Turkish bird-houses
‘Kusevi’ (koosh-evvy) are Turkish bird-houses that are very often built into the walls of buildings, especially mosques. I spotted one particularly ornate one in Istanbul years back and since then […]
Author Archives: theromantictraveller
Mother love
The ruins of Troy in Turkey’s Troad region are a bit disappointing, even worse than the Roman Wall in Northumberland and not at all like the still awesome land walls […]
14 fabulous Teutonic nights in the beautiful Baltic – bring your own armour!
The Baltic crusades were just one of the myriad elements in the gradual Christianisation of northern and central Europe during the 13th century, and were really a chivalric veneer that […]
St George to the rescue
The Princes Islands in the Sea of Marmara – in ancient times called the Propontis – lie close to the Asian coastline of Turkey just off Istanbul, and to the […]
All the time in the world
Apart from the massive walls of the Alhambra, which are reminiscent of the Krak des Chevaliers crusader castle in Syria, Granada most impressed me by the quality of its air. […]
We will rack you
The leg irons recovered from liberated Christian prisoners of the Moors that decorate the walls of the San Juan de los Reyes monastery in Toledo are a shock reminder that […]
Falstaff 1, Little Nell 0
I think that Dickens’s childhood stint in the soul-destroying blacking factory was the driving force behind his manic energy, restless creativity and ultimately his early death. If he hadn’t been […]
Standing up for Shakespeare
I don’t know how they arrange things these days but when I was in secondary school Shakespeare was de rigueur. Looking back, it must have been a nightmare for our […]
A stroll around an ancient Biblical city in Turkey
The ancient city of Seleucia Pieria, 16 miles to the southwest of Antioch, was the first new city built by Seleucis I Nicator in 300BC. He made it his capital […]
Great Limbs Gone to Chaos
The massive barbican broods like the wreck of a mythic hero, brought to his knees by time but still a commanding presence, keeping a watchful eye on the village that […]
theromantictraveller 