Christianity, Love, and Islam

This photo is of Rumeli Hisar in Istanbul, and the college I attended there is located on the hill right above it so we students had a great view of this fortress.

I have many favorite Scripture verses, and one I especially love is:
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13:13
Jesus talked about love throughout his time here on earth, and love infuses the church I attend.
A gal new to my church told me "What attracted me to this church is its emphasis on love."
I chose to attend college in a Muslim country for a year and grew to love the people, the beautiful architecture of their mosques, and the many ancient sites like the Rumeli Hisar and Side and Antalya on the Mediterranean coast.
Influenced by the art I saw in Turkey I changed my major to Art History and wrote my senior thesis titled "The History of the Development of the Mosque."
Since the USA was attacked on 9/11 I have studied the Muslim religion more closely, and learned that it was started by a man who became a warrior and military leader and in line with its origins it does not have the focus on peace that Jesus preached.
Two excellent books on this topic are "Unveiling Islam" by two brothers, Ergun and Emir Caner, who were raised as Muslims and converted to Christianity and "What You Need to Know about Islam and Muslims" by George W. Braswell (B.D. Yale University and PhD. UNC).
By reading these and other books, which have extensive quotes from Islam's Koran (or Qur'an) and the Sunnah and Hadith, we can get a better understanding of events in the news today.

Rumeli fortress, European Istanbul from the Bosporus Strait

Rumeli fortress, European Istanbul from the Bosporus Strait
Originally uploaded by Mickey Bo

I wanted to change up my blog posts a bit, and had a block about what to share here.
Then I thought about Istanbul, and the college I attended there for one year, and voila. I found this photo of Rumeli Hisar, a fortress that guards Istanbul and the Bosphorus.
This is an outstanding fortress to visit, which I did many times. It is located at the base of the hill below the college I attended so I saw it often.
To prevent invasions via water and the Bosphorus, a heavy metal chain was strung across the Bosphorus, which stopped ships from entering the city.
If you visit Istanbul aim to see Bebek and Rumeli Hisar, for a trip back in time. I sure loved my year in Turkey. The entire country is full of historical sites that are beautiful and I made many friends there.
One thing that is especially gorgeous about Istanbul is sunset when the mosques are silhouetted by the setting sun.