I have an emotional attachment to Turkey, especially Istanbul. It’s where I met my husband for the first time, and during the time we spent there we built this feeling of a strong connection with the city.
While I was based there for my Internship he used to come and visit me. We discovered every corner of the city together from famous places to every narrow street. We tried the traditional food and even tried to communicate with Turkish people using their language and that wasn’t very hard as some people may claim.
I took a language course and I was able to speak and understand the basics but this doesn’t change the fact the Turkish language is very easy to understand and use especially . I found that Turkish people are not only very service orientated but they also love socialising outsiders.
My husband’s most favourite past-time in Istanbul is to sit on a bench at night watching the ships sailing across the Bosporus. The beautiful reflection of the city’s colourful lights in the black water are magical. For me, on the other hand, my most favourite part in Istanbul is when I take the ferry crossing the river. I sit outside feeling the cool breeze in my hair while drinking hot Turkish tea served in a famous traditional tea-glass.
We also enjoy wandering around the epic Sultan Ahmet, filled with historical places from the both the Ottoman and Roman periods. There’s something about old sites that is both uncanny and marvelous. This holds true for The Hagia Sofia and more so for The Basilica Cistern. I can still recall that cold, wet, dodge feeling . It was as if I could sense that something serious went on down there, way back then that still resonates into the current day.
My first trip to Sultan Ahmet also reminded me of the Bond film From Russia with Love which had scenes from both these truly iconic Istanbul sites. As a child, I watched every single Bond film. What fascinated me about these films was not the storyline, which is pretty much the same in every single film. What fascinated me was the magnificent locations: my gateway to the outside world in a time before Youtube and Wikipedia.
A childhood curiosity and intrigue about the outside world that inspired and motivated me to, many years later, travel and explore these places that had comprised nothing more than my childhood dreamland. Most importantly, I am now fortunate enough to travel the world with my very own James Bond, my husband.
