Arrival in Istanbul
Old Stamboul
June 20, 2015
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We boarded our wide-body and jet and flew to the
other side of the world, back in time hundreds of
years, to the 1960s when James Bond skulked around
the mosques in From Russia With Love, to 1453
when Mehmet breached the walls and flooded the old
Christian capital with Islamic warriors, to the 6th
century A.D., when Justinian built one of the greatest
buildings of all time.
For our efforts, we were rewarded with a brilliant,
sunny late afternoon that lit up Hagia Sophia's pink
walls and seemed to sharpe everything on the plaza,
the minarets, the palm trees, the fountains and the domes.
When the sun finally set, we wandered down the hill
to our tourist street and settled in on the cushions
of a tourist cafe, enjoying hearty Turkish fare and
topped off with warm apple tea ... and Emmy's first
cocktail. (Which looked very fun, but which she hated.)
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