A CASE FOR CLICHéS In Istanbul.docVIP

A CASE FOR CLICHéS In Istanbul Chicken or meat? he asks, waving a carving knife at me casually. Despite the knife, my heart gladdens, as I choose the meat shwarma. Back home the choices are usually vegetarian or meat, so, even if only to my mind, the shwarma man just put chicken in its place. I chuckle to myself as I munch on the shwarma, tasting of fresh tomatoes and char-grilled meat, and walk away from Taksim Square, the heart of Istanbul. I came to Istanbul, as one usually does to any city, looking to avoid the touristy stuff, finding new things to enjoy rather than rush to places everyone else has been to and enjoyed. However, two days later I find the touristy stuff not so touristy, and the clichés immensely satisfying. Why would I do something?different? if the usual is not overcrowded or wrongly hyped? So, I visit all the tourist spots of Istanbul but I do, however, find some quiet corners most people ignore. Take the case of the Arasta Bazaar, living for centuries in the shadow of that giant, the Blue Mosque. Everyone hears of Grand Bazaar and Egyptian Bazaar but I didn?t know of Arasta till I walked in, only to cross over to the mosque. It?s rare to find a bazaar near a tourist spot almost empty but it is, after all, only 11 am. While people queue up for the mosque, I find myself drawn by this little cobbled path lined with designer boutiques, snaking away into the distance. It looks expensive but I find that it?s not. In fact, t-shirts I pick up here turn out to be cheaper than even Egyptian Bazaar, where locals shop. Several middle-aged men sit outside these shops, indulging in the national bad habit, smoking, watching stray tourists with vague interest. No one attempts to draw me to their shop, and when I walk into a silver shop, the old man outside grunts, gets up and says a hello that sounds more like ?oho!?. I am fascinated like a child by all the beautiful things. The whole bazaar is filled with delightful shops with charming names such a