M-whY

By recommendation of someone at the hostel, I chose bus as my method of transport. Supposedly, it's a faster and more comfortable way to travel in this region. There were at least 30 kiosks at the station, each representing a different company, to choose from. I don't doubt that many of them had connections to Istanbul, but the one that got my business was the one who had labels in the alphabet I recognized. With several departures daily, it's possible to show up at any time and not have to wait long.

Only five other passengers departed with me from Sofia, causing me to wonder just how the companies managed to make these runs profitable. To top it off, they even had an attendant on board serving complimentary drinks and snacks. My question was answered at various towns and cities along the way, where we stopped to pick up other passengers. At Plovdiv, a family of six wielding American passports got on board. I'd get to know them as we waited in line to cross the border.

"So you were in Bulgaria on vacation?" I asked.

"Not exactly. We're just making a visa run for Turkey," explained Sevgi. "We just moved to Istanbul actually."

Border crossings for much of Europe was unexciting. In every case so far, it's just been some guy boarding the train/bus and stamping my passport. (As a digression, I have to mention how I hate the way they stamp the first blank page they come to... Don't they realize I need those pages for visas??) This one was a little more interesting because we were required to actually get off and walk across. Bulgarian customs and immigration was straightforward enough, but the Turkish one had me baffled for a second.

"Viza," said the man after he flipped through my passport, and pointed at a rather unofficial looking block of offices. Most of them looked like money exchange offices of some sort, but one of them turned out to be where I had to buy my visa. A postage like stamp cost me US$20, and with it, I was allowed to cross into Turkey.

"I had no idea that was where we had to buy our stamp," commented Dan after he too had been sent in that direction.

Once we were all through, we piled onto bus, to be driven a whopping 50 meters before being asked to get off again. Everyone retrieved their luggage from compartments underneath and placed them on these wooden benches, and so I followed suit. For several minutes, nothing happened.

"What are we waiting for?" I asked my new friends.

"Someone's supposed to come around and check our bags," said Melike. And eventually someone did, though I wouldn't really say he did his job thoroughly. Basically, he showed up, looked at us all for about five seconds, then waved us on.

From the Turkish border to Istanbul took another three hours. We arrived in the largest bus terminal I've ever seen. I thought the 30 odd kiosks at Sofia were impressive? Here, there were at over a hundred of them. Each had domestic and international connections leaving every half hour. Inconveniently though, it wasn't within walking distance of the tourist district. I might've spent hours finding my way, had I not had Dan, Melike, and Sevgi's help.

Dan buzzed me through the metro's turnstiles; The only bit of Turkish money I had me came in the form of a 100 lira note, and at this time of night, I would've been hard pressed to find someone able to break it. On the way, he provided useful tips like which ATMs dispensed smaller bills, foods to look out for, activities not to miss. "And by the way, if you do any souvenir shopping, don't say you're American. You'll get better prices that way."

When we reached the end of the line, I followed the family to the tram, where again, he buzzed me in.

"So what do you think of Istanbul so far?" asked Sevgi.

"C'mon, he's only been here twenty minutes," interrupted Melike. It was clear though that they were very enthusiastic about the place.

My stop came a few minutes later. I was on my own the rest of the way, but being tourist central, I knew I could handle it from here. "I have no reservations about turning someone loose at Sultanahmet," smiled Dan.

"I'm really glad I ran into you guys," I thanked them. "Otherwise I'd probably still be lost at the bus station." In the narrow streets behind Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque, I found some cheap accomodation to settle down in. I haven't been here long, but I can already tell I'm going to enjoy Istanbul.

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!