It’s not every day that someone asks me a question where the answer sets me aback. A few weeks ago, Barish did just that.

Barish was our tour guide at the Hagia Sofia. He offered these tours during his free time, traveling around the city, helping people discover the joys of Istanbul. We liked him so much that we asked him to accompany us to the cisterns and the Blue Mosque as well.

Tours with Barish weren’t typical museum-style walkthroughs. Instead, they were explorations, voyages of discovery, filled with more folk tales than facts, more story than history. Barish engaged us in theological debate and philosophical discussion; the tour was more about our experiences and our own context than it was about the stuff we’d find on Wikipedia.

Barish wasn’t a typical tour guide because he wasn’t a tour guide — he was a student. He had completed an undergraduate degree in history, a Master’s degree in philosophy, and was now working on his next degree in theology. He spent most of his time in class or in the library.

With his busy schedule, I asked Barish how he managed to find time to give tours of his city. He looked at me as if the answer was obvious:

“I do this because I love new people, I love sharing knowledge, I love Istanbul.”

He continued:

“I do this because I love doing it. Isn’t that why you do what you do?”

My answer set me aback:

“It was.”

(Photo by Claudio.)