Aphrodisias
Apple Church, Goreme, Cappadocia
Ephesus
Suleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul
Kusadasi fishing boat
Foto Friday – Turkey
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Author Archives: yalla2013
NAME THAT COUNTRY
The fresco pictured above is from Akrotiri, a Minoan city that was buried in ash from one of the largest volcanic eruptions ever recorded. This site is known as the “Pompeii” of our mystery country. Unlike Pompeii, it seems the inhabitants of Akrotiri had time to evacuate, as no human remains have been found at the site.
Can you name that country?
See below for answers.
Baracoa, Cuba
Baracoa is in Guantanamo Province in eastern Cuba. Surrounded on three sides by mountains and the Bay of Honey (Miel Bay) on the other side, Baracoa is remote and isolated; it was only accessible by sea until a road through the mountains was built in the 1960s.
In 1492, Baracoa was the site of the first landing in the Americas by Christopher Columbus. A city was founded in 1511, Cuba’s oldest Spanish city and first capital.
Due to its isolation, Baracoa developed its own culture and ambiance, including distinctive food, music, and dance. It’s also one of the few places in Cuba where the influence of pre-Columbian culture is apparent and native ancestry is evident in many residents.
Local products include coffee, bananas, coconut, and cocoa brought to the island by Haitian French, who fled that island’s revolution in the early 19th century. The Baracoa area is still the main source of Cuban chocolate.
Baracoa is 4 hours by car from Santiago or 2 hours by infrequent flight from Havana.
It tends to attract more active, adventuresome travelers and in far fewer numbers than Havana and the beach resorts. The area was hit hard by Hurricane Matthew in October 2016, but it’s recovering well and could use tourist dollars now more than ever.
Things to do and see:
Independence Park (Parque Independencia) is the central park of this laid back, provincial town. It’s a perfect spot to people-watch and connect with locals and it’s a wifi hotspot.
Stroll the Malecon promenade, which runs about a mile along the waterfront.
Try the local treat: cucurucho – coconut, honey, mango and banana wrapped in a palm frond.
Visit Spanish colonial remains, such as el Castillo de Santa Barbara fort (now a hotel), which has sweeping views over the village and bay. On the Malecon, the Fuerte Matachin fort houses a fine little museum and the Fuerte de la Punta fort is now a restaurant. Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (Our Lady of Assumption) church is home to the Parra Cross, which, according to local tradition, was planted in Baracoa by Christopher Columbus.
Visit one of the many archaeological sites of native settlements (Taino, Ciboney, Guanturabey).
The Baracoa area is known for outdoor activities and there’s no shortage of opportunities for hiking, river boat tours and birdwatching. The Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa mountain range offers many hiking trails and encompasses the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Cuchillas de Toa (Ridges of Toa River), virgin rainforest packed with an extraordinary diversity of plant and animal species, many native and found nowhere else. Humboldt National Park is within the reserve.
Rivers in and around Baracoa are the Miel, the Toa, the Duaba and the Yumuri. The Toa is the largest river in Cuba and has some spectacular waterfalls, including the Salto Fino, one of the world’s highest, with a 305 meter drop.
Foto Friday – Cuba
Thanks to our friend Jason Hedrick for these great photos of Cuba.
Happy Friday everyone!
NAME THAT COUNTRY
Charming Nafplion has a reputation as one of the prettiest towns in our mystery country, and that’s saying a lot. It’s located on the Peloponnese, a large peninsula to the southwest of the mainland. Nafplion is often a gateway stop for tours of the Peloponnese, which continue on to historical sites such as Mycenae, Epidaurus and Olympia.
Can you name that country?
See below for answers.
Paros Island, Greece
Parikia port, Paros Island, Greece
Paros, Greece is the second largest island in the Cyclades group, after Naxos. It’s located just 5 miles from Naxos across a windy choppy channel. The waters of this windy, choppy channel are excellent for windsurfing and kiteboarding. Paros beaches frequently host international windsurfing events.
Since antiquity, Paros was known for the fine, translucent-white marble mined from the island’s interior mountain. Today the mines are closed but Parian marble buildings, monuments, statues and streets still stand all over Greece and around the Mediterranean.
Manto Mavrogenous, heroine of Greek independence, lived on Paros. As a wealthy young woman, she financed land and sea campaigns against the ruling Ottomans and lobbied her rich friends across Europe to support the revolution. Her house in Parikia is a historical monument.
The main village of Paros, Parikia, is situated on the western coast and is a hub for Aegean ferry traffic. This lovely town manages to be both lively and mellow, with plenty going on but no urgency to be found. Visitors are welcomed like old friends. Restaurants serving just-caught seafood line the busy port and provide front-row viewing of the fishing boats as they come and go. Aimless wandering in the bougainvilleaed Cycladic streets is the best way to experience Parikia.You’ll find lots of fun shops, friendly locals and not as many tourists as nearby Mykonos.
Don’t miss the 4th-century Panagia Ekatontapilani (Church of 100 doors), built on the order of St. Helena, the mother of the Roman emperor Constantine, according to legend.
Naoussa, Paros Island, Greece
On the north coast of the island, the fishing village of Naoussa maintains its authentic character while catering to crowds of tourists. Pick any one of the many restaurants that cluster around the postcard-perfect port and you’re sure to have a superb, thoroughly Greek meal. Follow any street into the inner village to find the cheery embrace of Cycladic buildings perfectly packed around gentle, marbled alleys.
Lefkes, Paros Island, Greece
Drive (or take a bus) about 7 miles inland from Parikia to Lefkes, a beautiful little mountain village, a world (and seemingly a few centuries) away from the bustle of the coast. Lefkes looks out over the island from its perch at 1,000 feet. Cars are not allowed inside the village but there are parking lots on the perimeter. Neat Cycladic and Venetian buildings ease down the hillside at the foot of the tranquil, no-nonsense Church of Agia Triada, which watches over the town like a mother hen.
Byzantine Road, Paros Island, Greece
For hikers, the Byzantine Road is an easy walk on a section of one of the 1,000-year-old paved roads that connected Lefkes, then the capital, to points around the island. The best-known walk is from Lefkes eastward to the village of Prodromos, about 2.5 miles. For a longer walk, carry on another 4 miles (approximately) eastward from Prodromos through Marpissa to the coastal village of Piso Livadi. You can catch a bus back to Lefkes or Parikia.
Foto Friday – Jordan
Amra desert castle (really more of a hunting lodge), one of a string of desert castles east of Amman built in the 7th and 8th centuries by caliphs of the Umayyad Dynasty
Amra dome
fresco inside Amra castle
Roman Theater, Amman, Jordan
Roman Theater, Amman, Jordan
NAME THAT COUNTRY
This is Cienfuegos, an elegant colonial city on the southern coast of our mystery country. The historic center is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site for its beautifully preserved 19th-century architecture and urban planning.
Can you name that country?
See below for answers.
What is a Riad?
A riad is a particular type of boutique hotel housed in a renovated, grand, old house in Morocco, mainly Marrakech and Fez. I’ll speak in general terms; with riads opening almost weekly now, there will certainly be some exceptions to this description. For a couple of decades now it has been quite trendy for Europeans to buy old riads and renovate them as vacation homes or guest houses. Now there are hundreds in Marrakech alone.
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