It may be the Turkish Soaps I had been watching on YouTube or television but the sound of the Turkish language fascinated me and so I was excited to hear the other sounds of Istanbul. A lot of words in the Turkish Language are the same as in Persian, and Urdu is 1 part Persian, I heard hard to find words that was able to comprehend when listening to the Turkish speak and find similarities between Urdu and Turkish.
So, speaking of the sounds of Istanbul, the first sound I heard was the Turkish Language, during the flight. Of course, this sound came without the subtitles and I was unable to understand it, but, I’ll have to admit I love the sound of the language. I also have an interest in learning the language but I’m not sure I’ll get there.
The next sound on my list is the sound of boats on the Golden Horn. The Golden Horn is a place with a variety of activities happening and because of that it is one of the noisiest places. There are people walking along the pier, tourists, visitors, people taking the ferry, and people crossing the place. The ferries carrying passengers across the Golden Horn or the Bosphorus. Seagulls flying over, men fishing, people selling things along the shore. But if you separate all these sounds the loudest background sound you’ll hear are the boats that are either docking in or sailing out, boats honking. It is the one sound there that holds and completes the whole scene together.
Another noisy place is the bazaars, whether you are in Spice Bazar or the Grand Bazar, you’ll be called out directing you to buy things from a certain shop. You will be offered free samples to try and then lured into purchasing. You’ll hear random Turkish music coming out of shops. You’ll hear people bargain and haggle for purchases. You’ll hear people yelling orders out. The bazaars are generally a hub of noise and activity.
While on the streets another sound that you’ll hear often and recognize is the sound of the Metro or the trams, you will soon recognize it enough to get out of the way. It’s amazing to see the discipline of the traffic as well as the pedestrians stopping and making way for the Metro or the Trams. Within the metro people are silent. Regardless of what hour they are traveling at, it is just common to see everyone keep to themselves and the most anyone will say is a word or a phrase if necessary. It is a perfect ride to read in peace or just enjoy viewing. Something that I did very regularly on the metro.
If you are traveling to, or have already been to Istanbul do share your observation about the sounds that fascinated you in the city. Sounds are not the only thing attractive about Istanbul, there is so much else, like the sights and flavors and you can read more about what I think of them by clicking on the links.
