STORKS

8/12/2013 - Istanbul, Turkey

A huge tourist day. With my tour group, we all saw the Hippodrome area, went into the Blue Mosque, walked past Hagia Sofia and the hamams nearby, spent hours in the Tokapi Palace and its harem, drank Turkish coffee, and headed down to the Cistern. A long, rewarding day in the oldest part of the city.

Early in the day, we stopped at the Hippodrome and saw the oldest artifact in Istanbul, an Egyptian obelisk from 3500 years ago. I examined it while our tour guide described it. He said something like "This obelisk, from 1500 B.C., was originally three times as tall, but in order to be transported, it had to be- STORKS!" I looked at him, and he pointed to the sky. Sure enough, countless storks flew overhead, migrating south to Africa. That's the best kind of tourist luck: being wowed by an ancient artifact when suddenly today's world jumps in your face.

Pictured: Storks fly over the Hippodrome, with an obelisk and minaret in view.