Blogs from Central Anatolia, Turkey, Middle East - page 31

This is certainly Ataturk country. Turkey may be the former seat of the Roman Empire in the East, known for many centuries as the Byzantine Empire, but today, a statue of Ataturk stands in every town and city in all of Turkey. This great reforming President was born Mustafa Kemal who adopted the surname Ataturk which means "Father of the Turks". There couldn't have been a more appropriate name. Ataturk ruled Turkey as President from 1923 until he died in 1938 at the Dolmabahce Palace. I have yet to meet a Turk who does not adore him. A debt of gratitude to a man who founded Modern Turkey, and freed it from its bondage to its Ottoman past. As a country with 99% of Turks being Muslim, one can only imagine how strong-willed this man is ... read more

I knew nothing about Sufism till a few months before this trip. The mystique of the Whirling Dervishes held nothing for me. I may have read , even watched docu-films about them, but none registered. It didn't help that the drive from Denizli to Konya took all of 6 hours across plains that were extremely flat and featureless. The only excitement was offered by a brief pitstop in Dinar's Apamelo Restaurant. We indulged ourselves by ordering a glass of freshly squeezed oranges and a plate of yoghurt laced with honey and hashish. Yes, hashish. By this time, we have acquired a taste for it and we would not mind being served the same delicacy again just before bedtime. Some hot apple tea and two hours more on the road, and we found ourselves right in the ... read more

Our first sight of Cappadocia came shortly after our arrival - having been dropped at a town called Goreme in the dark at 5am. The dawn light teased us with such a treat - the whole town was partially blanketed in fresh snow, enhancing Goreme's mindblowingly fascinating landscape. Ditching our packs, we were immediately enthralled by walking the roads surrounding the unusual rock formations, with more modern buildings blending in and around rooms chiselled out of the hillsides. Beginning with volcanic eruptians that formed a nice soft blanket, the following centuries of selective erosion provided "Fairy Chimneys", unusual mushroom shaped, more erosion resistant rock formations - perfect for sensibly minded people to dig into for a nice little hobbit hole. During the Christian Byzantine era, the region had a golden era, with many developments for peoples' ... read more

Dag 229. Idag skulle vi bli hentet kl. 09.30 til guidet heldagstur, saa vi var oppe saapass tidlig at vi hadde god tid til frokost. Frokosten her er vel verdt aa nevne. De har en egen meny for ulike frokoster vi kan velge, bl.a. tyrkisk frokost, french toast, musli og fylte pannekaker. Te/ kaffe og rikelig med brod ble servert til. Vi ble hentet av en minibuss, og byttet buss 5 minutter etter - da vi kom til byraaets kontor. Hostelleieren hadde igaar forlangt at reisebyraaet skulle ha med seg pengene vaare da de hentet oss, men det hadde de ikke. De paasto at de hadde ventet paa oss paa terminalen i Nevsehir. Da vi sa at vi kom kl. 04.30, fikk vi til svar at bussen var kommet altfor tidlig - at den egentlig skulle ... read more

2008 was a memorable year for me. Some of the highlights: struggling to become bilingual, plenty of interesting travel (including a complete crossing of Turkey with my mom), lots of friends getting married and having babies, the election, and - last but certainly not least - falling in love. It was also the first year of my life that I've spent completely outside of the USA. It was also a dramatic year back home to watch from abroad. New York State's first black and blind governor came to power after a sleazy scandal ended Spitzer's reign. Americans finally started to appreciate the serious implications of their dependence on fossil fuels… to some extent. An incredible presidential election ended in a victory for a candidate unlike any other I've ever known: someone who many people actually feel ... read more