Today, on September 11, 2009, it would be appropriate to post a photo taken eight years ago on 9/11. The Blue Mosque, pictured above, was close to where we were walking on the way to our hotel in Sultanahmet when we were approached by a man waving his arms in an agitated manner. He could not speak much English, but we were able to make out that something terrible had happened in the USA that involved airports or airplanes. We hurried to our hotel and discovered what had happened.
Our vacation plans had involved two weeks in Syria, but when we heard what President Bush had to say about Syria in connection with the tragedy, we decided it would be wise to cancel and remain in Turkey instead. The staff at our hotel were horrified by what had been done and assured us that it was definitely not the way of Islam. We thoroughly enjoyed our five weeks in Turkey, but when we returned in 2006, there was a noticeable difference. People were polite but lacked the warmth we had seen on previous visits. The change, we were told later, was due to the widespread disapproval in the country of the war in Iraq.
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