Choose your favorite cliché and it may well fit past or present Istanbul. A list of the obvious includes: where Europe meets Asia, melding of the modern and ancient, where history meets natural beauty, a potpourri of previous empires, a quilt of cultures, a mosaic of world religions or simply paradise. These and many more aptly describe Istanbul.
Every step of my run through the “newer” section of the city embodied a pendulum of images. I fixated on the concept as I carefully watched the montage underfoot. One minute I ran over cobblestones, another bricks, then pavement, on to a patchwork of cement, marble, uneven and broken sidewalks and on occasions masterfully crafted Islamic tiles. The roadways carried the memories and scars of the incredible stories that breathed and continue to pump life into the long-venerated city.
Fallen and detached, yet still impressive, capitals and columns decorate the city streets. They continue to hold much of their stateliness from antiquity. Thin walls separate trendy modern businesses from those of years gone by, as well as government buildings, mosques, museums, homes and a small cemetery. Every edifice stands witness of centuries of greatness, surrounded by ever-progressive new construction, on ground that humans marked as hallowed before we marked time.
I turned off the main thoroughfare and followed a pedestrian path along the Bosphorous Straight. More ships than I could count queued there, waiting to pass. Over thousands of years this intercontinental water passage has welcomed trade vessels and fed tourists and the Turkish people, as it did the nomads who camped here many years ago. They prepared the way for an untold number to do the same, until the end of time.
I felt as though my run had been an experiential history lesson. I ran back on the opposite side of the road and saw more than I did before. What a magnificent place, that is Istanbul!
Tom
Other Blogs related to the Turkey Trip
Pre-travel Transcontinental Turkey
Day 1 Off and Running
Day 2 Lost in Translation
Day 3 Holy Run
Day 4 No Run Zone
Day 5 Late out of the gate
Day 6 Influential Istanbul
Day 7 Last Run
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