| Mar 6, 2012 |
| Traveling to Istanbul? A Top 10 Itinerary for you! |
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| Thanks to Emre, one of our guides in Istanbul, we have a top ten list of the most important, absolute must-sees for anyone traveling to this fascinating city. If you’re in the city for just a couple days, make sure to bring this itinerary with you to be sure you don’t miss the city’s most spectacular sights! |
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1) The Blue Mosque:
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is the most visited historical mosque in Istanbul. The mosque is popularly known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. It was built from 1609 to 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. Like many other mosques, it also comprises a tomb of the founder, a madrasah and a hospice.
2) Hagia – Sophia Museum:
Hagia Sophia has a complicated history. It was once an Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum for both Christianity and Islam in Istanbul. From the date of its dedication in 360 until 1453, it served as the Greek Patriarchal cathedral of Constantinople, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Patriarch of Constantinople. The building was a mosque from 1453 until 1931, when it was secularized. It was opened as a museum in February 1935.
3) The Roman Cistern:
The Basilica Cistern (Turkish: Yerebatan Sarayi – “Sunken Palace”, or Yerebatan Sarnıcı) is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul. The cistern, located 500 feet southwest of the Hagia Sophia on the historical peninsula of Sarayburnu, was built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.
4) Topkapi Imperial Palace:
The Topkapı Palace (Turkish: Topkapı Sarayı) is a large palace in Istanbul that was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years (1465-1856) of their 624-year reign. As well as a royal residence, the palace was a setting for state occasions and royal entertainments. It is now a major tourist attraction and contains important holy relics of the Muslim world including the Prophet Muhammed’s cloak and sword. The Topkapı Palace is among the monuments contained within the “Historic Areas of Istanbul”, which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985, and is described in Criterion iv as “the best example[s] of ensembles of palaces of the Ottoman period.”
5) Grand Bazaar:
The Grand Bazaar (Turkish: Kapalıçarşı, meaning Covered Bazaar) in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with more than 58 covered streets and over 4,000 shops which attract between 250,000 and half a million visitors daily.
6) Spice Market:
The Spice Bazaar, (Turkish: ‘Mısır Çarşısı’, or Egyptian Bazaar) in Istanbul, Turkey is one of the oldest bazaars in the city. Located at Eminönü, it is the second largest covered shopping complex after the Grand Bazaar.
7) Galata Bridge:
The Galata Bridge (in Turkish Galata Köprüsü) is a bridge that spans the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey. The Galata Bridge was a symbolic link between the old Istanbul at Eminonu neighbourhood and the districts of Galata, Beyoglu, Sisli and Harbiye, where a large proportion of the inhabitants were non-Muslims and where foreign merchants and diplomats lived and worked. In this respect, the bridge connected these two distinctive cultures. As Peyami Safa said in his novel Fatih-Harbiye, a person who went from Fatih (in the old part) to Harbiye (in the new part) via the bridge set foot in a different civilization and different culture. Apart from its place in fiction, the romantic appearance of the Galata Bridge made it a subject of many paintings and engravings. Today, the modern Galata Bridge has several restaurants and coffee houses underneath where local people enjoy their meal while watching the rush of the ferry boats and fishermen.
8) The Bosphorus Tour By Boat:
Bosphorus is the name of the 30km long strait which lies between Europe and Asia, connecting the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea. A stay in Istanbul is not complete without a traditional and unforgettable boat excursion up the winding straight. Its shores offer a delightful mixture of past and present, grand splendour and simple beauty. Modern hotels stand next to yali (shorefront wooden villas), marble palaces abut rustic stone fortresses, and elegant compounds neighbour small fishing villages. The best way to see the Bosphorus is to board one of the passenger boats that regularly zigzag along the shores.
9) Taksim Square:
Taksim Square (Turkish: Taksim Meydanı), situated in the European part of Istanbul, is a major shopping, tourist and leisure district famed for its restaurants, shops and hotels. It is considered the heart of modern Istanbul, with the central station of the Istanbul Metro network. Taksim Square is also the location of the Monument of the Republic (Turkish: Cumhuriyet Anıtı) which was crafted by the famous Italian sculptor Pietro Canonica and inaugurated in 1928. The monument commemorates the formation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, following the Turkish War of Independence.
