Turkish Delight

Ugh. I feel like one of those poser travelers I used to make fun of for earnestly scribbling in their journal while overlooking some majestic holiday site. I’m in Istanbul and gazing over the hustle and bustle of seafaring traffic on the Bosporus while having my breakfast. Nice life. But wait, here’s the thing, two things actually…the first is that I’m traveling alone and the second is that I’ve arrived so early here that my room’s not ready. I’d like to get out there and see the city, but I’ve got 30 minutes to kill before I can brush my teeth. Hence posery blog.

When the sun came up in Istanbul the first thing I noticed was…the food on my plate. The great thing about living in Uganda is that when I travel, the food is always so much better. Sorry Uganda, but you know it’s true. While I should be plotting my course to the Blue Mosque or Hagia Sophia I’m instead marveling at the feta, the yogurt, the little square pastry thingy that’s singing in my mouth right now. The divine cherry jam goes great with the no-chance-in-hell-it’s-weak Turkish coffee. Food glorious food!

This simple breakfast, this pause ‘til my room is ready, has become a celebration of my journey. Leaving Gulu yesterday felt stupid and stressful. We’re so so busy with closing down the project and moving plans. I did plan this trip before I knew the project was closing a month early and it is for my mom’s 60th birthday, but still. Things are nuts. I was feverishly typing my inputs to our final report in the car from Gulu to the airport. As I was putting on socks for the first time in months, all I was thinking was: I hate the project indicators but have to demonstrate impact. I’ve got to write niceties for some of our “challenging” projects and just can’t bring myself to do it. All the while, the paranoid traveler in me is worrying about plane crashes and transfers and making sure my mom gets to Paris and worrying about my dog’s plane ride to America. Strangely, the only thing I’m not bothered about is being alone in Istanbul. It’s only a day.

But I got on the plane and the holiday began with the catchy little Turkish airlines ditty immediately entrenching itself in my head: “We are Turkish Airlines…” I arrived at 5am and although I couldn’t see much I was already struck and delighted by the different air and trees and all of the water that flows around Istanbul between the continents. I cannot imagine life without the calming, billowing banana trees as far as the eye can see in Uganda. But looking at Turkish nature I realize that maybe other trees are cool too.

The sun is now up and it’s time to blitz the city. I’ve got 24 hours to visit thousands of years of Istanbul. Ok, maybe just a site or two this trip. But first I shall have another bite of this sesame bagel-like bready thing, with cherry jam and feta on top. Yum!