A big sorry to all three of my readers. My internet source has left the building. I am not sure when this will go up but we will be staying in chronological order for your reading convenience. Anywho, the goal for my first full day in Istanbul was to attend a Turkish Super Lig game between Besiktas JK and Galatasaray. Both clubs are located in Istanbul and possessed an identical record going into this weeks game. BJK was currently 5th place behind Galatasaray because they did not possess the tie breaker so a win would move them into 4th and send their rivals down to their previous spot.. 4th is kind of a big deal in most leagues because it qualifies you for a number of tournaments both locally and internationally so this game had a lot of implications. Wearing an away teams colors in a game like this results in a severe Turkish beating so I wisely purchased a cap for BJK and did my best to represent their colors.
My good friend Peter had attempted this same feat just 2 weeks before but had a very interesting time in the process. He told me it was a huge hassle to not only get tickets but to remain a spectator in the game. Apparently his section was so crazy during the game that the whole section got ejected. He did not recommend going but this was right up my alley.
I woke up semi early to get to the stadium to try and find a ticket. The stadium is on the same light rail line as my apartment so it was quite easy to get to. This was my first trip north on this particular line and it was a pretty good way to quickly see the city. The train is inches away from the sidewalk so I felt like the flash when he vacations.
I could see the stadium from the station so there was no getting lost this time. Walking up the front stairs I was instantly approached by a short pudgy man. Once we established I was a horrible American I asked him about tickets. I had planned to try my luck at the box office because I didn't want to pay scalper prices. I tried to buy tickets online and the cheapest I could find were 250 TL (about 140$). A markup from 140 didn't seem like my kind of party. But when I asked how much the first price he said was 100 TL. I didn't think twice and accepted.
He walked me around the stadium and after a while pointed at his friend who was standing down the way. We walked by and he extended his hand. With my 100 Lira in mine we shook to exchange the money and he slipped the ticket in my pocket. Very James Bond style (or drug dealer, I prefer the savvy British spy approach). It occurred to me that this could have been the ultimate pick pocket scam. Where I pay them 100 Lira to take my wallet. Fortunately this did not happen, but I may have created a new rip off technique. Again the thing I had been worrying about the most was over before it began. This was too easy.
I quickly analyzed the ticket and saw the sticker price and it was 55TL. I'm not sure where I would have gotten a ticket at that price but I was fine with the 100%ish markup. Especially if it prevented me from having to figure out the ticketing office. Now it was fingers crossed that it was a legitimate ticket. It occurred to me that it would be a funny scam to sell tourists parking passes instead of game tickets so this also worried me.
With ticket in hand I now looked for a place to eat lunch. The area I was in was right alone the water so I took a walk along the dock to try and find a place to eat.
To my surprise there were no restaurants around. I walked a good 2km(yes I'm sticking with the local measure of distance) or so before I came up on a random restaurant and stopped immediately because my stomach was about to eat itself. The menu was in Turkish but I didn't really care at this point. I did my 'order what sounds coolest' trick. The waiter repeated what I had pointed at to make sure that this is in fact what I wanted and I nodded. This other man came out from the back and repeated this process. He knew some English and said it would be around 10 minutes. The cook then yelled out across the tiny restaurant and I once again confirmed this was my order.
I was now getting worried. What could I have ordered that would have warranted such concern? The photo on the wall of an entire grilled eggplant with mushrooms and cucumbers was giving me intimidate terrors. After about 30 minutes of waiting fate approached me.
I can't tell you the name of the dish, but what I can tell you is it pretty much was the Turkish version of an enchilada. It was sections of lamb wrapped with a tortilla like starch intermixed with grilled pieces of tomato with some sort of tomato based sauce and melted cheese on top. It then risotto in place of Mexican rice. To top it all off was a lettuce leaf filled with yogurt sauce. It was pretty damn good and the best meal I had to this point. My ordering karma continues.
After lunch I proceeded to my next destination; Dolmabahce palace. Knowing I would be by the stadium I used my then existent internet to find attractions in the area right before I left for the morning. The only interesting thing I was able to find was Dolmabahce palace and it was right by the station I first got off on.
