Image Source: Pixabay

Istanbul - 2016 Summer

I was in Istanbul with the Scouts. The camp was officially over but we wanted to stay in a hotel in Istanbul to spend a few more days, away from the mountains and trees and the Scout rules, those are our favorite, mind you, but it's good to try different things sometimes, like a touristic trip with all the commodities of one.

That specific day, the plan was to take a tour on a ship in the Bosphore, first thing in the morning. Being me, I naturally decided to do something extra. I called my Syrian/Turkish friend that I met a few years earlier on my previous trip to Istanbul. We met and hanged out, before the scouts-standard "first thing in the morning"! and trust me, that's pretty early in the morning!

When my little fun with that friend ended I wanted to go back to my Scout friends. the Turks were celebrating the fail of the army's attempt to seize power. Public transport was free of charge but overcrowded. The streets were so full of people. Moving from one place to another was not an easy task, even for a Turkish person, more for a tourist!

My friend wanted to make sure I find my way back. We tried the subways first, they were too full of people. We had to half walk - half run to another line of subways that doesn't lead to Taksim Square (where the celebrations are held) to bypass the rush. That worked. But time was creeping away so fast. I took the subway to the closest station to where the ship was waiting. Only one minute was left when I stepped out of the metro. I had to run to get there, for one minute, then two... then the ship was in sight!

What are they doing? They're releasing it, removing the ropes. The ship is slowly moving... away from land, into the Bosphore. It's too late. But I'm running. I can't stop. I'll let them see me. At least they'll know I came "almost in time" and they won't blame me afterward.

Now I'm in the meeting point, the ship is one hundred meters into the Bosphore. My scout friends are all looking at me.

I give them the most dramatic Scout salute I have ever done in my life.

​Gif source​​​: Giphy

I bet it looks exactly like this, just without the kiss.

THE END?

An old man is also standing there, also watching the ship at first, then watching me. He can't speak Arabic nor English, clearly. But he understands the whole situation. He gives the loudest whistle you can ever imagine without your ears bleeding, then a sign to the ship to come back. The ship stops, then starts moving again, backward!

So all I had to do was ask? Really? No need for the drama? HEHE

I climb the ship before it even touches the dock, still in a dramatic mood.

And so begins our trip in the bosphore...