Before leaving Istanbul today I wanted to remark on one aspect of the place that made an especially strong impression on me: its pervasive, near universal, Turkishness. I realize that this may seem like a facile and even foolish observation to make, even for me, but hear me out.
Turkey appears to be one of those rare places (I understand that Japan is another) that thrives almost entirely in its own cultural space, as if the rest of the world did not exist. People mostly watch Turkish movies and TV, read Turkish gossip magazines and literature, eat in Turkish restaurants (Istanbul has 15 million people and hardly any non-Turkish restaurants, besides MacDonalds...), and listen to Turkish music, both traditional and modern. When young dudes roll by in their shiny cars they are invariably blasting the Turkopop. Even the local hipsters rock that style the Turkish way (think Ottoman steampunk).
Impressive and admirable. The heart of cool is to be original and on that score, as well as others, Istanbul is deeply cool.
Two other quick notes before we leave Turkey. They love cats. You cannot walk a dozen steps in Istanbul without seeing a cat. And these cats are well cared for. Little heaps of cat food and bowls of water are common sights along the sides of buildings. The other note is that it is mind bogglingly hot and humid here in the summer. Brow dripping, shirt soaking, three showers a day hot. Just so you know.
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