ADHVAGATI

Was surprised to learn that Istanbul is the Fifth Largest "City Proper" in the world. ( First is , of course, Shanghai ; Second and Fourth ? Mumbai and Delhi !). It was a surprise because we saw no sign of its vastness or population as we drove to the hotel from Sabiha Gokcen Airport. ( The airport is named for the first female combat pilot in the world) . Even the sightseeing tours on the first two days were confined to the Sultanahmet area, where the hotel was situated, so it dint feel any more vast than our Bengaluru ! But we started appreciating its ranking only when we went on the Bosphorus Cruise and the guide gave us a complete geography education about the historic city which was traditionally called Thrace on the European bank and Anatolia on its Eastern bank. Not many metros can boast of straddling two continents ! When one crosses one of the bridges over the river, one gets from Avrupa ( Europe) to Asya ( Asia) in just under 15 mins. And there are chee

It was more Moonscape or Mars-scape than landscape. In any case , it certainly looked nothing like the lush green meadows and apricot groves we had passed by, just half an hour ago. Under a severely bright blue sky, the terrain was all grey, offwhite, pink and brown. Against a backdrop of weirdly folded hill ranges, battalions of giant anthills rose up, filling the whole valley . It looked like a scene straight out of ....... "Star Wars !" Declared the Guide proudly ! " Parts of the epic movie were shot here !" No wonder ! But the location that served as the canvas for a futuristic sci-fi movie is actually millions of eons old. All those "ant hills ", commonly called Fairy Chimneys ( technically called Hoodoos) , are the handiwork of Nature who used only wind and melted snow patiently for ages to sculpt fantastic shapes out of the prodigious quantities of TUFF ( soft rock of compacted Volcanic ash, sand and gravel ) thrown up by the ancient volca