“He’s my Brother’s Brother”

The one thing that impressed me more than the historical and maginficent sites of Istanbul were the locals. The Turks are so friendly and truly make you feel like an old friend or family.
First, there was the staff at the Hotel Tulip House – the Bed and Breakfast where we stayed. During our down time, we often hung out in the reception area with Ali, Mehmet and Jahan. Jahan is Phd candidate and was always ready to chat about politics or philosophy, Ali loved telling jokes and playing backgammon and Mehmet and Darren developed a quick habit of constantly teasing each other.

By the time I arrived at the Tulip House to meet Darren, Mehmet had already invited us out to a birthday party for his “brother’s brother” on Saturday night. Only the celebration was not for his actual brother but a close friend. After some discussion with our new friends, Darren and I came to the conclusion that the phrase “my brother’s brother” or “my brother” often just means close friend.

Absolutely every local we met was happy to talk with us and help with just about anything we needed. People on the street were quick to help us find our way and a shopkeeper offered us a chat and hot apple tea while we perused his items for sale. The warmth that the locals extended to us was a type of behavior that they also shared amongst themselves. Cab drivers would often stop to ask each other for directions, bring over other cabbies to help translate our English and ask each other make change. They did all this with a quality of familiarity and trust that was deceiving. It took a while to realize that no, some cab driver club did not exist which made them all close friends --- they just naturally treated each other like family.


On Saturday night we met Mehmet and his friend Nee (Turkish for Nile River) at a nearby train station and took the metro to Kumbet Restaurant for the birthday dinner. Upstairs we met the guest of honor whose name escapes me. However, I did learn that he was the 2005 Turkish Arm Wrestling champion AND was a singing contestant on a Turkish show equivalent to American Idol. His (actual) brother beat boxed along with him.

While Darren and I could not participate in most of the conversation which was conducted mainly in Turkish, the dinner guests did their best to explain the discussion, the food, customs, ask us questions and generally include us and put us at ease.

Dinner included mouthwatering Turkish tapas and a main course of fish. I am not normally a fan of fish served in this manner but this dish was incredibly juicy and was pretty wonderful. Our dinner was washed down with Turkish Vodka It tasted a lot like licorice and was mixed with water before being served.

After dinner one of the guests pulled out a Turkish instrument that looked like a skinny guitar and played popular Turkish songs that everyone at our table (and in the room) sang along too.

Then the birthday celebrant, his actual brother and one of his (non) other brothers got up to dance. The performed a traditional dance of the Turks who are from the region closest to the Black Sea:



The whole night was truly a “Turkish Delight.”

Picture One by Jaya Bird: Darren and Mehmet
Picture Two by Jaya Bird: Darren and Ali
Picture Three by Jaya Bird: Nee and Mehmet
Picture Four by Jaya Bird: Turkish Vodka
Picture Five by Jaya Bird: Homsee Fish