OUR STORY
We met at a Christmas party in 2014. At Christmas in Istanbul, foreigners (and specifically Canadians) tend to clump together to celebrate the season. Four months later, on a break from Turkish classes, we packed a few bags and joined a road trip with a mutual friend to explore some southern provinces. Somewhere between the künefe in İskenderun and the monastery ruins outside Urfa, we realized we were addicted to this place.
As our Turkish got better, we discovered more. As we discovered more, we fell more in love with the country and people. How could we export this to the rest of the world??
So we started this site for you! The Art of Wayfaring is our way of shedding light on the wonders of Turkey beyond the well-known ‘Top Ten Lists’ and ‘Must See Destinations.’ Through photography, locals’ stories, and our own experiences, we invite you to join us as we explore the unique diversity that we are constantly discovering from region to region and village to village. Writing as foreigners living Turkey, we also aim to equip other travellers to travel smarter and experience the depth of the local people and culture.
...and if while we’re at it, we debunk the myth that elma çayı (apple tea) is drinkable, we can go to our graves satisfied men.
Sean
Hey, I’m Sean, and I do the podcasting, oversee social media, and contribute to the articles on the site.
When I grew up, I wanted to be in radio broadcasting, just like my dad. However, as the Buggles so aptly put it, video killed the radio star... and then the internet hid the body in the back woods. Or at least they tried to. Thankfully, radio wasn’t really dead; it was just a little beat up. After it came to, it crawled out of the forest and remarketed itself by flipping the “b” in broadcasting upside down and came back as “podcast.” The dream lives!
When my wife and I got to Turkey, we had no idea how long we’d stay or what shape our life would take. But somewhere in the midst of studying Turkish I decided to make a serious go at podcasting. A few gallons of çay later – sipped with Josh one tiny cup at a time – my new direction grew to include a bunch of friends and focused in on projects in Turkey.
I live in Istanbul with my wife and our son. I’m not a long walk on the beach guy, but throw a backpack and tent in the mix and I’m there. When I studied history in college, there’s no way I would have thought I would pray in Hagia Sophia, walk an aqueduct constructed on the order of Alexander the Great, or hold coins minted in the Ottoman Empire. I’m probably one of the luckiest guys on earth.
Josh
Hi! I’m Josh and I do most of the photography and travel blogging here at The Art of Wayfaring.
My first trip to Turkey was when I was 5 years old and I’ve had a love and fascination for the place ever since. I was weird and liked geography as a kid (there was still a USSR on my maps to keep things simple) so I knew enough to know that I was in Asia but still didn’t have any grasp on real distances. When I saw some huge walls running along the hilltops I figured it was probably the Great Wall of China. But don’t worry, five-year-old Josh isn’t writing the travel advice!
I grew up loving the art, the architecture, the music, and the ridiculous depth and diversity of the history of this place. Ever since my first visit as a kid I’ve had this Orientalist streak in me and so to now find myself living in Istanbul experiencing all these things on a daily basis is really a dream come true!
I’ve got a bit of a confession to make: despite doing the vast majority of the photography for this project I’ve only just gotten into photography (I hope it doesn’t show too much)! It’s been an exciting and extremely satisfying experience and, to be totally honest, the beauty of this country makes my job super easy. Everywhere I go there are amazing natural sites, amazing people, amazing buildings—ruined or otherwise—just waiting to be photographed. With little to no experience I’ve gotten to go out and feel like a blend of Indiana Jones and Steve McCurry.
I live here with my wife and two sons who get to live the childhood dream of crawling through tunnels behind Greek shrines and exploring ancient tombs. We’re all on this adventure of learning the language, culture, and exploring this great country together!