Views from Olana and Church’s Paintbox

View from Olana Returning from my editor’s memorial, I revisited Hudson River artist and naturalist Frederick Church’s wonderful home, Olana. Chock full of ‘Orientalist’ items like Persian rugs, Moroccan Windows, and even a stuffed peacock, it reminded me of a huge version of the treehouse in Sausalito where I wrote my early books. Inspiration! Here […]

The Caves of Cappadocia and Mural of St. George

Over the years, I was invited to Turkey many times, to lecture and to visit with the Sufis in Konya. On one trip, in the dead of winter, I hired a driver and went to Cappadocia. There are many caves that were hollowed out of the soft pumice, and provided the residences of early Christians, […]