Istanbul: Best of Both Worlds
When our cruise ship docked in Istanbul for a night, it was a rare opportunity for me to be in this very historic place. Turkey, which is basically between Europe and Asia, has been on the crosswords of world history from ancient times until modern times. Istanbul is basically enjoying the best of both worlds. Even from afar, this mixing of two worlds is very apparent in their architecture. Istanbul is used to be called Byzantium. It is located along the historical Silk Road. It used to be the front lines in the expansion of Christianity in Eurasia. Currently, it is now an Islamic city. The Bosphorus divides the city into the "European side" and the "Asian side". This strait also connects the Black Sea to the Sea or Marmara. After getting off the ship, the first thing I did was to visit the popular Grand Bazaar. It is the world's oldest and largest covered market in the world. It is located within the walled section of Is...