The Purposeful Layover: 22 Hours in Istanbul

One of my favorite travel memories is my 22 hour stint in Istanbul. I will admit that I entered the experience as green and naive as one could be. It was my first time to a traditional, Muslim country and I promise you that I treated it like a road trip to South Florida. 

I found a New Years’ Eve flight for a great price on Kayak through Turkish Airlines to Paris and Amsterdam. There were layovers in Istanbul ranging from 3 to 22 hours. I decided to book my return trip with the 22 hour layover so that I could explore a bit. I didn't realize at the time that this trip would change my life.

I spoke to a coworker about his recent visit to Turkey and I didn't take his vagabond ways into account when he told me, "Just go to the Galata Bridge and everything will be right there." When I arrived to Istanbul, my floral backpack and I headed to the taxi area.  After some sign language and pointing due to the language barrier, the taxi driver headed to the Galata Bridge. This was my first time ever traveling alone in another country so I was giddy. I became a 5 year old with my face pressed against the window, looking at all of the gorgeous architecture as we headed to the bridge. The driver pulled up and I gave him what he asked for. I think I was supposed to haggle. Oh well! I was pumped, remember?

I walked around a bit and a few men were standing by the water offering boat rides on a cheesy looking yacht. I spoke with them for a bit, still using some fun hand signals, and then boarded the boat. I want to note that I stood out like a sore thumb in Turkey. I didn't see one black person the entire time I was there. Although this has been uncomfortable at times in other places, people stared in awe and admiration and treated me like a celebrity. I.Was.Fine.With.It. So in true celebrity fashion, I was invited to the captain's area to steer the boat and drink mint tea with the crew. (Note: I wouldn’t necessarily advise this to everyone. Be sure to always use your intuition and stay safe. Also, I steered for like 5 minutes so don't think I was doing anything to fancy.) I steered towards the Asian side of Istanbul as they told me about their beloved country. I learned about the gorgeous temples, cost of living, the economy...pretty much everything one could be told in an hour. When we returned to the bridge, we exchanged Facebook info and they pointed me in the direction of the hammam I'd read about called Cemberlitas. I started to walk because it seemed close. When I looked around, I realized there were a lot more men than woman as it was getting darker. I walked up a narrow street and a man was standing outside of a restaurant. He stopped me and asked me a few questions and proceeded to tell me that he was originally from Turkey, but had moved to New York when he was a child. He now owned a restaurant in Istanbul. He advised me to take a taxi because it was not safe to walk so far at night by myself. Point taken. I hopped in the next one I saw.

I was getting hungry so the taxi driver dropped me to an area close to the hammam that had lots of restaurants and shops. After making a detour to buy an obligatory Hookah, I wandered over to a gorgeous, well-lit alley with tons of restaurants. As I settled into my seat in the outdoor area, I noticed people staring again. I welcomed it as long as they didn't touch my hair. The staff was very friendly and my waiter offered to show me a few sites after I finished eating. We ventured around and took lots of pics as he told me about his experience growing up in Istanbul. He was incredibly nice and not pushy at all. A perfect companion for my mini-tour. He escorted me to the hammam and we parted ways and exchanged Facebook names. This happened a lot.

Holy Hammam! I hadn't done my research about this either. I walked in and paid my money and all of a sudden I was led to a room and they told me to strip down to everything except for the bikini bottoms they provided. I was in an adventurous mood, so it was all good. After I locked up my belongings, the ladies led me to a huge room with stone everywhere and half naked women bustling around. They told me to lay down on a towel that was placed on a platform. Hard to picture, I know. See the link below for details. Then they scrubbed me down and ohhhhh man it was amazing. It was like a massage/body scrub combo and so cheap. I also took advantage of the steam rooms to the pools and left feeling amazing. It was around 9pm and I still had time to kill so I headed back to the restaurant alley area.

The rest of the night consisted of a Hookah bar where the owner proposed to me on the spot, meeting cool people from Turkey and all over the world, and my spending last hours with the airport officials as they made me Turkish coffee and we chatted via Google translator. I want to note that I did encounter quite a few men who were hard to shake off. Like, really hard to shake off. I was kind, but firm with them. I will also note that a black American woman was seen as exotic to them, so another person could go and have a completely different experience. I left Turkey feeling brave, open-minded, curious and strong. It also opened my eyes to seeking out destinations other than the popular, westernized places.

So the next time you have a layover, make it an experience. XO!

Places Mentioned in Post:

Cemberlita Hammam-http://www.cemberlitashamami.com/

Restaurant Alley- http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g293974-d3337059-r151823798-Divane_Restaurant_Cafe-Istanbul.html

Galata Bridge- http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293974-d296540-Reviews-Galata_Bridge-Istanbul.html

Steering and looking cheesy on the boat :-D

The Turkish coffee my new friends made for me!