On my way to Kars from Cappadocia, I stopped in Kayseri. I had a few hours in between two bus rides, and so I decided to head to the city center and to take a look. Kayseri has a caravanserai, some nice mosques, an impressive citadel, and a huge bazaar that has spilled inside the actual citadel. There are several tall mountains near Kayseri, making for a very impressive backdrop. I am told that, in winter, this makes for good skying too! Kayseri is hardly a tourist destination, but whenever I got lost and began complaining (in French) about the terrible maps in my guidebook, some kind French-speaking Turks came to help me out. I haven't tried this technique in English, though, so YMMV! I ended up the proud owner of a small kilim carpet from ... read more

I went to visit the ruins of the Hittite capital Ḫattuša with my friends Felix, Amanda and Ali. Ḫattuša is a UNESCO-recognised site located in the tiny village of Boğazkale. Its remote location makes it hard to reach and little know - all the best for enjoying the site at leasure, and for an adventurous trip getting there and out! Reaching Boğazkale is no easy feat. From Ankara, we took the bus to Çorum, but we were told that Sungurlu would have been another possibility. From Çorum, we had to board a bus that headed back towards Sungurlu, which dropped us off some 35 km away from Boğazkale. We were told that a Dolmush (communal taxi/minibus) would eventually come. we just had to board it and it would take us to Boğazkale. The dolmush eventually did ... read more

Itinerary: Istanbul Ankara Çorum Boğazkale Ürgup Avanos Göreme Ortahisar Mustafapaşa Kayseri Kars Ani (nearest village, Ocaklı) Hopa... read more

I visited my friend Evina in Den Haag. I spent about a week there, exploring the city. Den Haag is much larger than Leiden and made quite a different impression on me. It is right on the coast (the number of sea birds is a testament to that), but this is easy to forget on account of the size of the city. Den Haag, also, doesn't have canals like Leiden or Utrecht do. Next to the Central Train Station is a touristic area, filled with shops and restaurants, and some museums. There are famous buildings too, such as many ministries and the parliement, the Binnenhof, and some royal palaces. I visited the exposition Escher in Het Paleis, which displays nearly all of the work of Escher. I would have visited the famous museum Mauritshuis, but it ... read more

Leiden has a lot of museums, well worth an entry on their own. I visited: Museum Volkenkunde (National Ethnology Museum). This museum makes for a rather short visit, at least for the time being (the top floor is closed due to renovations, and so were a few of the rooms of the other two floors). I did enjoy myself, however. The permanent collection is small, but high quality. When I went, there were on display three of the famous clay figurine of the Chinese soldiers. They were accompanied by a documentary (historical and sociological) in a separate room. Museum Naturalis. This is the museum for natural sciences. Normally, I am very partial to these kinds of museums (the McGill one in Montréal is a personal favourite) but this one felt too children-oriented for me. This might, ... read more