For more of my photos, or to buy my book, please visit www.nickkembel.com Before you read ahead, forget everything you know about Iraq. The ancient Mesopotamian ruins of Ur and Nineveh, where civilization began and writing and law codes were invented, the site of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the purported location of the Garden of Eden, and capital city Baghdad are all scratched off my Iraq travel itinerary. I am going to the ‘New Iraq’, a relatively safe and stable, visually stunning, and quickly developing semi-autonomous state in northern Iraq, occupied by some of the friendliest and most hospitable people in the world. My exposure to Iraqi people and culture actually began before I even entered the country. On a recent bus ride from Turkey to Syria, I shared a seat with Jabbar Hassan, ... read more

For more of my photos, or to buy my book, please visit www.nickkembel.com At the time that the events of the New Testament were taking place, the earliest written records of Damascus and Aleppo were already 2500 years old. Evidence suggests that these two cities have been continuously inhabited for as long as 8000 years, making them the oldest living cities in the world. Over time they have been incorporated into the Egyptian, Assyrian, Persian, Roman, Ottoman, and French empires. I am baffled by this thought as I peer from my 10$ Aleppo hotel room balcony, observing a group of street cats eating garbage, men smoking nargileh (shisha), and little boys shining shoes. I sometimes have trouble associating these romantic histories with the modern day scenes I observe on the streets, though there is no ... read more

For more of my photos, or to buy my book, please visit www.nickkembel.com Which words do I use to summarize one of the most beautiful places I have ever been? I have wanted to go to Greece for as long as I can remember, and Santorini was always the part I wanted to visit the most. The tiny C shaped island is composed of the remains of an enormous volcanic eruption some 3600 years ago that is thought to have contributed to the downfall of the ancient Minoan civilization by sending an enormous tsunami to neighboring Crete. In the center of the C sits a small black island which is actually the volcano's caldera, and to this day it is still active and produces warm water springs which spill into the ocean and tourists pile ... read more

For more of my photos, or to buy my book, please visit www.nickkembel.com In December of 2008 there were huge riots in every major city in Greece, with frustrated protesters taking to the streets and pillaging public property. Living under the shadow of the glorious ancient past that most of the world still associates with this Mediterranean nation, the modern urban Greek lives on an average of a mere 500 Euros a month, in a nation where costs of living are soaring in an unprecedented manner. This is only one of the many new things I learn about this country as I chat over a bottle of raki, the locally produced fiery liquor distilled from grapes, with Stella, my host in Crete and native of the largest Greek island. “People are angry and they have ... read more

For more of my photos, or to buy my book, please visit www.nickkembel.com I am publishing this blog as my summer days in Canada fly by, and I am counting down sleeps to my looming return to the great city of Rome, from where I will begin my overland journey from Europe to Asia. Following my grand introduction to Europe at the stunning city of Venice, my travel companion Hannah and I continued our Italian journey with a stop in Verona, a most quaint and pleasant city located in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Famous as the setting for Shakespeare's most famous tragedy, Romeo & Juliet, Verona provided the perfect atmosphere for casual strolls through pretty streets, with a well preserved Colosseum-resembling amphitheater to boot. At night we retired to a bed & breakfast ... read more