Travelling with Mercury
Mercury is the patron of travellers, so in my department he is in charge of the travel section.
You can read straight through, or simply open a post at random (Mercury is the god of luck, after all) and follow the links to earlier, later and related pieces until you have had enough.
🇦🇲Armenia — 🇧🇾Belarus — 🇪🇹Ethiopia — 🇰🇿Kazakhstan — 🇷🇺Russia — 🇷🇸Serbia — 🇹🇳Tunisia — 🇹🇷Türkiye — and everywhere else!
Hestia’s Hearth — 🇹🇷Türkiye
This is where most of the material is, so it is divided by geographical region:
Hayk’s Anvil — Eastern Anatolia
(Van, Kars, Erzurum)
The Feline Olympus
Felines rule the entirety of Türkiye. In some regions they are more numerous, in others
The Word That Was Demoted
In the thirteenth century the Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan stretched from the South China
Hellespontus’ Gates — Marmara Region
(Istanbul, Bursa, Thrace)
The Candid Faces of Rome
How I adore Roman portraits! Unlike their idealised Greek counterparts, they are brimming with life—somehow
Red Gold for Young Türkiye
Following centuries of military confrontation between the Ottoman and Russian Empires, Soviet Russia and Kemalist
Pontus’ Emerald — Black Sea Region
(Trabzon)
The Cartoonists of Trabzon
Entirely by accident we wandered into an exhibition by the local society of cartoonists today,
Wire, Enamel, and Cauldron
In the museum today I came upon the term for the eastern Turkish jeweller’s craft
Enki’s Cradle — South-Eastern Anatolia
The Upper Mesopotamia (Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa)
Potbelly Hill
We have made it to Göbekli Tepe—which translates literally as “Potbelly Hill”—a site now vigorously
Urfa, Undiluted
Gaziantep holds the official title of Türkiye’s culinary capital, but in my own humble opinion
Apollo’s Lyre — Aegean Region
(Ephesus)
The Feline Olympus
Felines rule the entirety of Türkiye. In some regions they are more numerous, in others
Dido’s Land — 🇹🇳Tunisia
A holiday trip that yielded more than expected.
Pollice verso
Here I stand, amidst the weathered stones of an ancient Carthaginian amphitheatre—the very stage where
Memento Mori
To bid farewell to the outgoing year—and good riddance to it—I’ve prepared a small selection
Boreas’ Winds — 🇷🇺Russia
Not much here—because I now live in Türkiye, and writing about it is easier: it is right at hand.
Vera Against the Wind. Part 5, Allegorical
The concluding gallery of the exhibition Vera Mukhina: Against the Wind is fittingly titled Allegory.
Vera Against the Wind. Part 4, Vitreous
In the first and second acts of our perambulations through the exhibition Vera Mukhina: Against
Tengri’s Steppes — 🇰🇿Kazakhstan
How Does a Museum Speak?
…Through its exhibits. There are those for whom a museum remains mute until an official
Istrus’ Banks — 🇷🇸Serbia
Two Gazes, Two Childhoods
In the Gallery of Matica srpska in Novi Sad there live two small people who
The Bearable Heaviness of Being: A Wedding in Vojvodina
This is neither a dream nor a scene from an opera. It is a wedding.
Cepheus’ Kingdom — 🇪🇹Ethiopia
We got to know its capital over New Year 2026.
Dust, Blossoms, and Vintage Ladas
At first glance, Addis Ababa feels like a living page out of Peter Kidi’s lines—where
Time Is Gold
In front of the National Museum of Ethiopia stands a monument. Emperor Haile Selassie aka
Vseslav’s Forests — 🇧🇾Belarus
Only two posts so far, but every journey starts somewhere.
On Ways, Quirks and Reversed Perspective
Inscrutable, as we are so frequently reminded, are the ways of Providence. Having duly paid
No Neglect to Negliubka
I recently popped over to Minsk on business while I was in memleket. That is
Aramazd’s Gardens — 🇦🇲Armenia
Also just a little so far—but only so far, I hope.
Tainted Classics and Soviet Relics
We recently took a flight to Yerevan for the express purpose of visiting the Opera
Roadside Herms
Herms stood at crossroads—they did not lead you into a country, they simply marked that someone had passed this way. This is where places end up when they have only one post to their name, or half a post: not enough for a section of their own, but no reason to let them get lost either.
To Touch a Breath
Tashkent in January. The Museum of Arts. An exhibition of contemporary South Korean art, which
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