During our week in Nicosia, Cyprus I spent some time every day at the university with our host Christos Xenophantos, later joined by Charlie Johnson who came from the US. (Charlie was heading to another venue in Europe but, by prearrangement, overlapped our stay in Nicosia for 4 days.) We stayed in a hotel in the old part of Nicosia, ringed by a still standing old wall and split in two by the "Green Line" that separates Greek Cyprus from Turkish Cyprus. There was much discussion of all this, and we have learned some recent history as a result which I will not repeat here. The Greek part of the old town is somewhat abandoned and a little seedy, with a small "touristic" section. Outside the walls there is a shopping district and a suburban-like district where the University is located. The island has a UN presence and a British military presence. as well as a long history. Mary Jo and I walked around some, and Mary Jo walked around a lot more and on Thursday took a 3-hour walking tour of the old, walled city centre of Nicosia, led by a Greek Cypriot woman. A free tour sponsored by the Tourist Information Center. Of the 10-11 on the tour several were Egyptian 'refugees' who had recently been airlifted to Nicosia by the UN. Among other things she showed us the elementary school she attended as a child and which is now attended by many Georgian children and other foreign nationals. According to her, the city center was abandoned by the Greek Cypriot community when the Turkish Cypriots invaded in 1974. Indeed we saw many closed and shuttered houses and shops. On Friday evening MJ, Charlie, and Bruce passed through the Green Line (passport required) and walked to a pleasant restaurant for dinner.

Our last day, Sunday, Mary Jo and I, with Charlie, took a cab to the shore in Turkish Cyprus. There we saw an old monastery, the house of the British writer Laurence Durrell (Bitter Lemons, Alexandria Quartet), and the harbor at Kyrenia, and had a nice dinner. In the evening I met Christo's parents, and learned that his father had taken English from Durrell while in high school. Monday we left for Florence and occupied our flat. It has a fine location but is not as nice as we had expected. It will do for the 3 weeks we are here, however.

A view from the monastery. This view reminds me of some paintings of our Landrum friend Carol Icard.

Mary Jo and Carlie at the top of the monastery.

View of hills in back of monastery

Former house of Laurence Durrell, with placque on wall.

Our full day in Athens was devoted to the Acropolis and the adjacent Acropolis Museum. From our hotel, located nearby, one walks up through a series of streets to the entrance (free on Sundays), and then walks carefully up stone stairs and slopes, to the top. Just being there was moving; not because one worships the goddess Athena, but because this site represents (to me) in some way the development of rational thought. There are many olive trees surrounding the hill. The crowds at the top were not excessive. All the buildings are being renovated and one cannot get too close, but the pictures may give an idea of the scene. 

The museum is next to the hill and contains artifacts taken from the site. Most impressive is the reconstruction of the frieze of the Parthenon, with plaster casts of the famous Elgin marbles that are now in the British museum. One sees these, and looks out the window at the Parthenon, and realizes that the Greeks would dearly love to have them back. The museum is a statement of this desire. No photographs allowed in the museum. The combined experiences of the day made us think of our friend Marion in Tryon, who would have greatly enjoyed this.

Approach to the Acropolis

Parthenon, showing restoration activity

Erechtheion temple

Erechtheion temple

In front of the Erechtheion temple

View of some construction

View from Acropolis

View from Acropolis

In front of the Parthenon

Athena Nike temple

Olive grove below the Acropolis

After pondering all this, in the evening we went to a rather good restaurant where I had "little marinated fish, good with ouzo", and a glass of ouzo. This ouzo is mixed with water, has an anisette taste, and I think is the same thing as "raki", which we tried in Istanbul. The combination was indeed good. Mary Jo had marinated octopus with a glass of white wine.

Pictures from Istanbul

Wall in Haghia Sophia

Interior of Haghia Sophia, showing panels added when it was a mosque. (Fine calligraphy)

In Haghia Sophia, grave of Venetian Doge who conquered Constantinople when in his 80s, and died there.

Mosaic in Haghia Sophia

Mary Jo pondering a Turkish coffee

Old wooden house on the Bosphorus. Most of them have burned down (see Pamuk's Istanbul).

The Golden Horn meets the Bosphorus, seen from the Eyup Cemetery.

Interior of the Suleymaniye Mosque, with service in the background.

Harem area in Topkapi Palace

Golden Horn, seen from Eyup Cemetery

Here are some impressions of Istanbul, at the end of our stay. They are, naturally, based only on the areas we have visited.

Transportation: We have been on the subway, a tram, underground one-stop subway called the Tunel, an underground one-stop funicular, an old tram going along a major shopping and promenade street, a cable car, and an ordinary bus. These are all charming; where one ride ends another begins, but one must buy another ticket; the terminals are very clean and there is very charming artwork and beautiful tiles on the walls.

The city: It is hard to find a specific address, such as a restaurant or the jazz club, but perseverance plus a close study of google maps helps. It has been rather cold here, especially in the evenings. However, the last day was lovely and we sat outside for lunch.

The bazaars: The Grand Bazaar is indeed very grand. I bought a LARGE scarf made of goat wool that effectively deals with the cold.

The food: lots of lamb, yogurt, pomegranate syrup flavoring, other spices, very interesting mezzes. After the first night we have not had a bad meal. The bread is excellent. Street vendors sell doughnut shaped buns with sesame seeds that are fine. Turkish coffee not so good; tea is fine.

The jazz club: A small venue, a quartet (piano, bass fiddle, sax, drums) the night we were there. Low key, rhythmic, closely coordinated sound.

