Dropping Friends at the Syrian Border
A beautiful followsummer memory! Sunday, May 23rd, 2004: Sanliurfa to Istanbul, Turkey N 40 ° E 029 ° We leave Sanliurfa about 9 a.m. – this will be a long day on buses for Greg and me. The first part, which takes 4 ½ hours...
Touring the Grand Mosques of Istanbul
Today is Mosque day, and we set out to see a number of them. I am still battling my cold which has left me sneezing and coughing through the last week of our Turkey tour, and now I bring it to Istanbul. It is very hard when you...
Feeling Like Sultans at The Topkapi Palace
Topkapi is organized into 4 courtyards that go from most public to most private, which was the suite of the Sultan himself. Only the 1st and 2nd courtyards were accessible to the public, and the Sultan used to receive visiting...
Raki Attack in Cappadocia, Turkey
Greg gently shakes me at 7:00 a.m. The bus is at the station. I discover that Greg and I have had the best night’s sleep of our group. Others have gotten off the bus are various stops through the night, have watched the police go...
Blaming The Gods
We have our Turkish breakfast this morning in the garden of the hotel. I say breakfast but it is more like lunch for us westerners. Black olives, a slice of feta, a hard boiled egg, cucumber, and tomato slices, all washed down...
Looking Down the Dardanelles Towards Gallipoli
There is confusion at 6:30 a.m. Haluk tells us this is the Turkish way. The shuttle that has arrived to take us to the public bus station is too full to fit the 8 of us. We stand around waiting while mobile calls get made and...
A Leisurely Bondi Beach Read: Last Days in Sydney, Australia
Our time in Sydney and indeed Australia unfortunately, is coming to an end. We find it hard to believe how quickly two months has flown by. Hot = Bondi! Our last couple of days has been easy going and relaxed. On Tuesday, the...
Awaiting the Tourist Season in Mykonos, Greece
The cobalt blue shutters of the hotels and small pensions are being cleaned and painted in anticipation of the blitz of tourists hotly anticipated to arrive on Mykonos. Canvas is being scrubbed and hung as shade against the...
A Last Night in Mykonos
We sleep in as late as possible today, for 2 reasons. First, we indulged last night in our normal Mykonos routine. Second, we are traveling today to Istanbul, where we hook up with the small tour of Turkey that we are taking, and...
Returning to Istanbul: Dinner Out in Taksim
After our 23+ hour bus ordeal, we arrive at our hotel at 8:30 this morning. We have said goodbye to all of the group except Haluk, and when we arrive it is time to say goodbye to him. Haluk has been a joy to travel with: his...