Awesome
Wow...I'm on a business trip in Istanbul, in a very nice hotel right on the Bosphorus . When we got here yesterday, there were flags EVERYWHERE (and I think the Turkish flag is beautiful, very graphic) and people out and about, and little barbecues happening all along the water's edge. I'm only about .5 mile from the bridge to Asia...where east meets west. It's a beautiful bridge, reminiscent of the Golden Gate.
So I get out of my all-day meetings to discover that today is Turkish National Day, and I'm standing on the terrace watching jillions of people in a parade in the street in front of the hotel. They are carrying Turkish flags and carrying lit candles and singing. I got a little emotional and may have inadvertently pledged allegiance to the Turkish flag.
Then...
The fireworks started. Oh my lordy be, the fireworks. I went to the other side of the hotel and went outside to the waterfront, to watch an AMAZING fireworks display. I was moved nearly to tears. The bridge is covered in lights and the citizens are everywhere with their flags and candles and singing the national song.
Seriously -- how cool is that??
posted by Swizzies at 20:50
4 Comments:
Sounds like lots of fun. It sure sounded like a fun time when I heard it over the phone. Enjoy the festive atmosphere sweety.
BOY
The other serious courting we got when we were considering overseas teaching job offers was to teach in Ankara, and I always wondered what Turkey would have been like - I'm glad you are experiencing such a warm reception!! ( do they have middle of the night calls to prayer? those were tough on my jet-lagged food-poisoned soul traveling in Egypt)
Wow! What a business trip! (My business trips take me to San Antonio and Hartford.) And what a time to be there, what with the national celebration and the jockeying going on regarding Iraqi Kurds. The life of a cosmopolitan . . .
olly olly oxen free!! okay, you can come out of hiding now. unless you are on some fabulous dream vacation away from your computer that you had better blog about when you get back to business.....
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