Today I visited the Cappadocia like fairy chimneys at Kandovan, the main differences between the two sites is that in Kandovan people still live in these dwellings, the town is smaller and not really set up for tourists, still it was a pleasant place to visit. Next it was a long drive through dull unattractive landscape and towns to Takab the closest destination with a decent hotel to Tahkt e Solieman or in English the Throne of Soliman which I will visit in the morning. I went for a walk looking for some dinner when I was approached by a young English student who wanted to chat, the next thing I knew I was in his class meeting his teacher, luckily it was women's night or I would have ended up taking the class. Eventually I ... read more

I left the hostel early and travelled to the bus station to get a shared taxi to Yerevan when I arrived I secured the front seat and waited for other passengers to arrive, an hour later none had and the driver suggested I get a mini bus, there was no way I was doing that again so I just paid for the whole car. No sooner did we leave the city then I saw the results of a horror road crash one vehicle was smashed up on the side of the road the other was on its side and the windscreen was spider webbed where two heads had hit, this caused my driver to slow down for a few minutes. About thirty minutes later we crossed the border into Armenia, initially we were met with forested ... read more

Seven hours on the bus today, the countryside reminded me a little bit of Mongolia. I found the hotel easy enough before wandering out to see a few historic mosques, have another shave and track down a few cans of Efes. In the morning I visit the ancient Armenian capital of Ani which was initiated in 961 and later abandoned after earthquake and warfare sealed its destruction in the 14th century. The church of St Gregory perched dramatically above the Arpa Cayi river gorge was certainly a highlight as was the massive cathedral built in 967. The Menusher camii (mosque) has wonderful views of the river gorge and of Armenia. Other highlights include the restored city walls and the Zoarostrian fire temple although little remains of this structure. On returning to the city I had another ... read more

Early start this morning as I wandered into Anatalya's new city to find somewhere to purchase a bus ticket to Gaziantep which is 12 hours and eight hundred kilometres east. There is not a huge amount there but I didn't want to travel for any longer than that in one go. Eventually I found an agent and purchased a ticket for 8 pm. I then decided to go veg in my room till check out time, I left my bag at the hotel and hopped on the old tram to the Anatalya Museum. I had lots of time on my hands so I spent 3 hours wandering around the museum which was truly fascinating as the collection contains some fine sculpture. After the museum I had a late lunch and returned to the pension to collect ... read more

When I woke this Tuesday morning I decided to stay another day so after breakfast I grabbed my camera and headed down towards the port stopping along the way to have a look at the 13th century Ag Kyriaki Church built on the ruins of an early Byzantine Basilica, the church is still active today. I then attempted to visit the medieval fort but it closed off some type entertainment event, so I moved onto the Kato Pafos Archaeological Park which contains some wonderful Roman mosaics, an agora (market), odeon (theatre) and asklepieion (hospital) and also ruined 5th century church and Frankish castle. There are also a series of rock cut tombs, which I couldn't find initially and had given up on, till I had left the site and noticed a bus with "tombs of the ... read more