Becoming a Local

My two month anniversary of living in Istanbul was on March 23rd 2013.
WOAH, two months already.
I've reached the point where I am finally familiar with the geography of Turkey and Istanbul.

People know Istanbul as a big city, but what they don't know is just how large it really is. In my opinion Istanbul is more comparable to the size of a state than the size of a city. I can't imagine a larger city in the world. And you would think that a city of this size must have its parts that don't necessarily resemble that of a city, but no, ALL of Istanbul (at least the bits I know) is built up and filled with hustle and bustle. One rarely feels the urge to leave Istanbul and travel to other parts of Turkey simply because Istanbul is so large and varied on it's own.

Here is Turkey...

               

You see Istanbul nestled on the southern coast of the Black Sea, right there on the Bosphorus River that divides Europe from Asia? That's me!

Now, Istanbul is so large that is divided into many many many smaller Districts.

The University I attend is in Sariyer but off campus we spend most of our time in the districts that make up that central grey area on the map below (no one really leaves this central area because the rest of Istanbul is mostly residential). My favorite districts are Beyoğlu, Şişli, Fatih, and Kadıköy. Beyoğlu has Taksim Square, the clubbing hot spot of Istanbul and what is unofficially known as the city's center. Şişli has the Galata Tower and, in my opinion, the best shopping. Fatih has all of the major tourist attractions that are centered in Sultanahmet, the center of the "Old City." And Kadıköy is the cool town where the ferry lands when you make the trip across the Bosphorus into Asia.



And each district is even further divided into different neighborhoods.
For example, this is a zoomed up image of the Fatih district...



Additionally, the areas of Istanbul have their own socially constructed regional names aside from the official names of the districts...



On top of knowing all the different parts of the city, one must also know the locations of all the different culture/heritage sites. Thankfully most of them are centered around the "New City" (Taksim & Galata area) and the "Old City" (Sultanahmet area) - all of which are technically within walking distance of each other but  it is quite a distance so we ALWAYS use the tram.





And yet there are even smaller divisions within the neighborhoods within the districts within the city within Turkey.
For example, Taksim...

 <<Taksim Square & Taksim Monument.

Sidenote: Istikal Street is the MOST CROWDED place that I have ever experienced ever. Day or night, rain or shine, there are always thousands of people walking around. It reminds me of walking through the hallways of my over-capacity high school in between class periods. Except Istiklal isn't only crowded at certain times, it is crowded ALL the time. 

All the while navigating through Istanbul using the numerous different public transportation methods [Dolmuş, City Bus, Metro, Tram, Ferry]. Each of which has their unique route and time schedule...



   

But my favorite story about getting lost in Istanbul does not take place out on the streets, it is inside the Grand Bazaar whose fully enclosed structure is comparable to the size of a football stadium. There are thousands of shops on the inside, and each shop is not much bigger than the size of my bathroom. The building is not rectangular which makes navigating the alleys and finding the exit rather challenging.

 << Arial view



Maybe now ya'll understand the immensity that is Istanbul?
Because I still haven't figured it all out.