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...

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Are 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...

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From 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...

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How 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...

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Diyarbakir

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...

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Ancient 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...

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Maybe 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...

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Apocalyptic 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...

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Urartu 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...

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An 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...

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