TRAVEL TALES of ranaruby

ISTANBUL  -  the city of tulips and rhododendrons                     (Part I) PRELUDE In my school days, circumstances compelled a deep interest in history for me. I attended La Martiniere College, Lucknow, and my surroundings were so rich in historical significance that I could not help but fall in love with the past old imposing buildings, the intriguing but magnificent architecture of the main building ‘Constantia’ – an unusual mix of Gothic, Georgian, Palladian, and Nawabi styles, the three majestic cannons on the terrace overlooking the ‘Lat’ ( a 40m long solid fluted column) standing like a silent spectator right at the centre of an artificial lake, the wooden ballroom dance floor in Spence Hall —–a summer palace for Maj Gen Claude Martin. a French soldier who acquired a large fortune while serving Asaf-ud- Daula, the Nawab of Oudh, before founding the La Martiniere schools in Lyons, Lucknow and Kolkata. The ‘...