Past Life: Turkey
![Past Life: Turkey](/content/images/size/w2000/wordpress/2018/03/Dogubeyazit281of129.jpg)
I should be finishing up my March For Our Lives post. Instead I got distracted by some old photos of Turkey. I taught English in Istanbul from 2000-2002. Incredible people, city, and country. For a while I had the notion of charting a course for retirement in a small Turkish town on the Mediterranean, something like Ayvalik. That’s no longer in the plans. But I hope to visit again – I have always felt a strong connection to Turkey, and I would love to dive into that fantastic Ottoman/Turkish cuisine again.
I scanned a few of the photos today. This is by no means a photo essay or a travel piece, but I figured I’d go ahead and post some of the photos. Perhaps eventually I will get all of my photos and negatives scanned and work on a more cohesive piece.
![Ferry, Istanbul, Turkey, sometime between 2000-2002. It's been a while, but I suspect this ferry was headed to Kadikoy. I can't remember if ferries ran to Fenerbache or Bakirkoy. The Sultan Ahmet Mosque (Blue Mosque), Hagia Sophia, and Hagia Irene are visible in the distance.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a71229df9a61eb777aa9262/1522183819705-L1OSIP0UTS7YL6UKO5T9/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kA-FZoBGhltdcF8Fu4zhPqF7gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z5QPOohDIaIeljMHgDF5CVlOqpeNLcJ80NK65_fV7S1UdLb7_me88r0ToEWOUVYc-tQ0l6Se3v8VseTWqOQTiINnXMMx_GOhcYMLHDPdj1XGA/Istanbul+ferry016.jpg)
Ferry, Istanbul, Turkey, sometime between 2000-2002. It’s been a while, but I suspect this ferry was headed to Kadikoy. I can’t remember if ferries ran to Fenerbache or Bakirkoy. The Sultan Ahmet Mosque (Blue Mosque), Hagia Sophia, and Hagia Irene are visible in the distance.
![Hagia Sophia, sometime between 2000-2002. Justinian: "Constantine, I have surpassed thee." Credit for the Quote: John Julius Norwich in his series about Byzantium.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a71229df9a61eb777aa9262/1522183803171-R5JF4J86PUTXEQMWYK6Y/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kGwLD9082yTpiVRr8L_a1tV7gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z5QPOohDIaIeljMHgDF5CVlOqpeNLcJ80NK65_fV7S1UdEvycY7MrR6ELq3Qm9vUf3Tz5su2xVVOSoLvoQYul3_IKYY7Qu0iTZQJ-GJ4dsqLQ/Hagia+Sophia020.jpg)
Hagia Sophia, sometime between 2000-2002. Justinian: “Constantine, I have surpassed thee.” Credit for the Quote: John Julius Norwich in his series about Byzantium.
I think I shot all of these on my Nikon 8008S. They’re not very good, but they bring back memories. Some of them may have been on disposable cameras, but I don’t think so.
![Bosphorus at sunset, sometime between 2000-2002.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a71229df9a61eb777aa9262/1522183770343-Z2XBU2OLQP4E1M9Z8X2P/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kA-FZoBGhltdcF8Fu4zhPqF7gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z5QPOohDIaIeljMHgDF5CVlOqpeNLcJ80NK65_fV7S1UdLb7_me88r0ToEWOUVYc-tQ0l6Se3v8VseTWqOQTiINnXMMx_GOhcYMLHDPdj1XGA/Bosphorus+Sunset017.jpg)
Bosphorus at sunset, sometime between 2000-2002.
![Ishak Pasha Saray, Dogubeyazit, Turkey, sometime in 2001 or 2002.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a71229df9a61eb777aa9262/1522183653208-OGLWQOUTHEJ5OVYDNZCU/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kM2dz6CHLEwYK0A6BzzktUMUqsxRUqqbr1mOJYKfIPR7LoDQ9mXPOjoJoqy81S2I8N_N4V1vUb5AoIIIbLZhVYxCRW4BPu10St3TBAUQYVKclJvy571g72krOO8Ed_fKEWmmUHkKMmqgkVGXCux9uojZb1txnK6mDOYRB61Y46kU/Dogubeyazit+%281+of+1%29.jpg)
Ishak Pasha Saray, Dogubeyazit, Turkey, sometime in 2001 or 2002.
![Kucuk Aya Sofia (or Little Hagia Sophia), sometime in 2000 or 2001.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a71229df9a61eb777aa9262/1522183847338-KBA95XEWKKQ8TERP6PDW/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kBZON0witsx-n1MZmn2eodB7gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z5QPOohDIaIeljMHgDF5CVlOqpeNLcJ80NK65_fV7S1US6co5f8aRI8f1qJdkpBaP_EiJOfYomcl5o1joSFbgC2yAIeFZh6Qi4adPEm98cmGA/Kucuk+Aya+Sofia018.jpg)
Kucuk Aya Sofia (or Little Hagia Sophia), sometime in 2000 or 2001.