I had booked 17 nights in Istanbul to bunker down, get to
know the place, and relax. I ended up having to bunker down for real, and I
certainly got to know the place and the people, but I was on edge the whole
time. Istanbul was not a particularly pleasant part of my trip.
Here’s why.
a)
Civil unrest.
It all began one evening when I left the dingy confines of
my accommodation and headed out to get dinner. I turned out of my alley and
onto another street and when I did I found myself amongst a crowd of people. It
was strange, because there were so many people around me but everyone was
silent, just looking further up the road at something I couldn’t see. I kept
walking onwards through them, and then suddenly I heard what sounded like guns
firing and the street ahead filled with smoke. Everyone around me started to
run in the same direction which I had just come, like a herd of cattle, and I
just turned around and ran with them. As I ran I could hear more and more shots
going off, and as I neared the entrance to my hostel I wondered if it would be
better to stop and fumble with the key to get in the bulky security door
entrance, or just keep running down the street with everyone else. I went for
the door, and got in quicker than I ever have I went up to my second floor room
and opened my window to see what was going on below and was hit in the face
with a plume of gas which stung my eyes, and filled my nose and throat.
At the time I wasn’t sure what was happening. I’ve done my
research and I know that terrorist attacks (usually minor) occur somewhat
regularly in Turkey (more towards the east, but certainly attempts in Istanbul,
and a bombing at the US embassy a few months ago). So that was my biggest fear
and immediate conclusion. But then I put two and two together and realised it
was teargas and then got online to confirm that it was just a riot. The cops
were shooting rubber bullets and teargas canisters at the rioters. I must say,
I was quite relieved. 
Long story short, anti government sentiment led to peaceful
protests, cops came in and got overly aggressive, leading to major riots in my
part of the city. The town got trashed, chaos ruled, four people died
(including one middle aged tourist), and the Istanbul police have received
negative attention from the whole of the European Union (to which they are
applying) for the way they handled the situation.
Going out to dinner was a problem, and id often be sitting
eating with my eyes watering from the teargas in the air. Other days, when I
had to go across town to meet up with someone or go and do something, it was
like a video game; I’d go down one street and then get hit with teargas as cops
chased away another group of protesters, and then I’d try another street to be
met with the riot squad blocking the way. It was as close as I ever hope to be
to a battlezone.
The rioting went on hard for about a week and then became
more sporadic. A month later, when I was back in the city again, there were
still demonstrations taking place.
b)
The Almost Mugging
So as if I wasn’t on edge enough waiting to cop another
faceful of teargas, or a rubber bullet to the eye, when I went for a stroll in
my immediate area to check out some of the backstreets, two guys tried to rob
me. One behind, one in front, they both sandwiched me with their shoulders so I
couldn’t move, and the guy in front started yelling something at me which I
couldn’t understand. Being ready for this sort of thing since I first went to
Thailand as a teenager, I clamped my hands over my pockets and just yelled ‘What
the fuck?’ They shoved me for a bit, and were feeling all around but luckily my
pockets were deep and I had a good hold on my wallet and camera inside. Then
suddenly, they just backed off. They stared at me and I turned in the opposite
direction and walked away. This was about 100 - 200 m from my accommodation.
And that brings me to the third point:
c)
My choice of accommodation.
It was by far the cheapest private room in the city, and
sometimes you only get what you pay for. The room was a dump. It was noisy and
hot and filthy. 17 dollars a night for 17 nights. I didn’t have a good night’s
sleep once. Right next door, a transvestite brothel operated, so whenever I
left the place they were hanging out the windows yelling and swearing at me.
One night I came home and one of them was drugged up and stumbling around right
in front of the door to my place. I thought I was going to get beat up by
him/her. Furthermore, as the yelling and smashing of glass and chanting from
the riots outside kept me up, one night just outside the door to my room the
idiot manager of the joint was having a fistfight with one of the guests. Total
chaos.
Room with a view:
So between getting gased repeatedly, avoiding the trani
hookers spitting on me everytime I left or returned to my room, and being almost
robbed of my valuables, my Istanbul experience was very different to what I was
hoping.
Luckily, I knew I had another full week booked later in the
month. But I haven’t been more ready to leave a town all year.
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