4/12/98: Ruth still sick with a stomach bug. I took a bus to the coastal town of Kuşadası to find an internet café and a ferry schedule so we can plan the…
Liars and Trippers and Folk Dancers, Oh My!
4/11/98: Moved from the Karahan to the Homeros. Ruth came down with a stomach bug, so we only took a brief walk around the neighborhood. 4/11/23: We waited for the fake Dervish…
Chagrinned and Illumined
4/10/98: Slept in. Checked out. Rode in a dolmuş (shared taxi, pronounced “DŌL-moosh”) to Denizli, and caught the bus to Selçuk. 4/10/23: Ömer, the owner of WeisseBurg pensione in Pamukkale, had recommended…
Not In Hot Water
4/9/98: Arrived in Pamukkale at 5:30am, walked to the WeisseBurg Pensione, and were received very warmly because we were referred by Anna and Chengis in Göreme. The name of the pension where…
A Dog And His Travel Companions
4/8/98: This morning we headed off for a day-long hike in the peculiar landscape of Göreme, before boarding a bus at 7:30pm for an overnight ride to Pamukkale.. 4/8/23: Anna and Chengis,…
Living As Exiles In The World
4/7/98: First day of Qurban Bayrami, a five-day holiday commemorating Abraham’s willingness to obey God’s command to sacrifice his beoved son… Ishmael! We slept in, too tired to rise early for the…
Abraham And His Son: A Foreshadowing
Today, April 7, 2023, is the holy day Christians in the Western traditions call Good Friday, and I’m thinking about the account of Abraham and his son in Genesis 22. Twenty-five years…
The Warp and Whoof of Adventure
4/6/98: The bus ride was terrible. We boarded the bus at 9:00pm last night in Istanbul, and arrived 11am this morning in Göreme. 14 hours to travel 720km! We are exhausted and…
The Hungry ATM
4/5/98: Travel day, heading from Istanbul to the Cappadokia region of central Turkey. We checked out of Istanbul Hostel and hung out in the gardens between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque…
Praying For Direction
4/4/98: Took tour of Topkapi Palace. Met up with Chris and Beth again for a visit to Taksim and Beyoglu. Ate gozleme sandwiches at a local (non-touristy) restaurant, then stopped at a…
Meetings With Remarkable People
4/3/98: Switch to Istanbul Hostel after an early morning search for a better deal. Turns out they opened only the day before! Very nice and clean. Met up with Chris & Beth…
Istanbul, Not Constantinople
4/2/98: We switched rooms at the hostel because there were openings this morning. We purchased a phone card to call Chris and Beth B. to make plans to connect on Friday. And…
Border Crossing By Train
4/1/98: Up early for a 7am train to Istanbul. The train stopped in Pythion, the Greek border town. 4/1/23: When I wrote “the train stopped in Pythion,” I didn’t mean Pythion was…
Overnight in Thessaloniki
3/31/98: Boarded 7am train to Thessaloniki. There was only first class tickets available. Pricey but very nice. Greek countryside was gorgeous in the misty morning and foggy afternoon. Better than postcards. We…
Night-time Views of Athens from Lofos Likavitou
3/30/98: I went back to the office where George and his son Alexi are working. Attempts to get the laptop modem to connect still. Our last night in Athens, so a drive…
Mars Hill and Contextual Apologetics
3/29/98: Visited the Acropolis, and a walk through Monastraki neighborhood. Found a music shop that sells bouzouki (Greek mandolins). After the V’s get home in the evening, George took me to his…
The Why (You really quit your job for this!?)
3/28/98: We moved from our pensione, Student’s and Traveler’s Inn, to the Valiakas home, thanks to their generous invitation. We also visited the National Archeological Museum. 3/28/23: So, other than being young,…
The How (getting from here to there)
When someone asks me “How did you travel around the world?” I dryly, but truthfully, respond: “Mostly lanes, trains and automobiles, but also by ferry boats on the sea, busses with chickens,…
The Where and the When
3/26/98: Still rainy and cold, power out in Athens for several hours, but we manage a stroll through Plaka and Monastraki neighborhoods. Gerry (Ruth’s cousin from Maui) and George Valiakas invited us…
The Who and What
3/25/98: Today, we arrived in Athens, Greece via Frankfurt, Germany. We were picked up in the early morning hours after an overnight flight by Gerry and George Valiakas. Gerry is Ruth’s cousin,…
RTW Trip: Arriving at departure
3/24/98: “We are leaving this time. On our way to the airport in fact. … We are really leaving Chicago, and heading off on our Big Adventure in search of the spirit…
RTW Trip: Looking ahead at looking back
Twenty-five years ago, on March 24, 1998, Ruth and I departed Chicago for a year-long, round-the-world trip to work on a series of short-term projects for relief agencies and missionary organizations around…
What I’m on about…
G. K. Chesterton said: “An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.” —All Things Considered, “On Running After One’s Hat” “Further Adventures of”…