It was a pretty impressive place. Probably the most extravagant place I have ever been to. The architecture was also very interesting because it was a mix of European and Middle Eastern styles. Before entering the palace we were required to put bags over our shoes like crazy homeless people.
This made for an especially slippery combination when mixed with Turkish rugs. No photos were allowed inside so I have no cool things to show you but I can assure you it was obscenely fancy. I hip shot one photo while inside but it was of these cool arches outside that I thought would look neat through this particular window.
All in all it was pretty neat. I wish I could show you the inside but here are more of the outside shots I captured.
After my time as a Sultan I decided I would go back to the apartment to mentally prepare for the game. Peter had me ready for anything and I needed some time to compose myself. 45 minutes before kickoff I headed out. As I left the palace 3 hours earlier the stadium was already crawling with thousands of fans so I was ready for a big crowd.
It took me a while to figure out which section of the stadium I was to enter at. The stadium is sectioned off so you have to enter from the correct gate. Once inside the first security gate the real fun starts. First the police funnel you into crowded lines section off by metal bars. The game had started when I got to this point so people were sitting on each others shoulders to see into the stadium.
These lines then lead into this big cage. Each line has its own floor to ceiling turnstile. They have you walk into the gate back first. They then take your ticket, scan it, and if it is not a parking pass they force you through by manually turning the turnstile.
As I felt the turnstile give way behind the weight of my back I knew that my ticket passed the legitimacy test. I was in. I tried to ask a few 'officials' where my seats were but no one could help me. One guy gestured at all the visible gates giving the impression that it didn't matter where you sat. He wasn’t kidding. They had not only oversold the stadium but a number of fans had somehow jumped the cages and gotten in. It was beyond what we Westerners would consider capacity. It was sit wherever you physically can.
I pushed my way into a spot along one of the aisles and settled in. The first half was a blur because I couldn’t see much of anything. It was like a game of whack-a-mole trying to position your head so you could see a portion of the action. This was my view for most of the first half.
As halftime arrived the score was tied 0-0. The crowd was getting pretty rowdy and the volume was rising. Mind you this is the stadium and fan base that broke the Gennis World Record for loudest stadium in the world at 132 decibels. At halftime a number of the gentlemen in front of me left to go to the bathroom so I shifted over and had a considerably better view during the second half.
Everything had been pretty tame up to this point but after halftime things got a little crazy. They had increased security on the fences that separated the different sections of the stadium. Think one set every 3 sections or so. I’m not sure what these were for since there were no opposing fans but they seemed to be necessary.
Then fans found a way into the stadium and were jumping this fence and watching from the roof.
Then this group of fans outside the stadium ran to the gate and started throwing lit flares into the crowd. Then the crowd started lighting their own flares.
The fans seemed genially upset about the hooligans outside of the stadium and had a cheer that seemed to show their displeasure towards their behavior. Mind you this is the league where earlier this year male fans were banned from attending matches because of the riot atmosphere. The creme de la creme was when fans started throwing coins, water bottles, and other hard objects at the Galatasaray players any time they were near the sidelines. It looked like they were about to call the game off but some BJK players pleaded with the crowd to stop.
They didn't, but the game went on. It ended in a 0-0 tie but over all was a very entertaining game both off and on the pitch. BJK outplayed Galatasaray but in the end it didn't matter. They remained in 5th place and had to hope for a better outcome next week. The atmosphere outside the stadium was electric even after the tie. It was like a large market with lots of people selling team gear and street food every 10 meters or so (still sticking with metric).
There were also a slew of taxi’s lined up and full of people. The crowd was so massive they were stuck in place. I'm not sure why anyone would have gotten into one of these cabs, they would have been stuck there for hours.
This was not a problem for me because I took the train. Although crowded, it got me home.
All in all I had a really good time. I am glad I avoided most of the problems Peter experienced. It may not have made for as good of a story but at least I got to watch the whole game.
- UPDATE -
I now have internet again although in limited capacity. I figured out another networks password. It is a bit far away however and this is how I have to surf.
Ill be in contact as regularly as I can but its not looking too good at the moment.