10) Dolmabahce Imperial Palace:
Dolmabahçe Palace was ordered by the Empire’s 31st Sultan, Abdülmecid I, and built between the years 1843 and 1856. The construction cost five million Ottoman mecidiye gold coins, the equivalent of 35 tonnes of gold. Fourteen tonnes of gold in the form of gold leaf were used to gild the ceilings of the palace, which stands on an area of 110,000 m² and is the largest palace in Turkey. The design contains eclectic elements from the Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassical styles, blended with traditional Ottoman architecture to create a new synthesis. Tourists are free to wander Topkapı at their leisure, while the only way to see the interior of Dolmabahçe is with a guided tour.
Our Istanbul Guides have a lot more to tell travelers about the history, culture, architecture, food and many other aspects of Turkish life, past and present. If you’re headed to Istanbul in 2012, consider getting in touch with one of them to see what other suggestions they might have for your stay! |
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| Mar 2, 2012 |
| Pittsburgh: Why the city made Nat Geo's Best of the World list for 2012 |
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| Did you know that the city of Pittsburgh was named as one of National Geographic’s “Best of the World in 2012”? Neither did we, until our local guide Phil, brought it to our attention. And for this we thank him! While many people still associate Pittsburgh with its industrial past, its days as a gritty blue-collar city are long gone. As National Geographic writes: “this western Pennsylvania city changed jobs and reclaimed its major assets: a natural setting that rivals Lisbon and San Francisco, a wealth of fine art and architecture, and a quirky sense of humor.” |
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Movie buffs might be interested to learn that Pittsburgh’s dramatic and sometimes moody architecture persuaded director Christopher Nolan to use the city’s downtown as a stand-in for Gotham City in this summer’s latest Batman movie Dark Knight Rises.
With that introduction done, I’ll let Phil tell you about his city’s top five attractions! Keep this info handy, because how could you not want to go to Pittsburgh?
1) The first stop for every visitor is the view of the city from Mt.Washington! Ride the Incline (cablecar) up the side of Mt.Washington to one of the overlooks. From here you can see The Point, the convergence of the three rivers where it all began in the 1750s with a struggle between the French and British for domination over the Forks of the Ohio, a National Historic Landmark.
2) Downtown's Cultural District is a 14-block area that has the highest concentration of performing arts venues between New York City and Chicago. Beautifully restored performance halls and contemporary spaces are home to the world-renowned Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Dance Council, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and more. You’re spoiled for choice: the seven major theaters offer more than 2,000 performances each year!
3) North Side, just across the river from Downtown, was originally the city of Allegheny but is now part of the city of Pittsburgh. It has maintained its historic 19th century neighborhoods of Mexican War Streets (named after battles of the Mexican-American war of 1845), such as West Allegheny and Deutchstown, all having a number of restored homes and shops.
4) The Strip District (not what you might first think!) sits right next to Downtown and is the warehouse/commercial district, now home to many restaurants, shops and innumerable ethnic food outlets from around the world!
5) Don’t miss the Oakland area, just east of the city. It’s home to the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie-Mellon University, the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Schenley Park and many fine restaurants, shops and galleries.
It's no wonder that Pittsburgh was named one of National Geographic Travelers Magazines "Best of the World in 2012"!
If either Phil or I have convinced you that Pittsburgh is a city to be reckoned with, then be sure to get in touch with Philbefore you arrive. He’ll have a ton more ideas for how you can spend your time in his hometown! |
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| Feb 29, 2012 |
| A Unique Natural Experience in Mexico's Yucatán |
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| In Cancun, Mexico we’re fortunate to have an enthusiastic and extremely qualified nature guide to get you away from the region’s busy beaches, and into the beautiful wilderness. Alberto takes great pride in showing visitors remote areas, rural communities and Federal Reserves off the beaten track. |
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Today Alberto is sharing a truly rare and unique adventure in the Yucatan Peninsula. As he explained to us, “this is not a commercial, touristy activity, but a truly outstanding, remarkable and out of the ordinary way to spend your day in the Yucatan. If a traveler has an adventurous spirit, and wants to learn about the region’s rare and beautiful ecosystems and endemic species, this is for them.”
