The Bosphorus bridge is the first one that connects Europe to Little Asia. There may be other bridges that span the Donau river and thus connect Europe and true Asia also... And we Anatolian Turks tend to think of us as the only ones who do so... In fact the Huns and Attila whom we should consider as relatives had played their historic role much before than the Ottoman's tried to visit some decent cities of Europe...By the way, I read in a book by Marcel BRION that, against the common belief Attila had gained more victories by negotiations on the table than on the war fields... Funny enough, it was the Romans who 'brought him up' while he stayed in Rome for a couple of years as an exchange guarantee for peace between Romans and Huns... Something to ponder about for my fellow citizens.
Please pay attention to the Mosque on the left... It is built similar to the churches in Venice... Actually, there was a simpler mosque before this one at the same place(built 1751). It was similar to a chucrh in structure... The current one was built in the 1853... It is not known what existed even before the church, as this blessed location would be a very good place for a Dorian temple which keeps its eternal light ablaze for the sea navigation...
I must note that the mosque in the picture, dating from 1853 was built by an Armenian architect from the famous BALYAN family...
To understand Istanbul, one has to take a seat in a caffee on the Bosphorus for long hours and even days and contemplate... One must contemplate at the time, the time... What is now, what is yesterday, what is moving, what is remaining...? What comes from where? What are the boundaries of identities? Are pushing boundaries forth always rational or when are they so? How is it possible to remain a proud one and be a part of universal one?
Sorry, I shut up now... Too much too many too far too short and too ... words.
Please excuse my verbosity.
Ali R+
