Blogs from Middle East - page 867

We met at midnight in a car park in central Tehran and the night was full of the sounds of laugher and friends greeting. I felt alone and excited, as I knew no one except AS, and him only slightly, having met him the day before. He is a friend of F, my contact at the National Museum of Iran. He had invited me on a six day historical trip around north-west Iran. Travelling companions: 30 Iranian students. Interesting as I speak about 20 words of Farsi, but I felt up for the challenge! Travelling by private coach meant that I would be able to see much more than I ever would without my own transport. Very few Westerners spend time in this area, which is full of Kurds and Azeris, so this was also a ... read more

Today we mostly drove. And drove. I snapped a picture of an old building sandwiched between two newer ones at a stoplight. Drove some more. Got to an old Roman Amphitheatre. Apparently it was well preserved because after the Romans, it was used as a caravanserai. It was really hot -- like being in an oven steam bath. However, we dutifully climbed to the top to admire the view, Jershon and Silmarien practiced their gladiator skills, and Art judged. Silmarien was most taken but a black adn white pet bunny (too shy to get a picture of) and the chance to play in the sand. After that we drove some more...... read more

The region of Cappadocio has the most spectacular views you can imagine. Enjoy some photos.... read more

After the Dervýsh Shrine, we headed out into the city. We had about 2 hours to explore the covered bazaar (a sort of traditional local market which still exists in most Turkish cities). I needed to buy glue (because some of the decorations had fallen off of Silmarien's doll), and tape and scissors for the scrapbook (our small scissors made it through US security, but were confiscated in France). We avoided the tourist shops at the outskirts of the bazaar and found the knife section easily. We went into the first store and I said, in my rudimentary Turkish, "Good afternoon, I want scissors". I often wonder what people make of my attempts to communicate. Anyway, the clerk brought down 3 pairs for us to try, and we purchased one for just under 3 dollars. Then ... read more

This is the Shrine to the founder of the Whirling Dervishes, in Konya. There are no actual dervishes there, but we did see all sorts of Qorans, and several tombs, and Jershon decided that the Dervish "cells" were bigger than his room. However, before that we spent quite a long time people-watching, because it turned out that on Mondays, the Shrine was free to local people, and it was thronged -- people flowing though in avalanches all morning. Which was fine, except that in order to go inside, buth men and women had to be covered, which meant no shorts, and Art had worn shorts. They are supposed to have a sort of Sarong-like cover for such a case, but the crowds meant that none were available, and Art ended up walking back to the bus ... read more