Would You Like a Massage or Some Alcohol?

It´s been more or less two months that I moved to Istanbul. I´ve been very busy so I am discovering the city step by step. (Actually Istanbul is so huge that I think even if I had nothing to do, it would take me a lifetime to discover all this incredible organism.)

I live in an area with a lot of banks and markets. If I want to go to a shopping centre, I need to take a bus but except for that, I have everything I need within walking distance.

Last week, I wanted to buy some wine in one of these markets. I entered the biggest one near my home. No alcohol. Ok, I walked in the opposite direction to the second biggest one. No alcohol. Another market. Nothing. Well, no alcohol in any of these markets! How is that even possible?! I move to Istanbul, to a nice neighbourhood that doesn´t seem exactly super conservative and I can´t buy wine anywhere? Wow. In Eskişehir to buy some alcohol was the easiest thing in the world! At last, I remembered I had seen a small tobacco-alcohol shop on the way home, so hallelujah!

Massage. What about the massage? I have really wanted to go for a massage here in Turkey. I even found some special offers on the net. I showed them to my boyfriend. He said it might be ok but I should be careful because these places in Turkey are usually used for prostitution. For what?! As usual, I thought he was exaggerating. One or two days later he wanted to show me some cards distributed in our street. They were business cards inviting people for a massage. The photos on the business cards were quite interesting. Girls in lingerie with their legs wide open. And what was written on them? Something like "if you have doubts, just call us". My only doubt is – how can I be sure that I am going to a real massage place and not to a brothel?