City Of The Seven Hills [Istanbul] Travels with D.L. Siluk

I went to Istanbul in l996, when I’ve first seen the city it had a magical Byzantine charm to it, just its name, and its old name, Constantinople, It seems to help bridge the two continents it spans, Asia on one side and Europe on the other. I asked a friend of mine, what was the best place she had ever been to, for visiting: she said Istanbul. I wouldn’t go that far to say that, but I would say it is a grand place to visit, and with incomparable beauty, especially going down the strait that divides this city from Europe and Asia, the only city in the world that does. And it resides on seven hills. I was in the former Byzantine cathedral called Hagia Sofia, on the first hill; I have always told my friends there are two cathedrals in the world I love, and I always go back and forth putting them back into first and second place: Notre Dame, and Hagia Sofia. So on any given day, I may say number one is either one.

Street vendors walk the streets, and there is a busy market place [bazaar]; for the shoppers. The Blue Mosque is also a beautiful site to see, I was in there and it has some monstrous pillars; said to have 20,000-tiles, and it seems to have its presence wherever you go in Istanbul. I asked myself the question: would I go back there again, which I normally do not do, since I cannot afford to see places twice, and feel lucky I can see them the first time. Yes, I’d go back, after seeing everything else. But I doubt it would be as good as the first time. The people are pleasant, and food is good. For some reason Istanbul has stood out all these centuries as a city that has endured, yet maintained it composure, and the spirit of such is alive and well in the city today [or was in 1996].