ISTANBUL
December 14th through January 10th
To set the scene…hit Spotify’s Holiday Classics and mix yourself an…
Aperol Spritz
In a pretty glass add…
3 parts Prosecco
2 parts Aperol
1 part Club Soda
Add ice, a slice of orange. Give it a stir. Drink up!
OK, now you’re ready. Merry Christmas! Read on…
Waiting for The Girls
It’s been a long time coming. All year Scott and I had been planning on having Heather and Summer join us for the Christmas holiday. And all year, and e-v-e-r-y-d-a-y, I’ve had to listen to Scott say, “I miss my girlzzzz!!!” He hadn’t seen Heather since February and it had been over a year since he’d seen Summer. Way too long for this family.
We arrived in Istanbul one week prior to their arrival to settle in and prepare our small but lovely Airbnb for the mega female energy to come. I wondered what celebrating Christmas would be like in a muslim country. Whether there would be any resemblance to our traditional Christmas.
The local grocery store answered our questions and had just what we needed for Christmas decorations — even a wreath for the door. Potted red cyclamen and holly branches completed our home holiday decor.
The girls seemed ready for a chance to get away from all the craziness the States. 2020 will certainly go down in the history books as an extremely traumatic year.
Summer had just completed her fall trimester finals and Heather had been working non-stop at her new job. So under Covid travel restrictions, they braved the critics and their own fears and arrived exhausted and jet-lagged after an eleven-hour direct flight from Chicago.
The Istanbul weather didn’t help ease their arrival. Cool, gloomy and rainy. It took a few days for them to adjust. But none of that dampened the joy we all had in being together.
THOUGHTS FROM HEATHER AND SUMMER
Istanbul, COVID-19 and A Family Reunited
by Heather Ogden
Summer and I spent many 2020 nights reminiscing about and missing our dad. Any year without him would have been difficult, but talk about an unpredictable and scary time. Throughout my entire life, I could picture exactly where he was at almost any given moment: reading an outdoor magazine in our backyard, biking through Griffith Park, commuting to his office, napping in the hammock with Gus, our cat, grilling a new meal and sipping great wine... you get the picture. Now, where was he? I track my dad and Kelly’s locations on ‘Find My Friends’ but it’s not the same. I can’t picture their surroundings, or what they’re eating for dinner, or where they sit to drink their morning coffee.
That’s why meeting somewhere out in the world was a must. It took a lot of mental and physical preparation (Traveling during a global pandemic? Pushback from family members? Masks and goggles? Copious amounts of hand sanitizer? Keeping our distance on a flight?). Turkey was our best option since there was no quarantine and entering the country would be straightforward. Also no Covid test was required (at the time), but Summer and I did a self-quarantined and received three negative Covid tests prior to our departure. We wanted to be safe and sure.
Our flight looked empty when I originally selected our seats. Entering the airport nearly confirmed that belief: deserted check-in areas, short security lines, and mostly-vacant terminals. But as it turned out, our flight was packed. Summer and I ate a large meal before flying and slept the majority of the way in order to avoid lowering our double masks. Luckily before we knew it, we were navigating the giant maze that is Istanbul airport and heading to meet our driver. We were dazed, tired, but mostly just excited to see our dad and Kelly for the first time in a year.
I instantly felt tears in my eyes when I saw them outside the car window, and then, there we were: hugging, laughing, recording, chatting, hugging some more. We spent the first night in our cozy Airbnb, drinking mulled wine, snacking, and catching up. It felt like a long awaited dream.
Traveling through a foreign city during a pandemic was, of course, different from anything I’ve experienced before, but something I’ve learned about travel is to be flexible. We couldn’t see local faces through masks, or chat with an informative bartender, or experience a true Turkish breakfast. Given all that, we made the most of it and were ultimately there to spend time together, no matter how that time was spent. We watched Christmas movies on our laptops in the apartment, went on morning strolls to get coffee and pick up Simit (a Turkish bagel), explored different neighborhoods and small shops, pet many, many street cats, arrived and marveled at mosques, and simply enjoyed each others’ company. We can’t wait to explore the city again one day when the world opens back up.
As I grow more and watch my dad and Kelly travel the world with so few belongings, my concept of “home” has changed. Home used to be a sense of familiarity, bringing comfort and consistency. Years of both anticipated and unanticipated change have shown me that sipping morning coffee with my dad in a foreign land, both of us reading something, is home. Speed walking with Kelly through the narrow and curved Istanbul streets and chatting about life, is home. All four of us sitting on the waterfront, drinking wine, snacking on mezzes, belly-laughing about some joke my dad made, is home. To put it simply, being in Istanbul for 10 days was like finding another home, far away from my current one.
The worst part about saying goodbye as the trip came to a close was that we did not, and still do not, know when we will be together again. All I do know is that part of my home is off traveling the world, and someday, hopefully soon, I’ll find myself sipping early morning coffee next to my dad and Kelly once again.
Istanbul Dreams
By Summer Ogden
The idea of my upcoming Istanbul trip was keeping me afloat for months. In a time that is both very static and very scary, I wanted to see my dad and Kelly, especially since it being over a year since our last reunion.
