My love- Türkiye

My first trip to Ýstanbul

I was 28 years old and my life was getting worse... A friend of mine told me about a socialization site. I had to check it up so I opened an account. That’s how I met HIM – a 38 years old engineer at TÜPRAÞ Ankara Türkiye. We had been spoken for a couple of months...he was calling and texting me. He told me he wanted me to come in Türkiye and that he was going to take me to his place...He planned our future, the wedding and the children...I was in heaven; I regained the trust in myself, the hope of a better future.

  That could not wait any second, I had waited enough... I took my passport and bought a ticket for the first train to Istanbul. Fantastic! It would have been the first time I was leaving the boundaries...

  I stepped on the platform, pulling the trolley behind me... The trip lasted a bit over 19 hours. The moment when I got down to take my visa from Kapýkule stays alive in my memory. The train arrived at the Sirkeci station at about 9 in the morning. The fatigue caused by all those hours spent on the seat and the emotions of a first date overwhelmed me. The platform was nearly empty except for the passengers descending behind me and... somehow, hidden in a dark corner...HIM. We recognized each other in less than a second. That’s what I call a magical moment. He held me in his arms, and I pressed my chin on his chest... The train whistled short and we hardly managed to get back on the ground. He took my bag and we got up in a cab...together. We went to Taksim where he had made a reservation in one of those fancy hotels. He was already treating me as his queen.

  I refreshed myself with a shower and pulled out from my suitcase that flowery dress that I had special packed up for a moment like this. We went to Simit Sarayý where he bought me a cup of warm tea and a round, crispy simit. Later that day, we took a cab ‘till Ortaköy, near Boðaz Köprüsü. I was pressing the camera button, immortalizing every single emotion that Türkiye was offering to me (I also wanted to show my father- the greatest fan of the Turkish history- the places I visited). I ate midye (for the first time, believe it or not!) although I had sworn never to do it.

  I will never forget that morning. The warm voice of the muezin was raising up trough the air fulfilling my heart and the air around me.

  The very next day we took the common tour of the city (the one all tourists take when they have to face Istanbul): Kapalýçarþý, Aksaray... I desperately fell in love with a light blue scarf that I had seen in one of the colorful stores in that tiny universe-The Grand Bazaar. I convinced him to buy it .

  The next point on our list... Sultanahmet. But we never got there...My friend insisted to go to Ayasofya. We bought some tickets and moved towards the entry. I was simply impressed about the mixture between the two religions: Islam and Christianity. I made a wish...

  The next day, I was supposed to go back to my country. My train was leaving at about 10 in the evening. I cried that night, hiding my tears in the messy curtains. I was leaving such a magnificent city, such a wonderful land of culture, drowned in the steams of the strong black tea...

   We all like to hear nice stories.. don´t we ? The true story of my first trip in Ýstanbul coming soon... 

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