The first time we ended up in Türkiye was back in the winter of 2013 and to be perfectly clear, we didn’t go to Türkiye, we went to Thailand for two weeks and had an overnight layover in Istanbul on our way back. And so, Türkiye was an afterthought. We […]
Read More
Even before the pandemic, Europe had been seriously suffering from over-tourism with masses of tourists visiting the most popular destinations at rates not seen before. The pandemic did not change the status quo, and to some extent, even exacerbated the problem, causing people who skipped travel in the last 2-3 […]
Read More
We were on a mountain in Peru, looking down at a gorgeous green valley, peppered with ancient stone constructions. “I can’t believe we are finally at Machu Picchu!” Victor said, “Congratulations! You have now visited all “New Seven Wonders of the World”!” “I have?” I asked, unsure. “Well, let’s see. […]
Read More
In two prior posts, I described our thrilling shopping adventures at the Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet district. Yet, the market that we fell in love with the most was located away from the tourist hordes – on the Asian side of the city. It is hard […]
Read More
In the last post, I described the fun of visiting and bargaining at the Grand Bazaar. And although my parents and I enjoyed the craziness of this behemoth ancient market, we found other markets in Istanbul that we loved even more. Several days before visiting the Grand Bazaar, we spent […]
Read More