vogue

all a writer needed was a quiet place, a pen and paper. Oh, how I moan those romantic times when I am, yet again, struggling with interfaces, links, this, that and the other that I don't even know the names for. It seems to me now that I'm more and more into writing articles and stories on the net,... Sign in to see full entry.

A Tunesian pilot has just been sentenced by an Italian court to 10 years in prison---for praying! How did that came about? Through the weirdest chain of cirumstances no writer could possibly invent. In 2005 a plane set out from the Italian town of Bari to carry 34 tourist to Djerba in Tunesia. It... Sign in to see full entry.

What I wanted to tod but didn't have the time to in Istanbul was to go watch a play performed in a shadow theatre. This is a very typical Turkish form of entertainement and also very traditional. The two main charcaters are Karagöz and Hacivat. Here they are: The puppets are semi transparent and... Sign in to see full entry.

During the over 500 years of the Ottoman Empire, all art forms, including poetry, caligraphy, architecture, needlework etc. reached incredible hights. Here are just a few examples for you to admire: These are reproductions of miniatures, the originals are in the Museum of Historry but no pictures... Sign in to see full entry.

This picture was taken in the forecourt of the Blue Mosque. The guys in the colorful costumes are everywhere around the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia, and their purpose is not clear. They are not guides. I guess, more or less like the Beefeaters in the Tower of London they are decoration, always... Sign in to see full entry.

Here are the promised pictures from Istanbul's Spice Market which also sells any imaginable kind of sweets and cheeses. These are all variations of Turkish Delight with fruit, nuts and raisins. Dried figs stuffed with walnuts and topped with honey. Sheep cheese with pistaccios. Hungry? Sign in to see full entry.

When we came back from our trip to Istanbul, all we wanted was a hot shower and to do the laundry. No such luck!! Water was off again and so was electricity. It has come on sporadically, but the situation is no longer funny. Last night, we had a heavy rainfall and when I came into my living room... Sign in to see full entry.

Now here comes a story that will make you laugh. As previously mentioned, the famous Orient Express' final destination was Istanbul. The luxury train ran from Paris to Istanbul from 1889 to 1997. Everybody will remember 'Murder at the Orient Express' by Agatha Christie which has immortalised the... Sign in to see full entry.

The coach trip was an adventure by itself. As I told you, it took 12 hours, but that was due to the fact that the coach did some detorus on the way which we didn't know about. What it also did was the following: three times during the night, the coach suddenly stopped in the middle of nowhere. We... Sign in to see full entry.

Hi friends, I'm back from the trip to Istanbul and all I can say is- I wish I were still there. It was absolutely fabulous. I told you, we went by overnight coach, which left Didim at 7pm and we arrived in Istanbul at 7am the next day. Here we are are, fresh off the coach, having a tea and a pastry... Sign in to see full entry.