Land of the Turkish

'Merhaba' I believe is the Turkish greeting, otherwise known as 'hello'.
Currently in my hotel room in Istanbul, obviously soaking up the Turkish life.. and drinking a cup of English tea. Yes. The rules of travelling: When on the road, one must always carry tea bags. A little comfort from homeland where ever you may be. Hardly immersing oneself in the culture, but necessities overrule. I did source out some soy milk from Starbucks, which is now taking pride place in the mini-bar fridge.

I have been here before. The city of an almost overwhelming (for a health-conscious vegetarian) food and drink-loving culture. There is a seemingly never-ending supply of people. I'm not entirely sure where most these people have come from, or are going. Maybe they are just 'living'. There are a large amount of Turks, but hearing the languages down the streets, a fairly substantial amount of European travelers occupy and partake in the madness of this world. Where the East meets the West. A paradoxical combination of rustic culture against graffiti-ed walls, commercially purpose-built shops and buildings, with glimpses of beautiful architecture and minarets of mosques. I know a culture isn't entirely about a beautiful and aesthetically pleasing landscape and atmosphere. It's about the people too. And the 'vibe'. And at this present moment in time I am still struggling to understand where this borderline unhealthy obsession with what I find a vaguely unappetizing cuisine originates from.. I am sure I will be told otherwise, but I feel as though I need some real direction as to where to direct my 'fussy' habits and to overcome the fact that to refuse any offer of food out here is seen as an offence to the host/chef/giver of food. Perhaps to mutually give and accept food is interpreted as a mutual understanding and acceptance of each other. I don't know. Must learn a little more about this one..

Will get to do a little sight seeing tomorrow, so hopefully will get some good little amateur snaps on my camera. For now though, it's 12.45am and I actually intended on getting a little work done. This is why my laptop has come with me. But it doesn't look likely for this evening..