Thursday, September 20, 2012

Back from Istanbul...


Not to delude myself, but in case you noticed my absence there was a reason behind it. We were in Istanbul! I had been wanting to go for a while, and when the opportunity came because of a project the boy is busy with, we made sure I could come along and join him for a few days. Yeah travel, finally, summer vacation! Asia ! The sun !
One of the things that struck me the most is how Istanbul immediately made me think of Mexico city... the traffic, the general friendliness of people, the street food. It is a place so full of history, I remember that ever since junior high school I wanted to see Constantinople, and its cathedral Saint Sophia (once a church, later a mosque, now a museum), which was at some point the center of the Roman Empire.
 But there is really so much to see: the Basilica cistern, an underground water deposit that could hold 80,000 cubic meters of water, with its columns and Medusa's heads (that according to the legend were placed there for protection); the impressive Blue mosque, with its beautiful mosaics all over the ceiling; the labyrinth-like Grand Bazaar , one of the oldest markets in the world, and still an important place of trade for gold, jewellery, spices, leather, textiles... and the exuberant Topkapi palace. I am full of stories and places that I'd like to show you, but for now I leave you with some photos.

6 comments:

  1. Qué lindo! Espero los posts con detalles!

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    1. Pronto, pronto... la próxima semana :) Y si, es precioso, estoy aun procesandolo todo :)

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  2. I had noticed your absence indeed. And Istanbul.. wow.. that's just a gorgeous location. Did you get to spend a lot of time by yourself while your husband was working? I hope you had a good time and were able to pick up a few good sun beams :)

    Completely unrelated: that headscarf is very becoming!

    Also completely unrelated: I recently discovered I work very close to this: http://www.lakma.nl/, a latin-american art museum that hosts mostly private collections. They will soon open an exhibition on contemporary Mexican fashion. Your post on cultural appropriation by Mara Hoffman made me think these people may be interested in your views.

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    1. Oh thanks for noticing :) And yes, it is definitely beautiful (a little bit too crowded, but it adds to the charm I guess). Actually I arrived when Mark had already finished (in the afternoon) and then he took 2 days off, so we were basically together the whole time. Then he stayed 2 days extra to continue with the project.
      Hehe thanks, I had to pick a light apple-green scarf, just had to.
      That museum sounds interesting, will keep an eye on it for the exposition. And yeah, it would be interesting if people read about this Mara Hoffman designer, since I think people do actually recognize the patterns (at least, if on pinterest you google otomi, you will find some boards with the dresses).
      We should do something one of this days... maybe go eat mexican or something?

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  3. Can't wait to hear your stories and compare to my experience there last year! I hope you had a wonderful trip!

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    1. Thanks, it really was nice, a different culture, delicious food, beautiful places. Looks like you guys had a great time in Paris too :)

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