Galleries

There are many hamams in Istanbul, both ancient and modern.  The hamam we visited was built in 1741 and bills itself as the last hamam constructed during Ottoman Empire.

Traveling on the segment from New York’s JFK airport to Israel, I was coincidentally seated next to a guy from Reno.  He was an engineer named Paul, traveling to Israel for his company.  From previous familiarity, I correctly guessed the company, Ormat Technologies. . . 

Svalbard is a special Arctic landscape that is attracting many tourists.

Malta is nicknamed the “navel of the Mediterranean” since it is in approximately the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.  Its location has made Malta the object of conquest, starting with the Phoenicians, and followed by the Carthaginians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, the Knights of St. John, French, and finally the British in 1813-1974, when Malta became an independent neutral country. 

Our third Viking port of call was Puntarenas, Costa Rica.  As usual, several excursion choices were offered.  We chose one entitled “Walk in the Clouds.”  We boarded a bus for an hour’s drive from the coast up to the highlands of the central valley running through the country.  Our Costa Rican tour guide spoke for the whole hour as we traveled, providing many details about his country.  I remain very interested in Costa Rica, having heard that it is a popular destination for retired Americans wishing to relocate to a foreign country less expensive than the US and having a great climate.  I’m happy to continue to live in Reno, but we might want to visit Costa Rica again for a more in-depth visit...

Mount Fuji was an impressive site as our ship approached the Shimizu harbor.  Mount Fuji is Japan's highest mountain, an active volcano in a perfect conical form.

Our Viking China cruise continued to three port cities I had never heard of before.  The Chinese government seeks to increase tourism, and our cruise is one of the first collaborations with the Chinese government and Viking Cruises.  The ship's staff is 100% Chinese, and the entertainers are all Chinese.  So this particular cruise is different from the usual Viking multi-national staff.

Our ship, the Yi Dun, is named after the first Chinese commercial ship launched in 1872, the Yi Dun.