city on the Bosporus so much more memorable.
How about you?
Have you been to Istanbul? What was your impression?
Cover picture was taken in Istanbul (Turkey) in Sep 2008
Missing the beginning of this story?
Around Europe in 30 days #1: Forming a plan
Wandering Explorer Travel 
Yes we have been to Istanbul, it is a fabulous City, Interesting and exciting. We agree with you, in our opinion the Turkish people are wonderful. We have travelled through Turkey a fair bit, our latest trip there was for 9 weeks only getting back to England at the end of November. We found that the people were friendly and helpful everywhere we went, from Cities to Towns to rural villages. We saw so many acts of kindness 😁
LikeLiked by 2 people
I am glad that you had the same experience 🥰
LikeLike
I was just in Istanbul last summer, and while I would say that it’s still quite men-dominated in the hospitality/marketing industry, it’s become a bit more mixed compared to what you experienced 12 years ago. I actually found it more uncomfortable when I was in Morocco, as the men were more aggressive in trying to sell me just about any trinket out there. But you live and you learn, and I’m sure we’ve become experts at fending off such temptations! 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Usually my preset budget is a great helper in avoiding the temptation of (outrageous) vendor offers 😂 Glad to hear society is being mixed up in Istanbul 🥰
LikeLiked by 1 person
Alone ? In such a big trip! ? Brave girl! 👍🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can’t wait to make it to Istanbul one day 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is amazing, I hope you get to see it first hand 😇
LikeLike