Today, we cruised along the Bosphorus Strait, a body of water that connects the Sea of Marmara (where we start) to the Black Sea (where we turn around), as well as separating the continents of Asia and Europe. The cruise takes about 90 minutes, plus a 3 hour break at Anadolu Kavagi, then 90 minutes […]
Cyprus 7 – Final Sunsets
Our last two nights exploring Cyprus included two final sunset photography ops. First, we had read about a shipwreck very near shore that looked like it would provide an interesting foreground. We drove up and down the coast north of Paphos, asking people in English where a “shipwreck” was located, and nobody seemed to know. […]
Cyprus 6 – Evelyn’s Birthday
Today was Evelyn’s birthday, and it turned out to be quite eventful (but remember that we never ask a woman how old she is…). As we were driving from the village of Vouni to Paphos in Cyprus this morning, we saw some goats in a field, and decided to stop to photograph them. Every time […]
Cyprus 5 – Troödos Mountains
We spent the last couple nights in the South Central mountainous wine-making region of Cyprus. We had chosen a small lodge in the town of Vouni, to be near a village where we could walk and explore. When we arrived, there was no reception desk, and no hint of a hotel other than a phone […]
Cyprus 4 – Art, Donkeys, and Ruins
We have now transitioned from the Turkish-occupied North Cyprus to the “Republic of Cyprus,” often referred to as “the Greek side.” I’ll let you read the linked Wikipedia article if you want to know why. Our first shock was that all the signs were suddenly unreadable, in a non-Roman alphabet script — though usually followed […]
Cyprus 3 – Salamis and Famagusta
We got up early this morning to photograph Ancient Salamis, a 3,000 year old ruins on the East coast of Cyprus, in the Turkish-occupied portion of the island. The site does not officially open until 9AM, but we arrived at 8AM and were allowed in. Being that early, we were the only visitors, giving us […]
Cyprus 2 – Kyrenia
We spent the last couple days around Kyrenia, on the North coast, in the Turkish-occupied section of Cyprus. This is a small, picturesque town with some excellent restaurants, surrounding a small scenic harbor and ancient castle. Kyrenia castle, a 16th-century castle built by the Venetians, overlooks the harbor (upper two images), with a small shipwreck […]
Cyprus 1 – Keep to the left!
We are now in Cyprus. The first shock was that these people drive on the left side of the road. We have rented a car to travel around the island, and I keep having to tell myself to “Keep to the left” — particularly when I approach a car on “my” side of the road! […]
Turkey 17 – Historic Churches
We also visited three other famous landmarks in Istanbul. They had been built more than 1500 years ago, converted to mosques 600 years ago, then two were converted into museums, while the third remains as an active mosque. The image above is the central dome from the church of St. Saviour in Chora. Chora is […]
Turkey 16 – City Views and Lights
Mehmet, the leader of our photographic tour of Turkey (www.fantasticphototours.com), took us on an afternoon walk around parts of Istanbul today. We wandered around parts of the Grand Bazaar again, and then up a hidden set of stairs. He talked to a guard, who at first insisted we could go no further. As usual, Mehmet […]
