A huge part of understanding a culture is immersing yourself into that culture’s environment. Every part of the world has its own unique sound environment, or soundscape, filled with sounds special to that place. Istanbul is no exception. Sounds of the Istanbul ‘nostalgic tram’, a historic tramway that travels across Istanbul, Turkish bagel vendors calling out to customers and selling their baked goods, tea stalls, calls to prayer, car horns, the sea, and so much more make Istanbul sound different than any other part of the world.
Istanbul’s soundscape is notably a mix of the old and new, with pieces of traditional Turkish culture, such as those of the call to prayer or vendors, coming into contact with sounds of modernity such as car horns, smartphone notification sounds, and construction (usually being done to make renovations on many old structures in Istanbul). Istanbul is also notably ‘louder’ than Western European cities, with many of the sounds old and new produced in the city creating an environment with more and louder sounds than those commonly found in Western European settings. I personally find the quiet to be boring, so I certainly do not mind!
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Thank you for sharing; the different soundscapes of cities is something I pay a lot of attention to as an aurally-oriented person. Whenever I'm in a new city, I try to take "audio snapshots" in different areas so that once I go home, I can put on headphones and be transported back to the city. In Solo, Java, the sound of the call to prayer bring sung at several mosques at once, in addition to the food vendors - each of which has a unique call/melody based on what they're selling - creates a very thick sonic tapestry that, at first, was admittedly overwhelming, but I definitely grew to love it :)
Have you seen the documentary Kedi, on cats in Istanbul? If not, I highly recommend, as it gives a great view of the city as well as its many adorable kitties.