Lift your glass:
Your Efes, your kırmızı şarap,
your rakı, your mixed vodka drinks.
To İstanbul:
You truly are the center of the cosmos.
To Turkey:
I’m in love with your ruins.
I want to say some things to my friends before we go.
Like thank you
and
I’ll miss you
and
I’m glad we met.
There’s still more time to make stories.
One month, to be exact,
but I’m feeling sentimental.
So for all the mid-day breakfasts,
late weekday nights at the bar,
and all-nighters to catch the sunrise…
For all the ferry rides to Asia,
unplanned weekend trips,
and Taksim misadventures…
For the birthday cake,
the borrowed books,
the backgammon games…
For study parties,
(productive or not)
over çay or nargile…
For exploring, climbing,
dancing and laughing
across the country…
Şerefe.
I couldn’t have done it without you.
And we’ve got a month left
to do so much more.
