The most beautiful street in Kyiv without a doubt is Andrew’s Descent (Andriyivskyy Uzviz). It winds down a hill to the Podil district, past historic buildings, museums, artists and art vendors, souvenir stalls, and a few touristy restaurants.
İş Sanat is a cultural center run by İşbank (Türkiye İs Bankası), the largest bank in Turkey. It’s located at the headquarters of the bank in the Levent neighborhood of the Beşiktaş district. There are art galleries and a performance hall. It’s an excellent venue for watching concerts, dance performances, and other cultural events.
After an uncomfortable overnight bus ride from Hurghada, we arrived back at the Oasis Hotel in Cairo, the first hotel on the tour, at around 7am. I went straight to my room and fell asleep for a few hours before our tour of UNESCO World Heritage listed Historic Cairo. The group met in the lobby at 9am and were gathered together by Bishoy, the same guide who took me to Dahshur and Memphis.
Alexandria. I like saying it. Probably because it’s a mysterious city I’ve heard so much about in history class, reading history books, and because I’m Greek. It’s a great city near and dear to the hearts of Greeks, with several songs and poems written about it. A city founded by Alexander the Great and from where Cleopatra seduced the Rome. And just like Constantinople (now Istanbul) and Smyrna (now Izmir), many lament having to leave it behind. For these reasons, I had to pay a visit.
From the modern center of Afyon, I walked to the historic part of the city. The old town has some of the most beautiful Ottoman homes in Turkey.
Afyon has a few points of interest in the city center. I started exploring there before checking out some more important sites.
The Turks are the most hospitable, friendly, and helpful people I’ve ever encountered. They usually go well out of their way to make sure their guests feel welcome in their country or city. I’ve always met people curious of foreigners, many eager to ask questions about me and compliment my bad Turkish, and others who happily want to practice their English for a few minutes. When I rolled into Afyon, I was expecting the same, but Afyon is different. Afyon is a Turkish parallel universe.
Uşak is an Anatolian city located in an area untouched by tourism, and for good reason. There’s not much of interest in this city to detour travelers, but there’s enough to keep someone busy for a few hours. All in all, it’s skippable.
Kütahya has a small collection of nicely restored Ottoman mansions, and the best ones sit along cobblestoned Germiyan Street (Germiyan Sokağı).