Galatasaray vs Bordeaux - 9.12.06

I took a much needed nap and woke up at 5 and got ready for the game. This basically considered of me putting on my newly purchased Galatasaray shirt. The plan was that Matthew from Winnipeg and i would go to the Ali Sami Yen stadium to meet Emily and Suzie from Seattle (they stayed at the Bahaus the first couple of nights i was here) and we would take a Galatasary sponsored shuttle to Atatirk Olympic stadium about 30 minutes away to see the game. Galatasaray typically play at Ali Sami Yen but its considered too small (only 30,000 or so capacity) for a champions league game.

Matthew and i Jumped on a tram outside the blue mosque. The tram went about a mile before coming to a dead stop due to rush hour traffic. Already 20 minutes late we decided to jump in a cab. We were about a minute from the stadium when we came to another dead stop. We decided to get out there and walk the rest of the way. As we got to the stadium we immediately noticed something was wrong. The first hint was the stadium said Beskitas instead of Galatasaray...CRAP...we went to the wrong stadium. that's the equivalent of going to giants game at pac bell but meeting at candlestick to take a shuttle but going to oakland instead. What numpty's we were. Good thing the game didn't start for another 3 hours and 15 minutes. So we jumped in another cab that drove like a bat out of hell and got us close to the stadium but once again dead stop traffic (this becomes a theme). we hoofed it to the stadium and immediately found Emily and Suzie. We got on the shuttle bus relieved that FINALLY we were on our way.

The Bus ride was intense. Every few minutes songs were being sung and everyone was clapping and banging on anything they could touch. Parts of the roof were crumbling on my head but it didn't matter, the atmosphere was amazing. Oddly one of the songs was sung to the same tune as Karma Chameleon by Culture Club. We didn't know the Galatasaray version so we just sung the version we knew. After awhile we noticed that we were barely moving. This lasted for 2 hours. The only time the bus would get into second gear was when we came to an exit on the highway and the bus would pretend to go off the exit so that he could pick up speed and in the last second swerve back on the highway. This always produced huge cheers from the crowd in the bus. We were by far the largest vehicle on the road so we made it back each time but there were some close calls. Remember the ride should have only taken 30 minutes.

Emily, Matt and Suzie on the bus

We were probably the only people on the bus who had no concept where we were in relation to the stadium. We were about moving about .5 miles per hour. We checked the time and to our amazement it was 9:25. We had been on the bus for 2 and a half hours. At this point Matthew inadvertently pushed a button and the door in front of us swung open. Thinking that the driver was letting us all out due to the bus being in stopped traffic, we rushed out and with a couple of others. We looked behind us and realized that 99% of the other passengers had stayed on the bus and the doors had shut...but that's also when we saw the stadium...this futuristic structure on top of a hill in the middle of nowhere. It looked like a convertible spaceship.

From where we were it looked about a kilometer away and the traffic wasn't moving so we decided to follow the increasing number of fans who were running in the direction of the stadium. We broke out in a jog. What we didn't realize was that there isn't a direct path to the stadium. Instead the road twists and turns and dips and rises down a valley and up a hill. As far as we could tell the only entrance into an 80,000 capacity stadium parking lot was on at best a one lane road that would frighten the bravest of mountain goats. Our 1km jaunt and turned into a 3km adventure race. Considering our bus wasn't going to get there in the next decade, this was our best plan. We followed the road for the most part occasionally clambering over rocks and ravines to "cut" the distance. Nothing says workout like jogging up and down a valley in muggy evening weather with a 15lb shoulder bag full of camera equipment and other essentials.

Sweaty and glowing we got to our gates and split up (my section was different then theirs). The atmosphere was electric but because this was an olympic stadium with a track and other necessities for field events, the crowd was a ways away from the pitch. Unfortunately this meant one didn't get the same intense "party/riot" feeling as at the Fenerbache game. I actually was standing in my designated row though my seat was a few away.

Crowd

Crowd

Young fan

Galatasaray Flag

The game itself was kind of boring. the french were super defensive, getting 11 people behind the ball and no one could control the midfield which inevitably leads to sloppy, boring play and it takes a very disciplined team (which galatasaray are not) to score in such conditions. The crowd was constantly screaming, chanting and lighting flares which made things very exciting but as the game plodded on and galatasaray's attacks were either thwarted or they gave it away the crowd grew restless and disinterested. The game ended 0-0 and the fans were disappointed.

Bordeaux keeper saving a Hasan Sas shot

Flares but no swords :(

Finding the others we then tried to figure out the best way to get home. The parking lot was an absolute mess. Istanbul doesn't have the infrastructure to deal with 6 million people and their cars. cars were parked in every direction, there were no traffic controllers and it was free for all. It was the most chaotic thing i have ever seen and i've been in Calcutta, a town of 60 million people, no stop signs and 2 traffic lights. Calcutta seemed like zurich compared to this mess. We finally got a cab (bus was so packed that it sagged) and got home at 1am. Exhausted i went straight to bed.

Tomorrow is my last day. I'm really going to miss it. I've met some fantastic people and i will miss the camaraderie of the bahaus. Off course i will meet more in Serbia and Croatia but as a group we have realized that we are all pretty lucky to have found each other...sniff sniff