Hagia Sophia

I post bi-weekly about writing, editing, teaching, and travel.

May 4, 20233 min read

Across the Sea of Marmara

Say Istanbul and a seagull comes to mind Half silver and half foam, half fish and half bird. — Rahmi Eyuboglu, Turkish painter and poet...

Mar 26, 20232 min read

My second day in Istanbul started with a peak inside Hagia Irene. The Eastern Orthodox Church, which sits in Topkapi Palace's outer...

Mar 19, 20232 min read

At around 3 p.m. each day, my tour guide and I would part ways—she to her home and family, and me to my wandering. Only once did I...

Mar 15, 20233 min read

Old City Corner I spent three full days in Istanbul. At 8 a.m. each day, I met my tour guide, Gamze, at the Starbucks at Taksim Square. ...

Mar 5, 20234 min read

Ruins of the Hippodrome, from an engraving by Onofrio Panvinio in his work De Ludis Circensibus (Venice, 1600). The same morning I saw...

Mar 2, 20231 min read

Hagia Sophia from the Bosporus Strait. I had a birthday yesterday. Getting older every year. I got the cutest card from the cutest...

Feb 25, 20236 min read

Note: I am no historian or expert on this structure or region. As such, I am referencing History.com for most of the information...