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My observations of Istanbul during a recent visit:
- Key features of the Byzantine (and earlier) heritage are beautifully preserved.
- There are as many mosques per capita as there are churches in the average Midwestern/Southern American city. In fact, replace "mosque" with "church", and similarities between Turkey and the US abound.
- While sleeping in my nice cushy room on a top floor of the Conrad hotel in Istanbul, I was awoken at 5:30 am by loudspeakers broadcasting the morning call to prayer from the nearby mosque.
- Pork-based dishes are almost impossible to find, even at posh restaurants. I won't speculate on whether this is a religious or a cultural influence.
- Many women - perhaps most - wear headscarves.
My observations of Moscow, during a visit some 15 years ago (yes, much has changed in the intervening years):
- Historical districts of the city remain, but outside of the Kremlin, the ravages of 20th century doctrines are immediately palpable.
- There is tremendous contrast between the upper-crust and everyone else.
- The subway system is probably the grandest in the world, and is a museum in its own right.
- Very few women wear headscarves. The scenery, from the viewpoint of a young single male, is breathtaking!
- Restaurants are grotesquely overpriced. The best option is to eat with friends in their apartments.
Very accurate observations about Moscow, don't care about Istanbul. ( did I mention that already? )
Really??
But it's... it's ... (*gasp*) a secular city!!!!
It is a secular city! Women wearing headscarfs doesn't make it a city under sharia. MOST women in Turkey wear a hijab, but there is no law forcing them to do so, as opposed to Saudi Arabia, which is NOT a secular country. Like wise, you can drink in Turkey, because its a secular country. On the contrary, you can't drink in Saudi Arabia, which is NOT a secular country!
My observations of Istanbul during a recent visit:
- Key features of the Byzantine (and earlier) heritage are beautifully preserved.
- There are as many mosques per capita as there are churches in the average Midwestern/Southern American city. In fact, replace "mosque" with "church", and similarities between Turkey and the US abound.
- While sleeping in my nice cushy room on a top floor of the Conrad hotel in Istanbul, I was awoken at 5:30 am by loudspeakers broadcasting the morning call to prayer from the nearby mosque.
- Pork-based dishes are almost impossible to find, even at posh restaurants. I won't speculate on whether this is a religious or a cultural influence.
- Many women - perhaps most - wear headscarves.
My observations of Moscow, during a visit some 15 years ago (yes, much has changed in the intervening years):
- Historical districts of the city remain, but outside of the Kremlin, the ravages of 20th century doctrines are immediately palpable.
- There is tremendous contrast between the upper-crust and everyone else.
- The subway system is probably the grandest in the world, and is a museum in its own right.
- Very few women wear headscarves. The scenery, from the viewpoint of a young single male, is breathtaking!
- Restaurants are grotesquely overpriced. The best option is to eat with friends in their apartments.
Very accurate observations. lol its probably not possible to find pork based dishes in Istanbul. Maybe in some Christian areas of the Arab world, but good luck there either. I've never had an Arab or Middle Eastern dish that contained pork before. I don't even think they would know what to do in it.
And yes, for a young man, there is some great eye candy in Russia
I've been saying that most Russians in Moscow aren't that well off, but for some reason, people want to pretend that the streets are filled with Mercedes and BMW's and that the sidewalks are paved with gold.
easily Istanbul. Moscow is very expensive (without value), food is subpar except soups, people aren't friendly...winter sux there. I worked in Moscow 8 months and did not care for it.
Tastes differ. A friend of mine told me that there are only two cities he likes: Moscow and London, for they are big and vibrant.
Saint Petersburg is a great place to visit, but I doubt that it's better city to live in.
Istanbul I guess might be more interesting for those interested in Muslim and Byzantic cultures. But Norman Foster, a great British architect, said that its our constructivism architecture that influenced him.
Also I guess the contrasts in Istanbul might be bigger. I read that they have slums there. I've never been in that city, so can't say is it true or not.
I wonder how many people who voted have been to both.
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( did I mention that already? 
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