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Istanbul, Turkey - Day 2: Constantinople from High Up at Galata Kulesi

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I had a number of things jotted down on my To-Do List when I woke up that morning on November 27, 2020. Turkish sweets I would like to try, landmarks to visit, some exploring to do in general. I'd better get started then. It was my first time somewhere whose language or customs I had virtually no substantial knowledge of - wasn't exactly a Spanish-speaking country, France or, well, the U.K. - and ordering some simit from one of the many bakeries trailing the way up to Taksim Square , which I had strolled around the night before, proved harder than I had imagined. I attributed it to either my failed attempt at practising my non-existent Turkish (cheers, Google) or, again, an accent-related barrier, as Istanbul came across as very English-friendly. I did get my simit in the end and I did feel like some stuffing was missing, but fair enough. To those of you wondering, simit is a circular-shaped bread, not exactly savoury, but not too sweet either, that is very popular amongst Tu...
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International Migration Day and the case for migrants

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Today is International Migration Day and it's been such a doom and gloom kind of year, I would like to end it on a brighter note by stating the obvious: whether they believe it or not, or no matter how many times they try to surpress it, Britain remains a very plural and diverse society. This diversity may have been engulfed in recent years by the jingoism and ethno-centred patriotic shouts of a (very) loud minority, but it goes without saying that a defunct empire that once "ruled the waves", encompassing over 23% of the Earth's landmass at its peak, would inevitably become a melting pot of different cultures and peoples at this Empire's wake. That, sadly, isn't usually addressed, nor in the least recognised . Levels of opposition to immigration in the U.K. are still very high, even though it is one of the powerhouses driving the economy forward, with only 17% favouring an increase in immigration levels. It is hard not to bring Brexit into this discussion,...
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Istanbul, Turkey - Day 1: A Cross-Continental Behemoth

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I had never set my eyes on Turkey before 2020, when it became such a prized jewel for travellers amidst such draconian travel restrictions imposed by governments worldwide. Unlike its counterparts in both  Western and Eastern Europe - and the vast majority of EU nations - Turkey pursued a pretty lax border regime, allowing travellers in irrestricted and irrespective of where they had spent the last fortnight. This of course sounded all too appealing to me, as travel restrictions are something I have been struggling to grapple with, seeing that I split my time between Brazil and the U.K. - two of the worst Covid-19 hit countries in their respective continents - and having to isolate for a fortnight somewhere isn't exactly every traveller's dream. Once my pending holiday plans to the Baltic states and Finland - with a short stint in St Petersburg in Russia - were put on hold indefinitely amidst rising rates of infection in the region, I decided to ignore them altogether and go ...
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Location: İstanbul, Turkey
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