Istanbul, Turkey [2]

I have been in Istanbul for a week and I have become facinated by many beautiful things in the city.

Deniz has taken me to various places in Istanbul, where almost have long historys, spoiling history lovers, enthusiasts of Islamic art or architectural design.

The historical remains in Istanbul are in very good condition, and we visited various museums in Istanbul and saw many amazing things there.

The winter atmosphere in Istanbul is romantic to me, with Deniz always happy to accompany me wherever I go.

In fact I'm afraid to interpret the closeness between us, or maybe I'm being too hypocritical to admit it.

The first museum we visited - Hagia Sophia, a museum that became an icon of Istanbul, which was previously a church building and later converted into a mosque until now turned into a Museum. I was told that it will once again become a mosque.

This building has extraordinary beauty, the beautiful ceiling in Hagia Sophia, every detail of Islamic calligraphy and the mosaic historical images of Our Lady carrying baby Jesus, made me close my eyes, praying to give thanks for the opportunity to live and witness its magnificance.

Being here in this place, made me feel like I was entering a Majestic room. Without realizing it I walked while holding Deniz's hand tightly.

We stepped out of the Hagia Sophia, and I released my hand was in Deniz's grasp. Deniz didn't seem to want to let go of my hand just like that, he grabbed my hand back and pulled me closer to him.

We look like a couple, is it really...

ah never mind...

I don't want to think and even hope for much, after all I can't stay more than a month in this country, a limited tourist visa will force me to leave this beautiful country eventually. I have to be able to refrain from getting too closely involved with him, or else I'll be in trouble.

Not so far from the Hagia Sophia, it can be seen in the distance, approximately three minutes walk. There's a very beautiful mosque called the Grand Blue Mosque and we didn't forget to take time to explore Basilica Cistern which is still in the same area as the Hagia Sophia and the Grand Blue Mosque.

Basilica Cistern or in Turkish called Yerebat Sarayi is a giant water storage building for the palace of the king of Byzantium, located under the land of the city of Istanbul.

They call it a sinking palace, because the underground structures and the supporting pillars under the ground are exactly like a palace. It was used as a meeting place by palace officials during Justianus' era, before it was transformed into a water storage facility.

The floor of the Basilica Cistern is always waterlogged and inhabited by carp, the atmosphere inside is so humid, and stuffy. I walked slowly in the dark underground, holding Deniz's hand tightly.

Interestingly, this building was supported by a pillar decorated with carved medusa's head, which is upside down, one of the other pillars. The medusa is looking to the side.

As I know from books and movies, Medusa is from Greek mythology. A female character who is able to turn living things into stone just by looking at her. It's no wonder Basilica Cistern was used as the backdrop for the shooting of the 1963 James Bond film 'From Russia With Love', and featured in the film based on Dan Brown's great novel 'Inferno'.

...

One morning the weather was colder than before. I woke up as usual before 1000, as I didn't want Deniz to find me in a disheveled state still in pajamas.

Deniz showed up at 1000 bringing me roti simit with a glass of pomegranate juice. As usual, my mornings were spent laughing at Deniz's teasing chatter or terrible jokes that he delivered. For me, it was a tremendous improvement for the state of my soul that was fragile and lonely.

I can laugh out loud like when I found insects on the porch, carefree, without fear and worry.

The same thing was repeated, I laughed out loud to find the handsome insect owner of the house I lived in, without worry, fear and trauma.

"I want to take you to Izmir, the city where I grew up." between Deniz's laughter.

"It would be my pleasure if you let me come." I replied quickly.

"What's there?" I added enthusiastically.

"The city of Izmir is located by the waters of the Ege sea, opposite the Greek archipelago, which is famous for its beautiful beaches. It is very beautiful and calm there."

Imagining the beach, gave me a sense of warmth from the water vapor rising to the surface. Will it be like Bali Island in Indonesia? my mind wondered.

"It would be great, if I could travel there," I said between my smiles and laughter.

Deniz laughed seeing me, his smile and his sharp eyes were a sweet collaboration to make his handsome face look even more charming.

Fourteen days I have been in this beautiful city, this means I only have sixteen days left before I get kicked out of Turkey, and Deniz's offer to travel to Izmir is impossible for me to refuse, I want to continue my trip to Capadokya, Pamukalle, Konya and Ankara if time permits.

But, what about Deniz's fate after this?

Deniz is too kind to be heartbroken, he never selfishly pushes his feelings, also highly respects me as a woman.

He never took a chance to flirt with me, and I could see the sincerity in his eyes.

Deniz was too focused on me, I almost stole most of his time.

Deniz worked as an IT person, at an IT company headquartered in New York. Deniz does all his work from home, which is why he has a lot of time to accompany me wherever I wanted to go.

Several times the company asked him to move to the head office in New York, but he rejected their offers, because Deniz's mother had not allowed Deniz to leave before he got married. Before he had moved to study at college in New York.

Maybe his mother wanted to make sure who Deniz would marry, or worried that Deniz would fall in love with a white American woman who was not in accordance with their culture.

Hey... wait.

She realized that half of him is also a foreigner...

What if Deniz's mother would throw her away when she saw me. Instantly I became worried about our trip the next day.

I'm still traumatized by the discrimination that I sometimes feel when in Indonesia, skin color, religious background often triggers differences.

I patted my forehead, to return to reality...

I am not who Deniz wants, I came as a good friend, an Indonesian tourist visiting Turkey. Thats it!

Stop dreaming...

The sound of the whatsap notification from my cellphone brought me out of my daydream. I hurriedly opened and read it.

Ting...

[hello, baby. Have you gone to bed already?]

Deniz had started to call me 'baby' as his affectionate nickname for me.

[No, what's wrong?]

[I just wanted to make sure you were ready for tomorrow's trip. Is there something you need? Let me carry it for you.]

I think I wanted to type a word...

Yes. I wanted his company.

I typed it and deleted it again...

ouch..this why again...

[Yeah..I'm fine, and I don't need anything yet. Thank you.]

Cold.

my whatsapp went silent.

I'm trying to close my sleepy eyes. Tomorrow I have to get up early to go to the Sabihe Gochen Airport, our destination for leaving to Izmir is quite far from the city of Istanbul, about an hour or so away if not hit by traffic.

My mind is full of worries, the result of fantasies and mixed feelings, as well as overexertion.

Will I be with Deniz?

Will Deniz be only a small part in my travel story like a momentary love location in a romance novel that ends in a breakup drama?

Argggh... I'm restless... Not so easy anymore...

🦄🦄🦄