Willa Thorpe

Istanbul is my favorite big city so far. Very inch of its rolling coast line was filled with buildings upon buildings upon buildings. 15million people nestled together in quarters as old as  Byzantine, Constantinople, and Istanbul. There is so much history, relics, And cats so many cats. We only opted for a few touristy things. Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia and the Basilica cisterns.  After the majesty of Uzbekistans gilded mosques some of us were under whelmed by the interior of the Blue Mosque....

Uzbekistan was a treasure I only half expected. I new it would be glimmering with textiles but I did not expect the volume of crafts and richness of architecture this ancient silk road stoping point would unveil. Unlike its neighbors Kazakstan and and Kyrgyzstan who are dominated by nomadic culture,  Uzbekistan holds cities that have been inhabited for 2500 years. Oasis ( that have recently dried up) provided natural stoping and trading points along the journeys since before the time of...

Tradition Tradition is a funny thing. On one hand it ties you to your past, on the other it ties you to your past. Sometimes the past is...

No, I wasn’t just picking up some new moves on the dance floor. Although the Kyrgyz women are exceptional dancers.  So exactly what was I...

The tables we sat at were brimming with joy.  A true feast for the eyes. Overflowing crystal cups of homemade jams and honey. Candies in...

September 4th 2025 Sand and sea gave way to steppe and mountains, Kazakhstan. Kazakh the decedents of over 1000 nomadic tribes....

Picture this, you are standing on top of a mountain, not too high but steep in pitch. To the west there is sea, with a sun angling...

Textures of stone and grout, loose cotton and linen, shutters painted in greens and blue, wood aged by salt. Purple Bougineanvillea. The...

8/9/2025 How could you be more different from your neighbor. Your hills are more plentiful, but graced with the same aquamarine water...

Two years ago we saw a documentary that mentioned the Una river. We were mystified by its clear blue waters. Now after spending two weeks...

One of the hardest museum I have ever been to is the War Child museum in Sarajevo. It portartys the violence of war through the stories...

It grows on you, the more you look. At first glance it looked haphazard. A bit of cobblestone here, some grander there, a little bit of...