The hamam: Mary Jo and I both went (separate rooms for women and men). A very large heated stone in the center of the room. Sitting a while, with a towel as loincloth, one sweats more than in, say Singapore, or Landrum in the heat of the summer. Then one lies on the heated stone. A man (in my case), rubs one with a rough cloth, then piles on sudsy soap, rubs again etc., rinses one off with pails of warm or hot water. Then one can sit around and watch others being similarly tortured. One can douse one's self with cooler, or cold, water. Eventually, one leaves and dresses in the private, locked dressing room. Our haman was built in the late 1500s by Sinan, the master Ottoman architect of Istanbul. In contrast with a Swedish sauna there is no "dry heat" room and "moist heat" room, and there is no obligatory cold plunge afterward. Mary Jo's experience was like mine except that she finished with a swim in a very hot pool.

The water: An earlier posting dealt with our Bosphoros cruise. Here I note that in the 1930s, the founder of modern Turkey, Ataturk, swam the Bosphorus, from Europe to Asia, with a group of colleagues. Just like Mao swimming the Yellow River? Maybe our presidents should swim the Potomac, or the Mississippi.

The sights: We visited the Suleymaniye Mosque, built by the afore-mentioned Sinan, and were allowed in during a service. We stayed in the back. Men in front were kneeling, and there was an evocative singing chant; I do not know if it was recorded or live. After a bit, the chanting stopped and the men left, but some people remained praying here or there. Pictures without flash were allowed. Also, went up the Galata tower, built by Genoese in the 1400s. Toured the Topkapi Palace; a large complex of buildings. Jewels and artifacts from the Ottoman era, a large set of rooms for the harem. Went to the Pierre Lotti cafe and cemetery in Eyup, by cable car. There is a fine view of the Golden Horn and many minarets on the horizon. Unfortunately the sky was hazy so the pictures are not good. Then walked down, visited and, somewhat to our annoyance, were shown around the Eyup Mosque complex by an old man who then requested, and received, some money from us. He also did a little Muslim proselytizing.

Our trip from Singapore to Istanbul included a brief stop in Dubai and a clear flight over Bagdad, and near Mosul and Kirkuk, then over snowy mountains of eastern Turkey to Istanbul. We arrived at 6PM (11PM Singapore time) and after a not great meal, went to bed. The next morning, Feb. 11, on the other hand, we had a great breakfast at the hotel, then found our way via subway and tram to the Haghia Sophia church/museum where we spent a fascinating several hours. A massive domed structure, the interior space is massive, old frescos, partly damaged, after the Ottoman capture of Constantinople it became a mosque, then with the birth of the Turkish republic it became a museum. Some indication of the size and mixture of Christian-Muslim history may be suggested by the photos.
Today (Feb. 12), we spent in our neighborhood of Beyoglu, finding our way around and doing a little shopping. We find it rather hard to locate a specific store or restaurant, but perseverance pays off and the search itself is of interest. This neighborhood is a good location for us. We cannot use wifi in our room, but there are 2 computers available in the hotel. Yesterday was the fall of Mubarak, and for a short time western newspapers were not available on line, but this morning they were. Today we came upon a demonstration on the main shopping street, people with signs and speeches, and a group of police watching with guns and shields. I have no specific information about it.
We enjoy Istanbul very much so far. Fascinating city, very interesting food. Tomorrow we plan a boat trip on the Bosphorus, probably taking all day.
　
　
　
 

Preparing to leave Singapore, I muse on our trip so far. One may think of the trip as starting in the "New World", represented by Taipei and Singapore, moving to the Middle East, Istanbul and Cyprus, and ending in "Old Europe", represented by Italy and Ireland. (The NYTimes columnist, Thomas Friedman has in the last weeks made part of our traverse, going from Singapore to Egypt and Jordan.) The sights and conversations with Greg and Lisa in Singapore and Jerry Shih in Taipei, and reading about Tunisia and Egypt, cause one's head to swim with new ideas and dimly aware of the inchoate forces shaping the future. 

It is interesting to see what the kids are learning in their International Chinese American school. Louise, in second grade, is learning her multiplication tables up to nine and working with fractions and decimals. In English, she writes paragraphs and takes dictation. She also takes dictation in Chinese. Nora, in kindergarten, is learning to print her letters (she is working on printing as I write). She can sound out words with regular spelling.

Yesterday, Mary Jo and I took the kids to High Tea at the Raffles Hotel. We printed invitations several days earlier, which they then responded to (orally). They were primed with excitement and we had a great time. They were very well behaved; various High Tea attendees commented on them. The picture does not do justice to the occasion. 

This was the first week of the girls' vacation. They played a lot at home, several times with friends who came for play dates. It is very nice in the morning to listen to Louise and Nora talk and play by themselves. They seem good company to each other. One day Mary Jo and I took them to the Science Museum, which is a very hands on place that amused them much. One of the photos show Nora's disembodied head sticking out of a magician's hat. Another excursion took Mary Jo and I on a walk near the waterfront, where there are remarkable new buildings amidst some of the old. And a third walk took us to the Arab district and a good mezze platter for lunch at the Cafe Le Caire.

This afternoon everyone went to a gathering at the apartment of the Chinese teacher of Louise and Nora. The teacher has worked with Louise more or less every Saturday since she was 2 years old and has become fond of the family. The girls were flower girls at her wedding, not long ago. Now she must move, with her husband, to inner Mongolia where his company will work for several years erecting windmills for electric power generation. Their apartment is a little smaller than Greg and Lisa's but very nice and with nice facilities and shrubbery in the grounds.  

Nora's head, seemingly detached from her body.

Gambling casino, as a large ship atop 3 buildings

Old Fullerton Hotel (former post office) in front of buildings in the financial center

Interior of the Blue Mosque

Exterior of the Blue Mosque, built in the 1960s by the small Muslim community from the Malabar coast, near Goa, India.

Sign in front of an Arab school for girls. Note that iPads are supplied to the students.