Inspiring Travel Writing from Tom Brosnahan
Tom Brosnahan's travels began when he joined the US Peace Corps in 1967. He went to Turkey to teach English and ended up writing his first guidebook, Frommer's 'Turkey on $5 a Day'.
His second guide to the country, Lonely Planet's 'Turkey', is now the best-seller to the destination in English. He has also written guides to Belize, Canada, Egypt, England, France, Guatemala, Israel, Mexico, Morocco, New England (USA) and Tunisia. Two of his guides and two websites have won SATW Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism awards. His humorous travel memoir, 'Turkey: Bright Sun, Strong Tea' was published in August 2004. He's currently working on a guidebook to the long-gone Seljuk Turkish Empire of Rum.
Tom's articles and photos have appeared in BBC Holidays, BBC World, Christian Science Monitor, Daily News (New York), Diversion, Daily Telegraph, Journeys, Newsweek International, Odyssey, Travel & Leisure and TWA Ambassador.
In addition to writing, Tom works as a travel website developer and a consultant on travel information to companies and government agencies.
His second guide to the country, Lonely Planet's 'Turkey', is now the best-seller to the destination in English. He has also written guides to Belize, Canada, Egypt, England, France, Guatemala, Israel, Mexico, Morocco, New England (USA) and Tunisia. Two of his guides and two websites have won SATW Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism awards. His humorous travel memoir, 'Turkey: Bright Sun, Strong Tea' was published in August 2004. He's currently working on a guidebook to the long-gone Seljuk Turkish Empire of Rum.
Tom's articles and photos have appeared in BBC Holidays, BBC World, Christian Science Monitor, Daily News (New York), Diversion, Daily Telegraph, Journeys, Newsweek International, Odyssey, Travel & Leisure and TWA Ambassador.
In addition to writing, Tom works as a travel website developer and a consultant on travel information to companies and government agencies.
Articles by Tom Brosnahan
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Hagia Sophia: Wisdom of the Ages
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Tom Brosnahan
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Turkey
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Marmara
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Istanbul
Drafty, sombre, aged, dank, lofty, glorious. In summer cool as marble, in winter cold as snow. On a hot Istanbul afternoon, Hagia Sophia is an oasis of cool silence broken only by the spiel and patter of the multilingual guides. Their flocks of...
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Before You Die: The Grand Jaguar
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Tom Brosnahan
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Guatemala
Deep in Guatemala's jungle province of El Peten, climb the Temple of the Grand Jaguar (44 m) as chattering parrots flock to nearby trees and monkeys shriek in the jungle canopy, awaiting the main event: moonrise.
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Before You Die: Five Hundred Mosques
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Tom Brosnahan
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Turkey
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Marmara
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Istanbul
Steam through the Sea of Marmara in late afternoon, headed for Istanbul. As the soaring domes of the great imperial mosques come into view, round Seraglio Point to see the sun setting into the Golden Horn as the call to prayer rises from the...
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Before You Die: A Lobster-Bake Picnic
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Tom Brosnahan
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United States
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Maine
Cruise the tortuously twisted coast of Maine, rockbound with granite and marble, and hedged with pine, spruce and fir, in a windjammer (tall-masted sailing ship), stopping at one of the innumerable islands for a lobster-bake picnic. Tom Brosnahan
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Before You Die: Haroeris, the Solar Disc
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Tom Brosnahan
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Egypt
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Nile
From a riverboat, see the ancient temples along the Nile illuminated by Haroeris, the solar disc, when it glides westward to sink into the Sahara, as a tall Nubian crewman in a flowing gallabiya serves tea.
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Sari Konak Oteli
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Tom Brosnahan
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Turkey
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Marmara
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Istanbul
The Sari Konak Oteli ('Yellow Mansion') is a fine, comfortable, moderately-priced small Ottoman-style inn on a relatively quiet street less than five minutes' walk from the Blue Mosque and Hippodrome. Best of all, it's run by one of the friendliest...
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The Bread of Ramazan
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Tom Brosnahan
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Turkey
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Marmara
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Istanbul
Food can make a holiday, no matter where you are. Years ago, I was living in Istanbul and writing a travel guidebook to Turkey. The Muslim holy month of Ramadan (Ramazan in Turkish) was upon us, and no good Muslim in the city let anything pass the...
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The Shot Heard Round the World
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Tom Brosnahan
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United States
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Massachusetts
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Concord
Roused from their beds by Paul Revere and William Dawes, minutemen gathered in the darkness on Lexington Green in Massachusetts early on the morning of April 19, 1775. The riders had been sent to warn inhabitants of country towns within 20 miles of...
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The Rebirth of Istanbul
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Tom Brosnahan
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Turkey
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Marmara
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Istanbul
Above a horizon of jumbled buildings loom the bulbous domes and slender minarets of the great Ottoman Turkish imperial mosques. Beneath the horizon lies a terrain of low hills cut by great swaths of open water. This is Istanbul. Once capital of the...
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The Worst Hotel in the World
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Tom Brosnahan
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United States
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Pennsylvania
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Bethlehem
As a guidebook writer, I've got to check out all sorts of places that my readers might need to know about: hotels, restaurants, museums, bars, cafes—pretty much everything that's covered in a good travel guide. As a guidebook reader, you never get...