Traveling from Istanbul to Athens

Istanbul To Athens

DAY One: Istanbul - For ten days, my husband, Robert, and I cruised the Turkey and Greek coasts aboard the Azamara Quest. The ship held 580 people and it was a pleasure to cruise with a smaller number than those we found on larger lines. The ship would sail down the west coast of Turkey on the Aegean Sea and up the east coast of Greece as far north as Macedonia and then back down to Athens.

We would like to share our experience in this land of antiquity. We want to know more about these people of Turkey and Greece who all sprang from the same ancestry and were once one country. Their history of enmity intrigues us.

Before we sailed, we attended a lecture on a summary history of Istanbul by Greg Autry, Ph.D. We were reminded that before Mohammed, Jesus Christ, and our Jewish heritages, there were humans making an effort to survive here. The people of the Roman and Byzantine eras have made their marks in developing the aqueducts, military conquests, trade, education, architecture, home construction, and other forms of developing civilization.

We signed up on this first day for the tour of the Best of Istanbul, an eight-hour engagement with the four major Istanbul attractions. The eight hours did signal that this tour would be a challenge but we had no idea how difficult it was to be.

Our first stop was at the Blue Mosque, officially the Sultana MahMet, named after its builder king, Constantine. The mosque is quite large and beautifully decorated. We were disappointed for several reasons. The crowds of tourists were overwhelming. Experiencing the requirement for women to wear head coverings is quite different than simply knowing that it is an enforced ritual. Watching the men without any covering and the women warmly togged in the sweltering heat raised a number of female tempers. Then, the general disrespect for visitors was a surprise. Standing in the sacred place for an hour in the heat was an endurance contest with our heads and throats being wrapped tightly. Robert was carrying his backpack, and his upper body was drenched with sweat. We all felt that our guide could have shown us more respect and concern by holding his lecture until we all had seen the mosque and returned outside. Since his lecture was more a history lesson than an explanation of the mosque, it would have been more accepted.

In addition, the crowds made the visit a spectator sport rather than honoring a holy place. In addition to the head coverings for women, it was required that we take off our shoes before entering the carpeted area of the mosque. We were told by our tour guide that being shoeless was not a Muslim holy law, but it was required simply to keep the carpet clean and unworn. Adding to the discomfort was the absence of a place to sit while taking off and replacing our shoes. For many people, this was a great imposition and insult.

Not far from the Blue Mosque was the Hagia Sofia, another mosque that had its own rough history and was one of the four major sites of importance in Istanbul. Built by Constantine, the Hagia Sofia was once a Roman Catholic place of worship, in honor of Constantine’s mother, Helena. Hagia Sofia means Church of the Holy Wisdom. In its conversion to a mosque, it kept that name. The rules were similar for entrance to the Blue Mosque but somewhat more enforced as the male guides were alerted to correct the violators. They even insisted that you not sit on the steps to replace your walking shoes, an almost impossible task while standing or even sitting on the ground for most people.

Following Hagia Sofia was the visit to the King’s palace, now a museum. The lines were very long to see the exquisite jewelry and valuable gold household and military items clustered with emerald, ruby, diamond, aquamarine, and sapphire stones. The pieces were quite elaborate. And beautiful. In this museum, there were also other expositions: a library of models of very old books, and a building for military armaments. After four hours and much exhaustion of walking over five miles, we settled in for a long lunch.

Finally, we went to the very famous commercial location, the Bazaar, a collection of 4000 stores selling six categories of goods: high-end and estate jewelry, carpets, perfumes, leather jackets, and purses, as well as spices and Turkish delights of sweets. One wonders how any one of the retailers made money since they all seemed to be selling the very same items. Of the 15 people in our group, no one purchased anything in the hour and a half we were given to peruse the stores. But the streets that lined the shops were crowded with buyers, or at least, with lookers. At the end of our very long day, we had counted over 12,000 steps and over six miles of trekking with very high humidity. We were very pleased to open our cabin door to a welcoming presentation of delicious appetizers and cold drinks, compliments of the ship.

