Welcome back to a special edition of “On the Road” with ROX-TV. Tonight, we have a special broadcast from the other side of the world. We are going to the fabled city of Istanbul to speak with a very dear friend of mine…the forever mysterious Z, who roams the earth in search of experience, good drink, and a dance floor to showcase her lethal and sensual Tango art. People like Z make the world a little brighter, even if the squares can’t figure it out. I check in with Z from time to time, to see how her time on this Earth is going. As always, Z sends back pictures of her world. These images speak to me, through the thousands of miles…the glorious humanity that exists around the world. It is there and waits for anyone willing to get off the fucking couch and take in life’s hidden beauty and wonder. For my American friends who are not as hip as they should be, especially in the realm of the greater World at large…we are off to a place as old as time. That can be hard for my American Humans to grasp, considering our attention span in this country is on par with a fruit fly. That could seem harsh but tell me it’s not true? America sometimes slides into this permanent consumer country, without regard for what came before. In the United States, we don’t care about as much as we should or as often. The World is old. The United States is not. Don’t you want to know what people were getting up to prior to the last three hundred years? Well, it can be fixed with the right set of eyes. It only requires some participation and ownership.

(Author’s Note: Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey. You might know the land as Constantinople or perhaps Byzantium maybe. The city has stood silent watch for 2,500 years…as imperial powers, religions, and humans clashed in the area. The name Byzantium could possibly be linked Byzas, leader of the Greeks from Megara, who captured the lands from Thracian Tribes around 657 BC. The Romans razed the town for some offense and the emperor, Septimius Severus then rebuilt it. In 330 AD, Ruler Constantine called the city New Rome. Coins minted at the time still had Byzantium on them, until it was ordered to be replaced with Constantinopolis. Through the years and dialect changes/evolution…it was changed to Istanbul in 1930 by the Turkey Post Office. Or at least it’s what I can gather in some research. This land is ten shades purple with rich and deep history…so much so that nothing I could do on this medium would do it justice, so for that I apologize. I’d have to write another book and I’m already working on one, so it will have to wait)

So anyways. I got word from the Z that she was hitting the road and I asked if she could capture the essence of things while on her journey. As always, Z was more than happy to share her life with the readers at ROX-TV. So get ready for a brief adventure…tolling out to us from halfway around the world. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give to you…”On the road with Z”…

Istanbul

August 2023

“We planned and made this road trip with my tango partner. Our intention was to dish up a Balkan tour covering several countries; thanks to our talented agent who supposed to be an outermost friend, because we couldn’t get a multi – entrance visa we decided to confine the trip only with Bulgaria since we already had a two-day booking in Sofia”.

“Starting from Istanbul, on the way to Sofia, we found out that there was a milonga (meaning tango night simultaneously all over the world as well as high speed tango) that night at Plovdiv which was a small town on our way; we stopped by around midnight even though quite sweating having driven all day long. The milonga place and humans peopling it were nice yet the place seemed to be paused at around the ancient Soviet regime; like we would witness all along the trip concerning some -especially poor – parts of the country as well as some places we stayed”.

“Leaving the milonga, by the time we got to Sofia it was already about 04 p.m. Everything can’t go that perfect; right..In a country almost nobody speaks English there was a bit of time left when we finally managed to find the right person to get our room key. Thank God we had bought our several 6 packages; we just sat outside waiting the guy watching the sun rising over Bulgaria“.

“The first group of pics are from Sofia. Our next stop was Veliko Tarnovo; a small ancient town; quite touristic yet nice to see. Narrow streets, beautiful view, abandoned bars”.

“Since we were invited to another milonga by the same organizer who became a friend; on our way to Varna, we spent a day this time in Plovdiv“.

“Next stop Varna is by Black Sea; as well as our last stop Burgas. Needless to mention, the air changes completely when some water shows up in the scene. Leaving Plovdiv by the end of the milonga we planned to drive by night in order not only to not pay for another hostel / hotel but also to avoid driving under the burning sun which sucks. A  drive after hours of dancing was so tiring, we had to stop by a truck parking for some sleep. ‘Cuz I can hardly ever sleep I choose to booze; so, it had to be my companion who had driven the rest of the way; well, we all know that life is not fair”.

“Arriving at Varna; all we both needed and wanted was to booze; so we did; in our ugly room where about nothing worked in our huge hotel building left the way it was built dating back at probably 70’s. Next morning the miracle happened and me and my alcoholed blood woke up a thunder; God how good it felt to feel the cold after some time which felt like eternity”.

“Last stop Burgas was a real nice small town again. Was also had our last milonga experience in Bulgaria. The tango people we met there told us to see a place called Sozopol; witnessing the sun setting slowly there; invigorating”…

“End of the story; nine days; two thousand some hundred miles instead of three thousand some miles and one last anecdote concerning our talented agent; we were told to have a twenty something day visa yet it was forgotten to be told that only seven days of stay is accepted during; then it had to be entered back if wished; customs caught it of course on our way back; a thousand leva (Bulgarian money; one leva equaling fifteen Turkish liras) as punishment for two – read it as bribe -. Well, they didn’t even make us pay it sayin “you’ll pay it next time while entering the country” ; surreal enough, we’re done with Bulgaria; was cool yet not worth another time. Time to move on”.

          

                             

 

 

Well, that’s all the time we have for now. I’d like to extend a huge thank you to Z for her time and her pictures. She let us inside her world for a spell and I think that is rad. Real life begins the minute you get off the couch and out into the world. Please do not lose sight of this. The Real World is Outside, right now. Whatever else is left, comes across the screens and phones. DO NOT CONFUSE THE TWO. Life was made to be enjoyed and celebrated. So, what are you going to do today? Surf the net and smoke dope, or make the myths? You know what I want to do.

 

Chase the Sun until it’s the Moon’s turn. Never stop.

 

Signing Off,

Mike Shepard

Editor/Seeker

ROX-TV