Istanbul was always a place I longed to visit: a country that spans two continents, a fusion of culture – literally where East meets West. … and yeah, the closing scene of Swordfish with Halle Berry speeding along the Bosporus definitely helped to make it look like a glamorous location.
I needed to go there for business, without knowing how long i'd be staying. I'd recently read an article on entrepreneur.com about a dude who travelled around the world staying in air bnb apartments while launching his company. By doing so he found that he saved money and that the added excitement of being in a new city motivated him to work harder. Neither of these sounded like bad things for a new entrepreneur so I thought I would give it a whirl.
I handed in my notice on my Dubai apartment, crammed my processions into my suit case until it was fit to burst, stepped back … and admired the rest of my worldly possessions decidedly not in my case. Balls.
Thank god for Yorkie who allowed my gypsy overspills to reside in her marina apartment. #alwaysgrateful
Leaving drinks. Check.
Made the air plane. Check.
Touch down in Istanbul. Check.
I yank my Longchamp bag from the overhead locker, waltz down the aisle, yell a thank you to the Emirates ladies and ….
Step head first into a snow blizzard.
OMG! What on earth happened here?!?! Who turned off the heat? I am still on the Eastern of the world, why is it so freezing?
Or more accurately, some idiot did not interpret the weather forecast correctly. My Dubai uniform of Havianas, leggings and a strappy top is doing little to shield me from the glacial temperature.
I drag my rain-soaked self through customs and into a cab.
I'm a pretty confident person but nothing shakes me more than not being able to find my way home. Or to my new home. In the rain. With a crazy heavy suitcase.
I eventually find my way. It involved a drop in at a gym to use their wifi, a beef-cake carrying my bags and me looking like a wet spaniel.
I finally locate the flat (well, with a little (fine, lot) of help from the Beefcake) My Air BNB landlady is not there but she assures me her Father will be there to greet me. He does not speak English. At all. It's fine. Our charades skills are on point.
#wave hello #point to bedroom # thumbsup. BOOM.
Sleep time.
My first day in Istanbul
Rise and shine Emma Bear! It's your first day in Istanbul ….
I get up and see my apartment in daylight for the first time. The room next to me is a fully equipped dentist room. This puzzles me. #meh
I glance outside. It's still raining. I realise I am going to have to address my inappropriate selection of clothing. I head to the mall and purchase a ski jacket, real people shoes and three jumpers. They are all grey. I am in mourning for the sunshine.
I decide to take the advice of Miss B, and purchase a ticket for the Big Bus tour to see the sights of Istanbul. The city is much larger than I thought and the landmarks scattered all over - so this bus was an epic idea. I also get a head set with an audio commentary that fills my ears with historical, economical and sociological facts about Istanbul. It is awesome.
I get off and take a cable car up a mountain and order Turkish coffee. It is served in a delightful little cup.
After heading back down the mountain I spend some time taking some selfies; it's important to document that I made it to Istanbul, found a bus and am now dressed for this ridiculous weather. I head back to the bus to finish my tour.
For those of you not in the know, one side of Turkey is in Asia and the other is in Europe. The river separating the two is the Bosporus. When driving across the water over the bridge there is a moment when you aren't officially on any continent. I like this fact. It's the nerdy things I like. The view is utterly spectacular – makes for a great Facebook update too.
Time for business
The next day I am meeting with a potential manufacturer. I've never had a real 9-5 job so business meetings are not a regular occurrence in the life of Haylan Hall. I take my sketches, plans, and a heavily charged Note 3 to make sure the taxi driver gets my ass to the correct place – and on time.
The director speaks English, the pattern cutter does not, so everything I say has to be translated. The novelty wears off after an hour and I'm not sure which person I'm supposed to be looking at when speaking / being spoken to. This leaves me whipping my head to and fro like a Wimbledon spectator. After 4 hours I leave and go on to my next meeting.
Say 'what?'
