Back in Istanbul, this time staying in the Sultanahmet area, we explored Istanbul’s Ottoman history starting with the Blue Mosque. Sultan Ahmed ordered his mosque built (1609) with six minarets — the same number that Mecca had at the time. You can’t go inside a mosque during Friday prayer time — we were there just before. We toured the mosque and as we came out, men were washing their hands and Read More…
Onward to Izmir, Turkey’s third largest city, and formally known as Smyrna. It is said that Old Smyrna is the birth place of Homer (author of The Iliad and The Odyssey) and playground of Alexander the Great. We rented a car at the airport in Izmir and drove on to Sirince — a charming village known for its fruit-flavored wine. Sirince was settled by Greek immigrants who built white houses with red tile roofs which Read More…
The journey continues…we flew to central Turkey to explore Cappadocia, a region created by three volcanoes that haven’t erupted for thousands of years but have left behind soft rock formations that give the area an other-worldly look – a cross between a science fiction set (I’m told the last Star Wars movie, chronologically the first, was filmed here), and Monument Valley. Wind and rain have eroded the soft rocks and shaped the area into a Read More…
Today after a leisurely breakfast and perusing a couple of papers (I always try to get an English version of the local paper) it’s time for a tour of the Bosphorus. Our boat, like other passenger boats, goes up and down the sides of the straight while the big oil tankers cruise the middle – boats go from the Black Sea to the Sea of Maramara for half the day and the reverse direction for Read More…
NOTE — Over the next two weeks Qmuze will be coming to you from Turkey and Israel. I will be tweaking the Qmuze model of politics, culture, and entertainment by commenting on what I saw, what I thought, and what I wore. Grab your passport and stay tuned! (I apologize in advance for any spelling or other errors — this will be fast and furious.) Day 1 –ISTANBUL I have such fascination with Turkey: physically, Read More…
It’s June and there are graduates galore. Commencement addresses are echoing across the country: advising, lecturing, and encouraging generations as they move into the next chapter of their lives. A friend asked if I would send her child a note upon graduation. As I thought about what to say to this young woman, I wondered what I really knew about life? What would I say to my own children? The only thing I’m really sure Read More…
Males come in two flavors: There’s the GUY variety and there’s the MAN variety. A lot of males are guys until about the age of thirty, but not all; some are young men just waiting for their body to catch up. Only slightly more males are men than guys after age fifty, but this wasn’t always the case. Almost all males were men by the age of thirty before 1960. The last fifty years have Read More…
This is a picture of my friend Jean. We met as chaperons on a lacrosse trip with our sons when they were twelve. Jean and her son Vince lived in a town down the peninsula; we live in San Francisco. My son Carlton and Vince became quick friends and ended-up at the same high school. Vince was often at my house on weekends because kids like to be in “The City.” But sometimes Carlton stayed Read More…
I must confess: I’m not a “royal watcher” and had no plans to catch “The Wedding” until a few hours before it began. But indeed, I rose before the sun and tuned-in to the pomp and circumstance — done up with the oxymoronic (yes, I’ve coined this version of the word!) understated flair that is so typically British. The Dress — Stunning! The Alexander McQueen design was pitch perfect. It is a dress that could Read More…
I’m from a family of four girls, no boys. I grew up in the south and my daddy (that’s what we girls call them in the south, even when we are grown women) wore cowboy boots and drove a truck. My mother stayed at home with us kids until three of the four of us were in school. She then went to work teaching — a job that would allow her to continue her full Read More…
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