Istanbul

This city had been the capital of the western world's richest, most sophisticated empires for over 1500 years, first being the Byzantine (Roman) Empire, second being the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire. First, from the deck of the cruise ship we overlooked the old city with its three main religious buildings surrounded by numerous slender minarets, the waterway of Bosphorus separating Europe and Asia spanned by a suspension bridge much like the Golden Gate Bridge. The early morning mist casting over the numerous ships of all sizes belonging to all nations traversing this critical strategic channel, we sense the stunning geographic position of this magnificent city.

We came to see the Hagia Sofia, the 1400 year old cathedral that had been the world's largest enclosed space for over 1000 years, the center of the eastern Christian world. It is amazingly graceful and powerful at the same time, with its uplifted huge dome and a ring of windows casting light into the cavernous space. Next the Topkapi palace showcased the riches of the Turkish Sultans when everyone in the world gave them lavish gifts, huge gemstones, exquisite jewelry. The slender, light-weight muslim and nomadic style of the architecture is in strong contrast with the Byzantine/Roman style. We browsed the archeology museums nearby with great antiquity collections, then headed for Blue Mosque, the stunning tile-lined building almost as large and as grand as Hagia Sophia, with six minarets that made Mecca jealous. The mosque was lit by tens of thousands of lights in a massive chandelier, the marble floors covered with tens of thousands of prayer rugs, and the gleeming blue tiles high on the walls present a vision of infinity. Finally, we visited the grand bazzar, an ancient indoor shopping mall with dozens of streets covered by marble arches and domes, another amazing sight.