Turkey Part 1: Istanbul

As I sit in my apartment on the last day of my stay in Istanbul,Turkey, I am presented with one of the more difficult challenges of this trip: How to summarize my incredible two month experience in Istanbul in just one blog post? In my past travel writings, I've been lucky in that I always had a travel narrative I could easily follow: where I went, what I did, who I met. What one might call a "plot driven story". This time I saw and did so much and yet it doesn't fall into the perfect chronological narrative of my past writings. Rather than a plot driven story, I think this might be called a "character driven story". Think Tom Hanks in Castaway, not Angels and Demons. While this post can't be all encompassing, I hope to give you at least a  flavor of what my experience in Istanbul was like. To that end, my first post (Turkey Part 1: Istanbul) will describe my time in Istanbul and my second post (Turkey Part 2: Travel) will tell about my travels in and around Turkey!

It all began back in January when I was in the throws of trying to decide what I was going to do for the (gasp) last summer vacation of my life between the first and second year of medical school. I knew that I wanted to do something medically related and hopefully do it somewhere in the Middle East. The Middle East you say, what are you crazy? Isn't it really dangerous over there? Wouldn't Europe be safer and better? My answer to all these questions that I often got was a resounding No. The primary reason for wanting to travel here was that I believe the Middle East is one of the world's most interesting and dynamic areas. From the Arab Spring revolutions to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, it seems as though not a day goes by that something from this region isn't in the news. And yet for all its coverage, it's still one of the least understood regions of the world. From Islam being equated to terrorism, to thinking all countries are the same, misinformation and misunderstanding of the Middle East is rampant in the United States. If my traveling has taught me anything, it's that what we hear and see on the nightly news never quite tells the whole story. For that reason and more, I wanted see for myself just what the Middle East was all about.

The Middle East, with Turkey in the upper left

To that end, through the generous help of Olivia Haesloop, a 4th year medical student at my school, I was accepted to be an intern for a month and a half in the General Surgery department at Amerikan Hastenesi, a small private hospital in Istanbul, Turkey where Olivia had worked 3 years back. It was a perfect fit as I would be able to pursue a budding interest in surgery while visiting the Middle East at the same time. The only downside was that I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into. Both in terms of what I'd be doing in and outside the hospital. Literally the only things I knew for certain was that I would live with the cousin of a Turkish friend of Olivia, and that I was to arrive at 8am on June 25th for my first day at the hospital. Other than that I knew nothing. Not the most concrete of plans, but structure is overrated anyhow.

View from my Istanbul apartment!

Too see all my pictures from Istanbul, Click Here!

So three days after taking my GI final exam (insert poop joke here), I packed my bags and hopped on a plane to Istanbul, Turkey. After a 24 hours trip I arrived at 2:00AM to the warm smile of Sevilay, my apartment mate for the next 2 months. My first few days marked the beginning of a process that would continue right up until my last day in Istanbul: getting to know the people and city of Istanbul. What I found was a city that simultaneously had a cosmopolitan/western vibe to it and a very strong Islamic foundation. A city where you can hear the call to prayer being announced from the mosques one minute, and walk into a bar the next to hear the sultry sounds of Justin Beiber. A place where your just as likely to see someone in a cafe drinking a beer as you are to see a woman wearing a headscarf. Overall this fits with Turkey as whole. While it is an Islamic country, it is fiercely secular and much more westernized than many of its neighbors.

One of Istanbul's many beautiful mosques

In the theme of getting to know Istanbul came starting my internship at Amerikan Hastenesi. Needless to say I was a little excited/anxious. Think back to the first day at your job and the anxiety that came with it, and now imagine that most people there didn't speak English. Trepidation in hand, I showed up at 8AM as instructed and met my mentor, Dr. Senol Carrilli, a general surgeon at the hospital. After a brief introduction, I was taken down to operating room wing where all the surgeries were performed. It soon became very apparent that my internship had absolutely no formal structure nor plan. I was essentially put down in the OR wing and told "Go!". Every day I would arrive in the OR wing and could go into any surgeries I wanted and basically do whatever I wanted.

Amerikan Hastanesi 

While this freedom was nice, in the beginning it was incredibly difficult. I didn't really know what to do, nor did I know any of the doctors or nurses. I would essentially show up, look at the surgery schedule board, and choose the most interesting surgeries. Even trying to introduce myself or get to know the staff was often an exercise in futility due to the language barrier. In the beginning I had to always remind myself to keep being proactive, introduce myself to new doctors/nurses, ask to watch their surgeries, and learn as much as I could. While difficult in the beginning, thanks to this attitude I slowly became acquainted with the wonderful staff of nurses and doctors at the hospital. The more I got to know everyone, the more everyone went out of their way to help me and include me. As I got to know more surgeons they would include me in their surgeries and I got to do and see incredible things. I saw surgeries ranging from a nose job to open heart surgery. I saw the wonder of bringing a new life into the world in a C-section, but also saw the heartbreak of a one day old infant not surviving heart surgery. A somber reminder of just what is at stake in the OR. Not only was the experience interesting medically, but I learned so much about Turkey, the Middle East, and healthcare in general just from talking with everyone at the hospital. To say I learned and grew during my time at the hospital would be quite the understatement, I could not have asked for a better experience.

 Just another day at the office (liver transplant)

Just as my time at the hospital transitioned from one of initial challenge to one of great reward and enjoyment, so did my time outside the hospital. One of the things I love about traveling alone is that it forces me to step outside my comfort zone and meet new people and try new things. Due to this, I met some great Turkish friends and had great experiences during my time in Istanbul. One of the biggest positives for me on this trip was the great group of Turkish friends that I met. Mine, a co-worker at the hospital, really took me under her wing and introduced me to her all her friends who became a Turkish family of sorts for me. From exploring Istanbul with them, to meeting Mine's family, it really made my experience. One of the more memorable experiences was going to a Turkish wedding with Mine and her friends. Upon the first dance of the wedding the groom pulled me on the dance floor to dance with him and the bride! Good thing I always wear my dancing shoes.

 The whole crew

I learned so much from my friends about Turkey, the Middle East, and a whole myriad of other things. But what stuck me the most was not our lively discussions of Middle Eastern politics or their showing me all the amazing sights/food in Istanbul, but rather how they were so nice and graciously took a stranger under their wings. My trip would not have been the same without them, and for that I will be forever grateful.

Mine's family...aka my adopted Turkish family!

Too see all my pictures from Istanbul, Click Here!

As my time in Istanbul draws to a close, I am tempted to try to sum up the experience in one deep, thought provoking line. Unfortunately, I've never had much talent for that so I think I'll just say that my time in Istanbul reaffirmed my long held belief that if you have the right attitude and have the good fortune of being surrounded by great family and friends, you will never been in a short supply of great experiences. Istanbul has been great, and I hope I was able to give you at least a brief taste for what my experiences here was like! 

PS: During my final week in Turkey I did a lot of traveling which will be Part 2 of my Turkey blog post. Destinations include the Syrian Border and Iraq, stay tuned!