Talas runs two worlds side by side — up top, stone mansions and streets that still smell like history; down below, cafés packed with a young, student-heavy crowd. Paragliders drift down off the nearby mountain while you're still deciding where to sit, and that's completely normal here. Abundance of choice is both Talas's blessing and its curse. Before you circle the same street a third time, hand it to chance — roll the dice, and don't argue with the result.