Only two months late!  Here's the slide show:

With all the internet connection problems in the east of Turkey, this post didn't get make in on to my blog on the original date (27 Jul...

Every tourist destination has its clichés, and usually one dominates all others: London has Big Ben, Paris is the Eiffel Tower, and who cou...

"... hands behind your back, legs apart." He was not a police officer or a customs agent. And I'm sure there was a "pl...

Arriving in Budapest airport last night I hadn't a forint to my name, so I joined the queue at the pénzválto to change some cash to be ...

The Serbs were awarded the role of Bad Guy during the wars that broke up Yugoslavia after Tito's death. With leaders like Slobodan Milo...

One detail I forgot to mention when writing about Esfahan in Iran is its impressive bazaar. It winds through covered passages for a consider...

Turks are really proud of Kemal Atatürk, the man who led the country to independence after the post-Ottoman land grab by European powers. He...

"Dur Yolcu" memorial, Gallipoli, Turkey Carved on a hillside on the Gallipoli peninsula, facing the town of Çanakkale, are the...

... I can talk about him! I've spent three weeks travelling with my old friend, Gökçe (a.k.a. George). Drinking buddies for more th...

When it's the bus station of that name! I took a ferry across the Sea of Marmara this afternoon from Istanbul to the port of Bandırma ...

Both Iran and Turkey make world famous carpets. I almost bought one in Esfahan in Iran. Having looked at about 50 in different sizes and col...

Those of you who know Paris may know the cluster of small streets near Place Saint Michel where there are lots of crappy "Greek" r...

Going on a tour of Iran and Turkey is an adventure. I didn't have any experience of countries where Islam is the cultural norm. Everythi...

Turkey has seen many different cultures and peoples come and go over the millennia. We know quite a lot about most of them, such as the G...

Van is one of the biggest cities in eastern Anatolia. The population is mainly Kurdish and Muslim. It was our first stop in Turkey after alm...

You expect to wait in line when you're crossing a border. So there was no surprise at Tehran train station when it took a long time to g...

... it doesn't make it true! In all the articles, books and blogs we read about Iran before the trip, the most common theme was how ni...

Internet connections in Iran are complicated! First of all, the WiFi in the places we've stayed has been unreliable. Then we have to dea...

Alexander, the Macedonian king, is often called "the great". This is because he conquered many lands and peoples, not because he w...

When it's a tenth of a toman. The currency of Iran is the rial. At current rates you get about 40000 rials to a euro.  That means you ch...

Yazd is a small city in the desert between two mountain ranges, and sits at 1200 metres above sea level. My guide book describes is as one o...

When the Safavid dynasty came to power in the 16th century they established their capital in various places before finally settling on Esfah...

You wouldn't believe the number of banks in Tehran! There are several long streets where about half of the shop-fronts are banks, often ...

Iran's former kings certainly had a taste for precious stones! The Qajars and Pahlavis amassed a collection of beautiful crowns, tiaras,...

I've added a new Photos page to the blog.  This will be updated less frequently than the text page due to difficulties in getting a stab...

Alamut Valley, beneath the giant peaks of the Alborz Mountains to the north-west of Tehran, is the site of a chain of 50 fortresses. They ...

"How are you going to manage two weeks without a drink?" That was one of the most common questions (just after "isn't it ...

Considering the urgency of my visa situation (see previous posts), our Iran travel advisor organised an authorisation number directly from t...

Two problems have been resolved at the last minute, both concerning visas – one with a capital V, the other a small one, though this does no...

It started as a vague idea about two years ago: I like travelling by train rather than plane whenever possible; George (Gökçe) knew of a cla...