Rumkale (Turkish for "Roman castle") is a fortress dating from 855 B.C. that sits some five hundred feet above the Euphrates in Mesopotamia. It's the most stunning Roman ruin I've ever seen (and I've seen my share, including gems like Baalbek in Lebanon and Palmyra in Syria).

by Wendy Perrin

Today is the last day you can increase the chance that your favorite entry in The Geotourism Challenge--a "global search for innovations in tourism that sustain, enhance, and preserve local culture and place"--will be named a finalist, by posting a valuable comment about the entry you support. Finalists are announced, and voting begins, tomorrow.

Many of the 324 entries from 84 countries are worthy, but one is especially close to my heart . . . and, I'm sure, close to the heart of anyone else lucky enough to have traveled in the undiscovered jewel that is southeastern Turkey, a.k.a. Upper Mesopotamia.  Check out the Southeastern Anatolia Promotion Project: You can watch a beautiful film about this otherworldly region, download guides to its highlights, and listen to mesmerizing music performed by the local people. Then go to the Geotourism Challenge and post a comment.

Tell me, readers, have any of you been to southeastern Turkey . . . or are you planning to go?  You can  learn more about my magical experience in Mesopotamia by reading the comment I posted.

At Deyrul Zafran (Arabic for "Saffron Monastery") near Mardin, Turkey, the monks still speak Aramaic and perform a church ceremony, complete with chanting and incense, straight out of the Middle Ages. I spent a night sleeping in that cloister under the stars in June 2006 (it was too hot to sleep indoors!).