Istanbul, the exuberant
Maria Syed
Istanbul has a unique air about it. Probably the sight of ancient buildings adds up to its grandeur and reminds one of the fact that it has been the seat to several historical empires from Byzantine to Ottoman or probably that the city is stretched over two continents gives it extra oomph. The city is so big that it can take a whole month to explore, so a few days trip to Istanbul will not do. I was fortunate to visit Istanbul recently but was left with the same insatiable feeling, wanting to explore more. Traveling around Istanbul is not without difficulty. Due to huge language barrier, communication is a problem. Nothing is written in English making it difficult to get directions and move around. Except a young lady who helped us at the metro, the rest of the people were not much help not that they did not want to. I guess it also implies the pride Turks take in their language which is not a bad thing. I also came across some Turkish words which were familiar and are used in Urdu such as tecarat, sabun, Kofte, pilau etc. In Turkish language c is used for sound of j, so Haci is actually Haji, and Cevahir is Jewahir. Maybe this tiny lesson will help those who intend to visit Turkey.
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