What's up - The Longest Way

January 2nd, 2022

ode to Kadiköy

This post is about the part of Istanbul that’s called Kadiköy and how awesome I think it is. Because of liberalism, and because of cats. I used to refer to the European side of Istanbul as the “fun side”. Looking at the map made it seem that way to me, maybe because most of the […]

December 30th, 2021

Hallelujah, the Hagia Sophia is a mosque!

This post is about a visit to the Hagia Sophia. She has recently been converted into a mosque, which I think is wonderful. One cannot visit Xi’an without seeing the Terracotta Army, one cannot visit Samarkand without seeing the Registan, and one cannot visit Istanbul without seeing the Hagia Sophia. It is the law. And […]

December 29th, 2021

eclecticism

This post is about a visit to Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. I am confused by the stylistic mess and delighted by a forgery and by a church. The Caboose is safe in a garage on the European side while I am staying with the Kantian in Kadıköy. Istanbul is all around me, and I can […]

December 26th, 2021

a walk from Asia to Europe

This post is about a walk over the Bosphorus Bridge. I worry about the Caboose and end up almost getting in the way of the Turkish President. When I crouched down to put the newly repaired wheel back onto the Caboose, I noticed something alarming: the suspension of the wheel was broken. It was unclear […]

December 25th, 2021

Kabus means nightmare

This post is about being worried in Kadiköy. I am wearing a Santa hat, and I go and get a wheel and my hat repaired. Am I an optimist or a pessimist? I am not sure. On the one hand you have to be an optimist – even to the point of being naive – […]

December 24th, 2021

how to get permission to walk over the Bosphorus Bridge

This post is about how I finally get permission to walk over the Bosphorus Bridge. It involves a run to the Governor’s Office and the Police. I slept for a day, then I sat down with the Kantian to talk about my worries. The Bridge Problem. The goddamned Bridge Problem. Many people were trying to […]

December 22nd, 2021

Istanbul

This post is about a 33km walk from Polonezköy to Istanbul. The day starts with snow and ends in a traffic vortex. But I am happy. Istanbul. Finally. After all those years of trying to get there, after a global pandemic and a personal diagnosis, I found it hard to believe that it was real. […]

December 21st, 2021

Poles

This post is about a 9km walk from Cumhuriyet to Polonezköy. I wonder about some trash in a forest, and then someone asks me if I’m Polish. I wanted to be a bit closer to Istanbul for the final push into the city. So I found a village with a couple of guesthouses in the […]

December 20th, 2021

Goodbye, Hospitable Sea

This post is about a 26km walk from Dogancili to Cumhuriyet. It’s the last time I will walk alongside the Black Sea. I woke up in my winter sleeping bag, breathing little white clouds into the air above me. When I got up the cats were still there, and so was the Black Sea. It […]

Hey everyone!

if you want to read up on the walk, you can click on Blog or just use the map above in order to navigate between posts. All entries are on there, starting with the first post I ever made.

If you just want to get a general idea about the whole thing, you could refer to The Plan, and in case you have any specific questions, make sure to check out my FAQ section (in three languages).

Another thing you can do is download the Google Earth file. It is split into daily tracks and shows some landmarks and some photographs.

Or you could just go and read one of my books.