Travel, life, loves and laughs.
Topkapi Palace dominates Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet district, completing what I think of as the city’s essential sightseeing trifecta alongside Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. Perched above the Bosphorus, the palace does not simply reward visitors with views; it opens a door into more than four centuries of Ottoman rule.… Read the rest
Topkapi Palace dominates Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet district, completing what I think of as the city’s essential sightseeing trifecta alongside Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. Perched above the Bosphorus, the palace does not simply reward visitors with views; it opens a door into more than four centuries of Ottoman rule.… Read the rest
Chaotic, colorful and endlessly fascinating, Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, a sprawling maze of covered streets, has been the beating commercial heart of Istanbul for more than five centuries.
Step inside and you’re immediately immersed in a sensory overload: the shimmer of gold in jewellers’ windows, the rich scent of leather and spices, the rhythmic calls of shopkeepers, and the soft clink of tea glasses being served.… Read the rest
The Basilica Cistern is Istanbul’s Underground Palace of Shadows, Water and Memory.
Plato once asked us to imagine human beings living in an underground cave, chained since childhood, able to see only shadows projected on a wall. For him, the cave symbolized ignorance, illusion and the struggle to reach truth.… Read the rest
There are many remarkable monuments in Istanbul, yet few possess the gravity, beauty and layered history of Hagia Sophia – known variously as Aya Sofya, Sancta Sophia and the Church of the Divine Wisdom. Commissioned by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in 537 AD, transformed into a mosque by Mehmed II in 1453, and later secularised into a museum by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1935, it stands today as one of the most significant and symbolically rich buildings in the world.… Read the rest
There are dinners you remember for the food, others for the company and some for the setting. Then there are rare evenings, like the one we spend at Comunale Caffe e Cucina in Belgrade, where all three come together in perfect harmony.… Read the rest
There’s something about dinner by the water that always feels like a little escape. Perhaps especially so when the city heat clings to your skin and the air is heavy with the scent of sun-warmed concrete. That’s why, on a golden Belgrade evening, we find ourselves heading southwest.… Read the rest
On a day trip to Pelisor Castle, we discover this beautiful and fascinating complex in the heart of Transylvania. Tucked into the lush forested folds of Romania’s Carpathian Mountains, in the regal Peles Valley near Sinaia, lies a lesser-known treasure.… Read the rest
I never expected that a business trip to Bucharest would lead to one of the most memorable day trips I’ve ever taken. When I planned our itinerary, the only destination anyone had heard of before was Bran Castle. Thankfully, they all agreed to let me lead the way and we managed a trifecta of castles for the day, Bran being the last but certainly not the least.… Read the rest
There’s something magnetic about Belgrade in the summer and the Belgrade Fortress by night might just capture that magic in a moment. As the heat softens by late afternoon, the air turns honey-warm, and the city slowly drifts into a golden reverie.… Read the rest