INTRODUCTION:
Beyond the courtyard of the Blue Mosque, hard faced men sell guide books and maps. Older women, heads covered with the traditional Muslim hijab, roam the crowds holding up bottles of water for sale. Gift shops line the street selling scarves, bags, post cards, t-shirts. Istanbul is a city of opportunity founded on commerce. For over a millennia it would be the epicenter of wealth and power, the second capital of the civilized world, a bridge between east and west. Its location along the Bosporus Strait made it an ideal trading post, a central hub where men could come to sell their wares: oriental rugs, exotic candies, spices, silks, fish.1
7 Photo: Zeeshan Dawood