Beyazit’s answer to Bedlam
Beyazit II was one of the more enlightened of the Ottoman sultans. I greatly enjoyed strolling around the old capital of Edirne, close to the Bulgarian border, this summer. His […]
Happy as a Habsburg in Budapest
I felt quite at home in Budapest. It’s a bit like London but more relaxing, with far fewer people and less of a prostitute. I walked from St Stephen’s Church […]
Ruminating in Rome
Rome is okay. The Coliseum is not as overwhelming as you might expect, though certainly impressive, especially for that time. I found the long field beyond the Senate – which […]
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 […]
An obelisk a long way from home
When pharaoh Thutmose III commissioned a special obelisk for his temple to Amon-Ra at Karnak 3400 years ago, he little imagined where it would end up. Carved from a pink […]
Faded grandeur and clattering teacups in Folkestone
I travelled for a change through south London’s Wandsworth and other dismal districts to reach Folkestone, which is only three hours by coach from Victoria Station. This was Wednesday, and […]
A gateway on the past
This is an old familiar sight in the heart of London, just off Charing Cross and a stone’s throw (by catapult) from Trafalgar Square. It’s an imposing 17th century stone […]
One in the eye in Cordoba
Wandering around the atmospheric backstreets of Cordoba, I came across this bust of one of the first attested eye-specialists in history. He was Mohamed Al-Gafequi, born sometime in 1165 in […]
Guardian of the house
This is my very own Green Man, who protects my garden against evil spirits and malignant fairies. The spate of burglaries we experienced in this street also abruptly came to […]
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