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An Ancient Dwelling near the Chora Church
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This is an illustration of the dichotomy of lifestyles in Istanbul.
We met some children returning from school and all were neat, clean, courteous, and uniformed. They greeted the tourists with pleasant hellos — practicing their English no doubt. Children attend school half-days and then study the remainder of the day. Their course load includes subjects such as calculous as early as 5th grade! On completion of 8th grade they must pass rigorous tests in order to continue their education. All university students must pass difficult entrance exams. In the old city it is not unusual to see very ancient and dilapidated buildings continuing in use as dwellings. Istanbul is a very crowded city. People flock in from the country seeking economic opportunity there. In spite of the number living in ancient dwellings, all who drive seem to have fairly new autos and trucks. We saw no oil-burners or other signs of age or neglect on the vehicles. Construction cranes abound in the new city across the Golden Horn from the ancient city. On major thoroughfares there were one or two construction sites on most blocks. The construction was mostly apartments for the burgeoning population. Many of these new apartment houses in this earthquake prone region undoubtedly did not survive the Ismit Earthquake of 1999 which had about 45,000 casualties and about that many injuries. They were using hollow red clay brick construction with no visible steel reinforcment in the walls. |