I end up staying 3 weeks in Istanbul – which is the longest time I've ever spent on my own.
It was exciting, scary and unnerving, all at the same time. Istanbul is not like other capital cities I have experienced.
I would love to say that my time in Istanbul was happy - it was not.
I also did not feel safe walking down the street on my own. In London; cat calls, wolf whistles, and the not so subtle 'up and down gaze' is just an occupational hazard of being a women. But 'accidental' collusions and Turkish lines whispered salaciously at me made me avoid numerous streets and long for my flight home.
I had read on many blogs that the energy in Istanbul has changed greatly after the recent political instability. I wonder what it was like before then.
One thing I was impressed with was the Turkish designs. The material, furniture and jewellery are all exquisite. I spent an afternoon in the Dubai Souk with The Mother and Aunt Liz and nothing sent my heart a flutter. It was the complete opposite in Turkey, I wanted everything. I settled for a beautiful bracelet – I even managed to batter the dude down to 1/3 of the price tag. #GoEmma
I also discovered Grillo: a great restaurant that had strong free wifi, comfy chairs, a great atmosphere and yummy food. I spent most days working from there. If you are in Istanbul I would recommend it paying a visit. Check this pizza out - I swear it's half salad (Honest)
If you are looking for a more social venue then head to Shishly Cafe. The food is delicious freshly cooked, and the owner, Veyis, is a real character full with tips and knowledge about Istanbul.
When none of the factories came back with a favourable deal I started looking elsewhere in the world. It also dawned on me that in the last five days the only people I had spoken with were those serving me coffee, lunch & dinner. I was really freakin' lonely.
Next stop ... London
The Mother moved to Spain 10 years ago and that weekend she was visiting my brother, Jon, in London. I messaged my bro and asked if I could come too. He had just purchased a new flat so I was hopeful he had an Emma-shaped space available. He did. #score
We decided to keep my arrival a secret from The Mother so I packed my bags ready for my flight the next day. I could not wait to get back to London....
I needed to go there for business, without knowing how long i'd be staying. I'd recently read an article on entrepreneur.com about a dude who travelled around the world staying in air bnb apartments while launching his company. By doing so he found that he saved money and that the added excitement of being in a new city motivated him to work harder. Neither of these sounded like bad things for a new entrepreneur so I thought I would give it a whirl.
I handed in my notice on my Dubai apartment, crammed my processions into my suit case until it was fit to burst, stepped back … and admired the rest of my worldly possessions decidedly not in my case. Balls.
Thank god for Yorkie who allowed my gypsy overspills to reside in her marina apartment. #alwaysgrateful
Leaving drinks. Check.
Made the air plane. Check.
Touch down in Istanbul. Check.
I yank my Longchamp bag from the overhead locker, waltz down the aisle, yell a thank you to the Emirates ladies and ….
Step head first into a snow blizzard.
OMG! What on earth happened here?!?! Who turned off the heat? I am still on the Eastern of the world, why is it so freezing?
Or more accurately, some idiot did not interpret the weather forecast correctly. My Dubai uniform of Havianas, leggings and a strappy top is doing little to shield me from the glacial temperature.
I drag my rain-soaked self through customs and into a cab.
I'm a pretty confident person but nothing shakes me more than not being able to find my way home. Or to my new home. In the rain. With a crazy heavy suitcase.
I eventually find my way. It involved a drop in at a gym to use their wifi, a beef-cake carrying my bags and me looking like a wet spaniel.
I finally locate the flat (well, with a little (fine, lot) of help from the Beefcake) My Air BNB landlady is not there but she assures me her Father will be there to greet me. He does not speak English. At all. It's fine. Our charades skills are on point.
#wave hello #point to bedroom # thumbsup. BOOM.
Sleep time.
My first day in Istanbul
Rise and shine Emma Bear! It's your first day in Istanbul ….
