Today was a extremely long ride from Anatolya to Izmir, from Mediterranean to Aegean sea. To break the trip we stopped in Pamukkale. Although there are ruins here from the ancient city of Hieropolis, the main draw for tourists is the terraces of calcium carbonate from the hot springs. This place was a destination for people seeking healing waters, a health resort. I walked down to stick my feet in the water. The rocky surface was painful and the water was just lukewarm but the terraces do look pretty cool. I've been trying to eat new local dishes. Today I finally got a chance to try the Turkish pancake, called Gozleme, which is a light crepe filled with cheese. And we are still seeing lots of cats wherever we go. Our guide spent a good bit ... read more

Today was a long travel day as we left Cappadocia and crossed the Taurus mountain range, which is part the same range that the Alps and Himalayas are part of, and came to the Mediterranean Sea. Our only tour stop yesterday was to visit a 13th century caravanserai, a stop on the Silk Road for the camel caravans. The Silk Road extended from Xi'an China to Rome. However, it would take 3 yrs by camel to cover the complete route, so everyone just traded along the way. There are 140 caravanserai in Turkey, but the one we saw, called Sultan Han, is the largest one left, built in 1229. It was sort of an inn. The caravan drivers would stop for the night and sometimes do trading with other caravans. If they did trade there, it ... read more

Today we headed out from Ankara south to Cappadocia. More quality time on the bus but it is what it is. It is much colder yesterday and today than in Istanbul but not unbearable. The Atlantic snowstorm was the major topic as we boarded the bus. The people from the Northeast were happy to be here, as long as everything clears by the time we get back. Along the way, we verred off the highway to go through several small villages. We stopped for photo ops with a bunch of sheep and their shepherd. We saw lots of melon squash grown but they only use them for the seed, not to consume. They dry the seeds on their flat roofs for selling. Dried squash seeds are a very popular snack. Our guide spent most of the ... read more

Today we see Istanbul. As most of you know, Istanbul has a varied history. We focus on the Byzantium era then as it changed to Constantinople. We go to the Imperial part of the city and visit the Hagia Sophia, which means Holy Wisdom. Although originally a church built in 532-537 CE, it is now a museum. When the Ottomans took the city in the 16th century, they covered most of the Christian symbols with plaster. A lot of work has been done to remove some of that plaster and restore original art. The best preserved mosaic is from the 10th century, showing the Roman Emperor Justinian presenting the church to Mary with Constantine looking on. It is in the back of the exit hall so they placed a mirror over the exit to make sure ... read more

Today, on our last full day in Nepal, we went to Hanuman Dhoka, or Durbar Square, the ancient royal residence quarter. Here we visit a street called Freak Street, so named for the many hippies that flocked to this place in the 60's and 70's. There are still shops with those reminders and we actually saw a couple of old hippies still there walking around. We ran into a local parade of girls and boys in traditional Kathmandu Valley costume playing traditional instruments leading a wedding car with the groom. We visited Kumari Ghen, the house of the Kumari, a little girl worshipped as the reincarnation of Dourga. She is selected when she is 4 or 5 and lives here until she has her first period. Then she is no longer considered pure and another girl ... read more