This page is staying up for archival purposes. And because when it gets cold in Colorado we just like to revisit our most excellent adventures...Please take your time to browse!

Sirius (formerly Corona) Travel found adventurous people to join us in Turkey for the last total solar eclipse of the millenium! In August 1999, we led a small expedition to the remote traditional mountain village of Divrigi in central Turkey to observe the final total solar eclipse of the millenium. Along the way, we explored the ancient city of Istanbul, the heart of the scientific and cultural world for much of recorded history. Following the eclipse, the group explored the mystical region of Cappadocia and took advantage of the clear dry climate of the desert to watch the Perseids and observe the night sky from amidst the surrealistic landscape of the region.

Turkey was the best location to view this eclipse. Clear skies are the norm during August in the safe and accessible interior. The chances of successfully viewing the eclipse under clear skies were very high (see the climate information tabulated on the NASA eclipse site created by Fred Espenak). The small mountain town of Divrigi, in addition to being located directly on the centerline, has an arid climate and has an average of 12 hours of sunshine per day in August. We were pleasantly surprised by beautiful Divrigi and we observed the eclipse at the unadvertised ruin on the mountaintop overlooking the town.