Wednesday, 22 May 2013

Featured Destination


Turkey
Ten Plus Reasons to Love Izmir

Aquamarine sea, bone white ruins, the smell of tomato sauce in the air and laundry drying in the sun. Antique temples, horse-drawn carriages. A glass tulip, full of tea, in front of an open backgammon board. Breakfast with hard-boiled eggs and fresh tiny cucumbers, salted by the sea breeze. The horns of ships Full Story


Epicure


Balkans
Five Delicious Aubergine Recipes

The coming of fall in the Balkans brings with it more than a drop in temperatures and a change of scenery. This time of the year also means good news in the culinary department. Full Story


Routes Less Travelled


Turkey
Turkey: The Troubadours of Allah

The mystical whirling dervishes, which have been hypnotising Europe for centuries with their unearthly dances that lead them into a trance, are nowadays becoming a part of Turkey’s tourist industry. On the Old Continent, it is a little known fact that their Mevlevi Order practices one of Islam’s most liberal forms, based on Neoplatonism, and that their ideas have influences some of the most prominent intellectuals, from Shakespeare through Andersen.
Full Story

Turkey
Intimations of Byzantium: Hidden History of Turkey’s Caucasus and Eastern Anatolia
Turkey
Ishak Pasha Lived by a Road. The Silk Road


Curiosity Chest


Turkey
Turkey: Hagia Sophia Displays Treasures from Tombs of the Sultans

28 May 2010 | Various items discovered during the restoration of the Hagia Sophia Tombs of the Sultans will be on display in Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia Museum as of May 29. Full Story




Hidden Sofia


Bulgaria
From Soviet Saviours to American Superheroes and Back: Sofia Keeps Pace with the Times

21 June 2011 | Just four days after an anonymous graffiti artist transformed the Soviet Red Army monument in the centre of Sofia, turning it into a congregation of various comic-book characters Full Story

Bulgaria
Sklada: The Space that Stores and Showcases Contemporary Design
Bulgaria
Before and After: A Tango Milonga in the Midst of Sofia

Hidden Bulgaria


Bulgaria
Go Green in Bulgaria: 23 Eco-Hotels and Guest Houses to Choose From

Bulgaria's countryside is a pristine treasure. Poor and underdeveloped, many regions, with hills and valleys, mountains and gorges, have remained untouched for decades.
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Bulgaria
Julian Perry's Walks in Bulgaria's National Parks
Bulgaria
From Sofia to the Village of Lakatnik in an Old Locomotive






Balkan Coasts & Mountains


Ararat: The Mountain Where Noah’s Journey Ended

Turkey

Eastern Turkey, 10 kilometres from the Iranian border. The raven-strewn landscape is a barren yellowish red. On one side rises Ararat, the twin-topped dormant volcano that is rightly considered as one of the world’s most impressive sights. Full Story

Ten Things To Do in Pamukkale
Mount Nemrut, Turkey: Guarding the Gardens of Eden



Balkan Towns


Turkey: Stroll Along Istanbul’s Theodosian Walls

Turkey

Visitors to Istanbul usually head straight for the city’s traditional landmarks – the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Topkapı Palace or the enormous Kapalıçarşı bazaar. Full Story

Urfa: Before the Syrian Desert Begins
Turkey: Panta rhei, Ephesus rhei