'Staying Alive By Not Staying Still'
I’m back in Balat, my favorite neighborhood in Istanbul, biding time and getting some work done in advance of the Rolf Potts Travel Writing Workshop I’m attending July 30-Aug. 4 in Paris.
The Flixbus trip from Sofia, Bulgaria, to here was eventful.
As the warmth of Spring arrives in this Baltic country of Bulgaria, where I’ve been a guest since April in the capital city, Sofia, I’m captivated by the easy-going, comfortable way of life and the warmth and friendliness of the many friends I’ve made here.
Most of you probably read my account of getting drugged and robbed in Istanbul.
However I haven’t reported the mugging I got from one of my credit card issuers in the aftermath.
While the drugging and robbery were over in an afternoon on July 2, the mugging by the bank occurred during the ensuing nine weeks as I tried to show that I was truly the victim of a crime and should have the fraudulent charges on my stolen credit card removed.
Just hope something like this never happens to you.
(Note: I’ve inserted some random photos of my recent three-month stay in Turkey that I haven’t shared yet, just to lighten the mood and show Turkey in a different, better light than what might be inferred from what happened to me in a single incident. Otherwise the photos are not specifically relevant to the post.)
It’s been too long since I last posted. I was in Turkey at the time, which was two countries ago on my continuing journey.
For the past 11 days I’ve been in Georgia — the country, not the state — and before that I spent a week in Barcelona, Spain, where I visited a friend who I first met in 2017 in Medellin, Colombia.
Readers of my travel blogs over the years know that I often say meeting people and making friends is what travel is really all about.
On Friday for the first time that belief was put to the test.
The weather is dreary this Monday in Istanbul. Gray skies since early morning persist, and post-lunch raindrops have begun speckling the windows of my apartment by the park on the Golden Horn. The air is damp and cool for such a late-spring day.
This is in contrast to Sunday’s brilliance, just yesterday when the sun reigned in the glory of a regal blue sky, shedding warmth across the city.
Yesterday was perfect for a walk from my apartment in humble, colorful Balat in Fatih, across the Golden Horn waterway on the Galata Bridge, to historic Galata Tower in the bustling tourist area of Beyoglu. It’s an easy, interesting walk of about two miles.
Among the many pleasant aspects of life I find wandering the streets of Istanbul is the care that people share for the many dogs and cats that inhabit the city.
Felines and canines hold a special status in the everyday life of Istanbul.