Turkish Hospitality (Part I)

After walking through the Sultan's Palance, Blue Mosque, and the Grand Bazaar, we were feeling a bit tired. But the streets were packed with shoppers, both Turkish and tourists, that we couldn't find any place to sit. We continued for another fifteen minutes until we saw a small street rising to our right. We turned up and found a quiet corner of the city where there were a few shops specializing in childrens clothing and a small restaurant. We found a stoop in front of an apartment building and perched ourselves there.

I headed over to the restaurant and bought a couple of drinks, one for me and one for Dani. Mine was called Turka Cola which is the local rival to Coca-Cola. When I asked the restautant owner if he recommended it he said, "Of course, it's Turkish!" Dani's drink was thinned yoghurt with lots of salt. Great for a hot day in Istanbul. Then we sat and watched life on the street go by.

Above us were a mother and daughter watching the action below. Across from us were two brothers waiting for their mother to pick them up after a long day at school. Every shop owner had a small red and white plate and a glass of piping hot apple tea. They were all sitting in from of their business talking to one another. One of them went into the restaurant to get something to eat and emerged with a pizza. He went back to his spot and after about five minutes walked up to us and shoved pieces of pizza into our hands. We were both shocked at the level of friendliness. We were treated like guests even though we were sitting in front of a house that did not belong to us. And this was just one story of the hospitality we were shown.