Istanbul 1, Laura 0
On the walk back I asked Suat, the DJ from the hostel about the ‘friendliness’ of the Turkish people. He explained to me that American woman, and just women travelling in general seem to be a little more ‘openminded’ than others. And that these men are being bold because yes, they are tring to sleep with them. Although this wasnt really something I wanted to hear, I appreciated his honesty.
I woke up with Suats words ringing in my ears, wondering how much truth there was to them. Not about to give the benefit of the doubt, I started suspecting every man I walked by. Im sure my hangover had something to do with this, but still. Sure, it may seem that the life of a traveler is to experience new places, and with that, new people, but Im not one of those travelers the Turkish may think I am.
I decided to leave Istanbul the next day, for Fethiye, the Mediterranean beach place, but when I tried to get information from Sherif, he clammed up, and tour offices wouldnt help me-ony tried to sell me other services. I was tired, and started thinking about how tired I was in general. I realized I had been traveling for six months now, and I was exhausted. I actually looked at flights home, but knew that I couldnt do that to my friend Ryan, or even myself. I knew that if I cut my trip short, I would regret it.
I made friends with the Greek boy staying in the room next to mine and we decided to go for a walk. Hes a photographer and wanted to get some photos. We met some touts, and Alex stopped to talk. I would have just kept on walking, but I stopped and chatted as well. I had a one on one conversation with one of them and it went something like this:
Tout: So have you known eachother long?
Me: No we just met, were staying in the same hostel
Tout: So you are traveling alone. Did you go out last night?
Me: Yes I travel alone, and yes I went out last night.
Tout: By yourself?
Me: No I went out with people I met at the hostel
Tout: Boys?
Me: Yes, in fact, I did go out with some boys.
Tout: I like openminded girls like you.
Damnit! I didnt mean to sounds like a whore, but hell, I sure did. Alex, my new Greek friend and I walked away, to get rid of these guys, and walked farther than I had since I got to Istanbul. He bought a beer and I had water. We ate some sweets as we walked around until we found a really pretty mosque. We went inside the walls, and we both made a comment on him bringing a beer in, but he put it at his feet anyway. A security guard came out of the shadows and told Alex to take it out. Alex (Im guessing machismo has something to do with what happened next) got all smartassed and asked how far. When the securtiy guard said 500 meters, Alex asked exactly how far was that. I didnt say anything, not about to piss one of these men off, but as they got in eachothers faces I walked away to the street, to see if I could place myself within the city. The security guard said something about me being Alexs girlfriend, so Alex then had to ‘defend’ me. The security guard loosened his belt, and I decided right then and there I was leaving Istanbul the next day. I know its unfair to decided something like that based on people, but I had had enough. The security guard finally walked away, and Alex came up to me, saying That guy has some psychological problems. What was funny is that I thought he had some problems himself, although I didnt say anything. We went straight back to the hostel after that, and I went to bed, even more tired than I was before.
I wasnt sure if I should leave Turkey, but when I went to pick up my laundry and discovered it still wet, I was mad, because then I was stuck there. I was glad to feel that enraged, knowing that my decision to leave was the right one. I laid my clothes out on the roof and hoped they wouldnt fly away. Thankfully they didnt. I booked the return train journey I had made 3 nights previously and walked around. I went back to Ikstalal Cadessi to see if it would do anything for me. It didnt, so I got to the train station early and sat and read.
One of the train conductors started talking to me while I was waiting for my passport back (nothing crazy this time) and he just stood in the cabin, asking how old I was, was I traveling alone…I told him I was tired and he reached out to massage my shoulder. I shrugged him off and he left, upset and was cold to me for the rest of the journey. What happend to being nice for the sake of being nice? Guess that doesnt exist in Istanbul.
I slept well that night, with the door locked, knowing that when I awoke, I would be in Greece, very close to getting off this train.
Tags: Europe
lauracat
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