Blogs from Middle East

We are actually in Ucagiz Turkey on the Mediterranean coast and will be on our way to Antalya later today for our last two days in Turkey. We arrived in Turkey on June 9 in Istanbul and spent four days there mainly to pick up Keely but also to tour the city along with Liz's sister, Mary, and her family. While there we met several of Keely's international friends from countrys all over the world. We also got the tour of her school, Bahcesehir University (sorry, don't know how to add the accents). While there she also got her grades for the semester, which was 3.7 and 3.4 for the year. We are proud of her. Of course the biggest concern from our friends and relatives was for our safety due to the protesting going on ... read more

To view the source text with pictures click here. Everything is running smoothly in booking my flight from Europe to Thailand. Breezily I confirm the purchase, as I am generally careful when issuing commands on the computer, but a sign of my future travelling difficulties materializes the moment the emailed flight details arrive. October 2. A month early. Oops. Okay, I’ll have to knock out the last few roadtrips around Bulgaria and speed up my departure preparations. Everything should be okay. I have already made extensive plans and researched my destinations well in advance. I completed my computer backups, storing data on a server accessible over the internet, in case something happens to my trusty work laptop. I signed a power of attorney to two friends to sell my t... read more

And so I cycled into Istanbul on Wednesday 12 June 2013, 3.5 months after leaving the UK, my first major milestone on this cycle trip and I have been resting ever since. The past few days have been both physically and mentally challenging with the temperature rising, the mountains getting steeper and the headwind fiercer. For me the mental challenge has however been the greater of the two, with my patience wearing a little thin on occasions. I'm hoping that the next few days away from the bicycle will reinvigorate my mental energy as I commence the next leg of my tour. During the past few weeks I have seen some amazing buildings, encountered plenty of wild animals, received some fantastic hospitality and encountered many hookers (the non rugby types). After leaving Bitola in Macedonia, I ... read more

The holy land....Where oh where do I start?! First of all, when they say come visit in the winter, there is good reason for this advice. I've been in 48 degree heat while packing a 40 pound backpack around and to say I've been a tad sweaty is putting it mildly! I now understand why Arabs wear full head to toe coverings. So much cooler when your skin isn't getting fried to a crisp in this desert heat! So enough of the weather, let me talk about Israel! Easiest country to get into. Really! Not any problem, and they just give you a slip of paper automatically (rather than stamp your passport). Normally I'm such a keener for more stamps in my passport, but in this case, I'm ok with no proof because the fewer feathers ... read more

Istanbul with photos.... read more

It is raining this morning! Bummer. But it does give me a change to start out travel blog and get some photos posted. The plane over, while long, was uneventful. Once at the airport in Amsterdam, Liz could going say, "I can't believe we are finally here." So far, not much on the tourism side as we hleped Keely pack up and say goodbye to her friends. Liz and I met many of them and her flat mates fixed us dinner on our first day here. Of course the big news here are the protest against the government and staying less than 1/2 mile from the center of it all we have felt the affects of the tear gas blowing our way. That is the only direct affect on us and I am sure we are ... read more