Blogs from Middle East - page 24

Here we are, back on the road! Imagine, we are not yet at the half mark of 2022...and suddenly Covid is feeling so far away. I have to admit, my friends left in China do have a very different view about the issue...being on hard lockdown in Shanghai for 76 days while the world is enjoying a new freedom to travel is not what you are awaiting for as an expat. I guess for them too freedom will come...rather soon than later! First stop, a little food and shopping one in Istanbul. Tanya has seen the city...and I've been here few times, but it's a first together. Friday night flight on Turkish Airways from Joburg was fully booked. I may be gold level with them, funny enough, it's my first long-haul with them. Clearly better than ... read more

31 Mayıs 2022 salı G08 Evet her güzel şey gibi bu da bitti.. Bugün dönüyoruz kısmetse … Sabah toparlandık son yiyeceklerimizi tükettik ve Catalunya meydanına ulaştık Sveta önce dün gece vermedikleri şarj aleti için Apple a uğradı..Çok ayıp koskoca Apple araba fiyatına telefon satıyor şarj aletine ayrıca 45 E para istiyor ..Yuhhh yani …kapitalizmin hiç utanması kalmamış … Her neyse daha fazla moralimizi bozmadan Aerobus umüze bindik ..İnanmayacaksınız iki terminal var ama ben bizim uçağın terminalini doğru bilmişim ..Normalde bu aşamada Murphy'nin devreye girmesi ve sizin bir terminalden diğerine valizlerle perişan olmanız gerekir …Olmadı doğru yere gelmişiz… Sveta nın detax muhabbetinden telefon bedelinin %20 sini geri alma hayali var ..Biraz bocalamakla birlikte bunu da başardık... tabi kesintiler nedeni ile tam %20 ödemiyorlar ama ... read more

The panorama is part of the view from the house. In the evening the sun looks as though it is rolling down the end of the Akamas Peninsular to set in the sea. I am back in Polis with Barry & Carolyn, having returned from Gazimagusa (Famagusta) back to Nicosia where I spent 3 nights which gave me the chance to walk around Nicosia (Lefkosia) old town ( in the Republic of Cyprus) and North Nicosia (Lefkosa) across the buffer zone in the Turkish part. My hotel was very comfortable and conveniently located just off the side of Ledra Street which is the main pedestrian shopping precinct that leads up to the checkpoint. So in 5 minutes I could cross the border. It was called Royiatiko which I thought was a strange, non-Greek sounding name. I ... read more

Sorry about the technical difficulties with the last blog. I panicked when I realised that I was seeing & doing so much that the blog would go on forever and I would never get to the end so I decided to split it and post one straight away. Hence the chaos! I intend to stay calm and try harder this time, let’s see if that happens. The first 3 pictures are of Kakapetria in the Troodos region which should have been in the last blog. I called the last blog Complex and Surprising Cyprus. Complex because of the history, ancient and modern which has resulted in a divided island and surprising because although small it has a mix of areas ranging from traditional villages, towns, tourist resorts, cities, forests, mountains, gorges, beaches, and ‘alpine’ type villages ... read more

19 mayıs 2022 Perşembe GÜN 08 Gemi haliyle bizi bekledi ve nasılsa bindik …Hızlı ve yeni bir motor bizi dalgalarından üzerinden Bodrum a ulaştırdı… Atam Samsun'a çıkarken, biz de Bodrum a çıktık .. Onun bizlere hediyesi olan limanlara yanaştık ..Pasaportlarımızı vatandaşlarımız olan polis ve gümrük görevlilerine gösterdik..Ülkemin x ray aletlerinden geçtik ve vatan dediğimiz yere döndük…Allah onlardan razı olsun... Arabayı yakın bir yere park etmiştim ..iki dakika sonra evimizdeydik …neticede iyi bir seyahat oldu ... ... read more