Istanbul

In the heat of the summer, during the ISIS crisis some are scared to travel. I’m happy for cheap airfare!

I land in Istanbul's early morning feeling the sweltering heat seep my clothes. I’m told to relax in Cemberlitas Hamam. I've been to the spa before but I knew this would be a new experience. For 90 liras I throw my naked body onto a slab of marble where I relax & drift off in the clouds of steam that fill the room. I’m instructed to lie down as a dinner table feast while all the other women steam away their worries. I'm soon splashed with warm water & suds of soap. She scrubs away dead rough skin I didn't know existed & what I had left of my self-tanner. I exit with several layers of skin gone, knowing my scrubber got to second base.

Hamams aren't for the modest, shy, self-conscious, but if you can get past the nudity & handled in ways not even your GYN will, then you'll be fine. Exiting with a tranquil mind & new skin is well worth it.

After a long day of being scrubbed &rubbed, what else could I need? Awake for 24hrs I vote for food! I walk my hungry self towards The Mamara Sea & I'm bombarded by vendors selling kabobs, freshly squeezed orange juice, you name it in Galata Square.

In a nearby restaurant, minutes pass & platters of vegetarian foods are displayed for me. My eyes catch aromas of fresh spices, freshly cooked foods & good company. Not the processed crap we have in the states & rushed off before we can digest a meal.

Before I get the chance to indulge, a melodic call to prayer is announced by Sultanahmet Mosque. I become profoundly overwhelmed by how thankful I am to experience a moment of prayer during one of the holiest holidays, Ramadan.

Locals begin to break their fast, as the owner makes his way to make sure I'm enjoying their food, I express my gratitude instantly. We engage in off-topic conversations & I soon realize I'm being wooed with more than hospitable service when he randomly gives me roses & a serenade. In a trance we exchange shy flirtatious glances & make plans to meet again.

The rest is left to be untold, but a part of me will remain in Istanbul forever. I've made lifelong friends during my time in Turkey & that is solely due to their open hearts & acceptance in meeting total strangers turned friends.