Bu iyi, bu guzel - In Istanbul, it is good, it is beautiful...

God is smiling upon me in Istanbul, the Paris of the Middle East, the capital city of the world under numerous empires - Byzantine, Roman, Ottoman - A city with a Christian and Muslim history - a city that spans two continents - Today I was in Europe and also in Asia, and all in Istanbul!

It is an endless romance for me here, seduced by the city, called to its streets and waterways as millions are called to prayer by the haunting voices that echo from the mosques five times a day... Istanbul is intoxicating.

This makes sense to me - after all, it is a city of belly-dancing, whirling dervishes, dark and handsome men with bewitching eyes, splashes of color in the coral, blue and yellow of the buildings, light, water, sunsets over the Golden Horn and Bosphorus where the sky and water turn aquamarine, the minarets illuminated along the skyline...

Last night, it was so beautiful at sunset under the Galleta Bridge where I drank tea and smoked a shishi pipe, reclining on a soft cushion, that I could have cried...

Earlier that morning as I meditated on a cushion on the rooftop terrace of my hotel in the sunshine, with the sun glittering on the Bosphorus and the silhouettes of ships gliding silently across the Marmara Sea, my breath was deep and steady and easy. Simply being here is a form of meditation, a form of prayer.

Even the seagulls fly differently here, gracefully swooping in arcs like Arabic script, carving a slow dance like an exhalation in the air - They seem to know they are flying over centuries of history and beauty, soaring over this city is more beautiful than most places on earth, I am convinced of it....

I have made a million friends already, one on every corner - Everyone wants to serve me apple tea, sit with me, stare into my blue eyes (they are something of a novelty here...). The Turkish hospitality is beyond belief to the point of being exhausting at times because how many invitations can you accept, and how many can you turn down, again and again, but kindly?

I have been guided and cared for and received so many gifts, tea on rooftops, wine and chocolates, roses in the street - It feels like a constant romance and seduction by a whole city, 12 million people at once! (not that I am complaining....)

The sights that I have seen so far include Aya Sofia, a fıfteen-hundred year old mosque built by Emperor Justinian as the finest church of its time (it was a Christian church before the Muslim conquest); the Blue Mosque where I wrapped my bare arms and red hair with an aqua scarf to enter; the Grand Bazaar which is the biggest and most beautiful ancient indoor mall ever, 600 years of peddling wares and still in operation, featuring 4,000+ shops; the Spice Market where I sampled more than a dozen varieties of Turkish delight and marveled at the small mountains of rich red saffron, yellow curries, endless piles of figs, dates and jellied candies....

I have toured the European side of Istanbul and the Asian side both by car and on foot and taken the ferry from one continent to another in the cool night air and in the morning sunshine... Yet to do - Topkapi Palace, Bosphorus boat tour, and maybe Capadoccia this weekend (a marvel of an ancient city in central Turkey...). And, just more exploring of these winding cobblestone streets where there is a fortress wall, palace or mosque every time you turn the corner...

Last night I hung out with my friend Hakan in popular Taksim in Beyolu, full of restaurants, cafes, bars and shops and throngs of people... There was a festival going on featuring traditional Turkish music - The streets and balconies were lit up and there were balloons everywhere - We had dinner at a rooftop terrace restaurant, shrimp casserole and fried aubergines, so delicious! Then raki, the Turkish national drink that is like Greek oozu or Arabian arak - anisette flavored, milky in color when water is added, so good and so strong!

We listened to traditional Turkish folk songs, Hakan translated for me the fairy tales being celebrated in song, and I practiced some belly-dancing moves to the catchy Turkish songs - It was an evening of great friendship which reminded me once again how you can be kindred spirits and so enjoy someone's company who comes from such a different place and culture - Hakan is kind and funny and clever and taught me lots of new Turkish words, while we traded opinions on everything from politics to religion, work life and social life, our own and our nation's histories, travel and dancing - Such fun.

Tonight I will go see the whirling dervishes and have drinks at the Seven Hills Restaurant rooftop terrace which overlooks Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque, enjoy the cool evening Istanbul air and more great company... I am staying at the BauHaus Hostel in Sultanahmet, which is ranked by the Washington Post as one of the world's top dozen hostels, run by the incomparable Neco who is up until sunrise every morning orchestrating and enjoying special events with his guests... Neco is also a champion Tavla player, a Turkish game of strategy which I have yet to learn (give me a few days!). Tonight there will be a fire party on the roof and drinking and talking 'til dawn...

In'shala - they have this expression in Turkish too - I will bring the spirit of this city home with me and savor every moment here, now and when I return again and again in the future... I do truly love it here. Yet despite my waxing poetic I also know and understand that the history of the city and country is complicated too, and bloody - the Turks conquered and were conquered many times over before national hero Mustafa Kemal Ataturk made this a secular and free democracy with his vision and spirit, when Turkey became a republic in 1923... the Turkish flag is red for blood spilled, after all, so the legend goes - and I know that this city like all others has its dark side and problems.

But ma'shallah, it will remain magical too always, as it is to me now, and peaceful, as it also is - Truly here in Istanbul the problems of the PKK and terrorist bombings in the southeast corner of the country near Iraq feel a million miles away - In'sha Allah the people of the city will remain safe and able to enjoy their lives peacefully... I will wish for this always!

Bu iyi, bu guzel. It is good here, it is beautiful, in Istanbul.

On to more adventures - pictures coming soon!

© Lisa Powell Graham 2006