The Place Where Everything Happens All At Once

Returning to Istanbul

Istanbul is where everything happens all at once*¹. Describing this city has got to be among the most monumental tasks any writer takes on. This ancient labyrinth of a place of many names is close to indescribable. It’s a city we have to see with our own eyes and dissect with our own mind. Even still, two people will have two totally different experiences.

Life has brought me to this bustling city once again and I feel grateful to roam it’s streets, following my own footsteps from last year. This time, however, I want to document and share some of my chronicles of this lively yet melancholic place.

You never step in the same river twice

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” ― Heraclitus

You might be wondering why of all the cities I could have gone to, did I choose to come back to Istanbul if I have already been here? I’ve learned part of the beauty of traveling is revisiting places.

Cities follow the same rule of the river— you never step in the same river twice. Actually, that phrase comes from the philosopher Heraclitus. Heraclitus was a Greek thinker in Ephesus…an ancient city with ruins still standing not too far from where I am now, in Izmir province.

Each time we revisit a city, we feel and see something different. Because we’ve changed since the last time we were here and so has the city. But still parts of us and parts of the city remain unchanged. Those are the parts, the familiarity, that causes the melancholy of nostalgia that arises when we revisit a place.

Revisiting allows exploration into other parts of the city without the first initial touristic urgent rush. Travel becomes slower. The pace of life more of that of a local.

Scenes of Istanbul

The street life of the bustling cafes in the labyrinth of Kadıköy are an example of something I discovered on my second trip to Istanbul.

This morning, the bus dropped me off on the waterfront of Kadıköy, a vibrant neighborhood on the Asian continent part of the city. It merges the charm of traditional Istanbul with modern life full of art and colors.

I picked a street at random and started walking uphill. Wish I could tell you how I found the little cafe I am writing this from, but I can’t. A series of right and left turns on narrow streets and a nose keen for coffee led me here, to a traditional Turkish coffee place where a man in a mustache served me a small but mighty cup with sugar.

The cafe is one of dozens that line this bustling street. All of them set with little round tables topped with little cups of coffee, çay, and cigarettes. The street seems to alternate between traditional cafe, modern cafe, spice market, Nike knockoff store, and phone case shop. What a strange combination.

The streets are so narrow and steep that cars cannot pass through. As I sat there for two hours I counted about 6 motorcycles and 3 golf carts delivering jugs of water, bags of ice, bottles of olive oil, and rolls of toilet paper to all of the businesses.

Across from me an older woman sits by herself inhaling a cigarette and eyeballing every pedestrian that passes by. A cat cuddles on a chair. A man walks up and down the street with a tray of about 15 glasses of tea all balancing with a cube of sugar on top. He goes door to door selling tea to the shop workers who stand outside their shops smoking and waiting for customers.

My coffee is strong and just the way I like it, with the sugar already mixed in and grounds already settled. Exactly the way Turkish kahvesi should be (which isn’t the case every time you order it).

By now the sun has peaked and sweat drips behind my knees. I order another coffee, close my eyes and open my ears.

The sound of ten inaudible conversations happening all at once, the squeaky wheels of the passing recycling cart, coffee machines roar, cigarette lighters spark, tiny spoons clank on tiny glass cups, motor cycles rumble, and footsteps of a hundred pedestrians pass by. On top of all of that, the call to prayer makes me jump. It booms suddenly from hundreds loudspeakers for five whole minutes sending sound vibrations across the entire city.

But the city keeps going. This chaotic symphony of sound and sight. History and future, caught somewhere in the present.

That’s the end… unless you are into history…

I was hesitant to include a section about history because I didn’t want to drag this on. However, I think history is never a thing of the past, because it influences the present. So decided to include a section below. If you are a curious person (I hope you are) then perhaps you’ll learn something new, as I did.

While on my walks around Istanbul I’m often accompanied by my favorite historian and podcaster, Diana Uribe. Her “relatos” or stories of her voyages are sounding in my earphones as I stroll around and take in the sights in real life as she shares them on her podcast.

Yesterday I learned that oftentimes when people say the Roman Empire fell, they forget that it only fell in the west first (in 476 AD). Meanwhile in the east, the empire remained strong and became known as the Byzantine Empire. The capital was Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), and the Byzantine Empire thrived for nearly another thousand years. Eventually, the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople in 1453, giving rise to the Ottoman Empire.

This newly formed empire went to stretch into Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. During this time is when Islam became the prominent religion of the region. The Hagia Sophia went from Christian church to Mosque. The caliphs became sultans.

With so much land being exchanged by prying hands, chaos ensued with the Armenians, Greeks and other populations. To this day wounds remain that time has yet to heal.

In 1923 following World War I, the Ottoman Empire fell and Atatürk led the creation of the modern secular Turkey. At this time reforms paved the way for the emancipation of women (in Turkey women had the right to vote long before countries like France did), Turkish as a language transitioned from Arabic script into Latin, and Hagia Sophia got turned into a museum (as of 2020 it’s a mosque again).

Lastly, when I was in Cuba last year, I learned that Turkey was key in the Cold War because the U.S stationed nuclear warheads in Turkey and pointed them at the USSR. The USSR also sent cargo ships through the Bosphorus armed with nuclear missiles to Cuba. This became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis and Turkey was dragged in geopolitically by both countries.

In Orhan Pamuk’s book, Istanbul, he shared that as a kid in the late 1950’s he would see Soviet warships slipping across the Bosporus in the cover of night. Even today, the area still plays a part of the world stage. With conflict brewing in the Black Sea area between Russia and Ukraine, to the south with the refugees of Syria, and the unresolved relations with the Kurds.

As I stared at the majestic Hagia Sophia today across the water, I wondered what she thinks of all of this? As a grand witness over centuries. Does she find it amusing that we humans are so restless? Does she find it entertaining that we commit the same errors over and over again? Does she mock us for not learning from our mistakes? Does she admire our metros and underwater tunnels? Does she tire of witnessing the empires rise and fall? Does she get sick from the pandemics and plagues? Does she find joy in watching the minuscule moments of life like I do? The ferries crossing, the little cups of tea, the smell of coffee, the seagulls, and the glittering blue Bosphorus.

Given that her name means Holy Wisdom, perhaps it is from her we should learn to be wise. But what does wisdom mean in a land where time stands still, yet moves on.

1. “Istanbul is where everything happens all at once.” This definition of Istanbul as explained to me by my friend Emre who I met at a hostel in Fethiye last week. Best description I’ve encountered. Maybe I should have just left you to ponder his simple yet profound words, but instead you are stuck with my rambling article. :)