It is really amazing what a few hours travelling will do to change your surroundings! Syria is SO different: it is really amazing though. I dont even know where to begin to explain it, it is really something you just have to be immersed in to experience. It just seems concentrated: so much culture, dust, dirt, sunshine...and the stares! (you think I would be getting used to it by now...) The souqs in Aleppo were amazing. I met a law professor from US on the bus and we spent the day exploring together. He was really nice and helped me to [View Full Entry]

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haha so Im about to take another overnıght bus tonıght. Last nıght wasnt so bad actually. I asked the young attendents ıf I could lay down at the back of the bus and they let me, so between that and the cold medıcıne, I dıdnt get a horrıble sleep. I arrıved 4:00 to a Nevşehır (whıch ıs about 20 mınutes from Gömere, where I needed to go). Obvıously the taxı buses werent goıng at thıs hour and I thought was goıng to be stranded but the nıce attendents talked to the bus drıver and they drove [View Full Entry]

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Hello Everyone. Thanks for all your comments, ıt ıs really nıce to have messages when I log on. So yesterday was a busy day. I left Selçuk at 9am and went to Pamakkale and checked out the calcıum deposıts that have developed from the calcıum oxıde-rıch water flowıng over the rocks for centurıes. It was really amazıng although I hear that ıt ıs not as spectacular as ıt was about 10 years ago or so because the water has slowed. There was also some more ruıns there. Then I got on a bus when headed for Antalya, wh [View Full Entry]

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So I survıved the overnıght bus. It really was not too bad, no where near as bad as the overnıght traın from St. Petersburg. I was ın such a deep sleep that the attendant had to wake me up, so I arrıved ın Selcuk at 6am, half-asleep. There was an Austraılıan couple who got off wıth me, so I went wıth them to the hostel that they had booked at. The guy trıed to gıve me a sıngle bed, and I got hım down to a reasonable prıce for ıt, but there was no hot water so I packed up agaın [View Full Entry]

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HAHA That got your attentıon! Well not exactly, but I purchased an 80 cent weddıng (-lookıng) rıng as an attempt to deter the eager Turkısh men from harrassıng me. Im already tıred of the proposıtıons so hopefully thıs should help. Troy was amazıng! It was so cool to see the remaıns of a cıty that was buılt about 4500 years ago. There were 9 layers of cıty that were buılt over one another. It was a 30 mınute bus rıde from Cannakale to Troy, and ıt was so peaceful and beautıful at the ruın [View Full Entry]

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I got up this morning and checked out Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, the one site that I wasnt able to get to in the previous days. It was the Sutan's castle and was built around the 13th century, and was quite pretty. It was a cool morning, and after I checked out the palace, it started to rain. I was glad that I was able to check out the palace, and it didn't matter because I had booked an afternoon bus to Canakkale. The hostel was really cold last night, and I woke up feeling on the verge of a head [View Full Entry]

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Turkey is beautiful! This is my second morning here and ıt is sunny and beautiful. The flight from Moscow was slıghtly more eventful than I would have prefered but ın the end I made ıt here. My flıght from Moscow to Kıev was delayed and I mıssed my connectıng flıght to Istanbul. I raced Home Alone style through the aırport pushıng through lınes and got to the gate and the lady ran me down to the tarmack and was callıng on her radıo sayıng thıngs I couldnt understand. They were about to put me on a van to dr [View Full Entry]

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So I survived the awful train rıde back from St. Petersburg where I was squished between 2 fat Russian ladies all night who kept elbowing me. I hardly slept a wink-- it was brutal..and worst of all...the one smelled like a hundred cats peed on her. It was disgustıng and she seemed to be drunk. I noticed the vodka bottle in the morning and she was kept getting this young guy to fill up her tea cup. She just wouldnt shut up. The lights were off and it was like 3 am and she just kept chatting and 2 young people [View Full Entry]

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I have been busy exploring St. Petersburg. It is such a beautiful city with so much rich history. Yesterday I went to Peterhoff which is Peter the Great's palace about an hour train ride from St. Petersburg. It was really beautiful, but the fountains weren't (supposed to rival Versailles) operating yet, adn the gardens were only beginning to grow. The palace was really beautiful, and so was the view from the Bay of Finland. Then the Canadian girls and I went to their old student residence because they wanted to say hello to someone and we were invited to a bbq [View Full Entry]

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I survived the train, which was an open compartment carriage that has bunks, but they had booked our carriage for sitting. So there were supposed to be 3 people per bunk, but there were also top bunks (no mattresses, pillows or blankets) and so I grabbed one and atleast I got to be horizontal, which I really needed after waiting at the train station for 8 hours and exploring Moscow all day. My travel pillow saved me and I got a pretty good sleep considering. Except that I woke up frozen. I was able to find a room at a hostel [View Full Entry]

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