Istanbul: A night at the İnönü

Istanbul: A night at the İnönü

Saturday December 5 2009 sitting in a taxi en-route to Beşiktaş from Şişli, the usual familiar view of traffic mayhem outside the driver confused at why so many cars the cost of fuel rises the traffic increases in this city he moans .I turn to my wife and ask her to put yourself on the other side of the table and think how would you manage the infrastructure, her answer “I wouldn’t want to!” I wouldn’t either .Having just visited the mall at Şişli for the first time to collect our tickets for the Beşiktaş versus CSK Moscow game and now heading off to the market at Beşiktaş ,the driver now taking the back street routes ,passing through the districts and suddenly finding ourselves going vertically down hills well almost .These steep short hills aligned with tall apartment blocks leave a frightening reminder of what could happen again in an event another large earthquake ,I look up without seeing the top has I look to the bottom I have this horrible vision of them crumbling .I can only pray that the day never comes  however the view is a strong reminder in daylight.

Come Tuesday December 8 2009 leaving the house around 7pm picking up Umur on the way we head off straight for the Çarşı area of Besiktas all three of us pondering the night ahead on the bus ride to Besiktas alongside the Bosphorus, for Umur it was his first live match at the Inonu and hopefully not his last .As we get closer to the Çarşı Market area you start to hear the singing and suddenly the pondering is over there is only one possible outcome and that is enjoy. The view of black and white is now so dominant the open bars and café’s full of supporters, singing loudly with passion and joy. I decided just to go and mingle in the mood and I have to say Çarşı or Besiktas supporters are so amazingly friendly, I was expecting a knock back but they welcome you with open arms they really are unique and if I have to say that a thousand times over I will do it is the only way describe them.  But let it be said behind all this passion is a band of followers who are unique in themselves, not afraid to show their feelings on subjects outside football, yet they are not motivated by violence and domination ,stone throwing or wreaking havoc for communities in the streets.

Buried in the heart of Besiktas market we find our new friend Aydin running his fresh produce stall, if you’re not aware of Aydin he was a contestant on the popular Var Misin Yok Musun TV programme. Looking around the market for anything Besiktas for my wife, I come across endless amounts of replica kit for Beşiktaş, scarves, tops, socks, gloves in fact anything that has room for Beşiktaş printed on it you could find it here. Having searched for a decent Beşiktaş top for my wife with no success and we head to the Besiktas Çarşı area and end up buying the real thing, I guess you get what you pay for and she looks cool and proud in her new kit.

Having worked our way around the Çarşı area and got a bunch of group photographs with the fans and pleasingly not one group objected ,standing next to the Kartal in the middle of the market area suddenly our friend Aydin and his wife appear and guess where there going ,yes to the match. All kitted out and his wife is just has passionate about Besiktas as mine. Next 30 minutes we chill out drinking Cay and chatting about Aydins Var Misin Yok Musun experience and he just grows on you, he came away with nothing from the programme but it has not deterred him from anything .Walking along the Dolmabahçe towards the Inonu supporters recognizing his face and frequently you hear Yokum and he takes it on chin .Yokum is the phrase used on the programme when rejecting the bankers offer and I am sure he is used to the banter.

On arrival at the Inonu Stadium it was just heaving in traffic yet a relatively smooth flow going into the stadium and then the melodic noise suddenly hits you, on first appearance the stadium looking half empty but in the next half hour it filled up, the noise became deafening. The fans chanting was in full swing, the sound was moving and again demonstrated this view of passion I had seen before, somehow I live for these moments .CSK fans secluded to the opposite end in a secure section yet there presence was stronger than I had seen from the visiting Manchester United fans back in September. However vocally they had no say in the matter of singing has the Besiktas fans were now in a complete melodic voice. Has the teams line up in the centre circle a huge rolling banner is draped right across the Çarşı section of supporters, this is where I say they (Çarşı) have a reach beyond football, the banner displaying “Sehitler olmez Vatan bolunmez” meaning “Soldiers don’t die Republic of Turkey can’t be separated”. Watching the banner unveil reminded me of those big European matches I used to see on TV when I was a teenager back in England but its meaning was somewhat different.

The match itself far more exciting than the previous game I had seen against Manchester United, both sides playing the open attacking game, Besiktas had a few early opportunities yet suffered a sucker punch close to half time .However the second half just has fast and full of attacking football as the first with Besiktas pulling the score level and then the knockout blow from CSK in the dying minutes of the game. From when I last had seen Besiktas play they have come on leaps and bounds in their style of play and the player Ernst for Besiktas is the role player throughout. Even in defeat these supporters are passionate without the violence ,sure the frustrations are there from the fans but they live for the next game and myself and my wife decided this is how we want spend our free time when we can.  However we will still sit there at home scream and shout at the TV for the games we can’t attend.

The following of Besiktas is really a great experience, whilst football may not be everyone’s favourite sport or topic yet the whole experience is addictive when attending a match at the Inonu Stadium Istanbul. The greatest player of all time Pele is quoted as saying ‘Inonu is one of the most beautiful football grounds in the world’. Even if you are not a fan of football you could just go there find a spot at the top of stadium and sit back and soak up the sound and atmosphere below you .So it leaves the question why change it? I guess age and money dictate the future of its survival. But I even in my short time here will miss it and I will follow the developments of the new stadium with a careful eye. Back in England the old Wembley Stadium had a distinctive sound just like the Inonu so it will remain to be seen if the new stadium maintains that vocal sound and atmosphere and I have a feeling the supporters will maintain that experience wherever they go.

Related posts

• Istanbul:There is something about Besiktas (1)
• Istanbul: It’s 2am (4)
• Istanbul: Aydin a real person (0)
• Istanbul: Six months on (8)
• Istanbul : Four days after the rain came (8)