YouTube Videos

Hotel in Kars

Ever wondered what kinds of hotels I stay in while I'm traveling on my own as opposed to when I'm working for travel companies? The contrast couldn't be greater. Take a look at my hotel room in Kars, Turkey, which was like a lot of the places I was staying in during my recent trip to Turkey. [use your 'back' button to return to this page after viewing]

Temple of Zeus

While staying in the south coast Turkish town of Silifke, I did a day trip into the hills to a small village called Uzuncaburc, which was once the site of a prosperous ancient Roman city of Dioceasarea. I made two videos, this first on the ruins of the Temple of Zeus found there.

Uzuncaburc Theater

Also in Uzuncaburc's ruins is a wonderful theater, unrestored, which has lots of architectural decorative blocks.

Arsemeia

Arsemeia (known to locals as Eski Kale or 'old fortress') is a 2000 year-old Commagenian citadel close to the village of Eski Kahta in southeastern Turkey. The Commagenians were a relatively short lived dynasty in the region, but left some spectacular remains. One of the mainstays of their art were large sculptures called 'Dexiosis' reliefs or 'Handshake' reliefs. They showed Commagenian kings shaking hands with dieties, showing that the kings, too, were related and equal to the gods. This video shows one such relief at Arsemeia.

Ferry Crossing near Sivarek

This short video shows a ferry crossing across the lake created by the Ataturk Dam, a lake made by the damming of the Euphrates River (Firhat). I made the trip going by minibus from Eski Kahta to Diyarbakir. The old ferries will soon be put out of business, however, by the new bridge, and another part of old Turkey will be gone.

Ani Church

The early medieval Armenian capital city of Ani was a marvel. It flourished for about a century between 950 and 1050, when many of its buildings were constructed. In ruin there are still marvelous fragments. This short video-and I apologize for the terrible weather and darkness-is of one of the 1000 year-old churches at Ani.

Vizkaya Brodge, Getxo (Bilbao)

The Vizkaya Bridge in Getxo, Spain, very near Bilbao, is really a wonder of engineering. I made this short video to show how this 100 year old bridge, a UNESCO World Heritage monument, works still today.

Obelisk Base, Istanbul

One of the most fascinating remnants of Byzantine Constantinople is the base of the great obelisk that is still in place in what was the hippodrome of the city. Here's a short tour of the sculptures of the obelisk base and how they relate to the hippodrome.

Achtamar (Lake Van)

I made this short, 7 minute video on the Church of the Holy Cross, 'Achtamar', on a island in Lake Van in May 8th of 2015. It was a lovely sunny day with the Lake surrounded by snowcapped mountains.

The Art of Turkish Coffee

This is a video I made with Kevin Freeny in Sinope, Turkey in 2015. Sinope is a wonderful ancient town on the Black Sea coast of Turkey, not often visited by Western tourists but a lovely place with a rich history.