My love affair with Istanbul has started to fade away for the reasons I have hard time explaining. Istanbul looks worn out and aged a bit this time around.
Well maybe, this time I am staying on the Anatolian side of Istanbul which I am not that found of. Maybe, Istanbul needs a face lift or people are fed up with the chaos and they do not care any longer. But I do care how Istanbul looks and feels like.
So, my mission is today to convince myself that my feelings are temporary and that the Anatolian side of Istanbul can excite me as well. I decide to take a walk by the Marmara sea to take in the sights. In a way I want to find out whose fault are these feelings, mine or the Anatolian side of Istanbul. In the meantime, I remember the poem of Orhan Veli which starts with "İstanbul'u dinliyorum gözlerim kapalı" which means "Listening to Istanbul with my eyes closed". This poem has meant a lot to me over the years. I do listen to Istanbul with my eyes closed many times. Now I tell myself to forget which side I am on, just listen to Istanbul and not necessarily with closed eyes.
Orhan Pamuk writes about the good old days of Istanbul which I love reading over and over. But today, I decide to think and write about the present.
I remember briefly when I was a student at the University of Istanbul, eating a simit and having a cup of tea in Beyazıt Square on a windy day sitting by a courtyard of a mosque. Nothing in the world ever tasted as good. I plan on doing the same today.
Well, today's Istanbul is a different place; with its people, climate, buildings and fewer trees around. I have hard time accepting it but, that is the truth.
I keep walking and finally make it to Bostancı which is a lovely town by the Marmara Sea. It has one of the busiest piers. I take a seat in a cafe where I can watch people. I get my cup of tea and a simit. So far it is good. It is time I tell myself to close my eyes and listen to Istanbul.
All I hear are the cell phone conversations around me. Everyone has somebody keeping company and a cell phone. I have neither. I feel kind of naked!
I don't think there are any manners in terms of using cell phones in public. Phone rings, immediately they reach to their pockets or handbags to answer it and drop off the group conversation they are just so feverishly involved.
Conversation starts with simple greetings and goes onto really private matters, lasting about five minutes. I can not help but hear the whole conversation. That tall guy to my left talks about a broken promise by his brother and he literally curses at his family. He calls some family member a pimp, another a whore.
Older lady with bleached blond hair who is peacefully having her tea and having a pleasant conversation with her friend turns into an angry person when her phone rings. The subject is her mother-in-law who did not help her financially, even though she promised to do so if she inherited some money. Finally, a young girl talks about her boyfriend not being man enough. She says on many instances he did not stand up for her in some family gatherings and she does not say very nice things about him.
They pour their hearts out and I shamelessly listen to all. I find myself taking sides and even justifying the curse words I hear. I have this giddy feeling knowing their intimate problems.
Maybe he wants to share his anger towards his brother. Maybe she is right about the mother-in-law who was too stingy to help her out or maybe that boyfriend is not mature enough to have such a great girlfriend.
Yes, I am listening Istanbul my eyes open and having such a great time in Bostancı Kafe with my friends. After all, I know a lot about them and I have also an opinion about each one of them. I think I love being on the Anatolian side and having so many intimate friends all around me. I feel at home and order another cup of tea :)
