Dear friends, This journal entry will cover two days - our second day and evening at the camp and the following day when we farewelled the desert and travelled eastwards back towards the High Atlas Mountains visiting several villages, museums, a fertile valley with date palms, a dramatic gorge and then to our lodgings [...]
Dear friends, After our stay in Fes, we had a long drive southward through cedar forests, home to barbary apes, and up into the Atlas Mountains. We followed the Ziz River for some of the way and then stayed overnight in Erfoud. The following day we changed transport and took four-wheel drives into the [...]
Dear friends, After the visits to Volubilis and Moulay Idriss, we drove through some stark rolling hill country towards the ancient city of Fes. I just managed to capture some of the scenes through the bus window showing the rich browns and golds rendered by the drought and even a shepherd and his sheep. [...]
Dear friends, Our tour took us next to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Volubilis, where we spent a very interesting morning wandering in the ancient ruins with a knowledgeable guide to give us an idea of what we were looking at. Archaeological excavations of this site began in 1915 and continue to this [...]
Dear friends, Our real tour began in Casablanca, the port city and commercial hub in western Morocco, fronting the Atlantic Ocean. The origin of the town is not known but an Amazigh (Berber) village called Anfa stood on the present-day site in the 12th century. Later it became a pirates’ base for harrying Christian ships [...]
Dear friends, Last month I was lucky enough to spend just over two weeks in Morocco, traveling as I have done many times with a group organized by Wilderness Travel (www.wildernesstravel.com). Just days before our trip, there was a devastating earthquake in the High Atlas Mountains which killed thousands, destroyed many villages, and was [...]
Dear friends, I realized that I couldn't finish this series without focussing on the many cats that I encountered as I travelled through Türkiye. They were sleeping in corners and on comfortable cushions, peeping out from under cars or tables, enhancing the ruins at Ephesus, waiting for food at restaurants, adorning shop windows, accompanying [...]
Dear friends, My journey to Türkiye began and ended in Istanbul, so to finish off this series, here is a glimpse of this fabulous city and the treats within. There is so much to see and enjoy and we merely scratched the surface, so maybe another visit is in order to experience and learn [...]
Dear friends, One of the most famous sights in Cappadocia is the scores of hot-air balloons rising at dawn, a treat not to be missed. And what a wonderful way to start the day, although undoubtedly it was very early and very cold! Many already up and away when we arrived for our flight [...]
Dear friends, Probably the best-known of all the ancient sites in Türkiye is Ephesus, so of course we had to visit. Unlike most of the sites we visited along the coast, where we were often the only visitors, this place was pretty busy with tourists, many 'selfie' occupied. Historical accounts and archaeological remains of [...]