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Published: June 21st 2006
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Two sugars and a dream thats how you pronounce thank you in turkish. Or at least that's how it was explaind to me. I know its been nearly three months since I returned from this trip but life has been more busy then I thought it would be a few months ago. So If you don't get all the stories forgive me. When I get to see you I will definitly tell you more as the stories come.
Two sugars..two continients...and a dream... Istanbul.
Amazing that this city which sits on two continents has not been the source of division in a world which seems to highlight how people are so different. In this city the differences add to the beauty of the city while their love of the country and all it has to offer keep them together. Mind you it has been the sight of many battles and fierce challenges to tradition. Istanbul was once Constantinople...as the great song goes, which if I could get it to play in the background I would.
As a city it reminds me of all cities lucky enough to sit on a wide bay. The golden Horn (river mouth which
flows into the bay) and the Bosphorus (the bay between the Black sea and the Med, was only a few years ago so dirty that noone could even fish in it. However now The waters are so blue, that dolphins and jelly fish greeted us as we took a short ferry ride up the bay. Being able to smell the sea air and the fresh breezes that would greet us even as we wandered through narrow streets, avoiding eye contact with any of the vendors so as not to get heckled into buying anything, reminded me of San Francisco. Most of the prominent palaces, mosques and fortresses are built to take in the full expanse of the view (mostly for security reasons though now it is a lucky piece of real estate).
The old city, where our hotel was, occupied the peninsula which jutted furthest out into the bosphrus. Its small hill crowded with minarets, domes, market stalls, bath houses and tourist hot spots. By the dress of the residents it was the most conservative area of Istanbul. Once we headed over to the modern city area, the women were much more free, and capitalism rang through the wide
streets. It is in Istanbul where you can see a women in a full black purda (head to tow covering with only the eyes showing) standing next to a women in Prada. Amazing.
Visiting the mosques the blue mosque (The sultan Ahmed Mosque) and the Hagia Sofia was so jaring, because I had studied them for so long and seen so many pictures of them that at times I still have a hard time believing that I actually stood on their carpets and peered up to their very highest dome. The Quranic wirtings in blue circling my vision, the lamps supended in time coming from heaven or ascending towards it, all seem to swirl in my memory of these places where so many prayers have been heard. The plush carpet under foot, a reminder keeping my soul grounded, much like the camera strap hanging heavy on my neck.
The Hagia Sofia, much like the city suspended between two religions. Built as a church, the building was never quite secure because the dome was so heavy that it collapsed several times. When it was finally secure it had also been converted into a mosque. when Turkish Independence occured the
building was to be converted into a museum. The huge green discs (Which name Muhammad and the first four claiphs) were to be removed, however once they were at the door of the mosque it became apparent that they were too large to roll through the doors, so they were replaced into their positions. the balance between the christian and Muslim art decorating the building is quite contreversial, just a quick read on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia and you can see how Some have even gone so far as to demand the full return of the christian art before Turkey is allowed into the EU. However doing so would destroy Muslim art. However difficult the debate, it is much better to have this discussion then to simply destory the either, without regard as has been done.
This entry is already so long. So I will just put up the pictures and add comments. There is always so much to say, so be sure you will hear more stories when we meet.
One last observation tastes and scents. Honey, Honey followed us in Turkey as well as in Greece. Baklava here was made with pistachios. In fact almost every dessert was
made with pistachios. sesame seeds, which covered the pretzel like snacks you could buy on the street. Apple tea! Oh my god! Apple tea everywhere. If you seem like you will spedn some time at a merchants, in split second there in your hand will be a glass of hot apple tea. And it is so good, especially if you get the real apple tea, not the dissolvable kind. In the spice market the scents of cinammon, saffron, and pistachio. And of course the sea.
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Dana
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Oh, you take such amazing pictures - looks like you are having so much fun. We miss you here on the West Coast. Good luck with your thesis! XXX - Dana!