Turkey

Hermes and 2022 Travel

14 September 2022

In Greek mythology, Hermes was the god of trade, wealth, luck, fertility, animal husbandry, sleep, language, thieves, and travel. What an interesting mix of blessings. This messenger god, also known under the alias of Mercury in Rome, is the god of roads and doorways, and the protector of travelers. He is also seen shepherding the dead to Hades. Considering I just spent 40 hours getting to my destination, I think I must be on the bad side of Hermes.

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By Pat, ago

Constantinople

From our terrace at And Hotel.

I celebrated my birthday in Constantinople. When I visited in 1981, the population was 2.7 million, about half of whom were carpet salesmen. A lot has changed since then.

Istanbul, historically known as Constantinople, is the 5th largest city proper in the world with a population of 12.8 million. There still are thousands of carpet salesmen, but distributed among them is a vibrant collection of perhaps the nicest, most helpful people I have ever met, and the nicest bunch of cats in the world. (more…)

By Pat, ago