Here it is, the end of Wednesday, and I've not had time for my usual post. I blame the above stack of papers. Everyone says the worst...

At around 3 p.m. each day, my tour guide and I would part ways—she to her home and family, and me to my wandering. Only once did I...

Old City Corner I spent three full days in Istanbul. At 8 a.m. each day, I met my tour guide, Gamze, at the Starbucks at Taksim Square. ...

To examine the history of a civilization, first consider its water. Ancient civilizations formed on the banks of rivers. The ancient...

View of the Tennessee River from the visitor's center off Neyland Drive. It's been a busy week—too busy for my usual post on my trip. I...

Ruins of the Hippodrome, from an engraving by Onofrio Panvinio in his work De Ludis Circensibus (Venice, 1600). The same morning I saw...