I stepped off the plane and Istanbul instantly swallowed me up with her loud, pushy, overwhelming beauty.

As I waited to collect my luggage, I heard an announcement asking ‘Terri Wigwam’ to please come to the Information Desk. I elbowed my way through a jarring arrivals experience. Everywhere I looked, swarthy men held up loose-leaf signs and yelled out names. My fellow travelers craned their necks in every direction looking for that one person who would rescue them from the crowd.

I found my stooped over host waving my misspelled name on a wrinkled scrap of paper while he yelled into his cell phone and threw his hands up in disgust.  When he realized he had found me, his eyes twinkled. He motioned for me to stay standing and then repeated his antics until he had rounded up six of us.

I continued to watch him like a hawk. My only familiar face in this city of millions. But he abruptly severed my new attachment when he gestured for me to follow a younger, cell phone yelling, arm-waving version of himself.

This new driver held up signs with everyone’s name but mine. I didn’t know what to do. But twinkly eyes had told me to follow him, so I hoisted my bag onto my shoulder and trailed him as he weaved in and out of the crowd. He occasionally turned back to our group with a distracted look and gestured for us to keep up.

The shouting into his phone ensued when we finally reached the mini bus. I held onto the ‘holy shit’ handle of the seat in front of me while he darted in and out of traffic on the congested freeway and then swung up and down the windy streets of the Sultanahmet district. He somehow managed to smoke, lay on the horn, and drive a stick shift with one hand while he clutched his phone with the other.

He dropped everyone else off and then made his way out of the old town again. My breath quickened. I moved up to the front of the bus to ask about our destination. He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. Then, he haltingly said that he didn’t speak much English. I pointed to the address and name of my apartment in my guidebook. He quickly grabbed his phone, yelled some more, and then turned back to me and said ‘no problem’.

We crawled through gridlock traffic until we could get back on the old town roller coaster. I quickly realized that he kept stopping for directions. He would stop the van and say ‘sorry’ as he got out. Then, he would get back in, turn to me with a smile and say ‘hello’. Our two word exchange lasted for twenty minutes before he finally located the Ekim Apartments and released me to the English speaking manager who awaited me.

After checking into my room, I sat down gingerly on the bed. I felt disoriented, hungry, and overwhelmed. The streets outside my window reverberated with traffic, yelling, and the constant city soundtrack of blaring horns.  I finally ventured far enough to find a supermarket, picked up a few staples, and scurried home to hide out in the safety of my room.

Today I finally had the chance to appreciate the jaw dropping wonder of this dynamic city. At 6am, the call to prayer roused me out of my dreams. It took a moment for me to figure out my location and make sense of the commotion outside. I smiled in wonder at what lay ahead.

The day just got better as I took in the awe inspiring Haghia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. I squeezed in lunch at a charming restaurant before jostling through thousands of people at the Spice Market and the Grand Bazaar. I continue to be on sensory overload, but I am loving it.

Some travelers might complain that the people of Istanbul are hustlers. They do their best to lure you into their restaurants, convince you to buy their products, and try to introduce themselves on the street in order to charge you for a guided tour. But the flip side is that I have handsome Aladdin like men telling me how beautiful I am, asking me who painted my eyes so blue, and inviting me to have dinner with them. I remind myself that they say this to all of the girls, but for now I’m just going to revel in the flattery and make the most of the two days I have left on this amazing adventure.

If you want to see some of the photos from today’s adventures, click the link below:

Istanbul