I left Turkey in January, 2012, after studying abroad for the fall semester and spending most of my time in Ankara (as an exchange student at Bilkent University). The experience was nothing short of magical, while eye-opening, and definitely not without hardships. And without a doubt, I gained beautiful friendships from my time in Ankara.
I left, knowing that I'll be back. I left with the last few pages of my journal filled with reflections on how blessed I've been during my time in Turkey, but that if there was just one thing I wish I could've gotten the chance to do (or do in the future-), it was to explore Istanbul.
A year and a half later, I'm back. To the city that 'held me back' from leaving Turkey for another day, during which I met another beautiful soul from Iraq (she told me later that when she saw me, she prayed that I was in the group going to a hotel nearby), failed to go inside the Hagia Sofia for the second time, enjoyed Arabic chocolate and the rainy views of Istanbul on the tram, shivered in the cold and rainy tour bus ride, and had the most satisfying and warm lentil soup of my life. Oh, Istanbul.
I started to learn its story right after I left in 2012, through my history class that studied (studied, rather than explained, or encompassed) the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire with an animated professor who clearly had a love for the Middle East and Istanbul in particular.
It's almost like we have a relationship- maybe it's that I've been eager and somewhat persistent in getting to know this city, even after I left, or especially after I left. Maybe it's really like I haven't left at all, with my constant correspondence with my Turkish friends and my nostalgia for (I can't say efforts towards, because I didn't get to continue my studies as much as I would've loved to) the language, even in San Diego.
Maybe it's unique that while I haven't visited Korea, my place of birth and the country of my nationality, since college, this is my third time in Turkey. My friends should know that I am a traveler and I am very serious about my wanderlusts. There are numerous other places I would have loved to go.
Instead, I came back.
When others ask, 'Why?', I tell them a story, rather than give an explanation. Not only because I'm naturally more of a storyteller, but it can't really be explained- I can only tell them 'how I got here'. 'How I got here' often lies outside of my expectations, my foresight, and my plans (thus it can't be contained in an explanation or explanations), but I am thankful to be, 'here'.
One of the things that I'll definitely get the chance to do, this time I'm in this fascinating country, is to explore Istanbul: I am staying in the city most of my time in Turkey this summer, being part of a team comprised mostly of film and/or journalism students, that is producing a short documentary in Istanbul. I am truly blessed to have such a unique experience.
And quite happy to be immersed in the beautiful language again, to drink cups after cups of cay, to marvel at its historical buildings and its ethereal landscapes.