An exemplary Italian city with excellent organization. Greeks have a special reason to love it because there lives a historic Greek community. On Christmas and New Year's Eve, the city is adorned and literally shines. UNITA's central square, one of the most beautiful European squares, looks like a fairytale during the days of the celebrations.

Venice is not adorned at Christmas in an exaggerated manner; only a few simple touches that give the mark of saintly days. Being the most magical city in the world, it needs no extra impressive elements. Christmas walks in the narrow streets between the canals offer special pleasures to the photographers. They see small Saint-Basils in the windows, mangers made of crystals, squares decorated with old lamps. Particularly on nights photographic excursions resemble mysticism. But the cold is incredible, so much you cannot even push the camera shutter with frozen fingers.

"There are many Turkish, American and European schools in Constantinople, which are really outstanding. None of those, though, can compete with the glory of The Great School of the Nation. Whoever graduates this school has his soul marked to the end of his days".

The city is changing quite rapidly, yet it is always very charming. A few western tourists can be seen on the streets, while visitors from the Arab world have grown considerably. The rise of the number of immigrants in the city is also very noticeable. Turkey, in this regard, is carrying an enormous weight. The conservative layers of the population are becoming increasingly prominent. Women's hijabs are multiplying, while the slogans on the city walls state: "Turkey is our home and Erdogan is our dad." It appears that this movement is powerful and dominating. Turkey is trying to follow its own road against all odds.

A photo-reportage at the lands where Jesus Christ was resurrected. Christians from around the world flock to Jerusalem and once there, are filled with emotion. Nobody can escape the unique aura. The Church is just one part of the experience. There is also a labyrinth-like complex of worship spaces. Visitors walk up steps and go through tunnels. They see robed figures, of all races and colors, moving like shadows in the dark. After a while, they come across small churches in the belly of the earth and hear the never ending hymns. Alternating monks have been singing them for centuries - like relayers in an endless journey towards a magical light. 

A multinational city with an oriental feel, which doesn’t contradict its western finesse. It does not have anything powerfully beautiful but nothing ugly as well. A vibrant society with high wages and government services that serve the people without submitting them to unnecessary bureaucracy. Even though there are many cars, oddly enough roads seem almost empty. The city’s centre has lost its traditional character to a significant extent but offers its visitors remarkable recreational and cultural outlets. It looks like the centre of Greek cities, but is less noisy and significantly less stressful. Organized and serene, it makes life easy for its residents and visitors.

Since 1974 and up until today, Nicosia has been divided in two by barbed wire and fortification works. It is the only European Union capital that has been forcibly divided by foreign occupying troops. The free part of Nicosia has changed and is evolving with leaps but the images in the Buffer (Dead) Zone haven’t changed in almost half a century. The young soldiers of the Cypriot National Guard keep watch in the narrow streets of the dividing zone defending the ideal of freedom. Their fathers did the same. But for the powerful of the world, pacts and maintaining the balance with the intruder seem to be more important than these ideals.

In Nicosia, Cyprus there is a traditional patisserie next to the fortification sacks and barrels that separate the free from the occupied part of the city. Its owner is Thodoris Disios, from the Greek village Kria Vrisi in Giannitsa.

"I've learned to distinguish the Yunan (Greeks) in all the years I travel this route. Worshipers from Yunnanistan (Greece) never stop visiting Halki Theological School. They come all year round", said an old man, sitting beside us on the boat, on our way to Halki.

Once the lights are switched on, Constantinople looks like something out of a fairytale. Its position between sea and land, its mosques and churches, the densely populated neighborhoods, the bazaars and expressive people, everything seems beautiful and exotic.

In modern Istanbul, skyscrapers keep popping up; however, so do the minarets of the mosques. In the streets one can see more women with Islamic dressing walking, making the conservative turn of society obvious enough. Western tourists, being much less than they used to be, are replaced by visitors from Arab countries. Mosques are lighted in a more sophisticated and massive way, while this year’s Ramadan was celebrated in a bigger glory than the past ones. New layers of society are coming to the surface and are slowly switching the city’s nature. Its beauty, though, remains remarkable.

Faithful Christians yearn to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at least once in their lifetime. That’s why millions travel to Jerusalem every year and kneel in before the Grave of Jesus. The fear of eternal annihilation leads them to the source of hope, there where Christ managed to defeat death.