Macedonia to Turkey
Reality is a funny thing.
for the past 13 days ive been traveling between realities...
Macedonia is a land lost in time....a stone bridge divides the old Skopje and the new sides of the city but the division is much deeper than this bridge....on one side you have the traditional bazaar, swarms of people, and old museums and on the other side you have a huge mall wıth designer clothes and fancy restaurants and people dressed up everywhere....yet they arent that different from each other...you can stand ın the middle of the brıdge and see the mountains circling the land...protecting her....
After two days we traveled to Ohrid, Macedonia and stayed in a hotel on the lake....one of the most peaceful places ive ever seen...next door to a monestary we spent 8 days working and partying like we do and all the while the lake flowed....the birds chirped and the wind blew crisp air into the curtains in our balconies....and the sun welcomed us every morning telling us it was time to go to bed....and time flew by and life went on
then 15 hours in a bus through Bulgaria led us straight to our Mecca....İstanbul, Turkey....and as i write, i sit overlooking the Bosphorous....the Blue Mosque to my left...the Aya Sofia and the Palace loom along the horizon....and the cars and the people swarm below hurrying to their next place....this city is truly Amazing....with history in every stone on the ground and stories filling everyones eyes....this place has moved forward while holding onto its past and landed a delicate balance between two worlds....
4 more days await us....4 more realities...and the universal truth is that reality is whatever you make of it...whatever you want it to be....and that creates beauty...and beauty can be found everywhere....
8 Comments:
I can only say I kind of envy you as at this moment you are next to Aya Sofia and the magical city of Istanbul, a place I have been trying to go since 2001. But it's great to read your impressions on Macedonia and the differences between the old Skopje and the new sides of the cities, it was similar to my impressions every time I visited a new city in Russia and in any other former Socialist country, where there's two completely different sides.
I experienced this difference too in Guatemala, a beautiful country where more than 50% of the population lives in poverty but when you go on the streets of certain parts of Guatemala city you will be amazed by the quantity of luxury cars and shops, it's just amazing the abysm that separates people in both sides.
Enjoy your trip to the fullest and shared with us your insights, so that can at least grasp a little bit of what you are experiencing.
Macedonia sounds amazing! I wish I could travel with you through both Macedonia and Turkey! I really miss traveling. That would be one good thing about not staying with AIESEC after April 30th. I would for sure travel a lot! :)
ah one more person that got to see the most beautiful city in the world... just a couple more billion to go
hey Missy it was really great to see you at EuroXpros!!!
my blog is http://sbeleidy.nomadlife.org btw do write me!!
Hey gal, Glad to know you are having the time of your life :) Turkey is awesome. I still remember the grand bazaar, strangely fairytale-like cappadocia, the exotic bellydancers and the interesting juxtaposition of minarets with stained glass windows. Give me a holler when you're back in ATL...
They don't call it the "Queen of Cities" for nothing. :)
I can't wait to hear more!!! You're staying with me this weekend. :)
I'm a former Skopje resident and it was nice to read your blog.
Post a Comment
<< Home