istanbul, not constantinople

finally getting around to posting about the last leg of our trip - istanbul. what an amazing city. "where east meets west" is istanbul's slogan, and it's very true. even geographically, the bosphorous river splits the city between two continents: an asian side and a european side. a little mix of ancient history with chic cosmopolitan. historical castles next to towering skyscrapers. muslims in traditional headdresses mingling with girls in miniskirts. loved it. the miniskirts...no, i mean the whole vibe of the city.

what made the istanbul experience that much better was that siva's friend from undergrad, sina, hosted us for the three days we were there. sina has spent most of his life in istanbul, and he took us far beyond the tourist hotspots...

sure, we spent an afternoon checking out the magnificient architecture of the blue mosque and hagia sofia museum, and the bustling grand bazaar (we bought a hookah) and spice market, but for the rest of the time we lived like locals. albeit young, hipster locals.

straight up, sina is a baller. we got a taste of his life for a few days. we stayed at his high rise apartment overlooking the river, we dined at trendy restaurants, walked/stumbled though istiklal caddesi, a street dedicated to shops, restaurant, bars, and clubs that thousands of istanbulites flood every night, hung out with his beautiful friends, the works.

the highlight was dropping ridiculous amounts of loot at this megaclub called sorti. we had a four-course meal at one of sorti's four posh restraunts, supper club (check out the website photos and you'll understand). the restraunts then close late-night to make this amazing open-air club right on the river. yachts even pull up to get into the club. we mingled with pro soccer players and turkish movie stars. ridiculous. it was such a good night that we partied all the way up to our 5am red-eye flight back to chicago. it's fun to throw money (that i really don't have) around somtimes.

maybe when i'm thirty-something and finally making money, i'll be able to live like sina. until then, i'm back to making kraft macaroni and cheese. bummer. i should have gone into business...

our experience would have been completely different without sina. we would have gotten lost in the eighth largest city in the world, and most likely gotten suckered into all the tourist traps. we lived like true istanbulites, except for the fact that we ran out of money and couldn't afford the russian prostitutes that is apparently a popular nightcap in istanbul...ha!

even old new york, was once new amsterdam