After spending two glorious idyllic days in Ankara, we made our way northwest to Safranbolu. Safranbolu is labeled a museum town because it was made an official UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994. It is a small town nestled into a mountain valley and it was once, I am sure, very charming indeed. [...]

I will begin this post with full disclosure: I did not recently go to Ankara as a regular ol’ expat tourist. I did not take the train out there as my room mate did back in December.
No, I went there being cozily chauffeured by my boyfriend who happens to be Ankara’s secret PR [...]

Here are some pictures from our recent trip to Ankara, Safranbolu and Abant. More pictures will be added along with posts about the trips.

Here are some pictures from our recent trip to nearby islands close to Istanbul. Enjoy!

Polonezköy (Turkish for “Polish Village”), or Adampol, was founded in 1842 by a man named Adam Czartoryski. A champion of political emigration, he was the Chairman of the Polish National Uprising Government. The settlement was named Adam-koj (Polish for “Town of Adam”)
Duke Adam Czartoryski was working towards establishing emigration centers for Poles. The [...]

The Çemberlitaş Hamam is probably both the most historically significant of the Turkish baths and the most visited by tourists visiting Istanbul. It is the one that you will find in the major guide books and recommended by area hotels. Some people even find themselves visiting it knowing nothing more than it was [...]

If you have been to Istanbul, you have spent a fair amount of time in Sultanahmet. It is the main storehouse of the archeological treasures here in Istanbul. The Aya Sofia (Hagia Sophia), the Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cistern and other sites can be found here. There are some tourists who come [...]

“Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened. Don’t open the door to the study and begin reading. Instead, take down a musical instrument. Let the beauty we love be what we do.”
That’s what my man Jelaladdin Rumi said in the 13th century. He was a poet, mystic and theologian of [...]