"Where East still meets West
By H.D.S. Greenway | December 24, 2004
COME WALK through the ancient streets of Istanbul in the cool days of an approaching winter. There is a bit of snow on the ground, and the sun dances on the Bosphorus, that narrow body of water that traditionally separates Europe from Asia.
When I first visited this thrilling city nearly 50 years ago, I thought to myself then that this was where the Orient begins. There is nothing more exotic and lovely than the sounds of the muezzins atop their minarets calling the faithful to prayer from the most beautiful mosques in all Islam. Later, when I was living on the shores of the China seas, Istanbul seemed to represent where the West begins. And both of those impressions are equally valid today."
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