Istanbul

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March 10 - March 14
I had 5 days in Istanbul cleaning the bike, doing the blog and generally catching up with washing clothes etc. I spent one day visiting the sights and taking pictures. It is 45 years since I was last in Istanbul and the city has changed enormously. I visited Santa Sophia and speculated if it could have been different if 1453 had not happened. North Africa, much of the Middle East, Anatolia and Southern Europe went into a cul-de-sac for 400 years. In the five areas: social, cultural, political, technological and economic history stood still for these countries. Would it have been different had Byzantium survived? I don’t think so but Ottoman rule contributed to the long malaise, its frequent use of terrible violence deeply scarred the nations it ruled.

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Photos

Inside Santa Sophia
Reatored wall painting