“Are you okay?” a young shopkeeper of an antique shop asks Alexander, probably taking the heed from the walking stick on his hand. “Yeah, I’m fine. Where are you from?” Alexander replies. “I was born in Afghanistan and raised in Pakistan” the boy answers nonchalantly. […]
In the midst of the freezing winter wind we walk down a quiet neighborhood of Fatih, a complete opposite of the tourist-overrun district of Sultanahmet. My hands are numb and for the first time in Istanbul I regret for not bringing the gloves. We follow our […]
A handful of men stand on the shore of the calm strait, each holding a fishing rod and a bucket to contain the catch. Some look pensive, others uneasy. Curious with the water I come closer to see what lies beneath. Surprisingly it reveals small […]
As I wander around the neighborhood of Beyoğlu, I point my camera and snap some pictures of the magnificent Galata Tower, then I spot a cat. I come closer, caress him until he purrs and seems really content, then I move back to the tower, […]
The steep cobblestone street that raises up on the right side of the expansive Gülhane Park is filled with stone artifacts from the Byzantine era, all lined up on one side of the street creating an outdoor exhibition of the fragments from the city’s long […]
The 55 stone steps take me to a vast underground opening where rows of floodlit columns are partially submerged under the clear freshwater. Grey fish – some are bigger than a cat and never see the sun – roam around the submerged columns, undisturbed by […]
From the outside it is a structure of plain layers of bricks protruding from the exposed weathered pink wall, supporting a massive dome flanked by four minarets varying in size and color. A dull outer narthex with a more elegant marble-walled inner narthex separate the […]
Crisp winter air caresses my face, a delightful sensory sensation after a 14-hour flight escaping the tropical humidity. The sun has just started to peek into the sky a few moments earlier, leaving a warm hue coloring blocks of apartments with bright tint. The minivan […]
Throngs of vendors fill the narrow alleys outside the royal courtyard. Colorful shirts for souvenir and appetizing scent of bakso – meatball soup – keep bargain hunters and tourists stay in this maze-like seasonal market for hours, among other things. It takes a while for […]
In a summer afternoon my cousin and I arrive at the Coventry Bus Station, after a 45-minute journey from Birmingham. Contrary to my expectation, the bus station looks unassuming and drab with rather tedious interior, making me wonder if the rest of city looks as […]
It is a sunny and quiet morning in Kemang, a district in South Jakarta. The usual traffic congestion is absent, supplanted by silence, the occasional sound of chirping birds and the faint banter of breakfast vendors. I walk around the neighborhood and turn down one […]
If I had to describe the year 2012 in only one word, it would have been ‘change’. A change of my traveling speed and style, a change of my job, and a change in the place where I live, to name some. I chose Hong […]
What an Amazing World! 