I get up and see my apartment in daylight for the first time. The room next to me is a fully equipped dentist room. This puzzles me. #meh
I glance outside. It's still raining. I realise I am going to have to address my inappropriate selection of clothing. I head to the mall and purchase a ski jacket, real people shoes and three jumpers. They are all grey. I am in mourning for the sunshine.
 |
| Emma & The Blue Mosque |
I decide to take the advice of Miss B, and purchase a ticket for the Big Bus tour to see the sights of Istanbul. The city is much larger than I thought and the landmarks scattered all over - so this bus was an epic idea. I also get a head set with an audio commentary that fills my ears with historical, economical and sociological facts about Istanbul. It is awesome.
I get off and take a cable car up a mountain and order Turkish coffee. It is served in a delightful little cup.
 |
| Turkish Coffee |
After heading back down the mountain I spend some time taking some selfies; it's important to document that I made it to Istanbul, found a bus and am now dressed for this ridiculous weather. I head back to the bus to finish my tour.
 |
| #cablecarselfie |
For those of you not in the know, one side of Turkey is in Asia and the other is in Europe. The river separating the two is the Bosporus. When driving across the water over the bridge there is a moment when you aren't officially on any continent. I like this fact. It's the nerdy things I like. The view is utterly spectacular – makes for a great Facebook update too.
 |
| Istanbul Sunset |
Time for business
The next day I am meeting with a potential manufacturer. I've never had a real 9-5 job so business meetings are not a regular occurrence in the life of Haylan Hall. I take my sketches, plans, and a heavily charged Note 3 to make sure the taxi driver gets my ass to the correct place – and on time.
The director speaks English, the pattern cutter does not, so everything I say has to be translated. The novelty wears off after an hour and I'm not sure which person I'm supposed to be looking at when speaking / being spoken to. This leaves me whipping my head to and fro like a Wimbledon spectator. After 4 hours I leave and go on to my next meeting.
Say 'what?'
I end up staying 3 weeks in Istanbul – which is the longest time I've ever spent on my own.
It was exciting, scary and unnerving, all at the same time. Istanbul is not like other capital cities I have experienced.
I would love to say that my time in Istanbul was happy - it was not.
I also did not feel safe walking down the street on my own. In London; cat calls, wolf whistles, and the not so subtle 'up and down gaze' is just an occupational hazard of being a women. But 'accidental' collusions and Turkish lines whispered salaciously at me made me avoid numerous streets and long for my flight home.
I had read on many blogs that the energy in Istanbul has changed greatly after the recent political instability. I wonder what it was like before then.
One thing I was impressed with was the Turkish designs. The material, furniture and jewellery are all exquisite. I spent an afternoon in the Dubai Souk with The Mother and Aunt Liz and nothing sent my heart a flutter. It was the complete opposite in Turkey, I wanted everything. I settled for a beautiful bracelet – I even managed to batter the dude down to 1/3 of the price tag. #GoEmma
I also discovered Grillo: a great restaurant that had strong free wifi, comfy chairs, a great atmosphere and yummy food. I spent most days working from there. If you are in Istanbul I would recommend it paying a visit. Check this pizza out - I swear it's half salad (Honest)
 |
| The pizza with an identity crisis |
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| How all offices should be..... |
 |
| My day at the Shishly Cafe |
When none of the factories came back with a favourable deal I started looking elsewhere in the world. It also dawned on me that in the last five days the only people I had spoken with were those serving me coffee, lunch & dinner. I was really freakin' lonely.
Next stop ... London
The Mother moved to Spain 10 years ago and that weekend she was visiting my brother, Jon, in London. I messaged my bro and asked if I could come too. He had just purchased a new flat so I was hopeful he had an Emma-shaped space available. He did. #score
We decided to keep my arrival a secret from The Mother so I packed my bags ready for my flight the next day. I could not wait to get back to London....
I love istanbul too! I have a nice time in ulus cafe.
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