Trip 2015-16. Day 97. Turkey, Istanbul. Турция: Стамбул

A PRESENT FROM ISTANBUL

Yesterday we spent a beautiful day on the green island of Burgaz, half an hour by ferry from Istanbul. I meditated on the sea and walked along the rocky coast. As usual, my souvenir from that trip was an abandoned historical building I found somewhere in the middle of the island. I marveled at its decaying beauty and at the lack of interest from tourists passing by.

On the way back I was feeding seagulls from the boat. As my friend put it “Now you are really Turkish!”.

When we returned home it turned out that the same day and night in Istanbul the police had dispersed Pride Parade on Taksim square with teargas, water cannons and rubber bullets.
Today I met a girl who was there. She was dancing in the street when the crowd suddenly started running towards the metro station. She couldn’t get into the train because it was full and stayed alone on the platform. And the police were firing pepper spray inside the station… She survived and didn’t even get to the hospital (“Today in the morning I had pain in my chest and a difficulty breathing but that’s all”).
And that’s all! But her story is my precious memory from this trip to Istanbul...