From Ojai, evan puts us in touch with Kelly in Istanbul. She is American, in Turkey for the last six years, which began as a period of time with her aging grandmother. We meet her and family friend Paul at Konak Cafe in Galata, another terrace with another amazing view – this time south to the Golden Horn and west …
Entering the New Mosque of Istanbul
We duck down to the right of the Galata Bridge, into the fish market. It’s loud, smelly and wet. I’m not sure what you were expecting – it is a fish market. We double back and at the entrance is a street vendor selling fish sandwiches. Our Aussie neighbors raved. We get one to go, walk onto the bridge with …
The Seven Hills of Istanbul
The seven hills of Istanbul are topped by seven mosques, a mystical Eastern parallel to the seven hills of Rome. From the Galata Bridge, spanning the Golden Horn as it empties into the Bosphorus strait from the west, one can see six of the hills, a stunning, ancient skyline. Across the strait lies Asia, the eastern bookend to the only …