Prince's Islands

Today was largely a relaxation and exploration day. Nearly all of us went to Prince's Islands in the morning, specifically Buyukada (the largest of the Prince's Islands). About half of us went biking while the other half went swimming. Rob Sansone and I led the bikers and Carlene led the swimmers. It was mostly relaxation (after the seemingly endless up-hill biking our half endured/enjoyed). The boat rides, "there and back again" (apologies to JRR Tolkien for that!), were for me the most relaxing. I didn't take any pictures on the island but, to show you (again) the view of beautiful Istanbul from the sea, I'm including another panoramic shot of the Blue Mosque/Sultan Ahmet (on the left) and Haya Sophia (on the right).



Saturday will be a group visit to the Blue Mosque (optional; but Rob, Carlene, and I want to ensure that our students see this, one of the most stunning architectural wonders of the world), plus I'll do my own "Treasure Hunt" (since I required students to do it, I want to make sure I also repeat it and enjoy it).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

You can't get there (Serbia) from here (Kosovo) - go to Montenegro!

Image
“You can’t cross this boundary from here [the Kosovo “border”/Administrative boundary]. You’ll have to go to Montenegro and then enter Serbia from there.” Thus sayeth the Serbian policeman at the boundary/border, yesterday (Thursday) around 3:30 pm. The reason? We had a stamp on our passports that read “Republic of Kosovo”, which Serbia does not recognize as independent nation-state (nor do a small number of nation-states of the international community – Russia, Spain, Greece, and 6 other members of the EU). “Kosovo is Serbia.” What he was proposing was for us to “re-enter” Kosovo (1/4 th of a mile back from where we came); return to the town of Mitroveca (where we just left 90 minutes ago); cut over to the West, and enter Montenegro (another 90 minutes-2 hours); then drive to the Montenegro-Serbia border (another hour); then drive until we catch up with the road we could have been on – only one hour from the point on the map where we were standing that ver
Read more

(Remember me?) Back in Amman, Jordan Dialogue 2016

Image
'been a long time without posting ... time to get back in the game! I'm in Amman with students on my "Jordan Dialogue 2016"!  Had to stop in Beirut (thanks APSA-MENA!), prior to joining up with my group here in Amman.  I want to give a shout-out to Mr. Charles, Ms. FaHu, and Lt. Briskin plus the inimitable Dr. Shakir for leading the group here ahead of me. Now we're all together and my first day with everyone was a trip to Ajloun Castle after they all toured Jerash ... Note - I was standing right in front of this group, but they insisted on using the selfie stick!  And I found a kindred spirit with a nearly matching hat.  Plus, a non-selfie with the amazing Farhana. Ajloun Castle - built by  nephew of Salah ad-Din al-Ayyubi ( Saladin ), in AD 1184-1185. 
Read more