My apartment hosted a dinner/party Friday night. As bowls of chili, sauerkraut, and tabbouleh were passed around (it was a multi-cultural event, obviously), a few of us made plans to head to the Prens Adaları (Princes' Islands) the next day. Around 10 of us decided to depart by ferry for the fourth and biggest island, Büyükada, at 10:30 am. Somewhere between making plans, drinking too much Efes, and waking up at 10, we missed the ferry we wanted to take. Despite this, a few of us got in touch and decided to go through with the plans. After an hour and a half ferry ride, we arrived at Büyükada.
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| Ferry ride. Somewhere on the Marmara. |
The island is devoid of cars, but if you didn't know it before hand, the scent of horse crap would clue you in. The horses are everywhere - pulling carriages, standing around, grazing through the parks.
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| Wildish horses. |
We rented bikes and took in as much of the island as we could. We managed to catch one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever experienced. We ended the trip with dondurma and waffles and decided to return again at a later date. If there is such thing as heaven on Earth, Büyükada might be it.
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| Even more beautiful in person. |
It is such a strange feeling I get when I read your blogs. More so than what I feel through the multitudes of FB photos & status updates. This overwhelming feeling is probably for two reasons. One, because your posts are so few and far between making them preciously exciting. Two, because you became a soul companion, regardless of our short time together.
ReplyDeleteI smile from ear to ear, my heart races, I want to giggle. It must be because of the familiar scenes in your pictures, or my guestimations of who you are with, people I know or people I would probably have been friends with this semester just as you are. At the same time, it's that longing proud smile that turns into tears (but most the time I read your blog in class or something, a time when my heart couldn't come to tears). It is just this rush, of connectivity, of thinking why the fuck am I not still in Turkey (decisions in my life, not even related to Turkey begin to get analyzed all over again), of being proud and happy for you.
I just want to say thanks for letting me experience this never-felt rush. The aftertaste, I don't know if I fully like. But the newness, I know is part of the reflection, the hindsight.... It's beautifully difficult, but beautiful nonetheless.