on the ferry...

Taking a ferry to cross continents has to be the best part of living in Istanbul. The journey itself forces you, for about fifteen minutes (give or take a few), to sit back, breathe in the cool sea breeze and admire the majestic city around you. As people funnel their way to the boat, careful not to lose their footing as they step on a couple of planks of wood to get on, everyone rushes to find the best seat. Some prefer to sit inside, on cushioned benches while most prefer to sit outside in the open air. Invariably there will be people with 'simit' or other pieces of bread, ready to feed the hungry sea gulls flying around. The engine roars and puffs of grey smoke come out the top. The ferry pulls out of the harbor and you feel instantly transported away from the hustle and bustle.

As the ferry passes the Haydarpasa Terminal, the neo-classical structure reminds you of the pioneering Sultan who envisioned connecting the East and West via rail. The grandeur of the Ottoman Empire is all around you in this city. Sailing further across the Bosphorus, the majestic Topkapi Palace and the unmistakeable six minarets of the Sultan Ahmet Mosque (aka Blue Mosque) command over part of Istanbul's skyline.

The city around you is crowded with washed out white, yellow and pink colored apartment buildings with terra cotta roof shingles, that seem to be sprouting out from within each other. Scattered between are modern glass and steel high rises representing the progress of privatized enterprises and the future of this historical city. Cars, buses and people line the coasts like small colorful dots, as fishermen in their boats are scattered across the Bosphorus like brown specs on a bed of blue-green waves, swaying to the ripples in the water formed by the ferries passing by.

Unavoidably, your thoughts are interrupted with the sound of tiny glasses filled with amber colored tea clinking against each other as the tea guy does his rounds. Whether you're in need of a quick caffeine fix (aka me), you want to join in with the locals and enjoy a time honored tradition, or simply want a hot drink, for a lira, your needs are met. On every ferry ride you take you will definitely find smokers standing at the back end of the ferry puffing their cigarettes away as they sip their tea, truly enjoying the whole experience. They look serene staring out across the water, admiring the striking city around them while enjoying the simple pleasures of life.

In what seems like too short of a peaceful time of self reflection and thought, the ferry edges closer to the dock and once again you can hear the rumblings of traffic, vendors yelling out the kind of goods they are selling in a singsong manner and the hum of people talking around you.