Mt. Uludağ is the highest mountain in the Marmara region. Its highest peak is Kartaltepe at an elevation of 2543 meters. It was known as the Mysian Olympus and in the Middle Ages, it contained hermitages and monasteries linked to the resistance of numerous monks to the policy of the...
Bursa is situated along the northern foothills of Uludağ (Turkey’s premier ski resort). Set among orchards watered by plentiful mountain streams, Bursa is a city of brightly colored houses and winding streets dotted with fountains. It retains its Ottoman flavor and contains some...
We took a cheap ferry (3,85 TRY with Istanbul Card) to the islands, which most İstanbullus refer to as the Princes’ Islands. The slow ferry goes around 1,5 hours to the largest and most popular Büyükada island, which is Iying 20 kilometers southeast of the city in the Sea of Marmara...
We spent more than two weeks in the magical meeting place of East and West. This pleasant megacity has more top-drawer attractions than it has minarets. İstanbul’s strategic location has attracted many marauding armies over the centuries. The Greeks, Romans, and Venetians took turns...
After a few days on the beach near Alexandropouli, we had finally finished our work and some little reparations, and we hit the road towards Turkey. We used not so busy Ipsala border crossing, but it still took us 2 hours (the Greek side was very relaxed; the Turkish side complicated, as...
The monastery of St. Nicholas is located in the marshlands between Lake Vistonida and the sea, it’s set on an islet linked by a pedestrian causeway. It is a beautiful natural spot and a minor pilgrimage destination. On the neighboring smaller islet connected by a small wooden...
It is one of the most beautiful Greek cities and the cultural capital of Thrace (🛣️ – 0,80 EUR, ⛽ – 1,789 EUR / l). References to Xanthi date back to 879 BC. It began as a small village and experienced all the tumultuous periods of the history of Thrace, such as raids...
Philippi, overlooking the coastal plain and the bay at Kavala, was founded in 356 BC by the energetic Macedonian dynast Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. He fortified the Thasian settlement called Crenides to control neighboring gold mines. He derived a fortune from the gold mines...
We visited Amphipolis archeological site, an ancient Greek city on the Strymon River, located about five kilometers from the Aegean Sea. It was a strategic transportation center, it controlled the bridge over the Strymon and the route from northern Greece to the Hellespont, including the...
After our pilgrimage, we continued to the north with an overnight stop at Sikia. It is located right next to the seashore of the Pagasitic Gulf on the colorful green peninsula of Pelion Mountain. There is a long sandy beach, but the sea is a bit dirty, probably because of the near river...