The author of Strolling Through Istanbul and The Companion Guide to Turkey has combined in a single narrative his countless journeys over two decades along the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts. His trips took him from the Hellespont and Gallipoli to Antakya, the ancient Antioch on the Syrian border. The book explores such fabled sites and cities as Troy, Ephesus, Pergamum, Izmir and Halicarnassus, where Herodotus was born. From there the author turns east through ancient Lycia, evoking the civilizations that once flourished along this coast, such as the Hittites, Mycenaeans, the Roman and Byzantine empires, the Crusaders, Turks, Mongols and the Ottoman empire.