Blogs from Middle East - page 915

Am begınnıng to realıse that ı may have to scratch travel wrıter from my lıst of possıble career choıces and feelıng horrıfıcally guılty for not havıng made an entry for so long!! Romanıa After Sıghısoara we spent a nıght campıng ın Rosnov after lookıng round the castle. Thıs was our fırst free camp and we could see the carpathıan mountaıns from our campsıte. That Nıght was really cold and ı was glad to leave the next day. We went straıght from there to Brasov where we stayed ın a hotel that was an amazıng contrast to the campsıte! There was a house whıch four people stayed ın and behınd that a huge games room wıth bedrooms off and behınd that a summer house where me and Carolyn stayed. It was a lovely place to wake up ... read more

Troy and Gallipoli. Two names of great significance - one has been immortalised in the culture of western civilisation by an ancient Greek epic, the other has been burned into the psyche of the Australian and New Zealand nations. Visiting both in the same day is quite something, let me tell you. Troy was close to the hotel so we arrived after a short drive. We were the first group there, but our advantage was soon eroded by our guide talking and us asking questions. A couple of large groups overtook us, but still, it was fairly quiet. It was interesting to hear the Turkish perspective of Heinrich Schliemann, compared to the Greeks. Heinrich’s first attempt at archaeology (which hadn’t been invented yet) resulted in the destruction of many newer layers of Troy, and the Turks ... read more

I did my homework well. There s a long to-do list for Istanbul. After a light sleep in a dorm room next to the shared bathroom, I woke up reasonably early, had breakfast, packed and headed to Topkapi Palace. According to the guidebook, I should arrive early to avoid the crowd and get the ticket for the harem right away to join the guided tour. Of course I didn't get there till almost 11am, but fortunately it was no longer required to join a tour to the harem. While touring the harem, I was surprised by a lot of similarities between Ottoman and early Chinese Empires: the huge number of concubines, the eunuch system, and the rivalry among the women to get the Ruler's attention. Of course, the architecture was over the top, but I was ... read more

Istanbul is a very cool city. It straddles two continents, tens of centuries and multitudes of little neighborhoods, each with its own feel and character. The most impressive thing about Istanbul, though, is absolute cacophony of sound and chaos of the city. Sunday, May 11th: Up early today to beat the rush to the shower in my 30-bed dorm room, so after the shower and a quick bite in the hostel, I was off to the Ottoman Palace and museum. After paying my entry fee for the palace as a whole, I saw a couple from New York that was looking at the guided tours. I spoke to them for a few minutes and we decided to see if we could get a guide together. We ended up with a little old Turkish guy who charged ... read more

原本要到杜拜动物园去，后来经友人介绍却来到了Madinat Jumeirah。曾经经过Madinat Jumeirah几次，却因为其外观的豪华而以为它仅是一间酒店或公寓，又有保安看守，而没有转进去瞧瞧。 走进里面，令人惊喜，仿佛是走入了古老的阿拉伯旧市集里。整个市集参照古阿拉伯风格而建。从木长廊的一端望向另一端，店面的木造招牌、梁柱、地板、天花板的镂空雕饰，以及垂吊于天花板下的灯饰，都有很厚重的阿拉伯风味。店面的装潢摆饰也迥异于一般现代化的购物商场。这典雅的市集共有75家店铺，其中的23间是餐厅，其余的有咖啡座，酒吧等等，听说晚上是一个相当热闹的场所。 走在市场里面，这里卖的都是具有阿拉伯和中东特色的纪念品、服饰、艺术品等等。我们从一端走到另一端。另一端是靠近海湾的地方，周围的建筑都采用了中东传统用来通风的风塔(Windtower) 建筑风格。 我们来到一个小船码头，不远有间雍容华贵，看似皇宫的建筑。整座建筑看起来气派非凡，像是古老中东帝国的皇宫。据资料，其实这里共有三间酒店，即AL QASR，DAR AL MASYAF 和 MINA A’SALAM。三间酒店由酒店内部的一条约4公里长的人工运河相连在一起。酒店客人可以乘坐富阿拉伯传统的小船渡河或到各个地方去。 再走不远有一个露天剧场，剧场旁是一排的露天餐厅，一路走，餐厅正可眺望Burj Al Arab帆船酒店。可以想象在晚上这里的景色一定美不胜收，在晚餐的当儿，可以远眺闪闪发光的帆船酒店，以及在波斯湾美景的陪伴下，是极度的浪漫。回到现实，这里下午整个餐厅静悄悄的，而且炎热的天气让人拍了照后即逃回有空调的市场里。 午餐时间到了，市场里有一间亚洲食馆，叫了碟星洲炒米粉，和一杯荔枝加黄梨果汁，合计约RM58。星洲炒米粉约RM42一碟，这是我生平最贵的星洲炒米粉。没有办法啦，人在异乡，看到家乡风味的食物口水就直流了。朋友们也吃下了他们生平最贵的云吞鸭面炒饭等等。 ... read more