A Promise To The Star

  Chapter 2 Istanbul was a beautiful city. Formerly known as Constantinople, the seat of the Roman Empire and Christianity in the East, it had kept itself strong throughout its 1,200-year history, despite going through numerous turmoils, sieges, wars, and natural calamities. With a long Ottoman history that saw an Islamic stronghold and one of the longest-lasting dynasties in world history ruling parts of the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and North Africa for more than 600 years, Istanbul had become a potpourri of Western and Eastern civilizations. When Mustafa Kemal Atatürk became the first President of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, after winning the War of Independence from the Allied forces, he created a vibrant democratic country, giving equal rights to both men and women and putting strong emphasis on education for every citizen. While the West was still fighting for women's rights, Turkey had already put in place a truly inclusive democracy. Turkey had one foot in Europe a...

  Istanbul Pari closed her books. She was trying hard to concentrate but it was not easy. Her very simple life is suddenly all jumbled up. The man she loved for 10 years and was about to marry suddenly broke up with her on the stupidest pretext. Her company which she built with sweat, tear and toil 12 years ago, now belongs to someone else. Her family was too shocked to even react to whatever is happening in her life at the moment; her very few friends remained oblivious to the silent hurricane ripping through her life. The airport intercom broke her reverie. “This is the final boarding announcement for Flight TK6565 to Istanbul. All remaining passengers are requested to proceed to the gate immediately.” Pari came back to her present with a jolt. It was 3:30 a.m., and she hadn’t slept in over 30 hours. She was looking forward to her trip to Istanbul, her dream city. She always wanted to travel to Turkey ever since she read a book about it a while ago; but the last few years...