Vocal Magazine Article By Aggie Jordan Published 3 days ago • 4 min read

Create Story A Woman's Voice Should Be Heard Everyday sexism, deep-rooted prejudice, or mistreatment of women and girls, continues to persist in different forms. There’s no one way to address sexism since it appears in so many configurations. Let’s explore various approaches that can be adopted to ensure that progress toward women’s equality continues to be made. Hopefully, some of these steps can shed light on some successes that have raised awareness about sexism and promoted equality. Forced Into the Political Arena The United States Supreme Court’s rejection of Roe vs. Wade, its political associates like the Federalist Society, its strong anti-feminist state legislatures, and conservative donors with deep pockets, have raised the passions of females. This sexist decision is embraced with equal fire today with legislatures and courts involved in women’s health. Women recognize the dangers that they face with governments that have decided to control their health. They believe that decisions about getting pregnant, or giving birth or not, and the consequent health care required, belong to the individual and her doctor. Governments cannot make those health care judgments by passing laws. We women who live in democracies must vote at every level of government for all our rights, no less those of our daughters and granddaughters. Many women in this world don’t have the right to vote. So often we ignore our local council, school board, and state elections and think that only congressional and presidential elections count. Although we women over 45 had rights over our own bodies, young women no longer have those rights. It's All Around Us Sexism also contributes to the oppression and mistreatment of women in the home, in religions, in corporations, with professional firms, in sports, in the arts, in the healthcare industry, in grade and high school classrooms, and on university campuses. It is all around us. We must call it out. If we are in a public setting, it may not be appropriate, particularly if the offender is a leader or the discussion is at a critical point. Then we should speak privately to the offender with calmness and directness, particularly when our hackles rise. Being alert to what is happening around us is important. Misogynism is another word for sexism. The belief that women are not equal to men is so systemic that even feminists are sometimes guilty. It lessens a women’s worth. Do we look down on women who fill “female” jobs? Do we encourage young women to enter the stereotypically male trades: truck drivers, plumbers, or carpenters? They typically pay so much better than female office workers. Do we think it is beneath a woman to work in these jobs? If we do, we are misogynistic. Women’s inequality is easily recognizable in the language we use. A study done at Stanford University identified the words used in references to leadership behavior. For centuries, aggressive, assertive, strong, decisive, and forceful have been identified as acceptable male leadership qualities. When women leaders were seen with those assets, they were regarded as not kind, considerate, or caring. Recently such words as decisiveness, confidence, and ambition seem to be leadership qualities used for promotable women, whereas aggressiveness and assertiveness are not. I recommend that all of us become language monitors. What do you hear among your friends, both men and women? What expressions do you use that may lessen the value of women? I know “bitch” is a common, “fun” word among young people. Should its expression be allowed to grow? We need to honestly examine traditions in our families and workplace. Do they underestimate the value of women? Do women wait on the men at family get-togethers? Do the women do the kitchen work? Do you serve your father before your mother? Then finally, we can examine how we feel about other women. Do we give priority to men’s requests over those of women? In general, do we prefer the company of men to other women? Are we jealous of women who get promoted? What are our values? Successful Campaigns in Raising Awareness about Sexism Media awareness. women’s conferences, the United Nations worldwide conferences on gender equality, university research, and government-sponsored efforts have supported gender equality. Recently the efforts of the conservative churches “to remind women of their place beneath their male members have set a fire among women gathering together to fight these strong movements in their churches. Women are also campaigning to increase the number of people who vote in their next elections. Since women’s equality is in the hands of politicians today, will it be in the hands of women voters within the next two years? What should women do? We women also care about our relationships. It takes a long time, sometimes years to realize that our value is sacred and equal to that of others, particularly our male partners. We are careful, perhaps too cautious, about hurting someone. We must ask ourselves, Is someone else more important than I am? If so, why? Is it our lack of self-confidence? Often that’s based on our devaluing ourselves over others. At times our actions shout that we are inferior. Usually, it’s because of how we’ve been raised or because it’s difficult to throw off that cloak of protection. Our voices need to be heard. We have something to offer to this world. We have talent. Are we willing to share? Do not hide your light under a bushel. You were created equal. Most of our voices have been silenced by authority: schools, our fathers, uncles, and brothers, and even by our mothers or our beloved partners. I believe blogs, podcasts, women’s groups, and education conferences can help our sisters understand their value and that our society needs their talents. You can find more on the topic by checking out how women have successfully fought sexism in my memoir, A Woman’s Voice Should Be Heard: My Journey From The Convent To The Battle For Women’s Equality.”

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Bara Rosenheck: Keeps on Writing, and Writing and Writing. Obstacles Do Not Wear Her Down

Raising the Bar At 75+

Bara Rosenheck

If anyone has raised the Bar At 75+, it is Bara Rosenheck. Since 2017, at the age of 77, Bara has written five books and is working on her sixth. Her first was her memoir, Courage: It’s More Than Luck. J

Bara’s first novel, Justice For Julia, quickly followed her memoir. A story of a young woman with the courage to redeem her victimhood by becoming empowered. Bara’s third book came in 2022, The Mid-Morning Murders, and received 4-star reviews.

In the story of one woman’s struggle to prevail over unexpected obstacles, Bara Rosenheck acknowledges her many blessings while describing the challenges that life has brought her. As a child, Bara’s father was physically and verbally abusive, denigrating her intelligence every chance. “You’re stupid. You will never amount to anything,” was the rant she heard growing up. What is the message a young girl learns in this environment? Even when Bara went on to college and finished her master’s degree, her parents did not attend her ceremony. They chose to go to a friend’s wedding. But Bara was determined to fight through those messages.

Because of her parents’ messages about her lack of worth, Bara believes that striving for gender equality became her passion. She became an administrator for a Title IX federally funded program at Rutgers University. The program was set up to ensure that male and female students and employees of educational systems are treated equally and fairly. Consequently, Bara was responsible for developing curricula and training teachers and administrators to ensure equality in schools became a reality throughout New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Bara became a change agent for State Departments of Education, local school boards, teachers, and administrators. Even today, after fifty years, Rutgers University calls on Bara to speak to their staff.

A devastating spinal cord injury and paralysis resulted in a remarkable recovery. Her journey to independence and self-sufficiency is described with humor and gratitude in her memoir. Her goal of self-improvement and her desire to institute societal changes by becoming an activist and participant in the turbulent political era of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s gives the reader a window into that historic era. Written for and dedicated to her children and grandchildren, the author weaves her family history and suburban lifestyle into a compelling view of her childhood and her motivation to become a change agent.

In addition to writing and publishing these tomes, Bara has contributed to a monthly community magazine. She has produced humorous articles that keep her senior fellow residents holding their bellies as the laughter pores out.

She rarely misses her weekly writers’ club meeting, whether it’s on Zoom or in person.

Her colleagues in that group look to her for insight and direction as they read what they wrote for the week. Arnold Choy claims, “When Bara speaks, everyone listens intently because her words of wisdom just ring out. Her critique is gentle, usually right on the mark, and oh-so-helpful. She will give you her true thoughts, feelings, and insights, 100% real, “ Beth Bolduc adds, “Bara is an inspiring writer, storyteller, and reader with a rich, expressive voice. As a strong club member, we all value her suggestions, which are "spot-on" and informative.”

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What you don’t know about Bara is that she is in continuous pain, living day to day with a seated walker by her side because of that severe spinal injury, But this does not slow her down. At 83 years old, Bara continues to raise the bar for all retired folks.