Santa Claus nicked in Turkey shock horror!
St Nicholas, as well as being more familiar nowadays as Father Christmas, was historically the patron saint of children and sailors, probably because both are completely dependent on external forces […]
A mansion with a view
This is my pied a terre on the shores of the Sea of Marmara, on the Asian side of Istanbul just opposite the Princes Islands. They’re called the Princes Islands […]
Imperial Phaselis
I paid a brief visit to Phaselis during a tour along the Mediterranean coast of Turkey a few years back, from Alanya to Kalkan, where an old Turkish friend from […]
Christmas in Transylvania
I can highly recommend Transylvania as the ultimate romantic destination for a break this or any other Christmas. For die-hard horror buffs of a certain age Transylvania will forever be […]
Egyptian revival in Hackney
Hackney’s not nearly as bad as it was when I lived round there in the early 1980s, and in fact has become quite the place to see and be seen […]
Guns ‘n’ roses at Haydarpasha Station
All the trains to everywhere on the Anatolian side of Turkey depart from this impressive Istanbul railway station, which was completed in 1908. It’s redolent of old world charm, Strangers […]
Gulf of Edremit
I was delighted to see the Gulf of Edremit highlighted in the movie Season of the Witch the other night. The setting bore no resemblance to the actual place I’d […]
BBC at the Ally Pally
Alexandra Palace near where I live in North London was where the first TV broadcasts were made in the 1930s. There was a short interlude when the nasty Nazis had […]
Segovia Aqueduct
This is the single most important Roman artefact in Spain, and is the symbol of Segovia. Many things in this world lay dubious claim to being awesome, but this one […]
I’m a winner!
I just found out that I won the Olympus SZ-31MR camera with my winning tip about the Italian Lakes for the Saturday Guardian –
theromantictraveller 