I went on a short boat excursion yesterday. I took the boat from the boarding point by Galata Bridge. There are multiple cruises leaving all the time, you just pay and hop on. I chose “Bosphorous Everyday Cruise” because the boats are quite small, maybe with seating for 120 passengers. Another company runs much larger…

There was a street party / political meeting outside my flat this week. The event was organised by the Turkish Communist Party. There was a mixture or music, performances and political speeches. The music was great and the girls dressed in Turkish costumes did a great job with a set of songs and dances. There…

I took a walk near Taksim Square. It is April and already a lot of people around. I’ll have to get up early if I am to get any clean shots of, for example, the Tower of Constantine. Just a word on the cats; they seem to be in very good health, in the main.…

This is a retrospective post from my trip to Lake Baikal in July 2023. (While I wait in Istanbul for the weather to improve so I can go and look at the Bosphorus). I went to Lake Baikal in July 2023. I flew from Novosibirsk to Irkutsk. At the time I was living, and working,…

I’m in Istanbul again. I was last here for a couple of days in January on my way back from Russia to the UK. On that occasion, I saw some of the sites, notably the Basilica Cistern built in the sixth century by the Emperor Justinian I, and the Blue Mosque, (17th century, Ottoman). This…

There are two gorges a short drive from Almaty. Both feature waterfalls; but don’t expect the Niagra Falls. These are small mountain streams, with correspondingly sized waterfalls. There is a trail leading to both waterfalls, and, in both cases, the trail continues after the first fall. I went with a group excursion which promised a…