to her right is Constantine
Ten things to do on a tour of Istanbul
In winter, in Istanbul, peacefully and a little sad, in the fall – multicolored, in the summer – hot, in the spring – fragrant. But good and honestly romantic is always here. In the spring, this strangely sensual city, where Tarkan and Ataturk are in charge, acquires magnificent forms and smells of a timid, but self-worthy girl for extradition. The air mixes warm moisture, virgin freshness, pinkish pollen, aromas of flowering chestnuts, almonds and all kinds of loquat, and the contents of the street vendors’ carts are replaced from gray pistachios to blood-red strawberries and cherries. Continue reading
Turkey. Temples – the pride of Turkey
On the issue of faith and tolerance. Very relevant – in the light of recent shelling and the complete destruction of the statues of the Buddha. “I don’t know a traveler,” wrote IA Bunin, “who did not repent of the Turks because they exposed the temple, deprived it of sculptures, paintings, mosaics …”. And we, who survived the most cruel and destructive 20th century, when thousands of temples were blown up, should thank the Turks for not blowing up, not tearing, not burning. In 1935, when by the order of Turkish President Kemal Ataturk, Hagia Sophia was turned into a museum, the restorers revealed part of the mosaic. Continue reading