the city
I visited Istanbul in 2013. It
was spring and I can remember the smell of the flowers and the warm
temperature.
Istanbul is the most populous city in Turkey and the country’s
economic, cultural and historical centre.
This city,
also known as Constantinople and Byzantium, represents the meeting
place of East
and West across the Bosporus Strait. Here we found
different cultures from Europe and from Asia,
people
with different religions and
cultures
who
live
together.
When
we walked down the city streets we could see both women with typical
black Islamic clothes and European families as in some city of the
Old Country, shops
with Turkish sweets or international food.
During
our tours we visited the most important places such
as
Aya Sofya, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Galata tower and yes
don’t forget the Bosporus cruise, unique in its kind, and
everywhere we got the feeling of the magical atmosphere created by
a millennium
of history.
Finally
I remember our last day. We were
walking with our luggage on the square between Aya Sofya and the Blue
Mosque when we listened to the sound of the muezzins duetting
from their minarets. We had to stop to immortalize the extraordinary
moment in our minds and why not in our hearts.
by Chiara
