by Laura Sherman

Created on: July 02, 2009

One day I will return to that exotic city, Istanbul. Now that was an adventure from my pre-children era, when I could just pick up and leave the country for a month.

Some good friends decided to visit a few rug wholesalers in Turkey and I asked to tag along. My justification for such extravagance was that I hoped to find investors for our latest film project, a Shakespearean feature we were shooting on a shoe-string budget. But I digress...

I remember realizing right from the beginning that life was a little different here. Coming from such a modern world, I immediately fell in love with the ancient feel of Istanbul. The mosques were so peaceful, so serene. The Blue Mosque was my favorite. I visited it almost every day just to absorb the spiritual hush of the place.

I had to adjust to the five call-to-prayers which sounded through the city throughout the day. I was quite startled when the first one woke me up at five in the morning.

Now, normally I would have clobbered anyone who had woken me up that early, but I found the voice to be beautiful and soothing. I learned later that the devout Moslems all got up at that time, did a cleansing ritual, prayed and then usually returned to bed.

As I explored the city I found the people of Turkey to be very generous and hospitable. I honestly wasn't sure how an American woman would be received. I was nervous, having heard rumors of untoward behavior, but I soon discovered those rumors were false. At least for me. The people were fascinated by me and honestly wanted to talk to me, practice their English and learn more about America.

Whenever I entered a shop to purchase anything, I was immediately offered apple tea. It is a tradition. You sit with the owner and drink tea, thus bonding and becoming a friend for life - regardless if you purchase anything. There was no high pressure sales pitch, but good honest conversation and interest in friendship.

One thing I had to get used to was that you must bargain for anything when you are in Turkey. It was completely expected and those who didn't bargain weren't quite as respected in the end. There was a flair of drama to the whole exchange and the brave shoppers would always threaten to leave the store if the price wasn't brought down to a satisfactory amount. It surprised me that the store owners never took offense.

I joked with my friends that coming back to America might be confusing. Imagine walking a store in the mall and saying, "I see this shirt is priced at $25. I'll give you $5 and not a penny more! Take it or I'll leave the store!" I can just imagine the blank stare that the teenaged salesgirl would give.

So in the end did I find my big investor? No. But then again that wasn't really the point - it was just my justification for a grand adventure.

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