Blogs from Southeastern Anatolia, Turkey, Middle East - page 2

Der Tag begann chaotisch, das Navi schickte uns in die verschiedensten Richtungen. Ich endete in einem Tal, die Straße endete auch - es blieb nur eine Möglichkeit, nämlich umkehren. Und dann standen mehrere Polizisten mit Gewehr am Straßenrand, ich fragte sie nach dem Weg, bekam Antwort in fließendem Türkisch, fuhr weiter. 15 Min später holten mich die Männer ein, merkten, dass ich immer noch keine Ahnung hatte, befahlen mir, ihnen zu folgen - was ich mit Begeisterung tat. Jedenfalls solange, bis ich unseren Van auf der entgegenkommenden Seite sah - da wendete ich umgehend und sauste ihm nach. Nach einer wilden Schotterstraße, die ich angeblich gefahren bin "like a demon" waren wir wieder auf einer der bekannten vierspurigen Straßen. Die Hitze war recht unangenehm - bis 32°. Aber dann oben, wo unser Hotel lag (auf dem ... read more

It was a good start to the day, the previous night Ian had given one of his lighters to the Manager at the site (certain colours on it which the Kurd’s have a link to, we have given away a few of these in the past!) and we were offered a free breakfast. Woolly says – I was straight to the buffet table to collect my hard boiled eggs, bread, melon and grapes, I left the salad for someone else. Fed and watered we finished packing up and hit the road. Ollie would need some fuel but we decided to leave it for a bit, that was the first mistake of the day. After trying several petrol stations with each telling us ‘No Benzene’, we carried on for a while but realising that we were heading ... read more

We waved goodbye to the peacocks and gave a final glare at the unwanted feathered alarm clock and hit the road. Ollie sped off like a car possessed onto the D400, a well-travelled road for us as whichever way we go on the coast it involves the D400, Woolly thinks it might be one of the longest roads in Turkey. Woolly says – we do seem to spend a lot of time driving on it! Before I could consume my breakfast bun we were making our way onto the twisty turns and bends of the mountain roads see our blog Blog: 772586, I enjoyed the ride so much more this time although I’m not sure Ian was so keen as he was on the sheer drop with no barrier side of the road. We stopped for ... read more

“No Zena!” our driver, Joseph, commands as we gingerly shut the car door. The Australian girl, Anna, is the current subject of the reprimand. She gently closes the door, but Joseph merely grunts, opens his door, and makes a big show of walking around to Anna’s side to re-shut her door. “No Zena,” he dryly states. With the door debacle behind us, I look around. Where are we, exactly? As if reading my mind, the other Australian girl thumbs her phone and says, “Hey, we are in Syria!” What? I thought we were in southeastern Turkey. “Well, at least Google thinks we are in Syria,” she adds as she shows me the blinking blue dot on the map. Yep, we are practically in Syria. This is the closest I have ever been to the middle east. ... read more

Thanks to my CS host in Mardin, Emrah, I had my own set of wheels to explore the remote historical sites around the Prophet’s city, Şanlıurfa. I rolled out of town, the sun a distant thought on the horizon, with Dixie Chicks blasting over my headphones. Not very culturally sensitive, but a girl has to indulge in guilty pleasures every once in a while. The first stop on my itinerary was Göbleki Tepe, the earliest site in human history with evidence of religious practice. National Geographic ran an article about it right after I bought my ticket to Turkey and I couldn’t wait to see the 11,000-year-old ruins. With most of the pillars boarded up and my unofficial guide trying to warm my hands with uninvited kisses, I couldn’t really get a feeling for the site ... read more