Everyday Canvas

Memorable

Prompt: Memorable Places
Which places in this world hold your strongest memories? Are these places still around? Or have they been torn down and made into something new?

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It was just a side trip. We were only visiting San Francisco at the time. And who knew, we decided to take a tour to a place, I hope, will remain till the end of time. And yes, the woods, Muir Woods, I'm going to write about still stand, although it has been at least four decades since. Thank God for this favor!

Muir Woods are on high hills to the north of San Francisco. Although we only took a day tour and the ride was about 10 to 14 miles from our hotel at the coast, I was mesmerized by these taller and thinner Sequoias than those trees huge-in-diameter at the Sequoia park. The plaque at the entrance said that the park was established by the naturalist John Muir. I can only recall the numbers of acres they are on approximately, which I think are 500 some.

Most trees are at least one thousand years old and they are very tall, forming a fantastic shade for those under them. Also, woodpeckers and owls and deer, chipmunks, all kinds of birds have their homes in them. I didn't see any savage and dangerous wildlife there, neither were we told that such animals existed, except for some invasive insects and snakes and plants that had started to show up.

The people who took care of these woods must have been doing a fantastic job for maintaining the trails, although some of them looped and twisted a little too much. As we were with a tour group, we didn't do much hiking, anyway. Even though it has been quite some time that we were there, I'll always remember the scenic Muir Woods for their serene beauty and feel calmer and well-protected by those tall and magnificent Sequoias.

Another place that will never ever leave my memory, maybe because my love for it is so personal, is the city of Istanbul. Writing my impression, memories, and feelings about this city would probably take volumes, but here, I'll only just mention a couple of places in it. No way one can visit this city and does not come up with unique, lovely, and sometimes so confusing impressions and memories.

To start with, one should go to the seaside, and possibly take a sight-seeing boat to watch the curvy Bosphorus. It is amazing! For now, I'll skip the Hagia Sophia and the Basilica Cistern because in comparison to the rest of the city, these places are dull and are probably given undue importance by the biased and prejudiced European tourists. If I were to visit any Mosque there, again, I would probably choose the Blue Mosque, with its fantastic blue tiles with tulips and carnations depicted on them. Blue Mosque is in the Sultanahmet area and only steps away from the Hagia Sophia.

What always has impressed me about Istanbul, good or not-so-good, is its liveliness plus its impressive and so different architecture and splendid scenery that one cannot possibly come across elsewhere so easily. What I loved the most were the several trips we took to Princes' Islands off the Bosphorus to the south of the Marmara Sea. The islands are mostly tall and mountain-like in the middle of the sea. Once we were on a horse-drawn carriage that was to take us to the top of the island we were on, I think it was Heybeliada--the second biggest island, and the wheel came off the carriage, but the one-way, curvy road was so narrow that we had difficulty getting off the carriage without slipping and falling into the steep crevice all the way to the sea. Anyway, the coachman, that is the carriage driver, jumped down unleashed the horses and told them to be good and stay where they are. Then, he fixed the wheel and we got on and went our way. To this day, despite our bewilderment and dismay at the time, I was and still am amazed at those horses who listened to the coachman. My husband, afterwards, kept remarking and wondering how the guy trained his horses so well and how we could use that information in dealing with our sons.

I could write about Istanbul forever and ever, as the places I mentioned here can amount only to a drop in a vast ocean. People we know who live there, however, say that the city is not the same as before and it has become overcrowded, due to refugees and such, and should I visit again, I would be so disappointed. Somehow, I have difficulty believing it.