Istanbul

Feb 1

Back in 2023 me and my best friend wanted to travel again. So we did what everyone does and opened Google Maps and picked out a random location. Athene or Istanbul, our choice was easy.

And so we went to Istanbul not knowing what to expect. I don’t read up on travel destinations I like to be surprised and discover the destination myself. That’s what travel photography to me is about.

I am placed in a place I do not know (yet). I feel like a child again discovering the world. There are new sounds, smells, textures, and people. As for Istanbul, there is a lot of texture.

We arrived at our stay, high up at the top of the building our own “penthouse”. Sounds good, doesn’t it? It does if you leave the leaking roof out of the conversation. Anyway, we could see a lot from here and it felt safe. The perfect place to rest after a long day of walking and exploring. It was oddly quiet up here for a city of almost 16 million people.

On the first day, we wandered across the bridge where a lot of people fish. Here you can get your cliche shot of the older people fishing. The smell of smoked chestnut and the screaming of the boat people get closer. We have reached the other side of Istanbul. We wandered through what felt to me like an industrial harbor. I got an odd sense of home (Harlingen). There I found a sense of peace in this city of millions.

We navigated the city mostly on feet, just letting our curiosity guide us. Around every corner, there was something interesting. Shadows cast by street lights on facades, old fallen apart buildings, Interesting doors, cats (lots of cats), and for some reason oranges that roll from the top of the street all the way down. So many interesting shadows at night, and umbrellas, there also was a lot of rain.. It only made the photograhps more beautiful. Good thing my camera is waterproof, my pants however were not.

We stayed in Istanbul for 5 days.

This trip taught me the beauty of a city that’s as rugged and raw as Istanbul. Safe to say I fell in love with her.