Aside from my eagerness to see my family, Istanbul is one of those cities I’ve studied for years and always wanted to visit. As an Art History major at UCLA, I have studied the Islamic culture for what feels like forever. The immense history of the buildings alone made me want to visit the city. The one building in particular I was most excited to see, the Hagia Sophia. Seeing it now was important since there had been so much press about its conversion from a museum into a mosque. My fear that the government would remove or destroy the Christian artifacts was unfounded. They only covered them with cloth sheets.
I have also been following a local Istanbul tattoo artist on Instagram for a few years. When I realized I would finally be able to get one of his designs, I was quick to reach out to make an appointment. It was a fun way to commemorate my trip and add to my slowly growing tattoo collection.
Finally, the lack of travel has been one of the hardest things to give up due to COVID. I know it’s something we all miss, but the prospect of finally going to experience a new culture made me even more eager to hop on that 11-hour flight and leave America.
Once Heather and I landed in Istanbul, everything I had hoped for was right in front of me and more. The feeling of seeing my dad for the first time and finally giving him the biggest hug is something that I would daydream and it still makes me want to cry. Hearing Kelly’s sweet laugh in person made my heart warm. Trying all the new foods was exciting even though they didn’t always agree with my stomach (spoiler alert, I’m gluten free now).
Exploring a new city by tram and foot was something I didn’t realize I missed so much. Staying up late, catching up with my dad and window shopping with Kelly as we gossiped felt like no time had passed between our little family. As grand as this new city was, it was the little things that made the trip so special.
Now I’m here, sitting in my cozy apartment in snowy Chicago reminiscing about the whirlwind of a trip that I took two months ago. Although there is no trip to look forward to on the horizon, the sweet memories I made are what bring me comfort. The happy tears I couldn’t stop when seeing my dad and Kelly, the kitty love that I could find at any corner, the way my heart skipped a beat when walking into the grandiose Hagia Sophia, the mouthwatering mezes from the corner store, the way the sun felt during our little wine-filled picnic on the Bosporus… and so many more.
As hard as it was so say goodbye, I just know our next hello will be even more special.
The Same but Different
This trip to Istanbul is different from when Scott and I were here last July. The government had finally gotten serious about Covid, and restrictions were in full force with “locals” under strict curfew beginning on Friday night and ending on Monday morning. Only tourists were allowed to roam the streets during the weekend. But not much was open and the girls didn’t seem to care.
Food and Restaurants
Since most of our favorite restaurants from our last visit were closed, we had to improvise. Street food (döner wraps) for lunch — literally everyday. Chinese take-out for Christmas eve dinner. Indian food. Roasted chickens and pita. Scott and Summer even cooked on Christmas day — a lovely meal of grilled lamb chops, roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli.
We had looked forward to taking the girls to our favorite cocktail bars, and luckily one was open — Geyik — but with a twist (pun intended). They served cocktails in clear plastic Solo cups and asked us not to stand in front of the bar as we drank them. So we did the only thing we knew to do. We walked across the street and sat on the curb.
On one of the better weather days, we caught the ferry over to the Asian side of Istanbul. After walking through mostly deserted streets, we stumbled onto a deli and liquor store and decided to put together a picnic to enjoy at the park along the Bosphorus shore.
We will our backpacks with local wines, mezzes (baba ganoush, garlic cucumber yogurt, marinated vegetables), sandwiches and sweets, and walked to a nearby park along the Bosphorus shore. Everyone was happy. We got to enjoy the nice weather, our delicious meal, the local cats, a great sunset and lots of laughs.
Family Adventures
We took a lot of walks around our neighborhood and dropped into a few little boutiques dotting our neighborhood. We ate more street food. But the highlight was our trip to the Grand Bizarre where we selected our own Christmas gifts — everyone, even Scott, got jewelry from a local artist.
We also dropped by a local vendor’s shop to look at beautiful clothing. While the girls and I modeled beautifully woven Turkish frocks, Scott got called over to a lively backgammon game where the locals were anxious to have “an American” join their group.
Since he hadn’t played in years he was reluctant, but eventually accepted their invitation and ended up beating the local champ with a backgammon. I’ve never seen him so happy and proud.
Galata Towers was also a hit. The moment we reached the top lookout platform, every mosque in town simultaneously started their call to prayer. From all directions, the city sounds vibrated through our bodies.
Last but not least, we squeezed in a photoshoot with our good friend Alpay Erden. This was the best way to capture the look and feel of Istanbul and grab some family photos — something so hard to come by these days.
And then, in a blink of an eye, it was time to say goodbye.
It ‘s never easy to let them go. Tears were shed. Hugs clung too long. We vowed not to wait so long until we see them again.
Just the Two of Us Again
In a split second, the apartment was silent. No more sweet voices. No random hugs. No discussions about where to eat next or who wants coffee.
Scott and I had major empty nest syndrome. We took the next day to sit in the quiet and absorb our thoughts about their trip and to remember the experiences we had shared. We slowly got back into our usual routine, however, with a bit of quiet sadness in our spirit. We felt lucky to have had the time together. Honestly, I don’t know how parents do it.
New Year’s Eve was a welcomed distraction. We celebrated in our oh-so-laid-back-way — just walking the streets after dinner, seeing the city night lights.
And once again, like a recording, I get to hear that familiar sound, “I miss my girlzzz!”
What’s next?
Egypt (and some warmer weather)
