Breakfast in the cradle of civilization

Recent articles

• Stumbling into a Syrian refugee camp
  Today I was walking through the village of Nizip. I saw what I thought was a very lively-looking market. The colors were very bright. There were lots of people. “I will definitely check that one out,” I thought to myself. As I walked in something seemed weird to me. I noticed there were a lot […]
• Yes, sometimes there’s scut work here, too
  This morning as I walked out of Gaziantep, breathing exhaust fumes and trying not to get hit by cars, I thought, “Sometimes walking across a country is scut work.” I briefly likened it to sitting in a cubicle answering emails. Then I thought, “Yeah, but the difference is I don’t mind this particular variety of […]
• Side trip to Side
  Sunday and Monday I took a quick trip to Side (pronounced “see-day”) to visit my friend Anton Bogomolov. Anton is a professional photographer from Russia. He was in Side for work. I wanted to remind him to keep thinking about walking Iran with me next year. Side is a small town on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast […]
• This is how it happens here in Turkey
  Today my only plan was to wake up in Mersin, go to Cennet ve Cehennem (Heaven and Hell, some naturally-occurring sinkholes), take a single photograph, and return to Mersin. In Turkey my plans are usually simple like this. Sometimes people ask me why I make such simple plans. I make simple plans because unexpected opportunities […]
• Electrical engineering field trip to mining camp
  Today I joined Melih, a friend of mine in Mersin, and two of his colleagues, Barış and Musa, for a trip to a mining camp in the mountains outside Erdemli, a town on the Mediterranean coast southwest of Mersin. The three of them are working on a project to boost the power available to the […]
• Economist article about Gaziantep
  “The secret of the region’s new strength lies in its ancient links with Syria and Iraq. Antep is on the old silk road that leads to Aleppo.” –from The Economist Here’s the rest of the article… http://www.economist.com/node/17276352 […]
• 15 January – İçerisu to Atalar
  After I boarded the minibus for my commute to work this morning, a Syrian truck driver from Aleppo, Syria, tried to board, too. He was heading back to the border. He only had Syrian currency with him. The driver would not accept it, and he told the Syrian guy to get off and find a […]
• Mountains of Heavenly Radiance, or Mountains of the Infidel?
  One thing I love about this walk is how unpredictable things are. Yes, I may have planned out the route months before starting the walk, and yes, I may have spent hundreds of hours poring over Google Earth before I even left California. But as planned as many aspects of this trip are, it is […]
• Turkish flag, snowy day, Osmaniye
  This slideshow uses Flash, which you won’t see on an iPhone. Here are the photos without Flash. […]
• Tüysüz students work the board
  This slideshow uses Flash, which you won’t see on an iPhone. Here are the photos without Flash. […]
• Today is for Lara Apa
  Today’s walk took me from the town of Ceyhan to the village of Mustafabeyli. In the background is the Ceyhan river, a completely different river than the Seyhan, which flows through Adana and which appeared in some photos the other day. Lara was one of my guardian angels last month at Tarsus American College. In […]
• Why don’t you mention my name?
  Occasionally someone asks why I don’t mention his or her name on this website. There’s a scene in the movie Saving Private Ryan where Matt Damon and Tom Hanks are swapping stories about loved ones. Tom Hanks tells Matt Damon about his wife back home. Matt Damon asks Tom Hanks to tell him his most […]
• Road signs for Aleppo
  Tonight I am in Osmaniye, a city of about 200,000 people at the eastern edge of the Cukurova plain. Early in December I said I was going to try to Couchsurf all the way across the Cukurova, and, knock on wood, it looks like I’m going to do that. Couchsurfing has been a great experience. […]
• Trip update: first half
  Well, I’ve been on the road for four months. I’ve walked across 53% of the country so far. Here’s an update on some journey-related stats, and then I need your opinion on something for the second half… Distance walked: Total: 1109 kilometers (689 miles) That’s an average of 277 kilometers (172 miles) per month. Months […]
• Today is for Dilek Fidanoglu – Happy birthday!
  Today’s walk took me from Cukobirlik (a few kilometers east of Yenice) to Adana’s Seyhan river. Now I’ve walked all the way to Ceyhan, two days (43 kilometers or 27 miles) from Osmaniye. I’m almost done with the Cukurova plain now. Dilek was one of my guardian angels at TAC last month. In the photo […]
• Today is for Elif Basak Kurkcu
  Today’s walk was from Tarsus to Arikli, a village between Tarsus and Adana, just a few kilometers east of Yenice. Elif was one of my guardian angels at Tarsus American College earlier this month. In the photo below she is third from the right, in the light pink scarf… […]
• More than halfway now
  Yesterday’s walk put me at 51% of the total distance walked. I’ve walked more than halfway across Turkey. Hitting that milestone came one day after Christmas, and a couple days before my birthday on Friday. A great way to mark the holiday week! Melih accompanied me on yesterday’s walk. Nice job Melih, it was an […]
• Today is for Oya Zaimoglu
  Today’s walk was from Mersin to Tarsus. In the background is a replica of the Nusret minelayer, a ship which mined the Dardanelle Straits in World War I, helping the Turks stop an Allied invasion. Oya was one of my guardian angels the other week at Tarsus American College. In the photo below, she is […]
• Merry Christmas to you too, Pryor!
  I wish we could play light sabers in the garage, but I’ll have to settle for something else. Maybe they’ll make me a Christmas Whopper at this Burger King. Above is a photo of a Burger King in Mersin. Below is a photo of Pryor. Yes Pryor, I know having your photo pasted on the […]
• Yakapinar to Ceyhan, 22 December 2012
  Woke up this morning at 6:30am, my normal wake-up time for a work day. I lay in my sleeping bag for 15 minutes and flirted with the siren who sings to me each morning. She whispered softly into my ear, “Oh, this sleeping bag is so warm and fluffy and comfortable, you could just stay […]