Istanbul, Turkey [3]

At exactly 2000 we arrived back at the apartment in Istanbul. The night was so cold, it had started snowing. We rushed in to warm up because I was already shivering from the cold. I watched as Deniz turned on the heater in every corner of the room, made dinner for me, and some apple tea.

I let him serve me like a queen...

Is that selfish? Not really... In my cold condition, I couldn't escape the warmth of the blankets.

Deniz went home briefly to his apartment which is one floor below my apartment and returned twenty minutes later. Deniz's worried face was visible all night long. As a woman from Indonesia, of course, I'm not used to winter weather. When the weather drops to zero degrees Celsius or minus, I will definitely suffer a lot if I'm outside.

Two days I spent locked myself in the apartment, recovering my strength from the long road trip. The winter weather in Istanbul is not good, heavy snow everywhere, covering the roofs of houses, roofs of cars - a view that I saw every time I looked through my apartment window or standing on the balcony.

Deniz forbade me to leave the house during the cold weather, he said it would be very dangerous, and easy to slip, considering the thick frozen snow made the road slippery. Deniz is sometimes too overprotective if I look back, I realized, I never once went out alone, there was always Deniz there since I first arrived in this city.

In addition, Deniz is typically a jealous guy, there are times when several male boutique employees communicated with me, or someone asks me something, Deniz always takes over the conversation. He even shows displeasure when someone stares at me for too long.

Three days before my scheduled departure for Indonesia, Deniz had prepared a ticket and all my return needs including a return ticket to Istanbul, as well as some documents and forms that I had to carry for registering my future marriage to him.

Not forgetting, I sent a message to Natalie about the wedding plans later. Natalie was so hysterical and excited to hear my latest news. Everything about the wedding plans was in order. I couldn't wait to get home but was so scared to miss... I was afraid to miss Deniz.

I sipped Cay tea, on the upper deck of the Bosphorus Cruise which took us exploring the Bosphorus at night. Deniz faithfully beside me while enjoying Hookah. In the next seat, I heard two European travelers having a serious conversation mentioning Saint Petersburg over and over again.

What's wrong with Saint Petersburg?

Nearby, the music of the Sema dance can be heard with the whirling dancers twirling to the music. This type of dance and music was popularized by the famous Sufi figure 'Jalaluddin Rumi' in the 13th century.

The Sema dance was popularized in the city of Konya, Turkey. The city where Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi began his teachings. It was in the city of Konya that the Tariqat Mawlana developed. Jalaluddin Rumi got the name 'Rumi' from this city, which was formerly called 'Rum' or 'Rome'. Jalaluddin Rumi was a poet and a great Sufi of Persian origin. This part I knew well, ever since I was in junior high school I was an admirer of poetry literature, novels, and literary works, more or less I learned all about Rumi.

The dancers continued to rotate to the speed and length of the music piece., The faster the music was the faster they twirled. The longer the music was, the longer they spun. Dance has meaning based on the view that the basic condition of everything in this world is rotating. The Sema procession described the spiritual journey of humans by using reason and love in reaching the 'perfection' of faith, finding the true purpose of life, namely seeking God. This dance requires a strong physique because a dancer might have to spin for hours.

I imagined how sad 'Rumi' was at that time when he lost his spiritual teacher, Rumi was able to twirl around for three days and three nights. As he twirled, it was said that Rumi let go of all his worldly feelings and emotions, and focused on his immense longing and love for the Creator.

The atmosphere is cool and serene, combined with the view of ancient palaces and mansions as the cruise floated past them. Bosphorus Cruise took us to explore the Bosphorus Strait that divided Turkey's parts of Europe and Asia. This thirty-two-kilometer long strait connects the Sea of ​​Marmara and the black sea. There is always a faint sound of music in the background of this city, making all my five senses active.

The air, the smell of the city, and the fog from the water, the smell of the fruit from the burning shisha that is always in every corner of the city, the typical turkey music constantly filled my head, nose, and ears.

As the cruise trip passed the luxurious Dolmabahce palace, the elegant Ortokay mosque with Neo-Baroque architecture, the Rumeli Hisari fortress which stands firmly today, as if to guard the Bosphorus Strait and the Bosphorus bridge that connects the two continents of Asia and Europe, with orange lights stunning myself and others into silence as we sat on the cruise.

"Turkey is awesome," I said with a face full of admiration, I didn't get bored when I looked at the flashing lights of the city.

"How about me? Am I awesome too?" Joked Deniz chuckled.

"Not Really" I teased back. This human sometimes likes to be overconfident with me. Is it because he easily got me?

Hmmm...

Deniz burst out laughing, "I hope Turkey is able to steal your heart, and bring it to me"

"Ah, Deniz, why do you always sound cheap?" I joked with a laugh.

Deniz looked at me straight and sharp, his expression turned serious, his brows furrowed and looked pitiful. "What's the matter?" While turning my gaze towards Deniz. To this day I am still defeated, and I am unable to return a sharp glare. I'm afraid my heart will hollow later. I am a coward, insecure, and nervous.

"I don't want to be left without you," said Deniz hoarsely.

I grabbed Deniz's hand, grabbed it, and leaned closer to Deniz's chair, and whispered. "I'll just go away for a moment, I'll be back. You have to be a cute kid while I'm gone, don't be naughty."

Deniz blushed and looked happy.

Our conversation stopped as Deniz started to talk when we saw a waiter came to interrupt the conversation to change the flavor of shisha and offered to replace the tea that was cold.

A sunny morning in Istanbul was beautiful, especially after the last few cloudy and snowy days. Istanbul looks gloomy and cold, today I will return to Jakarta, and continue my journey to the next city Manado. Deniz was sitting pretty at the dining table when I got up, complete with breakfast, and a neatly wrapped box.

"Morning baby," said Deniz as he rose to his feet, approached, kissing my cheek.

"Morning... Wow... What's this? " I stare at the white box on the table.

"A few souvenirs for you to take home provided that you can only open them when you arrive in Jakarta." Smiling and pulling a chair out for me to sit down.

"Oh okay, a secret box. I will carry out according to instructions, sir." I said a little teasing.

There is a feeling of sadness in the corner of my heart when I see Deniz trying to hide his sadness because I am going home without him. Almost a month together without being separated must be tough for us. I can feel Deniz's sincerity, I hugged Deniz tightly, whispering.

"I'm going to miss the smell of your perfume," I whispered softly.

Deniz was silent and did not reply, there was anxiety in his eyes and was not willing to let me go.

I straightened my seat on the plane that took me away from Istanbul, took a deep breath, stared at the gray clouds that rolled in unison. I didn't forget to leave a WhatsApp message for Deniz before I rested.

[Dear my future husband Deniz, thanks for the laughter we had along the way, for the optimism you gave me every day and for the value of being my besty and finally for eternity a love that has no end.]

🤫🤫🤫