While waiting for the Iranian visa, I visited the small town of Selcuk in west Turkey. It is better known for its nearest archeological sight, Ephesus. I visited Ephesus for one day, but I also experienced Selcuk itself to be a nice place. In Selcuk I also had the possibility to upload some pictures from all the recent places I have been. I will also try to extend the correspondıng blogs a bit. But first about Selcuk. It is about a 10h busride away from Istanbul. It's not situated directly at the coast but some kilometers from the sea between many hills. The hills are partly covered by pine forest, especially at the coast and around Selcuk the lowlands have many peach and tomato plantations. Ephesus is about 2.5 km away from Selcuk, and you can ... read more

Four hours later than expected I arrived in Istanbul. It's very nice here, a real change also compare to Budapest. No more churches but only mosques with minaretts. And the imam is singing very early and many times a day to call for the prayer. Organisatıon oi an Iranian visa seems quite difficult, but I will try. ... read more

Today I'm on the train to Istanbul, passing through Rumania and Bulgaria. I have lots of food, a nice bed, and will hopefully arrive relaxed and well fed in Istanbul on Wednesday morning.... read more

Before heading east I went to Taizé in France. Here I lived at the local monastry with many other young people. If you like to know more, have a look at www.taize.fr, their website. I chose to vivist Taizé for a week to calm down a bit after the busy time at the end of my studies. To get to Taizé I hitchhiked from Heidelberg. The most difficult part was the walk from Heidelbergs nearest bus stop "Heidelberg Bruchhäuser Hof" to the roadhouse. Afterwards all went really well. I had loots of fun, especially in France the people were very helpful. I got a ride from four oboe musicans in their glaring red bus... In Taizé I was welcomed warmly, and introduced to the daily live at the monastry. At the time I was visiting about ... read more

But ready to leave. My recently completed diploma thesis I just handed in. My room looks empty, the furniture has been moved to my parents house. My bag is packed. The decision waht to take for the journey wasn't always easy. And the first overland destination is set as Istanbul. Today is my good-bye party. What a sad reason to celebrate... but nice to see everybody once more!... read more