The End

The Last of Soviet Architecture

A library building which isn’t bad to look at and followed by a Youth and Sport Complex.

An Abandoned Church

There is something about abandon and derelict buildings that capture my immigration to photograph.  As always there is a story; The Church of Christ the Savior is an abandoned Serbian-Orthodox Church.  Its construction began sometime in 1995 and was halted by the on-going conflicts in Yugoslavia at the time.
The church is usually linked with Slobodan Milosevic’s regime and is not welcomed by a majority of the local Albanian community.

The Clinton Stature

i walked for over an hour in the hot day to catch this of Clinton and here he is...

Onto Kosovo

I didn’t even realize I was flying Business Class with a stopover in Istanbul and then to Kosovo. Everything went smooth including the pickup. I am at the Hotel Sirius. It’s an ok hotel with good breakfast and large room but no view.

St John’s Bascilla

St John who was Jesus beloved disciple has a Bascilla built in his honor and was buried here. Ephesus is also supposedly the last place the Virgin Mary lived and died.

Ephesus III

of course, this funny sign and always some kitties..

Ephesus II

More of the great ruin with fantastic theatre and preserved interiors of wearily houses.

Ephesus I

Ephesus supposedly the most preserved Roman Ruin city. Jeresh still gets my vote. That is not to say, Ephesus is a magnificent ruin. Upon being dropped off my The wonderful owner of the hotel, I was approached by a guide and decided you need a guide.
The day was blazing hot and the marble floored city was slippery. I watched. A few people fall.  The fun part was learning about board games they played with stone tablets. The library stories have it had an underground tunnel to the brothel. It was probably bs but it was good bs...

Cella Hotel and Spa

The Cella is located off the main road in a strange location overlooking an empty field. The hotel is lovely with a pool and steam room, sauna and massages are available as well. The friendly staff really take good care of you I received an upgrade to a larger room. I was also given a ride to the Ephesus site.  The breakfast was wonderful. My only negative was they didn’t serve lunch or dinner.

To Izmir

The flight out of Tbilisi was delayed. When I got to Istanbul a guy was waiting to hurry people to make the flight. The doors closed just about as we were going to get to the plane. I had to rebook my flight and now had a 4 hour layover. I was happy there was a decent lounge to hang out to pass the time. The airline offered me a McDonald’s coupon to eat which I threw away.
I made into Izmir and was picked up with no problem for the 50 minute drive to the hotel.

Brutal Tours II

We picked up a fun driver who loves Lebron James and we had a good time visiting the Architecture just outside the city.  We did stop for a crappy lunch and headed back home. All in all a wonderful day.

Brutal Tours and My Guides

David from Brutal tours found me sitting by the fountain. A couple from Denmark also joined the group. This tour was a highlight of my time in Tbilisi and Baku. Monument and Brutal Architecture.
We began our walk though the old part of the cobblestone city. The historic houses date back to the 1900’s without heating.
You can see the poverty than still exists as these buildings some are falling down. Due to the nature of the historic status you only can renovate the old but not add new construction.

My guides: