Montenegro
We first visited Montenegro in 1972. It turned we visited during the last small pox epidemic in Europe. We, and our rental car, were commandeered by the Public Health service to drive vaccine to a remote village in the lake … Continue reading Montenegro
Greencastle, Ireland (the old home place.)
In the summer of 1993 Suzi and I took my mother to Ireland to celebrate her 80th birthday. Her father was born, raised, and ran away to sea from Greencastle in Donegal; at the mouth of Lough Foyle, the choke point leading to the port of Londonderry. Her actual birthday was in September and on her birthday I sent her a letter recounting some of the stories we heard in Ireland. Many of the stories are the ones I grew up with, but we heard them from a different perspective and told a century after they happened. My grandfather … Continue reading Greencastle, Ireland (the old home place.)
The View From My Window
This is the view from my window through the seasons and across the years. It is what I come home to. I have posted this so that when I travel I am never more than a click away from the view from my chair out my 12 foot window wall. As you can see, it’s ever-changing. Continue reading The View From My Window
Sitka
This is home, I am always happy to return. Continue reading Sitka
Batumi, Georgia
Sept 21, 2012, Batumi , Georgia, Batumi, Georgia is what Wildwood; New Jersey would be if Wildwood were built in the LED era rather than the neon era. At its most outlandish it is a combination of the fantasies of Georgian President Misha Saakashvili and Donald Trump. At its best it is a fine old Black Sea town with wrought iron balconies reminiscent of New Orleans interspersed with Turkish shop houses and pencil thin minarets. Batumi is a border town between Georgia and Turkey. It’s been governed by both, as well as the Russians, Soviets, Byzantines, and a host of … Continue reading Batumi, Georgia
Tbilisi Opera House
Breaking News. The Opera House, newly restored, opens on Sept 16, 2013 for its 162nd season. I will miss it, I leave Tbilisi on Sept 14. In a 2004 letter I wrote: “The Opera House looks like it came from the tails of Scheherazade, which have probably been preformed there many times.” In 2005 I wrote: “On Thursday Lika took me to the Opera. It was the opening production of the season, which meant, in Georgia, the opera is Abesalom and Eteri (Esther) by Zakaria Paliashvilli. It is kind of the Georgian national opera.” “The plot is sufficiently operatic; a … Continue reading Tbilisi Opera House
Rose Revolution Square, A Transformation.
Rose Revolution Square is still under re-construction. It had two anchors, The Hotel Iveria and the reviewing stand for Mayday parades. One is gone and the other utterly transformed. In 2004 I wrote: “Georgia has some of the screwiest modern Socialist Realism on the planet, including a massive, several story high multi arched reviewing stand for May Day parades that looks like what Le Cobisier would build if he had a commission from McDonald’s. Locals playfully call it ‘Andropov’s Ears.’ Andropov’s Ears is where President Saakashvili reviewed the troops last week and made his saber rattling speech on Adjara.” Andropov’s … Continue reading Rose Revolution Square, A Transformation.
Arab Spring, April 2011
The bridge cleaned up. April 15, 2011, Cairo, Egypt I got into the cab in Cairo and was shocked; the driver was wearing a seatbelt. I hadn’t seen this before. I put mine on. He smiled and said “New Egypt.” New Egypt is being stuck in a traffic jam near Tahrir Square and seeing a citizen in a white t shirt step forward, waving a cigarette like a baton, directing traffic. People are taking responsibility. One friend said “They used to own Egypt, now we do. We have to take care of it.” Or as another said “Before we … Continue reading Arab Spring, April 2011
Arab Spring, Feb 11, Mubarak Steps Down
On February 11, Hosni Mubarak stepped down as President of Egypt. Suzi and I were in Doha, Qatar that night and went out on the streets as soon as we heard he had left power. We were watching the events on Al Jazeera in our hotel room. I looked out the window and across the bay I saw what looked, to me, like a large number of cars for that time of night. We could hear a lot of honking so we set out from the hotel on foot to see what was happening. Doha is a strange place. To … Continue reading Arab Spring, Feb 11, Mubarak Steps Down
Arab Spring, January 2011, Suzi’s Story
Suzi’s McClear was Chief of Party for USAID’s Media Development Program in Egypt. Tuesday, January 25 was a state holiday, Police Day. That day a group of demonstrators gathered in Tahrir Square protesting the government. It was a large demonstration but many people thought not much would come of it. The local press tried to ignore it but Suzi got an email from our son, Kevin, who said that international media said Cairo looked like a war zone. From her perspective it was a quiet day. Two days later, Friday, prayer day, a traditional day for protests, social media activists … Continue reading Arab Spring, January 2011, Suzi’s Story
Shulyman Mosque and New Mosque, Istanbul
Topkapi Palace, Istanbul
Topkapi Palace was “headquarters” for the Balkans for several centuries. The “Sublime Porte.” Much of our work in the Balkans was dealing with the remains to three empires, The Ottoman, the Hapsburg and the Evil. Continue reading Topkapi Palace, Istanbul
Blue Mosque, Istanbul.
Istanbul Markets
These pictures are from markets in Istanbul, including the Grand Bazaar. Continue reading Istanbul Markets
Istanbul, Hagia Sophia
The first time I saw the Hagia Sophia in was in 1994. Sixteen years later I returned to Hagia Sophia and was amazed at the restoration of the mosaics that had been covered from its days as a mosque. Continue reading Istanbul, Hagia Sophia
Istanbul, 2010
This is a letter I wrote during a trip to Istanbul from Belgrade, where we lived. The Pictures are street scenes from Istanbul. There are other posts that feature the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Markets, the Topkapi Palace, and Shulyman Mosque … Continue reading Istanbul, 2010
Berlin Wall Fall (Mauerfall) 20 Years Later
November 10, 2009 Berlin, Germany Dear Friends, It was an attempt to recapture the past, to to relive some of the joy we felt in Berlin in 1990 when we watched bulldozers open streets closed for 28 years, to … Continue reading Berlin Wall Fall (Mauerfall) 20 Years Later
Prague, 20 Years Later.
In May 2009 we returned to Prague. It is such a beautiful City I wanted to add this photo gallery taken in 2009 with a better digital camera, along with a letter for that week. May 3, 2009 Prague, Czech … Continue reading Prague, 20 Years Later.
Berlin Contrasts
This post shows two areas of Berlin and how they have changed over 45 years. In 1964 when the leader of our student tour told me that Potsdamer Platz has been the busiest intersection in Europe it was difficult to … Continue reading Berlin Contrasts
Arab Spring, April 6, 2008, A blogging course.
April 8, 2008, Cairo, Egypt Dear Friends, For the past several months we’ve been trying to pull off the first ever course on blogging in Egypt. There is a lot of concern because bloggers have been the ones who exposed police brutality, sexual harassment and bloggers have given people a voice that is denied in state controlled press. The news moves forward on blogs. At the end of Ramadan two years ago several women reported being groped in public, the police denied it so some women bloggers took their cell phones and photographed the groping. The story was picked up … Continue reading Arab Spring, April 6, 2008, A blogging course.
Ubisi Monastery, Georgia
Geguti Monastery
Georgia Road Trip, 2004.
In 2004 I did an evaluation of the Georgian Media Program. I got the chance to travel all across the country. Here are some pictures from Georgia in 2004. Continue reading Georgia Road Trip, 2004.
Stalin
This is a paragraph from a 2004 letter. The markets no longer have Stalin icons. I have not found Stalin Vodka in recent visits and the Stalin statue in Gori was torn down after the war with Russia, although I … Continue reading Stalin