We meet in Istanbul, part 2: Istanbul's religious heritage

As I told you in my last post, Istanbul occupies a special position astride two continents. Throughout its history, it has been a place where people of different faiths have come together. Under the Byzantines, Istanbul (then known as Constantinople) was the center of Orthodox Christianity. Once the Ottoman Empire conquered Egypt and Syria, Istanbul became the center of Sunni Islam as well. As befits a city with such important religious heritage, Istanbul has lots of impressive religious buildings that you can visit as a tourist.

We meet in Istanbul, part 1: exploring the city

The last stop on Bobbe's Mediterranean adventure was Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey. To celebrate the conclusion of her trip, I flew down to Istanbul to see her, and we explored the city together. As you know, this was not my first trip to Turkey -- I visited the beautiful beach city of Dalyan back in June. But it was my first trip to Istanbul, which is a magnificent city that I enjoyed visiting very much.

Istanbul is located on two continents. Europe is divided from Asia by a series of straits. A strait is a very narrow body of water that separates two landmasses. Can you find a map of Turkey? Imagine that you are going north from the Aegean Sea toward Istanbul (as Bobbe did on her ship). The first strait you come to is known as the Dardanelles. Later, you will reach an even narrower strait called the Bosporus. If you keep going through the Bosporus, what body of water will you enter? What countries can you visit if you continue on in your ship?

Istanbul was built on both sides of the Bosporus. All of the most famous tourist sites are on the European side of the strait, but many of the people in Istanbul live on the Asian side. Today, the two sides are connected by a bridge. In the old days, however, people had to take a ferry to get across to the other side. Can you imagine having to commute from one continent to another just to get to work in the morning?

Bobbe's trip to Ephesus

Bobbe continues telling us about her Mediterranean adventure:

After Santorini and Mykonos, my next stop was the Turkish port of Kuşadasi. As those of you who read Benny's post from the Turkish beach town of Dalyan will remember, Turkey is a country that is located partly in Asia and partly in Europe. Like Dalyan, Kuşadasi is located in the Asian part of Turkey. It is located on the Aegean Sea, which separates Greece from Turkey. Both Santorini and Mykonos are islands in the Aegean. Kuşadasi is famous mostly because it is the nearest port to the ancient city of Ephesus, which was a really important city for the ancient Greeks. Here is the story of my trip to Ephesus.