(Version française plus bas)

Mrs Thy, a co-worker of mine, takes us to her pagoda where a buddhist crowd is celebrating the dead. The three day long ceremony happens only once a year. We showed up at 7.00 AM on a Sunday, to be there right from the start on the first day of the celebration.

Mrs Thy, thank you so much for helping us understand what is going on in front of us!

(more…)

One thing I really enjoy about Istanbul is the vivid colors, both man made and natural, visible  throughout the city at night. While Seoul was usually awash with neon colors on every street, here in Istanbul the lights vary from harsh neon, to warm and inviting, and back again. Here’s a few of my favorite pictures taken after dark:

A distant mosque at sunset.

A mosque on Barbaros Blvd. as seen from our balcony.

Lanterns for sale in a tea shop in Sultanahmet.

Süleymaniye Mosque at Night