New Beginnings in Istanbul: My Life in the City of Seven Hills

Hello,

While waiting for my laundry to finish, I thought I’d write something and send it out into the vast freedom of the internet.

So, I’ve moved again. Yes, I’m setting up a new home and trying to adjust to another city—again. This has become a bit of a routine for me at this point, but I’m hoping this time I can stay a bit more stable.

This time, I’ve ended up in Istanbul, the famous city of seven hills. The city’s as beautiful as it is challenging. People here are often alone, and most seem pretty unhappy. They work all day and night in shifts, barely making ends meet. When they have a moment to spare, they dive into their hobbies.

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Adapting to Istanbul’s Quirks

Politics and religion? You can’t avoid them here. Even if you try, these topics will somehow find their way into your conversations.

Despite being this legendary city, Istanbul isn’t exactly a place where you can have a peaceful weekend unless you own a car. I usually head to the islands or Kadıköy. One of my old elementary school friends, Gizem, has also moved here, so we’ve been helping each other out like the old days, getting through life together. Today, we’ll be hanging out around Moda.

I live a bit on the outskirts, so I don’t see the chaos of the city center every day. But whenever I do venture into the heart of the city, I’m always struck by how many malls there are. It’s like you can’t walk a block without stumbling upon one. My friend Deniz, who shares my frustration, once joked, “What’s with all these malls? Are they like emotional support blankets or something?”

Seriously, though—there’s a mall or a mosque on nearly every corner. Need something urgently? Boom, you’re at a mall. People spend their days walking in circles inside, like they’re on a loop. Need to pray? There’s a mosque nearby. Everything is super convenient.

Exploring Taksim: A World of Its Own

Taksim feels like a completely different world. You hear a lot of Arabic spoken there, and most shops stay open until 2 AM. Yesterday, I overheard a young shoe salesman muttering to himself in Turkish, saying, “Sister, go home and sleep already. What’s the point of buying shoes at 1:40 AM?” But without missing a beat, he turned to the woman with a smile and, as if he hadn’t just been complaining, switched to English, saying, “Yes, it’s size 40.” Honestly, it was like a scene from a movie—he was so convincing!

Starting a YouTube Channel: Will I Ever Get There?

Once I finish organizing my new place, I really want to start that YouTube channel I’ve been talking about forever. I keep saying, “I’m going to do it, I swear!” but I still haven’t made it happen.

I want to create a channel where I can have fun without offending anyone. It’s hard these days to do something without someone taking offense, but I’ll give it a shot. I’ve been watching The Good Place lately. There’s this scene where they talk about a woman buying tomatoes, and somehow, that’s considered a sin because the tomatoes were grown with harmful pesticides. The whole point is that in today’s world, it’s becoming harder and harder to do something without unknowingly harming someone. It’s a great show, very light-hearted but with some deep thoughts. Definitely worth watching.

Outdated Views and Social Media Fatigue

On a related note, I know someone who makes videos with super outdated, sexist views about men and women. Today, I finally hit “mute” on their posts. I mean, how can someone make videos this sexist and still think it’s funny? One of their posts was about how women go to the salon when they’re upset, as if that’s the only thing we do. Honestly, most men I know get manicures, too. Are they all upset as well? I’m so tired of these outdated clichés—it really got to me today.

Finding My Voice: To Share or Not to Share?

So what do I do? Should I just gather information from Google and sit in front of the camera, rattling off facts? That would be so boring. The reason I started this blog is the same reason I want to start a YouTube channel: to connect with like-minded people, share a laugh, and learn together. There aren’t many of us left, so I thought it’d be great to engage with those who are still out there.

But when I think about sharing my own thoughts, I feel like I’d have to censor myself. Maybe I should use an alias? Like those hosts from old-school movie programs. Then again, who even bothers with aliases anymore?

Upcoming Events: LP Concert in Istanbul

By the way, LP is coming to Istanbul on June 15, 2019, and I’m definitely going to that concert! Will I try to meet her? Not sure. I know she’s really sweet and loves her fans, so who knows? I love her too, and I snagged my ticket as soon as it was available.

The Dating Scene in Istanbul

When I was in Europe, I used to go to Meetups and Couchsurfing events at some really cool spots. I checked out some here, but most of the participants are Turkish, and to be honest, that kind of disappointed me. I used to complain about how hard it was to meet new people in Izmir, but it turns out it’s even harder here. Why can’t we just make friends easily?

Even dating is strange here. Yesterday, a friend told me that people walking their dogs in Maçka Park exchange phone numbers through their dogs’ name tags. It’s like the modern version of that old-fashioned way of dropping a handkerchief to get someone’s attention!

Shifting to Lighter Entertainment

I’ve also stopped watching sad movies. I used to love those artsy films that left me in deep thought for days. Some of them still haunt me (looking at you, Haneke films). But now, I just want something I can watch without having to think too hard. When I bring up deeper topics, no one engages anyway. Instead, people say things like, “Oh, you know everything, don’t you?”

So from now on, I’m adopting the “ignorance is bliss” mindset.

As my mom would say, “Bring on the cheesy Hollywood movies and trashy music!” (Though she didn’t quite phrase it like that). I miss her a lot.

Anyway, I’ll throw another load into the washing machine. I’ll write again soon.

Take care!