An Early Morning Tour of Trabzon

An Early Morning Tour of Trabzon

What do you do when you arrive in a new city at 6:00 a.m. and you can’t yet check into your hotel? After fueling yourself at McDonald’s, you take a self-guided walking tour of course. And that is exactly what I did when my bus pulled into the otogar in Trabzon, Turkey at 5:35 a.m., over an hour earlier than I anticipated. Then I arrived at my hotel to find the front door locked. As I sighed in exasperation, the owner of the fruit stand next door knocked on a window to wake someone up to let me in. The …Read more

A Little About Amasya (and its really cool castle)

A Little About Amasya (and its really cool castle)

It suddenly occurred to me that there might be snakes. I was about 45 minutes into a steep hike leading out of the Turkish town of Amasya, the sun beating down on me and sweat dripping off my brow. All I could think was “what if there are snakes?” Wearing capri pants and short socks with my hiking shoes, I didn’t feel prepared for snakes.  As I re-read the description of Amasya castle in my head, it warned of “scrambling over rocks and rubble and through undergrowth.” I wondered to myself if I was adequately prepared for this excursion. Fifteen …Read more

Birthright Armenia: More Than Just a Volunteer Experience

Birthright Armenia: More Than Just a Volunteer Experience

“The movement, migration or scattering of a people away from an established or ancestral homeland; people settled far from their ancestral homelands.” This is one of the definitions of the word “diaspora” – a word which I was not very familiar before arriving in Armenia in early March to volunteer with the Armenian Volunteer Corps (AVC). It soon became part of my everyday vocabulary as I met my fellow volunteers, all of whom were volunteering as part of through AVC’s sister organization, Birthright Armenia. Birthright Armenia facilitates volunteer opportunities in Armenia for members of the Armenian diaspora between the ages …Read more

Istanbul’s Spice Bazaar & Cruising the Bosphorus

Istanbul’s Spice Bazaar & Cruising the Bosphorus

I cringed as I glanced out the hostel window and saw nothing but clouds for miles. It figured that the morning I booked a cruise on the Bosphorus was also the only cloudy morning since I arrived in Istanbul four days earlier. And it figured that all of my long pants were still at the express laundry place around the corner, leaving me with only capri pants to brave the damp, chilly air. Add in the fact that the tour bus was nearly thirty minutes late to pick me up (costing me thirty minutes of valuable sleep time) and the …Read more

Saturday Scenes: Georgian Landscape

Saturday Scenes: Georgian Landscape

Driving from Tbilisi, the capital of the country of Georgia, to a cave monastery complex called David Gareja, we experienced some of the most dramatic landscapes I have seen on my trip so far. Here is just one example.

Oh, Those Galata Nights

Oh, Those Galata Nights

While most visitors to Istanbul begin their exploration in Sultanahmet (the old city), my introduction to this historic city came across the Golden Horn in the Galata district. I made my way from Sultanahmet to Galata by foot, following the tram tracks to the Galata Bridge and then stopping for a late lunch at the Desideraat Café. After enjoying a leisurely meal of chicken kebabs, salad and one of the best glasses of tea I have ever had, I met up with my Context  tour group to begin our Galata Nights tour. Our group was refreshingly small – just four …Read more

Too Many Tourists and Touts

Too Many Tourists and Touts

I have been spoiled. Traveling through Russia in the offseason and through many places in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus that don’t attract large numbers of tourists in the first place has spoiled me. I forgot what it is like to push through crowds and to hear American and Australian accents at every turn. I forgot what Middle Eastern countries can be like, with touts trying to get your attention as you walk by, hissing “hey lady” and “yes, please” – even following you down the street to try to cajole you into visiting their shop. I forgot that the …Read more

Sometimes You Just Need McDonald’s

Sometimes You Just Need McDonald’s

I wandered aimlessly around the main square in Trabzon, checking and re-checking my guidebook map, trying desperately to get my bearings. It was 6:00 a.m. and I was fresh off an overnight bus, feeling not-so-fresh and searching for my hotel to at least drop off my bags. Suddenly, a welcome sight jumped out at me. The Golden Arches. Yes, on the corner of the square in this Black Sea coast town in Turkey was a McDonald’s and I was almost as happy to see those golden arches as I was to find my hotel about five minutes later. And as …Read more

Undiscovered Umbria

Undiscovered Umbria

Next up was the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and the inviting piazza del Duomo – the perfect place to enjoy a cup of coffee while watching the townspeople buzz pass you. Both the piazza and the cathedral date back to the 12th century, with the cathedral being built on the site of an 8th or 9th century church, which in turn replaced a primitive Christian temple. That seems to be a recurring theme in Italy, one that I find fascinating. Of course, no Italian town seems to be complete without some Roman ruins and Spoleto did not disappoint.  We …Read more

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