PLACES FAR AND BEYOND

Travelogue, a memoir; the authors account of visiting and exploring various countries from Africa to Europe, Turkey, Iran, other Middle Eastern countries, and Southeast Asia; experiences which defies any categorization. Traveling the world, meeting different people and experiencing different cultures are crucial elements of harnessing diversity. One golden thread, we are after all human beings. Our willingness to explore and discuss all of those differences, not just in races and ethnicities but differences across generations and across life experiences. The success of any great travel experience can not be measured in awards, but in miles. The sheer distances they take our imaginations, and the miles they inspire us to drive, fly and walk, visit different places, meet different people, expose ourselves to different cultures during our journey in this grand theater, called earth; our world. Sometimes, traveling and exposure to the rest of our World can be as transformative as the journey itself. It reminds us of a few quotes by Cyrus II of Persia, commonly known as Cyrus the Great and also called Cyrus the Elder by the Greeks, who was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. “You cannot be buried in obscurity: you are exposed upon a grand theater to the view of the world. If your actions are upright and benevolent, be assured they will augment your power and happiness.” ― Cyrus the Great “We love ourselves notwithstanding our faults, and we ought to love our friends in like manner.” ― Cyrus the Great “Success should always call for showing greater kindness, generosity, and justice; only people lost in the darkness treat it as an occasion for greater greed.” ― Cyrus the Great “Diversity in counsel, unity in command.” ― Cyrus the Great “All men have their frailties; and whoever looks for a friend without imperfections, will never find what he seeks.” “We love ourselves notwithstanding our faults, and we ought to love our friends in like manner.” “You cannot be buried in obscurity: you are exposed upon a grand theater to the view of the world. “Have a brutally honest and philosophical look at why we travel and brings to light truths that we don't want to see or believe, namely that the fantasies we have about a place can often be better than the reality we encounter once we arrive,” This book blends beguiling descriptions of the places and people the author encountered.