Me, Myself and Baklava in Istanbul

Travel Story

I travel alone very frequently and I never feel comfortable taking my own photos. I think it's mostly because the one time, alright five times, I've tried to take a selfie it looked tragic. I love discovering new placed and cultures and really imersing myself into the place I'm at. Istanbul was no exception. Istanbul has been on my list for quite some time but I've been putting it back farther and farther due to political issues a few years back and mainly because I was scared. Let's be honest. Until one day, I put all of the destinations I'd like to visit into a bowl and picked two places. Both of them known for rich culture, food and history and one of them was Istanbul. I was thrilled. I fell in love with Istanbul. The women are beautiful, the food is delicious, the people are proud of their history, the tea was strong and the weather was beautiful. The diversity of this city is one of the biggest points that draws people here. The food is either the first or a very close second and I firmly believe that it should accompany a dinner every time. Two of my favorite memories from my trip to Istanbul was meeting my photographer, Murat. An IT guru by day and Photographer every other moment. A very smart man that told me a lot of the history of his home town, cultural hints and traditions and also an extensive list of restaurants favored by locals. I tried them all and equally loved them. In addition, Murat had invited me to tea after our shoot and it was a friendly and humbling experience as tea ia way of life in Turkey. My second memory is that I feel like I turly found myself. It may sound silly to most but I assure you it was nothing from like the book "Eat, Pray, Love" but I learned more about myself on my trip to Istanbul than I did anywhere else I've traveled. I learned that fear only holds us back and that we as individual people should trust our own feelings and challenge the status quo. My fear of coming to Istanbul had previously inhibited and clouded my idea of what Istanbul would be and I was wrong on every account. I was visiting Istanbul during Ramadan and was touring the New Mosque and was very interested to know more about the religion and history and I had a lovely conversation with a volunteer at the mosque. Two hours later, the volunteer had invited me to a feast by the female patrons of the mosque as they were so enamoured with my interest in their culture and religion. The breaking fast dinner was held in the gardens of the omsque and it was truly an unbelievable experience that I never thought I'd have. I have met some of the most friendly people in Istanbul and hope to some day visit again.