The Official Blog Of Ritam Saha

Rome in all its glory Rome, the capital of Italy, is a city of ancient wonders and modern dreams. Once the centre of international affairs and the ultimate seat of power, Rome has more to offer to everyone than any other city that may attempt to compete with it. Visitors to Rome often take guided bus tours that cover large cities in Europe with groups, but this is not the recommended way to travel. To take in the essence of Rome, one must spend at least three days in the city. There are a number of connections into Rome. First off, the vast European rail network can take you right into the heart of the ancient city (Roma Termini). For travellers flying in, Fiumicino Airport is a great choice. The other, smaller airport, Campiano, is served by Europe based low cost carriers . However, if you're coming in by sea, you will probably dock at Civitavecchia, a port just outside of Roman perimeters. On my journey, I had the joy of flying in with Emirates, the Dubai based full-servi

Over the sleepy villages along the Poonch border, dawn was beginning to stretch its limbs beyond the horizon. The hidden sun glowed in all its light behind the white snowy mountains. The goats were up by now, and with sure feet, they scoured the slopes for graze. A little boy rose from the stony floor of his hut, pushing off the heavy rug that had kept him safe all through the chilly night. Around him, it was still dark, and his father was snoring peacefully in the single room. A faint bulb flickered in the darkness, but it was enough to find him his bag and clothes tucked away near the table. The table was the only real piece of furniture in the room. Everything else was an undecipherable mess of cloth, fabric and stray wood. His quick feet carried him on the brittle village road. The stream gurgled in the distance. The valley looked beautiful here. In the realm of Kashmir, everything was beautiful. With no time to admire, the little boy hurried on. If they only had money, his fa

As a traveller, I usually fall in love with the places I visit. There can be hundreds of reasons why, but with Turkey, everything seems to be different. You can fall in love with its vibrant colours, and yet not overlook its delectable cuisine. You could admire beautiful Cappadocia, and yet not forget mighty Istanbul. Turkey has a character, one that I have never felt before and probably never will. A mesmerizing mix of the exotic and the familiar, this great nation is definitely much more than its clichéd image of a “bridge between East and West”. Invaded and settled from every direction since the start of recorded history, it combines influences from the Middle East and the Mediterranean, the Balkans and Central Asia. Mosques coexist with churches, Roman theatres and temples crumble near ancient Hittite cities, and dervish ceremonies and gipsy festivals are as much a part of the social landscape as classical music concerts or football matches. The friendliness of the Turkish

Ankara in all it's glory Most people visiting Turkey do not bother to stop by Ankara. I luckily did not commit this mistake. After a four-hour long bus journey from the Cappadocian town of Nevsehir, here I was, in the Turkish capital. The number of police cars and personnel on the streets exceeded the numbers in all other Turkish cities. The red and blue flashes gave the capital its official look. The streets of this official destination are lined with hotels and government offices: a capital city doing its job. A few paces away from where I was staying, the statue of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk looked over the   A statue of Ataturk in his office district, perched on his horse as a commander. The sober lights of the Ottoman styled Osmanli Mosque spilt onto the rushing traffic. It was only a couple of hours since I had checked in, that the sun set in a sea of red, leaving the sky pale and dark. The cars rushed along below, and the lights had been left on. Ankara did not sleep th

The travertines are beautiful in turquoise and white Of the many historic wonders the world has known, some of the most intriguing lie in Turkey. Visitors to this transcontinental nation often stop by the Bosphorus, the turquoise waves of the Mediterranean and famed Cappadocia, the land of mystery. Though not as frequently visited as the above, the town of Denizli is still frequented by large tourist crowds. It is here that the ancient Roman city of Hierapolis once stood. Today, all that is left of the city is a mass of rubble, and Pamukkale, a sequence of limestone travertines flowing into the Menderes Valley. Getting to Pamukkale, as the site is popularised, is no difficult task. I travelled from Kusadasi, a resort town and cruise ship port on the   Turkish Airlines even has a Boeing 737 named after Denizli Mediterranean coast, but tours leave other regions too. Denizli has an airport which is served by the flag carrier, Turkish Airlines, as well as other regio

The Land Of Fairy Chimneys Kapadokya, anglicized and referred to hereafter as Cappadocia, is located in central Turkey, and is one of the most striking places on the planet to travel to. It is often referred to as Instagram's favourite location. In the vast Anatolian desert, the monotony of continuous sands is interrupted by steep, tall rocks - numbered in thousands, which have held countless events of history within their hollow insides and given rise to thousands of stories, all unique. People often fail to realise how big the area known as Cappadocia really is. The region encircles not only the province and city of Nevsehir, where the actual fairy chimneys are located, but also nearby Kayseri, whose airport brings in half the number of visitors arriving in Cappadocia. There are two airports that serve the touristic area in and around Goreme. These are the Kayseri Erkilet Airport, and the The flight from Antalya arrived on time Nevsehir Kapadokya Airport. Both are se

Picture Source : Internet Since time immemorial, works of literature have spoken of the exchanges between man and environment. The first work of global literature and of an international faith, the Holy Bible, records such interactions right from its first chapter in its first book - The Book of Genesis. Thus appears the first instruction through the book of God to man to protect the Earth that He created. Genesis 1:26 "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'" The ancient Romans were known to worship the Earth. The Greeks did so too. From the soil which hosted life upon it sprung the many tales of mythological fantasy - the likes of which continue to inspire and influence the modern literary critic and contributor. Greek myths personified regular natural patterns like th