The extremity of being single

The extremity of being single

Everybody needs some salt and pepper in life. In the quest of this vital dose of adrenalin, some people opt for bungee jumping, others climb rocks, still others visit exotic places.
Well, I particularly do not contend for being an adventurous person… I was just single (for the 2007-2010 time span) and grown up with the books of Mayne Reid, raised in an atmosphere of purity and idealism, for which my grandma contributed a lot. And, of course, I was desperately believing in genuine, all-consuming lifetime love. My motley bunch of experience proved that, although not widely advertised as that, being single could be classified as on of those breath-taking extreme sports.

Single in Istanbul

I am from Bulgaria. Last January (2009) my best friend left for a month-long excursion to India – an item on her list of must-do’s. A few friends and I went to see her off to Istanbul where she had to take a plane to Dubai and then Delhi. We had a nice weekend. On Sunday I was “hooked” by an attractive Turkish guy – Veysi, who was a well-off carpet merchant and the story began. He had a nice smile and polite manners, he was whispering ‘askim’ (the Turkish word for ‘my love/sweetheart’) and kissing my forehead and cheeks so gently as if I were fragile. He was holding me protectively in his arms while we were sitting in an authentic Turkish café and watching the Marmara Sea. I felt safe in his strong embrace, not having to struggle my way, to assert myself as a single woman – at last I have found somebody to open the door for me, hold the chair and help me put on my coat. What else does a strong woman need in order to feel feminine again?
He invited me to come next weekend and said that he would see to my travel and stay and would take care of me, and make sure that I’d have a great time and feel comfortable, would show me around the city. I was dazed, my head swam and said to myself – maybe I could experience a pinch of love in an Orient way. A friend once told me: Orient is Orient – looks and tastes sweet but when you stop playing by their music, you get the bitter side. I got all of it in 3 days and a half.