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

This past weekend was the annual lantern festival in Seoul.  I am not 100% sure, but I think it is held each year to honor the god of lanterns and ensure a full and robust lantern crop.  The legend is that one year the festival was not held and the entirety of Korea remained dark for a century as a punishment from an angered and vengeful lantern god.

The culmination of the festival is a parade in which over 100 million lanterns stream past the crowded streets, held aloft by the cities children, monks, and wizards.  Also there are two giant neon fire breathing dreams. They represent the eternal struggle of night and day for dominion over the earth.*

*Disclaimer: I was only at the festival for 45 minutes and have no idea why it was held or what really happened before or after I left.  I apologize.