Gobble, gobble

I have to be honest – I have absolutely no idea what to expect from Istanbul. I didn’t spend hours scanning Google and the Borders travel section and, aside from what I learned from an assigned text, have been taught next to nothing about this region. Call it laziness, call it ignorance, call it the stereotypical American cocktail with both ingredients and an arrogance-sprinkled rim. Call it whatever you will, but hear me out before you do.
When people write about cultures other than their own, they rarely do so without unknowingly slanting their truth. This subtle (sometimes not) bias might downplay a wonderful cultural aspect and promote the author’s prejudiced view. Too often I think people take literature and the internet at face value, putting faith into them and accepting other’s opinions as their own truths. They arrive at their destination full of information and looking to only support their favorite facts.
I prefer to submerge myself in a culture, starving for information at first and completely satiated by the end of my trip. With little to nothing in my cup, I have no problem overflowing it with my own experiences, gained knowledge, and gradual insight. It may be just as biased as the works I originally avoided (probably more so). But it will be my bias, and it will come from a place of interest and an open-minded search from my truth, something that can’t be found in a text.
So, I’m off to Turkey. I know a bit about their tumultuous history, have heard it is ever-modernizing and fast becoming a tourist favorite. I picture scarf-wearing women, street markets, and ogling men surrounded by a range from extreme poverty to ornate, beautifully decorated buildings, and historical remnants from a time when this region ruled the world.
I want to know everything about that time. I want to know everything the scarf-wearing elders and their modern daughters. I want to taste the foods and drinks of the decadent culture and I want to experience the religion so different from the overwhelming Christianity of the United States. I want to see past the mystery and rumors that curtain this place and peer into the eyes of the men and women who live day to day like the rest of us.