Category Archives: Traveling

North Macedonia: Ohrid and Skopje

Posted on February 18, 2024 by Bryan Keith

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

Posted on February 8, 2024 by Bryan Keith

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

Posted on January 29, 2024 by Bryan Keith

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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İstanbul again: a new library, some old mosques, finally a Bosporus tour

Posted on January 19, 2024 by Bryan Keith

My cousin and his wife scheduled a layover of a few days in İstanbul on their way to visit family in Tbilisi. Ferda and I planned an itinerary for the four of us — some classic tourist sites and also … Continue reading →

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Selçuk (and Ottoman) monuments in Erzurum (again) and Sivas

Posted on November 20, 2023 by Bryan Keith

I have written about Erzurum a number of times before on this blog so I’ll try to keep it short. Sivas, however, we visited for the first time! Over the years I’ve watched Erzurum lose its edgy soul in the … Continue reading →

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