By Alex Shnitman, on April 22nd, 2011 
The Turkish Olympos, not to be confused with the Greek Mt. Olympus, home of the gods, is a historic city from the Hellenistic and Roman periods that has been left undug and unrestored, which makes it especially interesting. Here you get to see what the ancient cities look like when they are first discovered, crumbling and taken over by vegetation. The city is large, and the forest now covering its formerly glorious streets and houses makes it a very pleasant place for walking. Columns, finely cut and inscribed stones, and even sarcophagi are strewn around it, tossed by earthquakes and water. There are remains of a theater, baths, a temple, many houses and an expertly built city wall. A river passes in the middle and empties into the sea at the southern border of the city. It must have been a great place to live in, no doubt about that. Now it’s a great ruin for us to visit. Sic transit gloria mundi.
. . . → Read More: Olympos and Chimaera
By Alex Shnitman, on April 20th, 2011 
Ahh. We’re back from three days on the Lycian way and I don’t even know where to start writing. The Lycian Way, a 500-kilometer-long trail around the region of ancient Lycia in southwestern Turkey, is said to be one of the most spectacular walks in the world. We packed our small backpacks with just enough clothes for three days, and set out to explore a small part of it. The camping equipment we stocked on in Munich wasn’t necessary for this trek, since throughout almost all its length this trail passes through villages which offer food and accommodation. So we were literally treading lightly.
. . . → Read More: The Lycian Way
By Alex Shnitman, on April 16th, 2011 
It required 5 changes of transport to get from Istanbul to Çanakkale, a town on the Dardanelles straits: a ferry, a bus, train, bus, another bus and finally a minibus — all that to travel 300-odd kilometers. I think that apart from the back of a mule we’ve pretty much got it all covered. Canakkale itself is a small, pleasant but generally unremarkable place, however there’s one reason why people come here a lot, and that is the nearby ruins of Troy.
. . . → Read More: The Aegean coast
By Alex Shnitman, on April 11th, 2011 
When I think of Istanbul, I imagine an elephant: big, old wise and wrinkled. This city, as old as the hills, has seen empires rise and fall, and has played host to emperors, caliphs, warriors and merchants for thousands of years. Each one of them has left his mark here. Istanbul is so heterogeneous and profound, it feels impossible to grasp. In the week that we spent here we barely touched the surface. Even after having lived in Jerusalem for years, I can say that I’ve never been in a city that has such diverse history still alive and pumping through its veins.
. . . → Read More: Istanbul
By Alex Shnitman, on April 5th, 2011 
The journey began uneventfully. The first part, from Prague to Budapest, took 7.5 hours; the train left and arrived on time, probably because it was a German train in fact, which started its journey in Hamburg, passed through Berlin, picked us up in Prague and made its way on schedule through Bratislava in Slovakia to the Hungarian capital.
. . . → Read More: By rail from Prague to Istanbul
By Alex Shnitman, on April 4th, 2011 
It took three trains to get from Munich to Prague. It didn’t have to, but we took the long route, both because it was cheaper and because local trains are just much more fun. The second train dropped us at a station called Bayerisch-Eisenstein; as we found out, that is the name of the southern half of the platform. The northern half is called Železná Ruda. The station spans the German-Czech border.
. . . → Read More: Prague
By Alex Shnitman, on March 30th, 2011 
I think divine providence was at work when it guided us, pretty much as we started our trip in Munich, into one of its most prominent beer gardens, at Viktualienmarkt. I swear, I didn’t plan this. I didn’t even have a map of the city with me. To tell you the truth, I didn’t even know beer gardens existed at that point. Oh well. Here’s to soft landings!
. . . → Read More: Munich
By Alex Shnitman, on March 16th, 2011 Our apartment has been sublet, our workplaces notified of our departure, guidebooks purchased and perused, and the Internet scoured for all the relevant information. In less than a week me & my wife will find ourselves in Munich, starting out on our trip through the Silk Road, or at least the approximation of it that can be traversed with our Israeli passports. By train, bus, ferry, and the back of a mule if necessary, we intend to travel overland from Europe to China, passing through Turkey, the Kavkaz, the Caspian Sea and Central Asia. We are excited beyond words. It’s going to be an extraordinary half a year. We’ll miss you all!
We intend to blog throughout the trip, and upload photos whenever possible, so watch this space. We’ll also keep an updated map of our trip progress and current whereabouts here.
Adios! See y’all in September!
By Alex Shnitman, on January 9th, 2011 
Click for slideshow
By Alex Shnitman, on December 22nd, 2010 I created a book that covers the 2006-2007 around-the-world trip. It’s available here. It contains the text of the blog I maintained during the trip, as well as selected photos. Enjoy!
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