Category Archives: Traveling

Kyoto, wow!

Near the end of my first trip to Japan over 20 years ago, I spent a few days in Kyoto. I remember being overwhelmed. During that bicycle tour, before arriving in Kyoto, we had seen one temple or shrine or … Continue reading

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Back to Japan: Osaka

Another adventure begins with boxing up our two bicycles and heading to the airport. Bicycles and airplanes, however, are a headache. I found a decent price to Narita from İstanbul and figured I could add the Antalya-İstanbul leg later. Nope. … Continue reading

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North Macedonia: Ohrid and Skopje

We left our heroes on a cold morning trying to hitchhike from Florina to Bitola. Turned out to be quite easy. We got our first ride before even leaving the town of Florina. A student took us to the university … Continue reading

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Greek Macedonia: Kavala and Thessaloniki

Another (short) visit to Greece — my 4th. It was the first time Ferda or I had visited the Macedonian part of Greece, the east-west strip stretching from Albania to Turkey, bordering (North) Macedonia and Bulgaria. Our first stop was … Continue reading

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European Turkey: Edirne and Uzunköprü

For years I’ve wanted to go to Edirne to see Mimar Sinan’s crowning achievement, the pinnacle of Ottoman architecture — Selimiye Camii. Ferda and I were already in İstanbul, and it looks so close on the map. However, with inconvenient … Continue reading

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