Damian and my Dad just left for home this morning, and we already miss them. However, we had a very nice time while they were here. We did some site seeing, most notably Hagia Sophia, and an all day excursion to Topkapi Palace, in which we had an issue with our camera so we cannot post the pictures. Hagia Sophia remains awe inspiring. The Byzantine/Roman architects/commissioners really knew what they were doing. Sultanahmet and Topkapi Palace are also amazing. Its safe to say that whatever differences the various peoples who've populated this piece of the earth claim, the synthesis of culture in this city is impressive, and the evidence of cultural synthesis for thousands of years is truly inspiring. Istanbul is definitely a city for humanists of all sorts.
However, it only takes a short walk down Istaklal Caddessi in Taksim to notice the very young police officers with very big guns strolling among the crowds of tourists and locals out for a good time, or perhaps a murderous bombing at the U.S. consulate to remind you of the other side of the human experience here. The city is definitely in a lot better shape than, let's say during the Fourth Crusade, but with as much synthesis as I see the disparity between rich and poor, between the fat tourists (myself included) and the Iraqi refugees, and the near daily reminder of the tenuous relationship between the state and democracy when I keep forgetting that the government has blocked the use of youtube because someone posted degrading videos about Ataturk.
Yet, life goes on without youtube, and all in all the city, the food, the history, the sea, and our friends... they are all amazing (much better than anything I've seen on youtube!), and we really love it here. I promise to add some more pictures of the city when I get things worked out with my camera, but for now here's some more pictures of the kids and family that we took at the beginning of last week. As you can see the kids are really getting used to this summer vacationing in the Mediterranean. They'll be in for a rude awakening when we have to explain that we can only afford trips to Oklahoma or Lisbon for the rest of their life.
However, it only takes a short walk down Istaklal Caddessi in Taksim to notice the very young police officers with very big guns strolling among the crowds of tourists and locals out for a good time, or perhaps a murderous bombing at the U.S. consulate to remind you of the other side of the human experience here. The city is definitely in a lot better shape than, let's say during the Fourth Crusade, but with as much synthesis as I see the disparity between rich and poor, between the fat tourists (myself included) and the Iraqi refugees, and the near daily reminder of the tenuous relationship between the state and democracy when I keep forgetting that the government has blocked the use of youtube because someone posted degrading videos about Ataturk.
Yet, life goes on without youtube, and all in all the city, the food, the history, the sea, and our friends... they are all amazing (much better than anything I've seen on youtube!), and we really love it here. I promise to add some more pictures of the city when I get things worked out with my camera, but for now here's some more pictures of the kids and family that we took at the beginning of last week. As you can see the kids are really getting used to this summer vacationing in the Mediterranean. They'll be in for a rude awakening when we have to explain that we can only afford trips to Oklahoma or Lisbon for the rest of their life.
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