Arrival in Istanbul

I suppose the cure to that awful melancholy of homesickness is a change of scenery.  Moving on gives a sense of control over my life and makes me feel better.  I suppose that feeling stuck is a big part of longing for home. 

We are doing a loop around Turkey by car for the next 2 weeks: north from Marmaris toward Ismir (to see Ephesus) then to Troy (yes, there was a wooden horse), and now Istanbul.  Travelling just 300 miles north has shown us a dramatic change in season.  Where we were wearing shorts and long-sleeve T's in Marmaris, we are more warmly dressed here as it feels much more like we're accustomed for October.  I had the kids blog about our trip to Ephesus and Troy.  Both amazing places where we have started putting the pieces of history together.  First the Greeks, then the Romans, then the Byzantinium and then the Persians who led to the Ottoman empire.  I am starting to get it.  The city of Ephesus is where the disciple John took Mary (as in the virgin) to live out the rest of her days and where he unsuccessfully prostelitized to the Ephesian masses.  Regardless of what you believe about a saviour, being here sheds light on the intellectual and spiritual development of the people at the time and it gives me a much greater appreciation of the message of Christianity.  It was a huge leap for a jewish teacher to open the gates to the masses to their re-branded version of monotheism.  That's just my take on it, but it is an amazing shift of thinking.

So, tomorrow we see the Blue Mosque (Code and the boys went today while I was taking a break).  Maybe more time in the bazaar, and then a visit to the Hagia Sophia, which is a church turned mosque turned museum.