The Çarsi
Trip Start
Dec 01, 2008
1
8
22
Trip End
Dec 31, 2008
Istanbul,
Turkey
Sunday, December 7, 2008
today i did a long walkabout around the sultanahmet side of the bosphorus, covering about 10 km or so, and ending the stroll with the bazaar haggling for gifts. the hightlight being a victory in theory on a backgammon board; which started at 60 lira but i got him down to 20. go me.
after a snooze, it was time for the beşiktaş match against ankaraspor. ankara went up early, but beşiktaş tied it up before the half. i should mention that the beşiktaş fans are nuts. they are known all over the football world as being crazy. they're incredibly loud and passionate and vocal. during half-time there was only one fight, conveniently about 8 seats away from me. fun. an unfortunate own-goal put the home team down once the game resumed, and after squandering numerous chances, a red card further hurt their chances, and beşiktaş suffered its first home loss of the season.
and since i slept perhaps a total of 3 hours last night, needless to say i'm looking forward to tonight's sleep, even if i got stuck with a top bunk and i'm in a smelly dorm room. can't win 'em all.
observations from the day: outside of the tourist area, istanbul is quite a dirty city. there appears to be no child labour laws as young kids appear to work any job, including panhandling. a perfered method of employment from old men seems to be asking for money in return for people standing on a scale to see their weight. there is definitely no smoking laws - in the football stadium, there was a haze above the field from all the smoke, no joke. my clothes stink, and hence, so do i.
Comments
Hello bro!
I was feeling sorry for myself since I'm studying and you are traveling again... and then I looked at your passport photo and instantly felt better.