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A year ago I wandered by Mor Behnam and Mort Sara Church  in the city of   Mardin , located in the Tur Abdin Region of southeastern Turkey.   Mardin, in southeastern Turkey (click on photos for enlargments) Mor Behnam and Mort Sara Church in Mardin In recounting the history of the church in Mardin I mentioned the tombs of Mort (Saint) Sara and Mor (Saint) Behnam at the Monastery of Mor Behnam, located on a hill near Nimrud, about twenty miles south of Mosul, in Iraq. Tombs of Mort Sara and Mor Behnam near Nimrud, in Iraq, before the arrival of ISIS. Photo courtesy of   Gates of Nineveh .  Now comes news that ISIS has destroyed the tombs of Mort Sara and Mor Behnam. See  What We’ve Lost: Mar Behnam Monastery . Other monastery buildings have apparently survived,  but now ISIS has taken control of the complex and there are no longer no any monks in residence.  Ruins of the tombs of Mort Sara and Mor Behnam. Photo courtesy of ...

In 45 a.d. the Apostle Paul, he of Road to Damascus  fame, and Barnabas, later Saint Barnabas, visited Larnaca and appointed Lazarus as the first Christian bishop of Cyprus. From Larnaca Paul and Barnabas proceeded along the southern coast to Paphos, on the western end of Cyprus Island. I decided to follow in their footsteps.  First I took the bus forty miles to Limmasol, where as most of you will recall Richard the Lion Heart of England married Berengaria of Navarre on May 12, 1191, and there transferred to a bus going another forty miles to Paphos. By noon I was comfortably ensconced in the Kiniras Guesthouse in Upper Paphos.    Guesthouse where I am staying in Paphos (click on photos for enlargements) Beefcake dished up at the entrance to the guesthouse restaurant Patio dining room of the restaurant  Statue in the restaurant of woman displaying her delectable treats Statue in restaurant of three young women from the Isle of Lesbos . After a couple of Cyprus ...

Wandered by Alamut, the old stronghold of the Nizari Ismailis, better known in the Occident as the Assassins. The fortress was founded in 1090 by Hassan-i Sabbah and lasted until 1256, when it was finally conquered by Khülegü Khan, grandson of Chingis Khan.  Elburz Mountains west of Alamut (click on photos for enlargements) The village of Gazor Khan on the left and the Alamut massif on the right Sign welcoming tourists to Gazor Khan The Alamut Massif When we arrived at the village we were told by local people that there had been a big snow storm the week before and the backside of the massif was still covered with deep drifts. They claimed it was impossible to reach the fortress at the top. We decided to try anyhow and started up the first of the staircases leading to the summit.  We had not gone far when a group of Iranian tourists, three men and two women from Tehran, came stumbling down. They confirmed that it was impossible to reach the fortress because of the snow. This ...

Wandered out 534 miles to Uliastai, capital of Zavkhan Aimag, and then took a van 20 miles east ATCF to the well-known children’s camp located to the west of the Otgon Tenger Massif. Here we hired horses and two horsemen for a circumnavigation of 13,192-foot Otgon Tenger Mountain, one of the sacred mountains of Mongolia officially recognised by the Mongolian government. I had already done an eighty mile circumnavigation, or khora, of Burkhan Khaldun and climbed to the summit of Bogd Khan Uul, just south of Ulaanbaatar, two other officially recognised sacred mountains. From the Children's Camp we crossed the Bodgyn Gol, which begins on the western flanks of Otgon Tenger, and headed northeast up the Rashaan Gol. Locals say they had been experiencing a drought and that there had been no significant rains for several weeks, but only a few hours into our trip we experienced a torrential downpour. We popped into a ger for tea and waited for this to pass and then continued on to the hot ...

Galleria of my hovel. In the center is a nineteenth century Armenian carpet with Tree of Life design. The construction hanging from the ceiling is by Anunaran .  (Click on photos for enlargement)  Better look at Armenian carpet Detail of Armenian carpet

The day after I visited the Statue Of Zeno I wandered into town again, but instead of walking the whole way down the Phinikoude I turned left a block past the Fort and proceeded a couple of hundred yards to St. Lazarus Square. The Church of St. Lazarus, one of Larnaca’s most famous landmarks, fronts the square on the west. Although the square is on the southern edge of the highly developed area behind the Phinikoude it serves as the symbolic center of town. Saint Lazarus, who according to the Christian Bible was raised from the dead by Jesus of Nazareth, was supposedly buried here, and over the last 1500 years or so three different churches have stood over the site of his tomb. The current church is used by a local Greek Orthodox congregation. It is also visited by many pilgrims from all over the Orthodox world and figures in most tourist itineraries. As I walk by a service is in progress, and I can hear the chanting of Greek Orthodox priests. I want to view the interior of the church...