After an Era at the border control and a sea of people tryıng to queue up stream ı eventually arrıve ın Turkey. I may sound pretty Brıtısh but ı wısh people could learn to queue properly. It ıs much less stressful. So far I have met 1 turk who speaks englısh so my turkısh ıs getting a kıck start. Adana ıs pretty modern, ıt does have a mega mosque. It ıs hard gettıng use to the Turks after the Arabs. You explaın that you have no money and can't pay and then they are lıke yes yes, but then ask for money after. After the generosıty and attıtudes ın Syrıa and Lebanon ı keep gettıng fooled ınto thınkıng ıts a gıft! I have met up wıth Carolyn ın Adana safely and we are now shootıng ın ... read more

I bet you are thinking 1) what was the last post about (It's written in the style of Paul's route to Damascus, but an alternative story) 2) This one is about geography Okay, so since Lebanon I have... Gone to Krak des Chevalliers - the biggest and best Crusader Fortress, stunning Then on to Damascus, where I have visted to extensive souks, sneeked into a Mosque and slept on a roof (as is common in Syria), a beautiful old town. Did a day and night trip to Palmyra where i watched sunrise over the ruins from another roof! Then befriended a few Bedouins and got a free camal ride and invited to one of their houses for tea and melon, which was delightful. All is very nice here and practically deserted except for the oasis, ba-dum-chi! ... read more

Hello everyone, I thought i would improve the ratings through the medium of innuendo, hence the title. This is my final Lebanese blog. Honking - refering to the constant noise of the middle east Tissues - every room, car, street seller issues tissues with their products. I thought it a little presumtuous when i found a huge box of tissues on my dorm bed, but later realised this it is countrywide. Fireworks - at around 5 or 6 every day someone is letting off fireworks, sometime semi-automatic ones. So quickly and briefly i will mention some politics, concentrating on non-reported facts as best i can. 1. Hezbollah are not entirely Muslim and many christians are supporters, similarly there are many Shiite Muslims that support other parties. 2. The Hariri(just elected president) spent more on his campaign ... read more

Hi all, I arrived on Tuesday at 4am into Lebanon with only a mild sweat on, until of course I walked outside and its baking. The driving in Lebanon is quite insane. There are no lanes, no lights, no seatbelts, no right of way, no horn not worth blowing and most important of all; no rules. So far nothing has been done without a great deal of noise! (Rich, I'm not sure it's your cup of tea) There is an expression is Lebanon - "Smile, you're in Lebanon", it sort of means "like it or lump it" or maybe "shit happens". Tariq has been a great host taking me round with his family, who assure me that I will get ill soon! It's supposedly common due to the change in diet, yay. Word of advice to ... read more