I look down at my telephone's watch: 4:23pm. Looking back up, I face my reflection on the tram's window. The bell rings and the tram leaves: inside there is Charlotte who takes the direction of the airport. We wave at each other: She goes back to the Netherlands, and I stay for two more weeks. It feels a bit strange to be on my own in Istanbul after these past days spent together, but we will see each other soon...
That was a couple of hours ago. Since then I have now quite some time to spend in the city before it is my turn to leave later tonight.
I decide to walk towards Eminönü and the Galata bridge. This is the end of the day, and the sunset at this place, between the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, is simply very beautiful: the mosques, the old and new houses on the European and Asian shores, the people commuting from one coast to another, from a tram to a taxi, or from a tram to a boat, the waves (it is very windy), the smoke and appetizing smell of the grilled corn and the grilled fishes, the black smoke of the small ferries, the shouting of the seaguls, the call of the muezzin for prayer…
I eat my sandwich of grilled fish enjoying all this animation, seated on a small bench next to a kiosk selling drinks and snacks. Other people have the same dinner around me: couples, families, people stopping for a quick eat on their way home after their work. Then I cross the bridge by foot and walk along the opposite shore, looking at the restaurants and cafés. Still 5 hours to kill: I decide to go for a quick trip to the Asian shore: 20 minutes with the ferry (a ticket costs 1.5 Turkish Lira, i.e. 0.75 euro cent). There I go for a spicy lentil soup in a popular restaurant: this is like a canteen where families, friends, colleagues, but especially workers go for dinner. The place is packed but gets rapidly empty after everybody finish their food. After another Turkish tea (I had a lot today) I pay and leave the place. I stay in Üsküdar just less than an hour: I must not miss the last ferry to Eminönü!
Now it is time to make a move: hopefully after a 7-hour bus trip I will wake up tomnorrow in Ankara. From there I can catch another bus which will take me to the centre of the country - the Anatolia region - and even to the centre of the centre, the famous Cappadokia...
