Ode to Orhan

(From August 15, 2009)
Istanbul, Turkey


My second full day in Istanbul marked my second day of touring around the city with our trusty professor-turned-tour-guide (for this trip at least), Orhan. Not content with (or perhaps detesting) the touristy spots, we avoided the places that most people go when visiting Istanbul. Indeed, instead of visiting the Blue Mosque or Hagia Sophia, we went to smaller, “representative” locations. Forget the Grand Bazaar, we instead went through an alley selling “ethnojunk,” as it was apparently the same thing. At stopping points, we sat down and listened to some bit of history or looked at a map retracing our route with exact precision for what seemed an eternity. Indeed, Orhan possessed a rare encyclopedic knowledge of the history of every building we passed dating back to the Ice Age.

Indeed…You can go here during your free time…And interestingly…We’re not going to stop here; capture it with your eyes…Indeed…Are we complete?...And interestingly…It’s transparent just like a glass window…Indeed…Before we do this, do…Very interesting…Indeed…

……

The first day of touring (the 14th) passed by especially slowly—I drifted into the netherworld of sleep and imagination countless times. I kept wondering when the lectures would stop or why I should care that on 12:04 and 42 seconds pm on the 23rd of March of 1934, with the weather 21.98° C, the sun shone at a 19.56° angle over the horizon while 9 men erected a 3 story building with 79 steps just north of the statue that faced us. This perception changed on this second day.

We went to Gecekondu; housing areas for poor immigrants and squatters. We bused around the area, stopping by scenic viewpoints where we were the only non-locals. We went through streets and alleyways that tourists would never consider stepping in. Istanbul is a city where the endlessly wealthy live side-by-side with the most poor. Orhan showed us the city through the lens of a scholar-native that no other tour guide conveys. When I later visited the touristy spots on my own—places with throngs of people in the middle/upper class—and came to truly appreciate where Orhan took us along with the few stories that stuck into my head. I feel that I got to understand the city in a way that would otherwise take months/years if I were on my own. Hats off to you, Orhan…