As most of my fellow countrymen spend the day celebrating America and its independence, I’ve been making hasty preparations to leave it. On Wednesday, I depart for Istanbul (not “Naboo, but from this photo of Hagia Sofia, you’d never know). This trip was put together on very short notice: under a month. I’ve spent the weekend getting ready and purchasing everything I think I’ll need. From anti-acid to caffine pills; maps and compasses to guidebooks and phrasebooks; “be prepared” is encoded in my genes. I even got some iodine drops to treat the water; the same kind I use on long hiking trips. This afternoon, I spent a hundred bucks and got an immunogloben and a tetnis shot at the local Patient First. Though I’ve prepared myself in all the ways I can from a “survival” standpoint, I certainly do not feel that I’ve spent enough time studying the history, culture, customs, and language. Since tomorrow I must go to work, I really only have the flight to either sleep, or read. The flight is said to be about 9 hours. I hate flying and I’m quite nervous about it, but I plan to use the time to learn all about Turkey.
In my mind, the best way to truely learn about a culture is to research its best fiction writers, and read their works. I undertook this research with great excitement last week. I could not wait to see what I would find. As it turns out, I seem to have discovered a Turkish author might well become a personal favorite. His name is Orhan Pamuk, and from what I’ve seen so far, his work looks to be a smooth blend of fine Turkish prose. Reviewers have compared him to three of my all-time favorite authors: Don DeLillo , Italo Calvino, and Jorge Luis Borges. That fact alone led me to quit my search and rush to the bookstore where I purchased two Pamuk titles; The White Castle and The New Life. The title that looked most interesting to me, The Black Book, appears to be out of print. Must be because it’s the “boring” one. This usually means it’s the deepest. At any rate, I cannot wait to read them, and I’m confindent that they’ll help me to fully appreciate my time in Istanbul. I only hope they are enough to offset my fear of planes.
No posts until I return, but I promise plenty of photos!
Further Reading: