My Mom Made Me Write This

A (forced) guest post by my daughter Meagan.

I recently got back from a trip to Istanbul, Turkey (my first voyage across the Atlantic!) I’m not sure who was more worried, my mom or my dad.

My dad was convinced that I was either going to 

1. Get kidnapped (On two separate occasions before my trip he watched the movie Taken where the main character’s daughter is kidnapped while traveling abroad. Why he thought it was a good idea to watch this movie not once, but twice, before I left is unclear), or 
2. Take to the streets and either be injured, killed, or arrested taking part in mass protests. 

My mom, on the other hand, was most worried that I would have so much fun that I would decide to stay in Istanbul and never come back. 

Well, I made it back safe and sound, and the result is I’m still here and can write a blog post for my mom. So here it goes:

After over 10 hours of flying I definitely felt like I had traveled far enough to be in a different world, and Istanbul is certainly different from my hometown of Boston, as well as my current residence of Washington, DC.  More surprising than the differences, however, were the many similarities I saw. Here are just a few.

• People love good food and drinks. The food and drinks might be different (doner kebabs and turkish coffee in Istanbul’s case) but just about anywhere, people like sitting down to a great meal with their friends and family. [Side note–fresh squeezed pomegranate juice is amazing, and it might be the thing I’m going to miss most about Istanbul!]

• History brings people together. My sisters would groan if they saw this. In their opinion, there is nothing as boring as history. But this is my blog post so I can talk about it! I enjoy nerding out about history, and it’s clear to me that lots of other people do too. While the Freedom Trail in Boston and the National Monuments in DC are much much younger than sites like the Basilica Cistern, the Blue Mosque and the Ayasofya, sites that tell a story about our past are always a draw for people. (Unless those people are my sisters.) One huge realization related to this is just how young the United States is. The First Great Church in Istanbul, the predecessor to the Ayasofya, was built in the year 360!

The Blue Mosque	Inside the Ayasofya

• Getting outside is awesome no matter where you are. The views of families and friends walking along the Bosphorus and enjoying the sun in the numerous parks along the water were surprisingly similar to views of people running and strolling along the Charles River in Boston and the Tidal Basin in DC. The only difference was a lack of Boston Red Sox baseball caps and touristy Washington, DC sweatshirts. Give people some sunshine and a green space, and it’s pretty much a guarantee you’ll see smiles, no matter where you are.

Park in front of Ayasofya	The Bosphorus

And that’s it! Writing blog posts is kind of hard. Mom, you can take the blog writing from here.

Editor’s (mom’s) note:  And Meagan has a smile no matter where she is.