I firmly believe that people involved in the Mexican tourism industry should have the responsibility of being a link between international visitors and local service providers. Through language and training programs, the government is helping the local people make a dignified living; I believe in supporting this initiative.
Yucatan has several caves, according to studies developed by NASA, there are 7,000 to 10,000 which form complex cave systems produced by water erosion on limestone over millions of years. Some of them are flooded and are joined by crystal clear water channels. The Mayas called these formations dzonot and they were considered sacred entrances to the infra world; today we know them as cenotes.
In a small community in the south of the Yucatan there is a cave that features a rare situation in nature; a few organisms here have adapted to living in total conditions of total darkness. It is a very fragile ecosystem and all these organisms depend on the energetic apportion of the resident bat population which is about 750,000 animals.
Every day at dusk, the bats leave the cave seeking food at a rate of 100 bats per second over two hours; there are 7 different species: some of them are insectivorous and others are fructivorous, there are no hematofags (blood suckers) in this particular cave. When they come back, they contribute to the subsistence of the other organisms that cannot leave the cave by dropping fruit, seeds and even their dejections onto a very delicately balanced ecosystem.
Among those organisms we find strange fish, like the White Lady (Ogilbia pearsei), an eel (Ophisternon infernale) or crustaces like a blind shrimp (Creaseria morleyi), and a water cochineal (Creaseriella anops), all of them endemic to the area and considered very rare.
Explorations show that the water reservoir is part of a very large channel system and there are also several long tunnels and galleries which remain dry.
On some of the walls are present several hundreds, if not thousands of marine life fossils, bivalbs, seashells and corals of diverse species, showing that a very rich underwater environment was present here millions of years ago.
While these organisms depend on the bats for their subsistence, there is still another interesting guest at the cave; the Central America spotted mice eater (Elaphe flavirufa), is a common reptile in the jungles in Quintana Roo, where feeds from small birds and rodents, but its presence at the cave, surviving in total darkness has been classified as an exceptional adapting phenomenon; an example of the strategies that some species have to develop in order to guarantee their food and reproduction.
In the cave, they have learned a new skill; they move in between the rocks and cracks of the walls until they find the perfect hunting spot, they rhythmically balance their body hanging from the wall until their prey comes close; then with a fast movement catch a bat to roll it, kill it with their constricting muscles and eat it.
This is one magnificent spectacle in nature, the cave requires no technical skill, and I provide all the safety gear, chirurgical masks and gloves, hard hats, lights and guiding service. The snakes are not poisonous, aggressive or dangerous in any way, they are not too big or too small, they are constrictors, shy and very sensitive to noise, vibrations and light. The amount of people allowed in the cave at a time is limited, since the ecosystem is so fragile and unique.
Several institutions, including colleges and universities, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel and National Geographic have documented this incredible phenomenon.
If your adventure seeking spirit is still craving for more emotions after this experience, when we leave the cave we will ride a bike through the jungle, downhill and in the dark with the aid of our head lamps, (remember we enter the cave at dusk), within 3 kilometers we will reach a lagoon where we will canoe to go crocodile watching; this area is remote and one of the lowest population densities in the country, the nights are dark and marvelous for seeing thousands of stars.
The lagoon is not too wide, about 400 or 500 meters, but it is 22 kilometers long, and I can assure you that on any given night there would be nobody else in it but you… and the crocs!
Afterwards, dinner, wine and a bonfire are provided to end a one of a kind excursion in the wilderness of the Yucatan Peninsula… until the next day, when you wake up to the sounds of the birds in the jungle in an extraordinary environment that no hotel room can beat, no matter how luxurious!
Thank you for this opportunity to tell you about one very special natural attraction in the Yucatan. I hope I can encourage travelers to be part of this effort to provide the rural communities in the country with a sustainable and dignifying way of life.
And thank YOU, Alberto, for putting forward this interesting adventure to our readers! Alberto tells me that the season for swimming with whale sharks is just getting started (he is a certified Scuba Dive Master) – yet another reason to head out on an eco-adventure in the Yucatan! If any travelers are headed to this part of Mexico in 2012, Alberto would be happy to chat with you about your travel plans. You can reach him via his guide profile. |
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