Wake up refreshed after a good dream about being in Turkey. Or rather the border between Greece and Turkey. In my dream there were valleys and streams, groves and wonderful people. Good omen for upcoming trip.

After checking in my luggage I wait in a customs cue for outbound flights. After I pass, a delegation of customs officers awaits me. A rather young guy starts talking to me and asks me if I carry anything unusual. Thinking this man is a trainee learning the customs trade. I answer: “just a notebook, a toothbrush, some clothes…” He asks me “maybe a stone?” Thinking he meant my cabin luggage I realize what this is about. I tell him this is a stone for a special project for the Trappist monastery. Because of the break lines in the stone he thinks I had cut it open en glued it back together to smuggle something. Luckily he knows the beer brewed by the monastery and after showing him the story and a document issued by the Dutch embassy in Turkey he is convinced. Relief on both sides.

On the flight I am surrounded by winged animals. A Venice hat on my head. Depiction of a winged lion. On the wing of the airplane a Pegasus, the Pegasus Airways logo. A flying start.

Istanbul. The name is said to derive from ‘Eis tin polin’ ancient greek for ‘going to the city’. The city was first called Byzantion, then for a short while Nova Roma, then Constantinopolis, Konstantiniyye. Then I Sten Pol. Which later became Istanbul. Islambul was tried for a while, but did not stick.

Riding the metro I think about the duality of this life. A young man pinches the nose of his wife. The scent of piss in metro systems worldwide. Arrive at my hotel in the old city. Dinner. After a nice shower under a Mercedes logo-ed shower head I fall asleep.

In the middle of the night I wake up to the Fajr prayer. Afterwards the speaker is left on, spreading a buzzing sound. Eerily combined with the sound of seagulls.