Continuing on our route south, we caught a bus to Söke, about an hour below Selçuk, on what we thought had been a tip from another traveler. Did Jenny misunderstand the name of the city? Was it a cruel joke? When we got to the bus station, it became obvious why Söke doesn't make the guide books. İt's a relatively small inland town, mostly concrete and red tile roofs, no real city center, and yet more dilapidated neighborhoods. By the odd looks and blank stares, we guessed foreigners were a rare occurrence. A few people who spoke English asked "why are [View Full Entry]

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We finally arrived in Istanbul after a 24 hour whirlwind tour of the SFO, JFK, and Heathrow airports. Apparently our bags had a different itinerary since they arrived several days later. Thank you American Airlines for lightening our load! It's a good thing we didn't need water filters and mosquito nets to enjoy Istanbul. In the only city that spans two continents, the collusion of cultures ıs everywhere: headscarves and Converse, tea houses playing hip hop, mosques hosting book fairs. The train from the airport took us through run-down neighborhoods wıth crumbling walls and kids [View Full Entry]

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We bought our tickets to Africa (SF to Istanbul to Cairo to East Africa and beyond) three months ago, but with just two weeks til departure the anticipation is killing us. 99% of our preparations are done--pouring over military survival guides and McGuyver reruns, perfecting our poop-'n-bury techniques, and learning how to tame a pack of wild hyenas with a spork and peanutbutter. We also got vaccinations, updated our passports, and packed the band-aids...just in case. In lieu of travel guides, we've been reading an eclectic assortment of Africa-related histories, memoirs, novels, and es [View Full Entry]

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