Istanbul

Istanbul is a city whose history we know so much about but not its people and places.  Our history textbooks speak much of Constantine the Great, of the Eastern Roman empire, of Byzantine art, of the Ottoman dynasty, of the charismatic (and always dapper) President Ataturk, and of course the dazzling variety of kebabs, mezes, baklavas now found in every corner of the world; and yet unless one spends a good amount of time in Istanbul all that are mere moth-eaten knowledge of a place that holds much greater depth underneath the surface.  Unfortunately my work trips never allow me enough time to get to know Istanbul well, but Turkey is one of the countries I plan to travel extensively in the coming years.

土耳其伊斯坦堡無疑地是一個擁有豐富歷史的地方，有關君士坦丁大帝、東羅馬帝國、拜占庭藝術、奥斯曼皇朝、迷人的阿塔蒂爾克總統(Mustafa Kemal Atatürk) 等等的歷史故事，都可以輕易地在一眾的教科書上找到，甚至kebabs、 mezes、 baklavas等道地的土耳其美食亦傳遍世界主要的角落；但是，要真正瞭解這個地方的人民生活及不同的地方特色，你必需要親身在這裏花上一段時間，去體驗書本以外更深層的知識。很可惜地由於我的旅程多是為了工作，並未能多花一點時間去真正認識一下這個地方，但是土耳其將是我在未來幾年裏重點旅遊的國家。