I’ve got a four day weekend and I decided last week to go to Istanbul. I’m heading out tomorrow. Packing as we speak.

Why Istanbul? For one because it is only three hours away. Second, I’ve been in and around the Cradle of Civilization for nine months and haven’t seen any of it. Istanbul is the bridge between Europe and Asia. Buildings are centuries old. Cultures flow in and out. Many trade routes run through Istanbul. History – I want to see history. I will be staying towards the center of town in a converted Ottoman house between the Blue Mosque and Sancta Sophia, which I have wanted to see for years. It is a massive structure built in Roman times that went from being a Christian church to a mosque and is now a museum. To be under the dome is said to be spiritually breathtaking. One writer likened Sophia to cathedrals like Notre Dame or Angkor where you feel “a nearness to things unexplained”.

I’ve only had a week to research this so I’m going in pretty blind. But that’s half the fun, right?

Besides – outside of serving alcohol, I read it might rain.(!!!!!) See you when I get back.

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