Travel Journals
The Mountain of Pain
12 March 2023 Sally
Ararat is the highest peak in the Eastern Anatolian Highlands. It is 5,137 metres in elevation and rises 3,512 metres above Doğubeyazıt ; it is a Stratovolcano dominating the highland plain around it. It might...
Read MoreAre you happy?
24 February 2023 Sally
Are you happy? It’s a question we are often asked. In the United States they actually have a Constitutional right, if not to actually have it, at least to “pursue” it. They seem to think...
Read MoreFrom Ale to Eternity
17 February 2023 Sally
Whoever thought that Ale - or "liquid bread" - would come about because of something called Wandering Wheat? But it is true! Wild wheat (or grasses) still grow in southeast Anatolia. Although supplanted by large...
Read MoreHow bread came to mankind: It’s a long story but…….
06 February 2023 Sally
There are parts of the world where the mystical and sacred intersect with the mundane and profane, which gently exhale a sacred breath and while they attract veneration and respect from different peoples and cultures...
Read MoreDiyarbakir
24 January 2023 Sally
“A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum.” Diyarbakir doesn’t really feature on the itinerary for most tourists but if you want see a Roman Forum pretty much intact, bustling and open for...
Read MoreAncient Civilisations: Lost and Found
20 December 2022 Sally
The Winter Solstice was believed by our distant ancestors to be that point at which the Sun appeared to stand still and life rekindles after the extremes of winter. While our connections with the stars...
Read MoreMaybe There Was, Maybe There Wasn’t
04 December 2022 Sally
Endymion was a young, handsome shepherd living on the slopes of Mt. Latmos, a place in Western Anatolia considered sacred since Neolithic times. According to an ancient legend, Endymion grazed his flocks one Spring Day...
Read MoreApocalyptic Landscapes: Underground Cappadocia
21 November 2022 Sally
As featured in Graham Hancock’s 2022 Netflix Series. A new series offers a different theory behind the creation of the ancient underground cities of Cappadocia. Ancient Apocalypse delves into sites across the globe that hint...
Read MoreUrartu unlocked
02 November 2022 Sally
“The Stone Age didn’t end because they ran out of stones” Ahmed Zaki Yamani 1930- 2021 The Eastern Anatolian region, centred around Van, has a long history that is reflected in the city’s new, recently opened...
Read MoreAn Accidental Ornithologist
19 September 2022 Sally
I have to confess; I am not an ornithologist and I'm no bird expert, but the spectacle of Bafa simply blew me away. I have specific interests that draw me to Bafa but birds weren't...
Read More