Old Sultanahmet

A bar in Sultanahmet with a view out to the Marmara

Over the past few weeks I have been exploring around the back of Sultanahmet more. Normally people associate this area with tourism which is a wise assumption given the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Hippodrome etc are all in this area. But there is also a local neighbourhood as well. Filled with tea gardens, childrens' parks, laundromats, hole-in-the-wall bakeries and glorious, green leafy streets that catch the sweet breath of the Lady Boss. The deportation center for foreigners is also in the middle of here. A grand looking building with barred windows where men hang out their arms all day and night, shouting down to loved ones, friends even strangers.  I wonder how many people in there are waiting to be sent back to somewhere far worse. At the end of the building there begins a long line of noisy restaurants. What must it be like to sit behind those bars all day and hear a cacophony of clinking raki classes, tinkling cutlery and Turkish musicians singing ballads about loss.

Life is absurd and often very cruel.

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Tomorrow I head to Australia for a month to see my family. I feel anxious about leaving my girls behind but unlike Monsieur Depp I do not have a private jet on which to smuggle them. I am sure they will be fine. And I need to go home. I need somewhere quiet to plot my life.