UKRAINE | Wednesday, 29 Jul 2015 | Views [387]
HAVE YOU NOTICED THAT THE LESS DESIRABLE the destination, the more difficult the visa process? This is especially true of the former Soviet Republics — letters of introduction, detailed itineraries, hotel reservations, financial data —... Read more >
GEORGIA | Friday, 24 Jul 2015 | Views [382]
THE NIRIKALA FORTRESS, SO SCENIC FROM BELOW, in reality is just some crumbling walls high above the town. But it affords the best view of Tbilisi — the Old Town and Peace Bridge, the hammam and Mother Georgia. The cable car ride up ... Read more >
GEORGIA | Thursday, 23 Jul 2015 | Views [271]
MTSKHETA WOULD HAVE COME AS A SURPRISE to westbound travelers on the Silk Road, a Christian outpost in the Muslim world. Its strategic location at the intersection of the Aragvi and Mtkvari rivers attracted the likes of Alexander the Great and ... Read more >
GEORGIA | Monday, 20 Jul 2015 | Views [387]
THE WAITING OFFICIAL AND THE BIG RED STICKER on Connie’s bag explained why it was the last one off the carousel. A scan had exposed her stash of over-the-counter ibuprofen and multi-vitamins so customs officials had to go through her luggage ... Read more >
GEORGIA | Monday, 20 Jul 2015 | Photo Gallery
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AZERBAIJAN | Friday, 17 Jul 2015 | Views [610]
THERE IS ART ALMOST ANYWHERE YOU TURN in Baku. Street sculptures, beautiful carpets, hidden statues, and Jayran, the art-deco antelope, Baku’s most recent symbol.
Baku street art
But art is nothing ... Read more >
AZERBAIJAN | Thursday, 16 Jul 2015 | Views [389]
THE BRISTOL HOTEL BAKU IS A BIT SHABBIER than its neighborhood might suggest. Our room in the 150 year-old building is cramped and dated but on second glance has everything we need — a fridge, electric kettle, BBC and CNN and a good ... Read more >
AZERBAIJAN | Wednesday, 15 Jul 2015 | Photo Gallery
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TURKEY | Tuesday, 14 Jul 2015 | Views [371]
THE RESULTS OF OUR EXPERIMENT — is it better to visit Turkey in summer or winter? — are inconclusive. Except for the invasion of cruise ship passengers at Ephesus, we managed to evade most of the crowds. But we also skipped some ... Read more >
TURKEY | Saturday, 11 Jul 2015 | Views [553]
EPHESUS IS FAMOUS FROM BIBLICAL TIMES. Paul preached the gospel here and John wrote his contribution to the New Testament in Ephesus. After Jesus’ crucifixion., Mary moved here with John and many — heretics no doubt — theorize ... Read more >
TURKEY | Thursday, 9 Jul 2015 | Views [386]
BODRUM WAS ONE OF OUR FAVORITE PLACES in 2007, a quiet respite on the Adriatic coast. If only we had known!
Sugar-cube houses
My journal entry from that trip (hand-written, of course) said, Bodrum is about as picturesque ... Read more >
TURKEY | Tuesday, 7 Jul 2015 | Views [437]
WE LEFT THE MEDITERRANEAN BEHIND YESTERDAY. The road is long, with many a winding turn, through time-warped mountain villages where tractors have yet to replace donkeys. We were headed for Pamukkale with a major detour to Aphrodisias, not ... Read more >
TURKEY | Monday, 6 Jul 2015 | Views [510]
BEFORE THERE WERE GREEKS AND TURKS, when Athenians, Spartans, Trojans, Myceans and such controlled their turf in the Mediterranean, the Lycians dominated southwestern Anatolia. And while their civilization was successively ruled — and influenced ... Read more >
TURKEY | Thursday, 2 Jul 2015 | Views [360]
CRUISING ALONG IN A SAILBOAT from cove to cove may be the most idyllic way to see the Turquoise Coast — if sailing is your thing. For us non-nautical types there are wonderful views of pine-covered mountains and turquoise coves from the ... Read more >
TURKEY | Wednesday, 1 Jul 2015 | Views [345]
CONNIE SWEARS WE STAYED IN ANTALYLA in ’07 — even has journal entries to prove it — but I am drawing a blank. Ditto the theater at Aspendos, very much "off, OFF, OFF Broadway" yet one of the best preserved in the Roman ... Read more >
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