seeing the morning once again

my last night and morning in Istanbul had a timeless feeling. i almost didnt go out that night, as i was just about to go to bed after 12, already sleep deprived, and got a txt from Firacos saying him and his friends are at a jazz bar. i made my mind and decided to see what comes of it, jumped into a cab and went to taksim, the central club area. there was a band playing there, not very jazzy though.

we had some drinks with Firacos' friends and then left to another place to sit on the terrace. after 4 the area started to close down and we went walking on the streets. ended up walking down this bigger street and sitting on the steps of some shops, just looking at the city. there were some transvestite hookers trying to get customers from the cars passing by. the other one got one it seemed, and the other was left alone.

she came to sit with us asking if wed mind and that she would be open to any discussion. she spoke no english but firacos was happy to translate. so we exchanged some sentences... she was drunk and really worn out looking unfortunately. her face had loads of make up, more than me on heavier days, and it could be seen she was 40, as she told us. i asked about her childhood and how she came into the profession. very volunteerily, apparently, but her family did not approve and she had no contact to them. theyd be leaving her money when they die though , and she was waiting or that. i asked about the pretty heavy (cutting) scarring on her left arm, and she said it was because when she was 30 she was so horrified of getting old or something. hmm. anyway, after some time we decided to continue the walk and left her. she told Firacos then that it was one of the rare times she had ever felt accepted, as i had touched her arm, when asking about it. this actually touched me emotionally, crystalizing it how her life must be like.

we ended up somewhere eating breakfast. we were the only customers (no wonder, asian toilet that smelled horrible!) and i had something that looked like porridge but was sweet. we continued to walk down the street and see a nice view of the city. the morning hours were really nice and calm.

at the bar;