The past comes to life in Ephesus
Ephesus is one of the great ruined cities of the world, a truly breathtaking pile of marble that makes you wonder at the artistic aspirations, as well as the organisational […]
Category Archives: Turkey
Evangelicals and pagan goddesses in Selcuk
With Selcuk (pronounced Seljuk) and Ephesus both within a twenty-minute drive of my hotel – the excellent Tusan Beach Resort in Kusadasi – this summer I was pretty much spoilt […]
On the tiles in Iznik
Located next to a large lake – Iznik Gol – and formerly a capital of the Byzantines, Iznik still marinades in memories of its glory days. Under the Ottomans, it […]
Handmade Houses and Voivodes in Yenisehir
It’s always a bad idea to call anything the new one. ‘New’ castle is about a thousand years old now, and the one it presumably replaced shortly after the Norman […]
Pompous and Forgotten in a Mediterranean Grave
Man is a noble animal, splendid in ashes, and pompous in the grave. (Sir Thomas Browne – Urne Burial) 6km eastward along the Mersin-Antalya coastal road, beyond the great […]
Taxiarches Church, Cunda Island
This rather desolate but undeniably beautiful building was constructed in 1873 by the Greek Orthodox congregation of Cunda Island, off the west coast of Turkey. I watched magnificent sunsets from […]
Constantine’s Column – battered but defiant
One of Istanbul’s most venerable monuments is the Column of Constantine. It’s called the Hooped Column locally, for obvious reasons, and this in Turkish (Cemberlitas – Chem-ber-lee-tash) gives its name […]
The Golden Gate of Byzantium
I was thrilled, after taking the old train along the Marmara shore to Yedikule (Seven Towers), to find myself standing before the legendary Golden Gate of Byzantium. It looks sadly […]
Side by Side by Apollo
Side has become a victim of its own popularity. You reach it by driving down a 3km asphalt road off the main Antalya-Alanya coast road on Turkey’s south coast, heading […]
The Most Beautiful Fountain in Turkey
One of the most attractive aspects of Istanbul is the sheer number and variety of monumental fountains in the city. Each of them is a real work of art, encapsulating […]
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