Leaving Oman at the end of February meant there was still winter-like weather in different places. We all needed a rest from cycling and camping and we needed a place to spend some down time while there were still unfavorable weather conditions or closures in other possible destinations. We chose Istanbul-a city with lots to offer on all fronts. Food, history, architecture, people, baklava….Also, it meant we would continue moving east, which made sense with our plans for the last few months of our adventure. We hoped to go to Southeast Asia, Japan, or perhaps someplace entirely different.
In the middle of our stay, Camilo and I also ended up taking a quick trip to Boston for school revisit days and I got COVID along the way (nice, huh?), which completely changed our schedule and rhythm (more about that in the next post).

We arrived to snow in Turkey and left when the warm weather was starting to come in. In all honesty, I left Turkey with a tear in the corner of my eye. Our time there was lovely. We braved the cold and almost 3 weeks of snow that we didn’t quite expect. We did the touristy things in Istanbul and quickly fled the massive crowds into a residential area called Tesvikiye. Our home for the time of our stay was not perfect, but it was spacious, the heating worked well, and it was in a small, quiet enclave in the European side, far from the hustle and bustle, yet close to everything. But most importantly, it was a place we actually came to call home. Tesvikiye was our Istanbul. It was the place where we lived, enjoyed çay tea and coffee, walked the area, met  residents, tried delicious food, and just learned about the pace of life in this beautiful city.

Life in Istanbul was more “normal.” We all had something we were working on. Horacio was catching up and getting ahead with work, in preparation for our next cycling leg. I was working on our taxes. Camilo was researching his high school options. And Sol was working on possible next routes and college registration processes. We had breakfast together and off we went to our own things, though everyday, we incorporated a walk or a cup of çay tea together. Sol went out quite a bit on her own and spent endless hours in the nearby coffee shops. Camilo also started venturing out, sometimes on his own and sometimes to coffee shops to play chess or do math with Sol.

I loved to see how people have time for each other in Turkey–they seem to enjoy being together, over cay, coffee, or food. They also have time for their city animals. There are so many stray cats and dogs everywhere. Most homes, apartment buildings or businesses had a lovely cat home right outside their door, and those Turkish cats certainly would never go hungry. They are taken care of by…everyone? Stray dogs are large and calm. They usually hung out in the parks, paying no attention to people.

We found our special places to eat that were absolutely wonderful, yet local and cheap. In fact, we found it was possible to eat extremely well at a lower price than going to the supermarket and cooking! Just as in Lisbon. We found our local durum place, with the most amazing chicken durums we tried in our time in Istanbul. After our first visit, the waiters knew us. And I loved how every time they greeted or said good-bye to us by putting one hand to their hearts. I think this is a pretty usual gesture in Turkey, but being greeted that way always made me smile. We had our corner shop, where we bought water, fresh olives, and anything that we needed. We visited almost every day for one thing or the other and the owners, who were Kurds, made it a point to greet us in Spanish (or even play music in Spanish when we entered) and teach the kids some Kurdish. The man who ran the farmer’s stand early in the mornings knew Sol, as she got fruits and veggies there. But I think probably the most special person we met was the owner of the tea/coffee/desert shop close-by. That is where we usually had our çay tea and where we spent countless hours. He was always warm with all of us, but especially with he kids, who learned quite a bit of Turkish from him. Having tea there was peaceful and yummy. It was our sweet respite each day. When we went to say good-bye, Camilo gave him an origami crane he made, and he sent us on our way with a box of his delicious cookies.

People were kind to us at all times in Tesvikiye. We once sent Camilo, cash in hand, to get dinner for us from a local Turkish buffet place we had been to some days prior. When he tried to pay, he realized he did not have enough money. They told him he could return to pay the difference later, which he of course did. Simple, basic trust between people even if one is just getting to know them, speaks a lot about this culture. The owner of the coffee shop mentioned above did the same thing for Camilo, and when Camilo returned right away with the extra cash, he told him warmly: “I said you could bring it back later, you didn’t have to bring it right away, eh?” The tailor who worked right next-door made it a point to let us know, in Turkish and gestures, that he liked hearing the kids practicing music. And when we visited the take-out place next-door for the first time, the owner also brought his hand to his heart and gestured that he knew we lived next door and thanked us for our order. Examples of the warmth that we experienced by just living there go on and on. This is a country we have to return to, hopefully soon, when the weather is milder, and with the aim of cycling through the smaller towns. We would of course, pay a visit to “our people” and "our Tesvikiye" in Istanbul.

PHOTOS TO COME