Thank you, Turkish Air, for delivering me in one well-fed yet not-so-well-rested piece to Turkey.  Even when you’re aboard a nine hour flight, finding a comfy sleeping position proves difficult when you’re the middle seat.  (I was lucky though, in that I was sandwiched between two very pleasant people who were interesting to talk to.  I wasn’t planning on using either of them as a pillow though….)

So here I am, comfortably reclined on my bed, with my pillows, in the lovely Grand Hotel Halic in Istanbul.  I must say, all this traveling and time changing has been ultra confusing for my exhausted mind/body.  Here’s what I know: I left JFK airport on a Turkish Air flight at 4:45pm (EST) and eventually arrived in Istanbul at around 9:00am (Turkey time).  Turkey is a whopping seven hours ahead of EST, so it’s hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that even though it’s 11:11am according to my still unchanged computer clock, I’m about to head down to dinner with the group (who finally all made it here – many of us traveling separately.  Well, all of us minus one, who is still unaccounted for…hm…I’m a bit worried).  11:11am at home during the summer usually implies I’m still snoozing.

Despite my utter exhaustion and desperate longing for a Sleeping Beauty-like slumber, I’m insanely excited to be here – finally. As my Lonely Planet guide informed me, Turkish people are extremely hospitable and are always eager to interact with tourists.  As one of my seatmates on the flight informed me, Turkish people are extremely hospitable and are always eager to interact…but it’s necessary to exert some caution.  Duly noted.  One way in which they display this insatiable need to be ideal hosts is by providing cups of tea to their guests.  I’ve heard it’s not uncommon to be invited into stores and/or homes to enjoy this friendly beverage with well, random Turks.  So far I haven’t experienced this, but we’ll give it time – after all, I’ve been here a total of eight hours.  In those eight hours, however, I have received two hospitable cups of tea. 

One came from Ozcan, our delightful tour guide who picked both me and the other student on my flight up at the airport and brought us to the hotel.  As we waited for our rooms, he had a tray of tea delivered to us, and we passed the time with some tasty apple tea. Mmm.

The next was a bit of a surprise.  I had a cup of tea delivered to my room.  I was roused from my nap by a knock, and opened my door to find a pleasant fellow with another tray of tea.  Ok, thanks, but I’m not the room service type…. He came in and placed the tray on my nightstand. Despite me telling him repeatedly I hadn’t ordered tea (he had a bill, and I was not planning on paying for unwanted tea), he insisted I take it, that I enjoy it.  He told me not to worry about the bill (he didn’t speak much English, but this is what I deduced). Excellent.  I drank my second cup of Turkish tea, and fell back asleep.

Now I’m up – bright eyed, bushy tailed, and ready for my evening’s adventures.  And perhaps some more tea? 

Location: Grand Hotel Halic, Refik Saydam Street 37, Istanbul Turkey