I stood on the peripheral of the Palace Square, dressed warmly enough to ward off the freezing cold November temperatures. To my left, the Tsar’s Winter Palace; to my right, the triumphal arch. In the distance, I watched several horse and carriages line up to take tourists for a ride through the city. My mind…
With his birth date on St. Isaac’s feast day (Sept 9), Peter the Great determined to build a monumental church in his city–naming it “St. Isaac of Dalmatia” after his patron saint, Saint Isaac. His first church, built on the banks of the Neva River, crumbled. The second (still lacking an adequate foundation) met a…
The cold air stinging my eyelashes caused the walk to the museum feel much further away than the six blocks on the map. By keeping my chin tucked beneath the scarf wound loosely around my neck I didn’t notice the museum until I rounded a corner to cross the street. There it was–a gigantic “Tiffany…
Saint Sophia’s Cathedral: As one looks towards this cathedral it’s outward beauty is clearly visible but its real beauty lay hidden in its scars. If walls could talk, these hold a novel filled with stories. I struggle to find words adequate enough to describe both the outward beauty of Saint Sophia’s Cathedral and the spiritual…
The highlight of my visit to Kyiv is Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra. After leaving the Park of Eternal Glory on the hillside bank of the Dnieper River, the shining golden domed monastery site, Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra. beckoned to us. Upon stepping through the gate, one could almost feel the quiet presence of all the saints that walked…
Though numerous trains travel in every direction across the Ukraine, only one new, and very fast train travels directly from L’viv to Kyiv in the daytime, without stopping along the way. Desiring to see more of this area but discovering that driving on local roads marked only with occasional signs in Ukrainian was nearly impossible….
Words cannot express the intensity of my feelings as I climbed into the van transporting us to Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)–an airport further south than the one we arrived in. The silent two hour drive through traffic to cross the Bosphorus bridge and head towards the Syrian border gave plenty of time to reflect upon the…
The second full day we chose to see Istanbul via passenger ferry with other tourists on the Bosphorous. Though I dislike tour groups, seeing the shores of this city—both sides, east and west—could be safely done from a luxury bus and open air ferry. With only two days to see this city, and needing to…
In the early 1900s my ancestors journeyed from the Ukraine, across the tumultuous Black Sea on a ship through the middle of Istanbul to reach the safety of America. With a little prodding, my grandmother revealed bits and pieces of her family’s escape from the tyrannical clutches of Russia. The stories ignited a desire in…
The start of our day in Sultanahmet began with a good meal and Turkish coffee. Fortunately our Hotel provided a great start to the day. Whether an American breakfast or a more continental styled one, there was much to taste and discover here! Stepping outside the hotel onto the street, a change occurs. The muezzin’s…
