Istanbul is a wonderful city to travel to. It’s so nice for me to be in an international city that is clean, modern, and intellectually progressive. As a world travel destination, Istanbul rocks!
As the first international destination for my wife, it’s nice that it’s both Islamic and Modern and Secular. In short, we love Istanbul. Not much time to write at the moment, but I promise to give travel details in the near future.
It certainly is nice to be in the cradle of civilization. This city has been besieged more than any other in the history of the world. Everyone has wanted it. It’s the only city which lives in two continents, it is literally the only city in the world which is Asian and European by geography. It is ancient, beautiful, modern, and cool.
The original city was on the European side and surrounded by water on three sides. It grew to be the trading center of the world uniting three continents in trade. Europe, Africa, and Asia. Once called Constantinople it was a place that was synonymous with civilization. It still is.
The Haghia Sophia (Aya Sophia) was built in the 6th century by the Christian Roman Emperor Justinian and has been a pilgrimage site ever since. From church to mosques to museum. for nearly a thousand years it was the largest church in the world and then it became one of the world’s great mosques after Mehmet the conqueror took the city.
Our time here is only just beginning but we’ve already walked through thousands of years of history and made some great friends. As I said, this will be short, but I’ll be giving more details in the near future.
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