> In this context it is amazing to see how Aya Sophia (aka Hagia Sophia) has
> been preserved under the Turkish rule (islamic and secular) - to be sure
> they added islamic symbols to the interior and covered the christian
> frescos with plaster (now being uncovered) - but the whole thing has been
> preserved essentially intact. Ditto for other relics of the Roman era in
> Istanbul aka Constantinople.
>
> Is not that amazing that there are places on earth where people live
> surrounded by structures created by civilisations that no longer exist? A
> sharp contrast to the American barbaric capitalism that incessantly levels
> even its own creations, no matter how magnificent (cf. the Penn Station in
> Manhattan).
>
> wojtek
>
>
>