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Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

  • A CASE OF THE HUMAN CONDITION
  • MY EVER-CHANGING FAMILY
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hagia sophia

I’m Worried About the Hagia Sophia: A Push to Make It a Mosque Again

July 10, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

I'm worried about the Hagia Sophia -- Madonna with roundels, Muhammad & Allah. Photo by BF Newhall

Turkey’s Erdogan wants to dismantle his country’s secular traditions. I’m worried about the Hagia Sophia — will he turn it back into a mosque? Read more.

Is an Istanbul Trip Too Risky for You? Here’s What You’re Missing

June 30, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Exterior walls of the ancient Hagia Sohia basilica of Istanbul. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Jon and I took the kids to Istanbul back in 2009. What we experienced was a energetic culture with a rich past, great food and beautiful people. Read more.

I Searched for Jesus, and Here’s What I Found

December 25, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

A life-sized baby Jesus doll on sale laies on the pavement at the Mercado in San Miguel de Allende. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Christmas was coming and I needed a Christmassy, Jesusy post. I went to my photo gallery — where else?– and I searched for Jesus. Read more.

The Hagia Sophia: Where Christianity and Islam Coexist — and Clash

May 8, 2010 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

The Hagia Sophia -- Madonna with roundels, Muhammad & Allah. Photo by BF Newhall

As an American Christian, I’d never known how it feels to have my faith’s most cherished symbols obliterated by a colonizing force. Until I entered the Hagia Sophia. Read more.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

A Case of the Human Condition: I Want to Kill My Snapdragons

Maroon snapdragons growing in the yard of Barbara Falconer Newhall. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Those maroon snapdragons in my front yard are ugly. But they’re alive. Can I rip them out? Read more.

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TO MY READERS

Please feel free to share links to my posts with one and all and to quote briefly from them in your own writing, remembering, of course, to attribute the quote to me and to provide a link back to this site.

My Oakland Tribune columns, btw, are reprinted by permission of the Trib. With the exception of review copies of books, I do not accept ads or freebies of any kind. Click on the "Contact" button if you have questions. Enjoy!

 

DON’T MISS!

Jon Newhall makes dinner at the Newhall house. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Widowed: Lucky Me, I Told Jon Newhall I Loved Him

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The Homeless — What They Really Need From Us (A Little PB&J, a Lot of Love)

Barbara Falconer Newhall at her home office desk

At 78, I Still Have a Lot of Living to Do — Do the Deciders Care? Sheltering at Home Week 8

Tinka Falconer at Pentwater, Michigan, 1982. Photo by BF Newhall

Why I Can’t Write My Memoir — Not the Part About My Mom Anyway

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