Haklisin

DEAR ADMIN AND CATWOMEN,
ALL THOSE WHO HAVE EXPRESSED THEIR FEELNG ABOUT ISTANBUL ARE EXACTLY THE SAME AS I FELT WEN I VISTED ISTANBUL FOR THE FIRT TIME IN MY LIFE LAST YEAR.
ITS A PLACE THAT GRIPS UR HEART AND MIND AND U ALWAYS WISH TO SEE THAT PLACE AGAIN AND THE MORE U VISIT IT THE MORE U FEEL TO BE THERE AND UR HEART WILL NEVER FEEL LIKE LEAVING THAT PLACE AND ALSO ITS THE PLACE OF MY DREAMS.
I CANT JUST EXPLAIN WHAT MAKES ME CRAZY ABOUT THIS PLACE BUT I JUST KNOW THAT IM CRAZY ABOUT THIS PLACE AND EVERY WHERE I M SEARCHING FOR ISTANBUL AND JUST ISTANBUL.
I THINK THAT ITS THE PLACE WHICH FULFILLS EVERY PERCEPTION A MIND THINKS OF, PEACE, BEAUTY, EVERYTHING INFACT.
THATS Y I M GOING TO ISTANBUL NEXT MONTH.
AFTER U VISIT ISTANBUL THEN DO EXPRESS HOW U FEEL ABOUT IT AND DO U FEEL THE SAME AS WE DO OR UR VEIWS R DIFFERENT FROM US.
BYEEE

Just a little anecdote...

Yahya Kemal, the famous Turkish poet, was once asked, “What do you like most about Ankara?” He replied, “Going back to Istanbul.”

I guess what I like most about Istanbul is its incurable chaotic atmosphere!

I just wanna add , i like Istanbul also , especially Taksim area

I like At Meydani, I love sitting and looking at Aya Sofya and then at Sultan Ahmed Camii. But my favourite place is Uskudar, it's beautiful especialy in evenings...

my choice would be leander's tower at night - the sight of all the mosques lit with dim lights and the bosphorus is something that made my heart throb...then kadikoy - there's a small open-air cafe with bad coffee and awesome view. i can't wait to see that again...

u should see a plcae from topkapi place and kız kulesi..

Istanbul is the most beautiful city in whole world (and I have traveled a lot, believe me ). I hope to go there someday and never come back again. Every time I leave Istanbul my heart is staying there I will be there in July and having my wedding ceremony in Edirnekapi It is not because I am so religius so as to get married in Patriarchate but because it is THE only way to have my wedding in my dearest city All you live there are soooo lucky that I envy you!

I am sure I have said this before somewhere on this site, but for all of you who speak of Istanbul, I recommend duskahvesi's essay. It is poetic and wonderful. For myself I have only been to the airport in Istanbul, so I have nothing to say about my experience. When i was at school we learned about Constantinople, some great things happened there. Perhaps someone could tell the story of the great Ottoman prince who won a great battle on the Bosphorus by trapping the ships. Its a good story, I just can't remember all the details.

Istanbul, the place where Europe sits next to Asia, and the poor next to the rich and the sophisticated to the simple and the beautiful to the ugly. So many people have come here to this endless city for a better life; so many of them with big expectations. Never rejected Istanbul them. She was like a beautiful woman who doesnt know how to say `no`. Somethimes maybe she was a little too promising and sometimes maybe a little too indifferent. If Istanbul were a woman one could tell she knows how to have fun, thats for sure my friend. But she doesnt seem to know how many broken hearts she left behind. Also she doesnt seem to care much.
If Istanbul were a woman you could never satisfy her, thats for sure. Istanbul, a city of huge ups and downs one could tell.
People, the ordinary people on streets, the little man you come across on shops, on bus stops or in crowded buses going to work in the early mornings or trying to go home in the evenings, these people can tell you Istanbul.

There were so many things you wanted to do; maybe there were a few more things you wanted to have. There were a few moments you felt very happy and lots of moments you were sad and there was always the rush like time never was enough.

The little boys and girls who have started working early in their young ages will tell you Istanbul. The factory workers, you can recognise from their big dirty hands will tell you.
Some people said Istanbul was a place where life never stops. Maybe a city of young people who enjoy going out on nights. But it isnt my friend, it isnt.

Everyone wanted a better life. I`m sure the young people working in the bakery on a hot summer day wanted a better life. The old shoe repairman working in a tiny shop maybe wanted a better life. I think he could speak for hours if you would ask him. I`m sure the boys who had to quit the primary school earlier and soon started working in a car repair shop wanted a better life. It will take time but Istanbul will teach them how to calm down and how to accept life as it is.
When you go to Istanbul next time look at two old men having a chat on a narrow road. "Ne var ne yok?" one will say and "Valla ne olsun," the other will tell "yaşayıp gidiyoruz işte".
You will see the deep lines on peoples faces. People will talk a lot. They will talk a lot about anything, about all the unnecessary things they will talk for hours. But about the things they actually want to talk, they will never do. Many have learned how not to care too much and how to be still happy among so much unhappines. People will still smile where you would never expect them. Maybe the poverty you can see on every corner is the soul of this city which makes her so much more real.

Has time passed very fast? Maybe you wanted life to be different. Maybe there were still things you would like to do but now it was too late. Istanbul, my friend is a story an old man likes to start as "there were times...".

I dont know much about Istanbul and I dont want to know much. I just know a bit about the people living in Istanbul. Istanbul, my friend is a story of happiness and sadness. It is only as real as a sad memory in a child`s mind. You could easly forget about it. Maybe there is no Istanbul.

CONGRATULATIONS, ERDINÇ!
I'm breathless! You're such a poet!

By the way, why everybody talk about Istabul as a woman?
Did I miss something?

Regards,
Slavica