ISTANBUL, TURKEY. Do you ever have those moments where you feel adventurous and have a sudden urge to be impulsive and spontaneous? When, out of the blue, you are submerged in an illusion of a movie-like setting, in which you are naturally the lead character who is so cool and so unpredictable that she/he decides to go to Istanbul for New Year’s. Because, why not? Right?

Well, I had one of those moments and I sure lived up to the illusion.

How it all started

Here I was, in my tiny dorm room in Central London, apprehensive to check my online bank account and terrified to the core of the number that would show up on it. In fact, it took me colossal efforts to get myself to log in to my personal banking account, and loads of self-control not to close the loading window. To my great surprise, there was a lot more money in my account than I expected. I was puzzled and euphoric. The fact that London didn’t starve me only meant that I had more money to be wild, young and free, – well not in a Snoop Dog and Wiz Khalifa kind of way, but you get what I’m saying.

So, in accordance with my status of a spontaneous college student, I immediately started brainstorming on what I could do with my fortune. Shopping was too mainstream and partying was too much effort. In an instant of pouring inspiration, I logged on to Google and Skyscanner simultaneously and started looking for nice and well-reviewed but on-the-budget cities to spend New Year’s. Istanbul was a favourite, as it kept popping up unexpectedly in a number of sites that were somehow catering to my Eastern penchant.

I found a flight. I booked the flight.

Bye bye $400, hello bankruptcy!

Did I have a place to stay? Not really. Did I have any prospects of maybe getting a travel companion? Whaaaaaat??? I am a strong independent woman of the 21st century, I don’t need nobody.

Fast forward to a month later.

First impression?

I land in Istanbul, overwhelmed by the amount of Turkish that I was so suddenly surrounded with. Nonetheless, I breeze through customs and work my way out of the airport to the metro station, where I employ my charade skills to get my annoying tourist questions answered. The divine intervention had led me to make a Turkish friend beforehand in London who had generously agreed to host me for my very brief stay in the city.

My first few hours in Istanbul public transport provided me with vast opportunities for people watching that I shamefully took advantage off. I stared and stared, temporarily suspending my own guidelines of appropriate social behaviour. Anyways, upon arrival to my destination, I came out of the bus with an uncontested belief that Turkish people were all beautiful.

Delicious morning

During my first morning in Istanbul, I behaved like a proper tourist, not settling for anything less than an authentic Turkish Breakfast.

In my opinion, food by itself can carry half of any experience. Am I right?

I was delightfully surprised by the amount of cheese that people consume in a Turkish breakfast. In fact, there was a lot of Cheese, an infamous egg and vegetable mix, delicious carbs, and a necessary side salad with cucumbers and tomatoes. It might sound like more than what a normal person can consume, but trust me I managed, and if I can do it, you sure can too 😉

The quintessential Taksim

Downtown Istanbul was bustling with life. Taksim square, headquarters of mass protests that burst in the city in 2011, was now swamped with tourists taking the quintessential Taksim picture that I am guilty of taking as well, not out of unoriginality, but out of respect. Trust me, EVERYONE takes a picture in Taksim square, it’s a tradition.

I spend my first day with a couple of “fellow travellers”from Algeria that were as clueless as I was. We wandered down Istiklal Avenue, occasionally walking into over-priced souvenir shops just for the heck of bargaining for things we had no intention to buy. Growing up in Marrakesh, Morocco taught me that bargaining was an art, and that only fools buy souvenirs from the shops that are located in the most tourist-abundant areas.

So we spent our afternoon walking around central Istanbul, approaching Turkish people for spontaneous and brief lessons in Turkish that were not always given to us; counting the insane number of Starbuckes on every street, and enjoying the smells of great food emanating from every corner.

Goodbye 2014, hello 2015: Istanbul style

Although we had no grand plans for New Year’s Eve, the festive atmosphere in the streets was more than satisfactory.

Around 11 at night, and amidst our ventures in the side streets and tiny alleys of the area, we found ourselves amongst a growing crowd as we were suddenly shoved through a tiny door.

Once thing I learned at 16 from my exchange year in America is to hang loose and go with the flow. Accordingly, I grabbed onto my two companions and we all went with the flow. Not until we heard the blasting music and saw the crazy dancing that we realized we were in a reggae hideout that was full of locals.

We blended right in, it didn’t take us long to give up verbal communication and give in to the dancing fever. One thing I can attest for: Turks can dance y’all!

So, we danced our night and early morning away with strangers we grew to appreciate and love. There was nothing that could beat that glorious ending of 2014 than a great start of 2015 with a breakfast before sunrise in the streets of Istanbul. We grabbed food, chilled and laughed. Despite being tired and insanely cold, you were constantly bewitched; our senses had forever fallen under the spell of Istanbul.

Au revoir, and see you soon

As the New Year unfolded in that 1st of January, I bid farewell to my favourite Algerians and went on with my exploring of the city before I had to say Goodbye. I made sure to bathe in the architectural greatness of SultanAhmet, and grab a tea in Corlulu Ali Pasa Medresesi where time stood still and tea and narguile dictated all the laws.

I later on met up with my sister’s old friend who generously offered to drive me across the Bosphorus into the Asian side of the city where I encountered even more beautiful Turkish people and ate even more delicious food.

As I took the ferry back, on my way to Ataturk Airport, I was already planning my second and third trips to Istanbul, slightly regretful that I didn’t talk to more strangers, or didn’t contemplate more buildings or drink more tea. There is something about Istanbul that leaves you satisfied and fulfilled but like the longing of a lover, the more you have, the more you want.

Spontaneous, broke, and extremely grateful. I invite you to take a moment and live it up, don’t think too much, and don’t plan too farahead, sometimes the things we enjoy the most are the ones that we predict the least. And who knows, maybe I’ll see you Istanbul next time!