Of all the places where you could feel in the centre of the world, Istanbul has a good claim of being the most central. Geographically bridging Asia and Europe, an important part of the Middle East, and a stones throw from Africa. Historically, it has been coveted by many and possessed by a few. It was the great capital of the East Roman Empire. The Byzantines made it their epicentre, and made sure it would withstand the most severe storm with massive walls securing both the European and Asian parts of the city. As soon as we hot footed it down [View Full Entry]

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The INDIAN VISA: Fleeced by the NZ Consulate In Turkey, 120 Lira (NZ$140) will do quite a lot for you. You could happily buy yourself ... 120 kilos of the juiciest delectable mediterranean oranges 33 chicken kebabs, an essential staple in our daily diet 15 kilograms of Benj's favourite touristic Lemon Turkish Delight 8 person lunch at a cute touristic wine making village, Waiheke Island style 6 entries into Aya Sophia, one of Turkeys world class heritage buildings 4 five hour bus trips across Turkey 3 nights in a private Cappadocian cave room, with private bathroom facilities 2 [View Full Entry]

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Our first sight of Cappadocia came shortly after our arrival - having been dropped at a town called Goreme in the dark at 5am. The dawn light teased us with such a treat - the whole town was partially blanketed in fresh snow, enhancing Goreme's mindblowingly fascinating landscape. Ditching our packs, we were immediately enthralled by walking the roads surrounding the unusual rock formations, with more modern buildings blending in and around rooms chiselled out of the hillsides. Beginning with volcanic eruptians that formed a nice soft blanket, the following centuries of selective erosion pr [View Full Entry]

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On the face of it, Antalya had it all. Undeniably stunning, its location was good for the Romans to use its nice little harbour as a trading hub, needing only a few low key defences around it. Wrapping around the harbour like an amphitheatre, the streets testify to the periods of development since, with some beautiful Ottoman buildings, giving the historic district a lovely focal point. Walking around the harbour was slow going - as every angle was easy on the eye and hard on the camera, with sparkling turquiose water leading to snow covered ranges forming its mountainous outlook. But [View Full Entry]

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The Aegean is that beautiful stretch of Turkey's West coast that eventually wraps around the corner into the Mediterranean. İts waters are that glistening turquoise that makes the Mediterranean so famous. And wıth the Greek Islands just a stone throw from the coast, their grey shapes give the oceanic skyline a majestic splash of increasingly deep blue colour that has inspired so many artists. How these allurıng İslands ended up in Greek hands when they are just a stones throw from Turkey's coast has its roots in the demise of the Ottoman empire followıng defeat in W [View Full Entry]

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Alexander the Great nicely used the long memories and grievances of the Greeks from the now famous battles of Marathon and Thermopylae to launch a huge Greek invasion back on the Persian King who controlled modern day Turkey. His 'adventures' took him from the Gallipoli Peninsular, all the way down the Aegean Coast towards the Mediterranean ... on very scenic route to destinations unknown (India). So it is not surprising that his passage bolstered the Helenistic Age to Turkey, and the entire coast is littered with history from this, and more so from his successors the Romans, and then their [View Full Entry]

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Gallipoli. There is absolutely no place in the World like it. Not because untold thousands of people died there in a bloody deadlock, but because some of them were our family, friends, and countrymen. Gallipoli is part of the mindset of our little Country. The yearly celebration of ANZAC day with the country closing down, the silent dawn parades, the solemn school ceremonies, the sad songs recalling honour and pride amidst the wreckage. "Lest we forget". The 19th Century. After 100's of years of achieving the previously impossible, the now powerful European empires had not only explored [View Full Entry]

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Our unexpected privilege to be travelling in Syria continued on from the high of the Capital Damascus, and took us out into the deserts to the reassuring presence of an oasis - just as the Romans did about 2000 years ago. The difference is that instead of just leaving the rubbish in the hostel bin as we did, they hung around and built a magnificent city for generations to come gawk at with awe. And gawk at this undisputedly best Roman city of the Middle East we surely did. Palmyra's lifeblood now is tourism, as it is nestled next to this [View Full Entry]

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Polarity - the Human talent for finding differences in everything. Black - White. Friend - Enemy. East - West. So it was that some guy named Bush lumped a country called Syria in with some 'Axis of Evil', perhaps as opposed to some 'Axis of Good'. And overtly or sublimally, Syria has been dubbed anti-West, with its personality being associated with military and religious 'extremism', and hanging out with good mates like North Korea and Iran, not to mention Hamas and Hezbollah. Making a last minute decision to enter Syria only because it looked like we would be let in, we [View Full Entry]

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One of those groups of historical peoples that failed to get a mention in any of the history books we have encountered are the tribal Nabataeans. Picture a small empire built up out of the lucrative proceeds of controlling the camel pack-train trade routes through the deserts of what is now Jordan. If it had not been for the growing influence of the spreading Roman Empire around 200AD, they would have continued to expand their incredible ability to carve stunning building facades out of the soft sandstone rock faces of their capital Petra. Undeniably one of Jordans outstanding attractions, [View Full Entry]

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