An adventure on the Big Island involving a true Hawaiian warrior PLUS Everything you can do in Kona on a cruise.

Poem on how I didn´t go see a beautiful place in Turkey strangely connected to my origins

A Spanish language poem about the astounding similarities I found between historic enemies Turkey and Armenia when I visited Istanbul a couple of years back.

This poem has to do with my last name and my Armenian family´s origin in what is now part of Turkey. In honor of my father and my ancestors.

A poem written at sunset anchored between the Asian and European sides of Istanbul and listening to the rise of prayer

How an Armenian writer fell in love with Istanbul forever (and what to do to ensure the same happens to you...)

Five of my favorite restaurants all over the planet.

Two years ago, I coincided with a large group of Armenian tourists doing a Mediterranean cruise. Capri was one of our stops. When I was having lunch at a beautiful restaurant, as part of a day tour of Capri and the Amalfi Coast, I sat at a table with Vart, Silvia, and their respective husbands. They were all of Armenian origin, just like me.

One of my most vivid images of Waikiki is of listening to a Hawaiian band playing Iz´s version of “Somewhere over the Rainbow”, with the sun going down behind them. There was just something fundamentally Hawaiian about that scene, the beautiful music, the Hawaiian-shirt-clad musicians with their ukeleles, and the silhouettes surfing into the sunset in the background.

I just didn´t want to go back to sleep on the ship. Simply, I NEEDED a connection. It was not about booking a hotel and staying there by myself... This was MAUI!!! I had to see those Maui stars, whatever the cost.