Blogs from Turkey, Middle East - page 37

Slept well in much cooler room, and even had a nice hot shower. Down to check out and leave a case behind as we are going to Gallipoli this morning for a 2 day tour. Breakfast is happening, we are due to be picked up by our guide at 0830. A Mercedes mini bus pulls up at the hotel and the porter says this is our taxi. Hmm, no English speaking guide so not too sure what is going on. He moves bus out of the way as anothe bus wants to get past, not much space out the front. Try to communicate but the driver doesn't have any English. The driver is on the phone and next thing the bag is in the back. Still not sure what is going on when a guy comes ... read more

Well guess what. My predictions from last night came true. No air con and bloody HOT. Not a lot of sleep, and to make matters worse, no hot water either. Cold shower helped relieve the heat sweatiness a little, but then it got colder so NOT HAPPY JAN.......... Got down to breakfast and our smiley man on the counter had booked our day tour, but then we dropped the bombshell in his lap. Think he got the message and offered to get the hot water fixed in 15 mins so we could have a shower - no time before trip anyway. He did say the air con should also be fixed - here's hoping..... Little bus arrives at 0830 and we climb aboard. Quite a few others. We drive through the streets and then turn into ... read more

We wake up later than normal but still in time to catch up with others who are leaving at 0900. Catch them before they leave on their personal tour of Romania (including Transylvania). Quite a few still here today. We catch up with the birthday girl and wish her well. Lots of familiar faces having breakfast this morning. We sit outside in a courtyard surrounded by trees. Very pleasant. Eventually get out after more farewells, then to the bags. We have decided to take one bag that we will use from now on, and the other has dirty washing, stuff we don't need, etc. Hopefully we get under the 23 kg limits. Clothes shuffled, remembering we need jeans, etc. for the cold Melbourne welcome and packed. Weights come in under 23 kg - just. Finally out ... read more

Escaping Turkey Many of our encounters with Turkish people were overwhelmingly welcoming. We had been welcomed in camps , on beaches, on boats and ferries by many Turks. In country parts and provincial cities ordinary Turks extended a warm welcome offering fruit and tea. These gestures and conversations showed us the traditional Turkish culture which puts a high value on welcoming strangers. They used what English they had and where they had little or none they chatted away in their native tongue and we knew by tone and gesture that we were welcome. Those who could muster some English were curious about anything “western” and quizzed us about life outside Turkey. Invariably they wanted to know our thoughts on their country. For example At the Black sea town of Akcakoca we camped right on the beach ... read more

ISTANBUL One big city. Some say 17 million -Some say 22 million people depends where you draw line and whether you count everyone or just your friends. Its something like the population of Australia in one city. No it’s not like that at all. One big difference beside the density ( in every sense of the word) of the population is that they are Turks. Now Istanbul is not the capital of Turkey. Ankara is. NO PHTOGRAPHS FOR THIS BLOG ISTANBUL IS JUST TOO BIG FOR ONE PICTURE FRAME AND IT IS HOT - 40 DEGREES MOST DAYS - AND HUMID AS A MUSHROOM FACTORY - SO THERE IS A CONSTANT PALLOF HAZE MAKING PHOTOS PRETTY ORDINARY. WHAT MAKES TURKEY TICK? On the surface Turkie looks close to European living standards. People we spoke with who ... read more