Istanbul - July 6-8

As most of you know i went to Istanbul last week and instead of giving you my usual play by play of the trip im going to try and change it up a bit. A few funny excerpts from my 36 hrs in Istanbul...

1. Taxi from the Airport to the Hotel - Given that we were landing rather late in the evening and the meeting was early the next morning, we decided to pre-book a driver to take us on arrival. Neither I, nor my colleague checked baggage so we figured it would not be a long time before we were in the cab on our way to the hotel and some much needed sleep (we both had been in meetings all day but im sure the 3 glasses of champagne on the flight didnt hurt). Leaving the airport and reaching the outside area where loved ones (and taxi drivers trying to make a buck) it took a few minutes to find our driver but we eventually did. He was holding a sign with my name on it - Brown of course - but then 2 other names were on the sheet of paper. The driver told us we had to wait 5 mins. Definitely not what we wanted to hear at 11:30 at night, but 5 mins isnt too bad....So after 15 minutes he was finally ready, and we were ready to go. The only question was weather or not the 2 other people who had just arrived were sharing this, privately booked taxi. Hell, were they staying in hotel room too? Not sure how Turkey works just yet...After another 10 minutes we finally sorted out that the other two had to wait for a taxi driver. So finally, we were on our way to the hotel room for some sleep
   
2. From the Hotel to the Meeting - It took us 45 minutes to get to the hotel room from the airport. We were exhausted. The only thing we wanted was bed but first we had to sort out where the office was the next morning. We ask the concierge how far the address was from the hotel. The guys say "oh not too far, about 10 minutes away" Perfect. Just what we wanted to here. Not only no need for a cab, but also we could sleep a little bit longer. Yay. The next morning we meet at the given time to eat breakfast and, just to confirm, we ask the new concierge about this building's location. He reiterates the message, "make a left out of the building, and look up the hill. You should see the building ahead of you no problem." Nice. Sounds even closer than 10 minutes, we both think aloud. So taking the directions we head out in search of our meeting. Turn left and look up. The building is much closer than we thought. So close that the back wall of the hotel and the bank's back wall could have essentially been shared! 10 minutes my a$$! it was practically the same building!! I still cant figure out how these Turks function
   
   
3. Scarf Guy - on friday after the meeting i decided to go an do some sightseeing on my own and of course no trip to Istanbul would be complete without seeing the symbol of istanbul, Sulthanamet (aka the Blue Mosque). So i get out of the taxi and within seconds im targeted as a tourist. Some guy gets into some chat about there being 2 different entrances to the mosque, i dont believe him of course thinking he is trying to scam me. He continues to talk and asks me where im from and all that. i say texas and he goes right into it saying he is going to a wedding in Austin in August, "512, right?", he asks...yes 512 is the area code for austin. blah blah blah...i try to walk away. He follows. continuing to talk to me about texas, but then goes into telling me about some shop that his family owns. Before i know it, im in the shop being pursueded, forcefully, to buy a scarf for my mom for 150 bucks. After i refuse 3 for times, he starts getting really angry saying how he was nice to me and basically i owed it to him to buy some scarf that prob cost 10 dollars to make. Furious cuz this guy wasted about 30 mins of my life i storm out and head to the mosque as was originally intended!
4. Shoe shine guy - I probably fell for the oldest trick in the book. After picking up a kebab (a must in turkey), im walking down the street sucking down this delicacy and notice that some guy in front of me had dropped something so typically helpful me, i tell him that he has dropped something. He is grateful, i say you're welcome and keep walking. He speeds up to get in front of me, turns and faces me and drops this contraption to the ground and offers to give me some sort of retribution for letting him know he dropped a tool. I saw no thanks. He says please, let me thank you. I say thanks but no thanks. He says, its not a shoe shine. I say no (knowing full well that there is no chance i could get a pseudo shoe shine and not be guilted into paying him for his services) emphatically. As i walk away i hear him complain about how i should take it as a favor and help him out, blah,etc.
5. The fight - That night i wanted to go for some authentic dinner in a nice place and just chill out so i take some advice from the concierge (again) and head to Taksim Square, which is by his account a very lively place. When the taxi driver drops me off in the center of the square, his story is validated. The place is packed with people. Sort of like Trafalgar Square on a nice afternoon/early evening. Getting out of the cab (avoiding a car trying to run me over) i notice a bit of a skirmish going on between 2 men. Of course i stop to watch, as does the rest of the people in the square. Funny thing is, the same can be said for the 4 cops within arms length of the fight. Instead of trying to break up the melee, they stand there enjoying the view. Hilarious. After 5 mins of the cat fight, one cop attempts to stop the more aggressive of the two fighters - by spraying him the face with mace. Even more hilarious. Stunned only for a few seconds, not by pain, but rather what looked like contemplating whether or not the "cop" actually sprayed him in the face, he is right back in the mix trying to head back to the other guy, now being held back by 2 of the cops. Finally the other cops grab mace-face and its all over. It took a while but everythign was now under control. Im guessing if that happened, say in NYC, those two guys would have a broken bone or two and eating concrete at the very least.
6. Dinner Companion - After the fight i start walking to find my restaurant for a good post fight meal. On the way a guy gestures to me, asking if i had a lighter for his cigarette. I say "no". Bad move. From that instance he recognizes im not turkish. Surprise. And we start chatting. he isnt Turkish but rather from Cyprus. The Greek part (which means nothing to me) . To make a long walk/story/evening short: 1-invites himself to walk with me, 2-is no help in finding the restaurant despite the fact he speaks Turkish 3-joins me for dinner at the restaurant, 4 - Asks me to join him at a club later. He went out on his own the night before and didnt like it. He found a new friend so he wanted to make this night a better one, 5-After i refuse to go out (first time in history - i had to wake up early for my boat tour the next day), he harrasses me for no less than 30 mins telling me that I owe it to him to join him at the club since he came to dinner with me. He seriously said this. The nice guy that i am i didnt point out to him that i did NOT invite him to dinner, nor did i drag him kicking and screaming to eat with me against his will. This back and forth goes on right until i jump in a cab back to the hotel. Before leaving i shake his hand (and for some reason give him hug hahaha) , happy to get the hell out of that situation.

Bottom line - Istanbul is interesting, but dont NEED to go back. If i had someone to join me, prob would be different but flying solo, i felt more vulnerable than any time in recent history. Im not saying all Turks are this way, but the people i interacted with were possibly the most manipulative people ever