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Cappadocia’s Underground Cities Saved Christianity

Asia, Culture, History, Middle East, Travel

Today’s visitors to Turkiye’s Cappadocia come for two reasons – spectacular sunrise ascents over the rugged terrain in hot air balloons and stooped-over descents into underground retreats that protected residents from ancient predators traveling through the Tarsus Mountains. These hand-dug hideouts were elaborately engineered, multi-layered warrens of tunnels and rooms, some of which descended more than 275 feet into the earth. Among the people who hunkered down in them were early Christians determined to spread their faith across Asia Minor. The existential threats in the early centuries following Jesus’ resurrection came not only from Roman governors and Jewish Pharisees but also from Silk Road highway men passing through Cappadocia. Disputes could be doctrinal, territorial, or simply monetary. Regardless, the early Christians were not the first to seek underground shelter here.

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MAJOR FUN IN THE MINOR LEAGUES

America, Culture, Travel

Baseball draws together all generations and classes in the timeless celebration of the game known as America’s Pastime. Stadium screens may pulsate with pixels, but baseball remains proudly analog, played by rules largely codified in the 1800s. Americans learn them at an early age, as players and spectators. That familiarity and sense of continuity fuel the game’s widespread popularity. Major League Baseball, with its grand, big-city stadiums and lucrative TV deals, gets most of the attention. But most fans agree that minor league teams are more fun to watch. They play in smaller, more intimate ballparks with less distance between players and fans, who pay much, much less for a summer evening’s entertainment.

Brunfels

Wilkommen in Texas Hill Country!

America, Culture, History, Travel

Hill Country settlements between Austin and San Antonio, 80 miles apart in south-central Texas, now form one of the most attractive and historic regions in the entire state. Young families yearn to move there for the good schools and a breezy lifestyle. Chocolate shops, cast-iron-pan factories, and gourmet-salsa-makers thrive. Nouveau-Italian restaurants, hat-and-boot boutiques, and yuppified “saloons” do a land-office business. And tourists are thicker than fleas on a lazy possum. You’ll find scads of them (tourists, not fleas) in Fredericksburg, which bills itself as the most German city in Texas. “On the town’s city limits signs, the population is given as 11,257,” says David Schafer, an author, historian, and driver of the Fredericksburg Trolley tour bus. “We get about 1.5 million visitors annually. Around 25,000 of them show up each year to the town’s Oktoberfest celebration. Fredericksburg has a Texas heart and a German soul.”

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Penang Festivals, Food, and Fun

Asia, Culture, History, Travel

By Nancy Wigston The view from our windows at Penang’s Eastern & Oriental Hotel stretches across the pale blue Strait of Malacca all the way to the horizon. It’s early morning and still tolerably cool. Yellow-beaked mynah birds squawk, coconut palms whisper in the gentle breeze and waves break rhythmically below the longest hotel sea…

Turkish coffee TGA

Turkish Coffee Enjoy!

Culture, Europe, Middle East, Travel

By Cynthia David My first Turkish coffee arrived dark and steaming hot from an electric coffeemaker at Espressolab on Istanbul’s historic Istiklal Avenue. The Espressolab had a long, curved marble bar, high ceiling beams and an Art Deco espresso machine. The 20 and 30-somethings around me chatted and sipped their cappuccinos and pumpkin spice lattes…

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Sounds of Türkiye: Minarets and the Cats’ Meow

Asia, Culture, Europe, Middle East & Africa

The eminent archeologist was explaining how the discoveries at Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Türkiye were changing the way people understood Neolithic history. But most of my attention was directed toward an affectionate tricolor tabby posing coquettishly in the foreground of the ruins. This is a common occurrence in Türkiye, where an estimated five to 10 million cats, ranging from domesticated to feral, roam urban boulevards, lavish resorts, trendy shopping centers and country lanes. In Istanbul, you’ll find street-dwelling felines lurking in and around structures that include Byzantine cathedrals, spice markets and Ottoman palaces.

Aurora 3 Chena

Fairbanks in Winter: “But It’s a Dry Cold”

America, Culture, Travel

It’s 35 below zero, and the snow is as crisp and crinkly as cellophane.Welcome to winter in Alaska’s Interior. Bring warm clothes, a sense of adventure and a cheerful disposition. The keys to winter life up here are remarkably simple: Stay active, go outdoors, sleep well, and maintain your sense of humor. “Best part about 30-degrees below is you can drive as fast as you want,” deadpans local radio personality Glen Anderson. “The cops won’t pull you over. Would you want to get out of your car at 30 below? They’ll just wait and nab you in the spring.”