Post Archive


Here you can find every post from Jack's Journal, even the ones I've hidden! 

An American crossing Turkey by bus sets out to trace the spread of Islam across Anatolia, only to find his journey unexpectedly tracked by an undercover police officer at a remote station in Diyarbakir.

Traveling from Spain to Turkey, Jack dives into Turkey’s rich history, shares hostel conversations, navigates passport checks, and rediscovers his love for Turkish food.

Border controls like this one are a fact of life for long-term travellers like me. As Americans, we have an idealised view of what international travel looks like as we take our annual two-week vacation to popular tourism destinations. We are often waived through without serious inspection, our tourism dollars more valuable than customs regulations. I wasn't visiting tourism hotspots; I was visiting countries both on and off the beaten path.