After Großglockner, Munich, İstanbul, Macedonia, Albania, and brief forays along coastal Montenegro and to Split, I have finally managed to wrap up the last blog entry from Turkey. Should be leaving Split tomorrow with a rental car to head back to Montenegro (Durmitor National Park) after one day in Mostar, Bosnia. Then I will head back into Bosnia at Sutjeska National Park before stopping in Sarajevo. Should return to Split in ~10 days for my flight to Rome. $US ≈ 1.80 Turkish lira (TL) Fethiye Accommodation and food I had booked 1 night in my own air conditioned room with breakfast at Çetin Pansiyon (free WiFi) on hostels.com for 40TL but when I arrived they had no record of my reservation. They offered me a room with a fan but no A/C for 35TL but that ... read more

Bergama is the pleasant, albeit roasting, modern city at the site of the ancient city of Pergamon. I passed through for the night on the way from Safranbolu to Didim which I would use as a base to explore the ruins at Priene, Miletos, and Didyma. I'm writing this blog out of order as I still have to process my trip along the Black Sea coast which was a mini epic condensed into a 5 day journey. Also many photos from the ancient sites of the Didim area which I visited Sunday in a long day from Altınkum Beach (nothing special as far as beaches go but convenient). I arrived in Fethiye yesterday and today set up a 4 day/3 night Blue Cruise (sans WiFi) departing tomorrow and terminating at Demre. From there I will head ... read more

Amasya English 'sh' in Turkish is written as 'ş' yet there was nothing harsh at all about the Harşema Otel in Amasya. Accommodation and food I only looked at one other place before I found the Harşema Otel right in the middle of the north bank row of beautifully restored Ottoman houses. An air conditioned single with bathroom was 50TL including breakfast (great buffet the first day, not as awesome subsequently but Turkish coffee was available if I asked for it), WiFi, and probably laundry if I had been motivated enough to collect my clothes. I initially planned 2 nights but stayed a third since Amasya was such a relaxing place and the hotel was really comfortable. Right after arriving at the train station I stumbled across a kebap shop where döner and ayran was 2.50TL ... read more

Bacon excluded, I've never been a fan of the other white meat® which is pork in case you don't remember the ridiculous advertising campaign from many years ago. After traveling in Russia for almost 2 months where pork features prominently and in Armenia where it is practically unavoidable, it was a pleasure to arrive in Turkey where the other white meat® is thankfully nowhere to be found. The alternate title for this blog is "Where There Is No Atkins Diet" owing to the piles of bread served with every meal. No problem for me as I was never a proponent of the Atkins Diet and Turkey arguably bakes the best bread in the world. $US ≈ 1.78 Turkish lira (TL) Accommodation and food On the bus from Batumi, Georgia I met Kash from Japan and we ... read more

Tuesday I attempted to summit Mt. Aragats, the highest mountain in Armenia with an elevation of 4090 meters. I could only make it to the false summit at 4035 meters because of the clouds that rolled in just as I reached the summit block making the challenging route finding even more difficult. However, I subsequently met some Russians on the descent who read that it is not possible to reach the true summit without rock climbing gear so I may have in fact made it to the highest trekking point. My first five days in Armenia were sunny and insanely hot but as soon as I got to Kari Lich last Sunday (the lake at the start of the trek) the clouds began to appear and I had to wait an extra day before attempting Aragats. ... read more