istanbul’s midnight runs and why i hate the weather here
i didn’t plan to run this far but then the pavement got too interesting. not that i’m some kind of marathon nut-i’m not. i just heard that the last person who tried to walk here got lost in a sideways alley. probably. i checked the weather and it’s like…there right now, hope you like that kind of thing. 13 degrees feels like a bad joke from the sky. i swear, the moon’s got a better grip on reality than this city.
the neighbors here are a mystery. some say they’re ghosts, others swear they’re just drunk. i haven’t seen anyone but that guy in the red truck who plays his guitar at 3 a.m. and then vanishes. if you get bored, antok is just a short drive away. or maybe not. i heard that the GPS here is broken. total chaos.
i overheard a drunk guy at a bar say something about the bridge being closed. didn’t make sense. i also heard that the coffee shops here serve the worst espresso. someone told me that. i’m not sure if they’re lying or if they’ve just been sipping from a mug that’s been crying. maybe both.
the pace here is relentless. not like a runner’s pace. just…chaos. i tried to find a trail but ended up in a market where everyone was selling things that looked like they’d been dragged out of a dumpster. but then i saw a cat. a real cat. not a costume. it was judging me. i don’t know if that’s a good thing.
i put up a post on tripadvisor about this place. got one star. the review said, ‘i thought this was a museum.’ which is fair. i didn’t know it was a museum. i also saw a yelp review that claimed the local bakery has the best baklava. i didn’t try it. i’m not that brave.
i found this map because i needed to know if i was dying or just tired.
it shows a bunch of lines that look like a spider’s web. maybe that’s the city. or maybe it’s just my imagination.
i took some photos but they all look like they were taken by a robot.
the cow looked like it was waiting for a bus. i hope it never takes one.
i heard that the best way to avoid the weather is to run. not because it’s good for you, but because you can’t stop thinking about the next step. my legs are killing me. the humidity is 90%. i don’t know how it’s possible. the air feels like it’s trying to suck the soul out of you. i just checked and it’s like…there right now, hope you like that kind of thing.
someone warned me about the street artists. they said they’d spray paint your socks if you looked too long. i didn’t believe it. then i saw a guy with a brush that looked like it was made of tin. he was painting a tree that wasn’t there. maybe it’s a metaphor. or maybe it’s just weird.
i’m not sure if i’ll run again. maybe. the night is getting colder. the temperature min is 12.3 and max is 13.03. that’s like, a range of a single degree. it’s not a range. it’s a swear.
if you’re reading this, you’re either brave or desperate. i don’t know which. either way, the city is still here. probably.
you can find more info on yelp or tripadvisor. or maybe just don’t. i heard that the local advice is unreliable. like the weather. or the neighbors. or the coffee.
i’m gonna go sleep. my body is a wreck. but i’ll probably wake up and run again. because that’s how it goes.
p.s. the unsplash photos are real. i didn’t edit them. they’re just…there. like the weather. like the cow. like the random thoughts.
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- https://votoris.com/post/the-best-public-and-private-schools-in-phoenix-a-marathon-runners-struggle
- https://votoris.com/post/provo-mountains-mormons-and-the-best-coffee-youll-never-find
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- https://votoris.com/post/medea-musings-a-digital-nomads-chaotic-week
- https://votoris.com/post/discovering-dhaka-a-budget-students-guide-to-the-chaos