Turkey

Turkish kindness kills the imaginary thief

ISTANBUL – The first heavy snow glistens in the darkness of the city I’ve fallen in love with in the last year. We are six, three children and three adults, who pile in the station wagon to head home. Umesh, our Indian friend, neighbor and fellow journalist, clears the snow from the windows and turns

Turkish kindness kills the imaginary thief2025-04-21T13:04:43+00:00

Bathhouses and chai from Herat to Istanbul

Four days after a suicide bomber killed 10 tourists and injured 15 at the most popular tourist destination of Istanbul, I took a good friend visiting from Kabul and my two girls to Sultanahmet Square for a Turkish bath and then dinner with chai. Tourism is suffering because foreigners are afraid to visit Turkey. Tours

Bathhouses and chai from Herat to Istanbul2025-04-21T13:04:43+00:00

How a child learns to accept differences

My 4-year-old sat on my lap as I massaged my broken leg in a cast on the Istanbul Metro train. In front of us sat a woman wearing a black niqab with only slits of her eyes showing. My daughter could not see her expressions. She wasn’t used to the garb. She stared at her

How a child learns to accept differences2025-04-21T13:04:43+00:00

Your tomorrow is my today

On November 3, my little family of four packed eight years into five suitcases and flew from San Francisco to Istanbul. Our temporary apartment was just right with a panoramic view of the city. We enrolled our two girls in an international school, walked the hilly streets and avoided traffic by taking the metro. We

Your tomorrow is my today2025-04-21T13:04:43+00:00

Heading East Again

It’s safe, sunny and quiet. My girls go to a decent school. We own a home, a business and my extended family lives nearby. The largest Afghan community in the U.S. is here – Little Kabul in the San Francisco Bay Area. This multicultural, thriving hub buzzing with new technology is where I should belong.

Heading East Again2025-04-21T13:04:43+00:00

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