The Ottoman Rise
<p>I was 19 when I first set eyes on the Golden Horn, the major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosporus in Istanbul, Turkey. It was, without a doubt, love at first sight.</p>
<p>Earlier in the day, I had taken a three-hour afternoon boat cruise (about €15) with my family. I witnessed the traces of powerful monarchs left by the Ottoman empire (1300–1923) in the form of Beylerbeyi and Dolmabahce Palaces, and the Rumeli Fortress.</p>
<p>To the charmed European tourists, it was a heavy influence of France and Russia. Reaching out to me, speaking to my impressionable soul at the time, was the magic of being transported back in time to when the Byzantine Empire had its naval quarters surrounding these very waters.</p>
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