Easter in Istanbul

The next morning was Good Friday and our beloved friend from Israel arrived to meet us in Istanbul. She had been witness to many of the Highway things and the Lord sent her again to come and witness His Highway in Istanbul. Eugenie and I donned our winter gear over our post fever bodies and went to look for her hotel in the rain. This is what she wrote about our time together:

I felt it was right for me to meet up with Johanna and Eugenie at the end of their long journey from the far north of Norway (and Europe) through Russia and pray with them in Istanbul. That was awesome in itself, to be able to connect with them. A big city, but thanks to modern communication and their willingness to navigate the city, they were able to find me in my hotel in the city centre, and then followed three days of calm adventure together. Remember Istanbul's location. The city straddles the Bosphorous. To the north is the Black Sea, to the south the Sea of Marmara, then another narrow bit called the Dardanelles, then the Aegean Sea, and finally the Mediterranean where I was before. There is also another expanse of water called the Golden Horn which separates western European Istanbul. The last time I was so impressed by so much water was on our journey up Africa. To the west is Europe and to the east is Asia. We were staying in the European side. Firstly, we wanted to find a way to the Black Sea. They had planned to cross this on their way to Istanbul but the ferry wasn't running then and they had to turn back and fly into Istanbul via Moscow, quite a substantial re-routing. Armed with a map, we went to the bus station. A long story involving a series of miscommunications, and several hours later, we had travelled north and then across the Bosphorous to the Asian side, and were not far off from where we had begun the journey, only across the water. In order to get back to our hotels before dark, we thought it best to take the ferry and tram and return home. Our symbolic journey to the Black Sea. I took another symbolic ferry ride up the Bosphorous another afternoon, also without reaching the Black Sea. One day. Secondly, Johanna wanted to meet up with JR, with whom we have worked on a number of conferences. She now lives in Istanbul. It was sospecial to spend time with her. After hours of sipping tea at a pavement cafe, JR took us to meet a friend of hers (and I entered the wonderful world of textiles, especially embroidery and carpets), followed by a quick visit to the Grand Bazaar (quick, because none of them enjoy shopping there and the place is somewhat overwhelming since I believe that it has 1000's of shops). We wound our way down to the crossing over the Golden Horn, and said goodbye to JR in the sunset on the other side of the bridge. Very romantic, scenic and memorable!

On the final morning together we spent some time praying in the Sultanaghmet area, a garden like pedestrian square near the Blue Mosque and St. Sophia. Whether people were on their way to the mosque or not, I don’t know, but it felt that we were watching the nations walk past, so many various peoples and languages. It’s easy to pray in the midst of many people, when no one notices what you are doing and you can pray as if in a conversation (which it is!). Johanna and Eugenie’s hotel was in the shoemaker/cobbler area of the city. Early in the morning they were awakened to the tic-tac of the cobblers. The surrounding streets were filled with things pertaining to shoes, finished shoes, leather, lasts, a whole shop window full of amazing stiletto heels and more. But my hotel was in the textile district, clothes, curtains, carpets and rugs, fine lace, bedding and toweling. It described my way home, since I never found out where to see the street names!