When I left Istanbul six months ago to begin the walk, Ufuk Demir was the last person I spoke to before leaving the city I knew for two thousand kilometers of unknowns.
Today I left Istanbul again, this time a different person, but I saw Ufuk again at the bus station. We recognized each other immediately, and in the 10 minutes I had before my bus left, we shared some simit and tea, and couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear.
By the way, since I saw Ufuk in August, he has gotten engaged and has been studying to be an officially-licensed tour guide.