Travel
Topkapi Palace was home to all the Ottoman sultans for a period of nearly four centuries. What's magnificent about the palace isn't its architecture (though very ornate), It's the view from its grounds. So one snowy day I took a walk around.
The Topkapı Palace gradually lost its importance as the Sultans preferred to spend more time in their new dwellings along the Bosphorus. More about that in a different post.
As I walked the Sultanahmet District, one thing became abundantly clear, the cascading domes and minarets of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (better known as the "Blue Mosque") rule the Istanbul skyline.
It is also known as the Blue Mosque because of the blue tiles used to decorate the walls of its interior.
There are many important structures in Istanbul. But this one – commissioned by emperor Justinian, consecrated as a church in 537. Converted to a mosque by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453. And declared a museum by Atatürk in 1935. It surpasses the rest because of its architecture, history, religious importance and extraordinary beauty.
I'm standing on the Boston University bridge, where The Head Of The Charles Regatta starts. The boats are lining up in the order of their numbers with the Boston skyline at the distance. It’s an exciting moment as the crews begin in their “high strokes.”
Outdoor Christmas decoration. During the daytime and the nighttime.
A chandelier shaped like an upside-down Christmas tree all lit up. Nothing says Christmas like a little Santa cap on your dinner table.
