[Turkey] The wall

All I can say is…
Wow. Istanbul. What more can a tourist ask for? It’s got everything that a tourist looks for, and it’s offered at a top-notch level. Sights, monuments, adventure, beach, food, you name it. It’s there. I really enjoyed this place, and that's the thing about Istanbul: 10 people with their own perspectives and expectations can all enjoy Istanbul. It's so culturally and historically rich, and the Turkish people, both locals and workers, are capable of satisfying tourists and making them love the city..wow.

The city
I really liked the atmosphere of the city. Except you can’t walk for a single minute without hitting shoulders with another tourist. But it might be the first time in my trip that even that didn’t bother me as much. The city is so massive that and attractions are well spread out, so you can walk around and find something new and exciting every 5-10 minutes. But if you wander off from the main strip a little bit (which I did), you enter a whole different Turkey. There are no fancy restaurants that serves wine from lunch, no tourists taking photo of buildings, or no trains or buses running through. Instead, local men were playing backgammons and cards at restaurants, some smoking seashaws, kids are playing after school, and doners (kebab) are sold for half the price than the price above.

Street to a more tourist free area

Kids playing in the fountain at a park

Men playing backgammon on a Saturday afternoon

Monuments
Of course. The Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia. These were all great. I think the best part of all these, though, is that I got to sit in a room with the manager of the Blue Mosque and got to talk to him for about 2 hours. I think I learned more about Islam within that 2 hours than through my life.

The Blue Mosque

What women had to wear if they had shorts or skirts on

This guy taught me everything I know about Islam (which is still very little). But at least now I have more knowledge so that I can talk to friends about their religion or know what to do and what not to do in Islamic countries and households. I found much of what I learned here useful to understand and clarify what didn't know before in Egypt.

Adventure
I had to. I couldn’t stand myself being satisfied with Istanbul without doing something no one else does. So I walked. My must-get-off-the-map self took me from the tourist-friendly Eastern Istanbul to the not-so-friendly Western Istanbul. Here, I felt that I saw the more authentic side of the city. There's no money involved, no customer-worker relationship, no fake smiles and welcomes, just like residential areas in any other country. I still very much enjoyed it. I do regret not sitting down at a cafe to have cay (chai tea) and not talking to locals, but I still very much enjoyed the occasional "merhaba (hello)" and stopping by to talk to people who would call me over.
So this is what I decided to do to make MY Istanbul trip memorable. I walked. Along a wall. A 7km wall. Yes.

On the way to the wall.

A shooting game that local kids play.

The Theodosian Wall was built about 2000 years ago during the Ottoman Empire, designed to protect the capital, Constantinople. It runs for 6.5-7km, from the Sea of Mamara (south side) to the Golden Horn (north side). The wall served the city and protected it well from invading forces for about 1000 years until the Ottoman was finally conquerored in the 15th century. So that's the basic history and the significance of the wall. There are two layers to the wall:

inner and outer. Because much of it has been destroyed and it is positioned well off from the city core, not too many tourists come to see it (well technically, the wall surrounds Istanbul, so every tourist passes it on the train to get in the city without knowing even knowing). But I find this to be one of the most significant part of history that I have seen on this trip. Bullet point time.
- I walked about 4km to find this wall. Took me about 2-3 hours because I enjoyed walking through local neighborhoods and stopping to talk to random people. But still, it would of taken me at least 1.5 hours to get here no matter how fast I walked. If someone says "that's too far" and lose interest in seeing the wall, forget them. Someone so unwise doesn't deserve to enjoy it (well, they probably wouldn't enjoy walking along a wall when they can be eating Turkish ice cream). What I'm trying to say is, the whole point of the wall being away from the city center is BECAUSE IT IS PROTECTING THE DAMN PLACE. When you build a house, you don't build walls so that you can barely move around in the inside, but further out so that it's spacious. Obviously, they also needed the wall to be far away so that even if a battle breaks out, there is still some distance from the city center. "Too far to go see" as a reason...just doesn't cut it.
- I mentioned my interest in security and criminology when I wrote about the difference in the security system a while back. Well, this is also a way of securitizing. Only 2000 years old. Walking along and on the wall, and imagining what certain parts were used for and how it served to protect the Ottoman empire was amazing.

Old gates are still used today to get in and out of the city.

Walking on top of the wall.

I'm guessing a shooting hole.

Lots of homeless communities along the wall. I actually had a nice conversation with some of them.

- In total, I walked for about 5 hours (approximately 10km), making some stops and taking photos. But besides the actual walk along the wall, I also got to walk through many neighborhoods. Some were by the beach and lively, and others were not as nice, and they would still look at me (an Asian tourist) like they have never seen anything like it. When I finally returned back to the city center where 80% of the people are tourists, it just makes me realize once again that what's introduced in travel guides and offered at travel agencies are often superficial. I'm not trying to say people miss out on the "real" Istanbul, but they do close their eyes to a great part of it. I guess it's alright if the travel is solely for leisure. I mean, why see the ugly side of something if you've rather not right?

OH dear
There's so much to write. I'll do an Istanbul part 2, (even though I'm already in Cannalake..)