Churches/converted Mosques littered the skyline as I spent yesterday walking from the Hagia Sofia over the Golden horn to Taksim square.
The day was perfect, blue skies and sunshine. I started the day with a wander around the awe inspiring Hagia Sofia, a byzantine church converted to a mosque now essentially a museum. After hunting out the viking grafitti which adorned one balcony on the second floor I made my way towards Taksim.
The route takes you over the bridge and across the sea, the views of the surrounding city were something to behold. The hills and mosques creating the perfect backdrop to the view. As you cross the bridge the local men line the sides fishing lines dropping down into the sea searching for the next unsuspecting victim.
On the other side I made my way through the alleyways and small streets where local cuisine and market stalls filled ones senses with the sights and sounds of a bustling city.
The walk back over the bridge was timed to perfection as the sun set beautifully behind the mosques that dotted the skyline. A good 6 hour stomp was coming to a close.
On my return to the hostel I unfortunately left my wallet by the computer, on realising this I returned to find it gone :( a search high and low came to nothing, but out of this unfortunate turn of events the hospitality and generosity of the Turkish people left me speechless.
The workers in the hostel wanted nothing more than to make my evening as good as it could be, refusing to charge me for drinks and offering me
Food. Searching high and low.
whilst trying my best to refuse the help as the situation was all of my own making (note to self, keep your money, bank crard in your money belt when traveling :) ) eventually one has to accept genuine heartfelt hospitality at face value.
Thinking the hospitality couldn't get any better one man took me aside and said:
"I feel so bad for you, life teaches you to help people out, if I do a good deed then you will pass on another good deed to someone else!" And with that he handed me 50 dollars! With my best protestations I refused to accept, he would have none of this and forced it into my hand. I assured him I would pay him back the next day when money transfer came through. He replied "I will not be here tomorrow, but this is a gift from the heart, please accept." :) the hostel also halved my accomodation bill in half :)
With my faith in humanity restored fully I headed out to Taksim with some fellow travelers, where we happened upon a Turkish live band in a bar where we were most definitely the only foreigners there. Initially I declined to go out, due to lack of funds, but, with the persuasion of the friendliest Irish man Morgan who made it his mission to ease the pain of my
Lost wallet by generously paying for the evening, I found myself in Taksim.
The live band played a cool fusion of Turkish and reggae music, which the local crowd appreciated by providing a amazing atmosphere with which to see my first live band in Turkey.
Today a big thank you has to go to my mother, on hearing of my predicament wired money via western union. Anyone that knows me, will not find it too hard to believe I misplaced my wallet :) my day was spent sitting in a bank, where the queue seemed to standstill forever as I waited 3 hours to get to the teller :)
The hospitality did not stop there, without asking the hostel manager bundled me into a taxi fully paid for by the hostel, to the banking area this morning. Amazing, I am left truly
Speechless as to the lengths the locals went to make the best of a bad situation :)
And so my stay in Istanbul draws to a close, tomorrow I head off to Trabzon and the Black Sea coast and onto Kars :)
This evening I sit here with the initial bad feeling of someone having taken my wallet drowned out by the generosity of both the Turkish locals and traveling fraternity around me. I am lost for words the lengths that people went to make a bad situation good, faith in humanity restored. :)
Pravin Ramdin- somehow simultaneously able to be the unluckiest and the luckiest guy in the world! Glad you're having a good time mate, in spite of your self!
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