Istanbul Trip (in a series of statements - photos without commentary follow)

-I traveled to Istanbul for a three-day orientation session.
-I discovered that airport security is not so crazy in Izmir and Istanbul as it is in the US.
-The flight to Istanbul was less than the time it takes for me to fly to Chicago from Minneapolis.
-The Taksim neighborhood on the European side of Istanbul looks very much like any other old European city (with the addition of mosques here and there).
-I discovered our hotel was close to the Pera Palace Hotel.
-Agatha Christie used to stay at the Pera Palace Hotel when she took the Orient Express.
-Pera Palace is an old school 19th century hotel with lots of marble.
-The Pera Palace is closed for renovations and restoration.
-I do not know what the lobby looks like except in pictures.
-Cats are as plentiful in Istanbul as they are in Izmir.
-People stay up late here.
-Orientation can be tiring if you are still struggling to get used to a new time schedule.
-I was not taught enough in history class about neither Constantine nor the Ottoman Empire.
-I learned a song in Turkish.
-For the most part I have Turkish pronunciation down pat.
-I need to build up a lexicon of useful words and phrases.
-The Hagia Sophia is one of the most fascinating places I've ever seen.
-The Hagia Sophia contains iconography architectural elements and calligraphy from both the Christian and Muslim religions.
-The Hagia Sophia must have been AMAZING when it was first completed and was covered in mosaic tiles.
-Mosques get their domed look from the Hagia Sophia.
-The dome of the Hagia Sophia was actually a part of the Christian-era architecture of the church.
-I kept singing Hagia Sophia to the tune of "Hava Nagila" but only in my head.
-The food here is making me put on weight again.
-There are about 50 cisterns under Istanbul.
-I toured the largest.
-These were made during the Christian era.
-The pillars used to support these structures were taken from Greek and Roman temples and are quite exquisite.
-Two carvings of the head of Medusa help prop up two pillars.
-Neither head is facing the right way.
-Jackie Chan filmed part of a film in this cistern.
-The Bosphorus is beautiful. The 4 hour cruise I took was excellent.
-I want to go back to Istanbul soon.
-I have a picture of the Blue Mosque below.
-I did not get to see the inside of the Blue Mosque.
-The pictures below are in no particular order.

Foggy Morning

I love living in St. Paul. I love living across the street from the cathedral. And I really love foggy mornings. As I walked outside one morning on my way to work a little over a week ago, I was so pleased that it was foggy that, in spite of the fact that I was running late for work, I stopped and took some pictures. The cathedral was just barely visible and odd other things stood out - like the bus shelter in the foreground. I loved the fact that in this picture you could see that beyond the cloud bank, the sky was clear blue.

The tree in this photo really intigued me and I liked how it looked in front of the cathedral. Side note: The thing I'm finding awkward about this wrap around text is that if you do not have enough to talk about, there's just a lot of weird dead space, so I'll just say here that I am hanging out in St. Paul writing this post instead of writing a website on personal injury. I think they should pay me to blog instead - I'd have a much better time of it.

Here is the same amazing tree in sepia. When I saw the tree in the fog, I could have stood there for hours - it was that beautiful. It has such a nice spread and such great branches. I've seen this tree dozens of times on walks and as I've entered or exited from my apartment, but I think this is the best it's looked to me. Well done, tree! I have a bit more space here, so I can also say that I like how sinister the tree is looking in this picture. It is as if there were some dark history behind the tree's presence on that hill.

Well, here it is in a color picture looking less sinister, but still with that great swooping branch. So, yeah, uh, I'm running out of commentary here cuz it's essentially the same tree I just showed in the last two pictures. Let's see...why don't you take a moment here to choose which of the three tree pictures is your favorite. If you asked me, I'd have to say it's one of the last two - they capture the shape of the tree nicely, but it is entirely up to you to choose your favorite.

Here's another semi-sinister picture. Of course, it might not really be sinister - it's just the way that my mind interprets it. I see - and I think X could back me up on this because she read the Jack the Ripper book I did - a deserted East End street. And if you were to walk around the corner, you'd find the corpse of a...well, I guess I won't complete that thought as it's creeping me out and so soon after my halloween costume pictures, I don't want anyone to think I'm a psychopath. Instead I'll say the other thing it makes me think of, or feel: it is a very comforting picture to look at and it makes me think of the word solitude. But I think I really prefer my original idea of it. Wait until I get some pictures of Maiden Lane near my house. It's an alley that opens up to several coach houses behind the Summit Avenue mansions. I once spoke with a woman who lived back there and who told me that it was a rather ironic name as it was a favorite spot for street walkers back in the late 19th century. I'm not sure if it's true, but if it is, then my Jack the Ripper idea may work after all.

This last one is of a different tree down the hill further; past where I'd parked my car. It's less interesting than the other, but the fog makes it a better tree than it is normally. It's another I'd barely noticed until it was affected by the fog. I think here I should draw some profound conclusions about fog and it's cloaking and revealing capabilities, but I think that would rather ruin the nice pictures. We'll just say fog is cool, and leave it at that.... Except for the fact that there's this annoying space to fill, so I guess I'll continue writing until I get to the bottom of the picture. Let's see...Oh! One of the Japanese teachers at my school in Utsunomia e-mailed me to say that they got my "Happy Fall" card and accompanying letter of introduction. She sent me some great photos from their halloween party last month and said that everyone was looking forward to meeting me. Well, I'm looking forward to meeting them as well. I'm at the end now and should get back to my website draft.