Istanbul’s Süleymaniye Mosque Süleymaniye Camii is a little out of the way, but I love it. The neighborhood is beautiful if a little run-down, the building itself is awe-inspiring, and I seem to run into cool and interesting people in the area. Like SO many neighborhoods in Istanbul, this really […]
Middle East
Rumeli Fortress in Istanbul
Istanbul’s Rumeli Hisari Fortress Pop quiz: A) This took four months to complete and spelled the demise of Byzantine rule in Constantinople? Q) What is Rumeli Hisari? Sitting on one of the thinnest points of the Bosphorus, the Rumeli Fortress was built by Mehmet II in 1452. By 1453, the […]
Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul
Dolmabahce Palace After the overpriced and under-delivered experience of Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace, I remembered that I don’t necessarily HAVE to visit all the special historical tourist sites in any given city. This came up again, immediately, at the Dolmabahce Palace. To be fair to the Turkish board of Tourism, I’m […]
Istanbul’s Blue Mosque
The Blue Mosque: Sultanahmet Camii Quick, think of one thing you know about Istanbul! Those of you who said Hagia Sophia, very good. You can put your hands down. Anybody else? Of the things I knew I HAD to check out in Istanbul, the Blue Mosque was tied […]
Topkapi Palace: Why You Should Skip It.
Topkapi Palace: Why You Should Skip It. There are a lot of beautiful things, and Topkapi Palace is among them. Old harem, rooms full of gold and jewels, mosques, libraries, etcetera, etcetera. Its a pretty place. It also, unfortunately, is just about the single most crowded thing to do in […]
Istanbul Galata Neighborhood Guide
Going to Galata Galata, to most tourists in Istanbul, seems to mean little more than “the place with the tower and the bridge”. And it is both of these things. It also, conveniently, happens to be a GREAT district (perhaps the favorite I’ve found in the city) for street food […]
Hey there! I'm Stephen, this is my travel blog, and that's me in the poofy hat.
I'm a photographer / writer traveling since 2008, and I've been doing my best to visit amazing places.
My current focus is Central Asia, because for a hiking and camping enthusiast it's as good as it gets.