THE FACE OF TURKEY

BURSA

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.

Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.

--Mark Twain

140,000 READERS AND GROWING

 

TODAY, WE CELEBRATE MORE THAN 140,000 UNIQUE VISITORS TO THIS BLOG

While that is a total, cumulative readership, vs. daily readership...in gross numbers, it is within a few thousand of the daily circulation of the Miami Herald.

We have ranted for a better built environment, especially for people with disabilities.

We have shared more than 1,000 fine art images of Istanbul, New Orleans and dozens of other favorite destinations.

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In more than 95 percent of the posts, the writing and photography is original -- as in we took the images and wrote the words.

When it is not, we give full credit to the original source.

Today, we share a picture from Bursa, Turkey.

About an hour before dusk, observant Muslims were lining up at bakeries to buy special loaves for Ramazan.

We were invited to share in this breaking of fast, simply when we were sitting in a park just after dark.

The fellowship was divine.

We are not very religious, certainly not of the Muslim faith.

And our kind, informal hosts knew this.

But they simply wanted to share in the holy month.

This is what travel is about.

This is what mankind is about.

Why our president or any other insane elected officials would falsely and maliciously associate Islamists with terrorists is beyond comprehension.

Today, we celebrate peace-loving, mankind loving people around the globe.

A few weeks per year, we are blessed to make these new friends.

GREEN TOMB

BURSA

The entry portal is crowned with semi-umbrella vault and has muqarnas niches above marble seats on both side of entrance. 

Iznik tiles with flower patterns in blue, white and yellow adorn the portal.

Inside, past the carved wooden doors, the royal catafalque stands on a platform at the center surrounded by seven other tombs. 

The Green Tomb is richly decorated with scriptures and flower designs painted in yellow, white and blue glazed tiles.

The lower section of walls is lined with blue-green tiles, also used in tympana of windows on the interior.

The muqarnas niche of mihrab on the qibla wall is also set in a large frame of ornamental tilework: the mosaic of tiles inside the niche depicts a garden of roses, carnations and hyacinths.

The chandelier and the colored glass windows are later additions.

--Wiki

MEYVE ŞERBETI, BURSA, TÜRKİYE

Drink vendor at edge of market district in Bursa

Serbeti is kind of like sherbet, only melted.

It's sweet and served cold.

But it's not frozen like sherbet is.

It's often a blend of fruit and flower petals, turned into a juice.

Serbeti is very refreshing.

Here, it's for sale for 2 Turkish Lira -- far less than a dollar -- quite a deal.

There are so many varieties.

This one looks like possibly rose hips.

Or possibly a blend of pomegranate and rose water.

When you enter a home or place of business during Ramazan, you are almost as likely to be offered serbeti as tea.