It’s me, hi.

It is hostel time, y’all: I have now officially moved from the fancy hotel I started at to a private room (plus a private bathroom) in a hostel in the Sultanahmet neighborhood. I figured I would do some socializing. For the content. For the plot. Also, there is a hostel cat named Princess Mimi. She is amazing. She was actually napping right next to me as I wrote some of this post.

The people who work at the hostel are also so sweet, welcoming, and fun. Ahmet welcomed me with Turkish tea (which is delicious) when I got in, introduced me to people in the common room. Then there was Semira, who helped along with Ahmet to lead the pub crawl I later went on. Semira, who is from Eritrea (in East Africa) moved to Istanbul two years ago after she came here on vacation with her sister and never left. She is a blast and she is a great dancer. She also invited me back to Istanbul in December for her birthday, and I might take her up on that. I almost did not go on the pub crawl, because it started just before midnight and went until four in the morning. But Semira convinced me to go, and I am glad that I did. She also complimented my outfit, which is the way to my heart. I will probably write in more detail about the Istanbul party scene in another post. Or not. Overall, the people in Turkey are kind, respectful, and full of joy – and I have not once felt unsafe. I love the locals and the fellow travelers alike.

My room is quaint, a little musty, but it actually has good storage, good wifi, and the bathroom is small but it will do. The bed is not very comfortable, but I have figured out a trick to cocoon myself in the thick comforter to mimic a mattress pad. There is also a rooftop at the hostel with views of the sea and the city, plus views onto other rooftops perfect for people watching.

Later in the afternoon after I did some unpacking, I returned to the hostel lobby and spent several hours getting to know the fellow travelers. Every single person that I met was also going solo – and also born in the 2000s or maybe the late ’90s. I love Gen Z though. They all seemed shocked to learn that I was 33. The age question would inevitably come up after I would answer other questions about my career and history, etcetera. For example, I met two Josh’s – Kiwi Josh and Aussie Josh. Aussie Josh and I got to talking about the Balkans, since he has been traveling since March and visited a lot of the countries that I am going to once I leave Turkey next week.

We both quit our jobs to travel for a while. Actually, a lot of people at the hostel quit their jobs to travel. A good trend. Aussie Josh talked about his work in the iron mines, then I talked about how I was a lawyer for years and then got really burnt out and was just straight up over it. “Wait,” he said, squinting at me, “how old are you? That takes a lot of school, does it not?”

“Oh, I am 33,” I said. 33 is nothing to be ashamed of, by the way, and it is not old.

“Wow, what is your secret?” Aussie Josh asked.

“Well, mate, what is your secret to aging so quickly – because you look older than her?” Kiwi Josh piped in. I laughed at that one. Later on, we ended up going to a hookah (or as they call it ‘shisha’) bar/cafe where we drank White Russians and smoked a hookah with a pineapple on top. There was also a rotund cat hanging out with us. Along with the Josh’s, another young Aussie gal – Renee – who spent the last two months in the middle east and a youth named Atticus – from Hawaii – both joined us.

I also met Rabea, from a small industrial town in Germany, who has been traveling for a couple of months. She was about to start as a volunteer for the hostel in exchange for a free place to stay. She knew several languages and we got to talking about books. We also talked about travel and exchanged photos of our cats. I am currently reading Mistborn based off the recommendation of a friend, and I really love it so far. She said she read that one too and loved it. I think I also convinced her to read Fourth Wing.

Here’s a few hostel pics, most notably Princess Mimi:

Snack of the moment: Bedir Kebab. It was not actually on a kebab, but I had this at a rooftop terrace restaurant recommended by Ahmet at the hostel. It was delicious and paired with rice pilaf, a tasty salad, and fries. This is most of what I did on day four (day two at the hostel) because I was so exhausted from trying to keep up with the youths. So I took the day to read, write, and eat some snacks. Here’s a picture of the snacks, plus a shot of the view from the rooftop:

THE TEA: Another thing I really love here is the tea. There is Turkish tea, but there is also this tea that comes in all kinds of flavors in a powdered form that you just scoop into hot water and stir. I went earlier today to the tea and spice store down the block from my hostel, tried a couple of new flavors, and had a good chat with the employee, who moved here from Azerbaijan. I ended up buying a bit of the pomegranate tea to take back with me to the hostel. It is a weird bag of pink powder that kind of looks like drugs. Here’s my new favorite tea shop’s selection:

Outfit(s) of the moment + some thoughts on the local style: Now that I have had more of a chance to observe the local style and what the vibe is, I am going a bit louder with my outfits. I really, really like people’s style here. People wear a lot of black and a lot of red, which are two of my favorite colors to wear. The style here is edgy, chic, with a hint of sportiness. Lots of chunky boots and nice sneakers – very practical footwear. I have seen a lot of women out and about wearing oversized black blazers – either in a suit-style or some in leather. I am going to need a leather one stat.

Even the men dress pretty well here. Better than in Denver for sure, but that is not saying much given that the bar for fashion for most people is quite low in Denver. For men in Turkey, there are a lot of slim pants and dark jeans with sleek sneakers, mostly Nikes. There is a refreshing lack of outdoor wear. Here’s some window shopping photos that I took at the stores, where there are a lot of neutrals and then other stores with super fancy ball gowns:

Anyways, back to me!!! I wore this getup on day three consisting of mostly clothes and accessories that I have purchased in the past month or so. I wore one of the three plaid skirts that I brought (I am a very practical packer). I am also going to include links to what I am wearing when they are available – just in case you want to be cool too.

Top -Abercrombie: shoutout to my friend Alex for this one, she sent me a picture of it in the store and I ordered it immediately with rush shipping right before I left.

Skirt – English Factory: I bought this at Belk in Knoxville shortly before I left. I love a plaid skort. It was on sale! It does run small though, so size up.

Boots – Thursday Coda Boots in black and gold – I really love these, and they make me taller while still being comfortable.

Purse: “Louis Vuitton” bought on the sidewalk by my hotel in Istanbul late at night for 7 euros. I normally hate the obviously patterned designer pieces, but this was funny to me.

Cardigan – Ravella Valentina cashmere cardigan: This thing is so cozy and was an early Christmas present from my mom (thanks, mom!). It looks cute buttoned or unbuttoned.

Necklace – Jeffrey (Bezos) (Amazon): cheap but cute. Will probably fall apart.

For good measure, here’s a couple more photos of some more touristy things like a pretty mosque and a walk by the sea with a view of the Galata Tower:

Haiku of the moment: I forgot to include this in my previous piece, but would like to start doing this. I love a good, silly haiku.

Youths everywhere/

We had fun but my feet hurt/

Too much caffeine here.

Seriously, almost all of the tea has caffeine and I keep drinking it all day long and then struggling to sleep. Curses!

Song of the moment: I Love It – Icona Pop, Charli xcx

Featured lyrics: You’re from the seventies, but I’m a nineties bitch

Why? Because this came on the other night, and then I said “nice, I am a nineties bitch.”

Anyways, I am having a blast and this city and all of its people are beautiful. I am so glad that I get to do this trip. How else would I be able to hang out with a local and an older Australian couple one night at a cooking class one night, then bar hop until four in the morning with Gen Z the next night? Okay, listen to I Love It: