Merhaba from Istanbul, Like all of his compatriots of the time, Kemal Atatürk was given a single name at birth. It was Mustafa. Turks living under the Ottoman Empire had no surnames. When Mustafa was in primary school, an influential teacher noticed how quickly the boy picked up new ideas and dubbed him “Kemal”, meaning …Read More
Merhaba from Istanbul. We have just spent a tremendous week ın Cappadocia in Central Anatolia. For me, it was a slightly nervous journey overland from the south coast to Cappadocia, where M. had booked a week-long horse ride. Nervous because I’m not a horse rider. It was against my better judgement that I had allowed …Read More
Merhaba from Çirali, We’ve called another temporary halt, this time on the southern coast of Turkiye, not far from the big city of Antalya. We are staying for a few days at a beachside place called Çirali. The stony beach is on the Akdenız, which is what Turks call The Mediterranean. It’s very inviting …Read More
Merhaba from Gallipoli, Turkiye is wonderful, especially after the grime and dilapidation of Athens. Here, everything seems clean, new and welcoming. That includes Istanbul which we´ll be returning to in about two weeks. In the meantime we have completed one of the targeted pilgrimages: Gallipoli. One of the salient memories I have of ANZAC Day …Read More