Laura Zera

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Travel: The Resident at Hagia Sophia

By Laura Zera 16 Comments

Hagia Sophia - exteriorThroughout its life as a church, then mosque and now museum, Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia has remained a grand and dignified beacon. Each year, thousands of people arrive to view its Byzantine beauty and take in the domes and pillars, mosaics and minarets, just as Francis and I did in 2011. And quite unexpectedly, (but just like the occasion at Monsoon Palace in Udaipur, India), I met a cat. There, among the sumptuous decor, sat the most nonchalant of cross-eyed feline squatters, tolerating the human traffic and waiting for the sun to shift so that there’d be a warm place to lie. Not a bad place to while away your time, really.

Hagia Sophia - interior 1aHagia Sophia - interiorHagia Sophia - cat

Have you ever encountered any unexpected residents — feline or other? 

 

Greeps is the Best Hookah Pipe Flavor in Istanbul

By Laura Zera 20 Comments

I first visited Istanbul in 1989. I went back in October, 2011 with my husband and our friend Eric. In the interim, I grew up a little bit, and the city grew up a lot. It’s clean, cosmopolitan and still has the most killer skyline I’ve ever seen.

The Blue Mosque, Istanbul

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