Enduring Unplanned Moments

From Istanbul's ferries to Cappadocia's dawn skies, Turkey offered far more than beauty — it shaped a journey in unexpected, unforgettable ways; writes Vinod K

- Vinod K

I landed in Istanbul on a crisp afternoon, the kind where the breeze carries both the smell of the Bosphorus and the weight of centuries.

From the windows of the taxi, the skyline unfolded like a history lesson written in stone and minarets — domes glinting, gulls circling lazily, and ferries cutting neat white lines across the water. Yet for all its grandeur, my first true memory of Turkey came from something utterly simple: a street vendor insisting I taste his roasted chestnuts, refusing money until I said I genuinely liked them. “Otherwise,” he declared, thumping his chest, “my honour will be hurt.” It set the tone for the entire journey — a place where hospitality wasn't a gesture but a lived philosophy.

My hotel was in Sultanahmet, barely a few cobblestones away from the Hagia Sophia. At night, when the lamps illuminated its vast dome, I found myself standing in the courtyard long after the crowds thinned. A lone cat — Istanbul has as many cats as it has stories — stretched beside me, claiming equal admiration from passing tourists. The cat followed me for a full ten minutes that first night, as if guiding a slightly stunned traveller who couldn't decide whether he was walking through a museum or a dream.

The next morning, I boarded a ferry to Kadıköy on the Asian side. The seagulls, trained by years of softhearted passengers, swooped low, expecting simit crumbs. A young boy next to me tore pieces from his breakfast ring and threw them into the air with the practiced flourish of a magician. “You try,” he said, and I did — badly. My crumbs fell too soon, the gulls uninterested. He shook his head with mock seriousness and demonstrated again. By the time we reached Kadıköy, I had managed to feed exactly one seagull, but he clapped like I had just won a prize. That applause from a stranger somehow felt more encouraging than anything I'd heard in months.