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Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul March 10th 2007

well im here in istanbul, my final destination in europe before i fly for my holiday in Asia. Turkey is quite an incredible place. Ive probably said that about every palce ive been, but it is nothing like i expected. Parts of Turkey are as modern as anyplace ive been, incuding the United States. Both Izmir and here in istanbul are just totally modern. If u are wanting to find the old turkey you have to head to the Eastern part ive been told, because everything you would find in an Aust city is here. Plus all the history that goes with being here. I went to gallipoli the other day. it was very moving to be there. ANZAC cove where they all landed is so small and facing just rugged cliffs. The whole beach would ... read more

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul March 10th 2007

My my...thıs wıll be shorter than I would have lıked due to crazy slow ınternet ın the ınternet caf and a dıffıcult keyboard (sorry for spellıng mıstakes now!) We landed ın Istanbul yesterday afternoon but sadly my luggage dıd not (thanks contınental!) So after much headache at the aırport tryıng to fıle a claım we met up wıth the drıver the hotel sent for us who was fabulous...hıs name ıs Mustafa and he runs a tour company and subsequently we set up some of our tour and plans through hım...he got us to the hotel then waıted for us and walked us to an area where ı could buy clothıng cheaply....I bought a skırt and shoes for 5$ so ı could be conservatıvely dressed for synangogue the next mornıng (lıttle dıd I know...) We learned quıckly ... read more
istanbul 1
Istanbul 2
Istanbul3

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul March 9th 2007

Istanbul appeared to us to be a modern, clean, efficient, largely western city, with some very eastern twists. I was impressed by the many head scarves I saw women wearing, and further struck by the lack of women on the streets and in teahouses after work and in evening. Where are all the women? became a refrain. Five times a day the city echoes with the call to prayer, and it almost seemed as if some of the bigger mosques were playing off each other with their chanting. The many byzantine churches have almost all been retrofitted with minarets. But at first it was tough to tell the difference from Athens: the food is similar, the people look similar, clothes as well, the music is not so different...you can take the metro from the airport into ... read more
anya sofia
anya sofia 2
muslim stained glass

Middle East » Turkey » Black Sea » Trabzon March 9th 2007

Pensum for tredje sykkeldag var å komme oss de åtte milene til Ünye. Endelig slapp vi unna hovedveien en stund, siden det var bygget en ny trasé inne i landet, mens den langt mer idylliske gamleveien langs vannet er intakt. Ytterst på en lav odde ligger det en greskortodoks kirke kalt Jasonkirken. I følge den greske myten om Jason og det gyldne skinnet, seilte Jason og argonautene fra Hellas til Georgia for å finne skinnet. I følge tradisjonen var de innom ved denne odden. Koblingen mellom gresk mytologi og kirken er uklar, men vi konkluderte med at denne delen av ferden vår bør måles i argo-nautiske mil. Vel framme i Ünye vekker vi oppstuss på torget. Mens vi prøvde å forklare en gjeng tenåringer at vi gjerne ville spore opp turistinfoen, komm en kar bortom og ... read more

Middle East » Turkey » Aegean » Selçuk March 8th 2007

the great and mighty Ephesus! Capital city of Asia during the Roman period, sometime home to St Paul and St John, rumored burial place of St Mary. But the most awesome part of staying in Selcuk (so close to the ruins and at various times in history the location of the city) is the millenia of history unfolding before us. The great greek temple of Artemis, one of the original 7 wonders of the world (correction from Pergamon entry) is now a pond, a sunken field, and one lonely column, but I could imagine it as grander than the Parthenon. The temple was located on top of an earlier (we are talking maybe 1000 BC) temple to the then mother goddess Cybele. Flash to the Roman Ephesus city ruins, built (of course) on top of the ... read more
Celsus library
terrace houses
Nike, goddess of victory

Middle East » Turkey » Black Sea » Trabzon March 8th 2007

Da vi kom oss på hjul og rullet videre neste dag, ble det klart at vi hadde vært for kjappe med å avskrive byen. Noen få hundre meter vest for hotellet fant vi et helt greit sentrum med strandpromenade og en liten borgruin. Syklingen fram til neste mål i Ordu gıkk problem- og begivenhetsfritt. Byene ligner hverandre, med en hellelagt strandpromenade (eventuelt med furutrær, og beskyttet med steinsatt strandlinje der det er mest værhardt). For å skille seg ut, hadde en av landsbyene satt opp et tyvetalls paviljonger langs vannet - hver av dem med en overraskende kitschy statue på taket. Fargeglade utgaver av kjempeegg, ørner, hus, esler, Spiderman og andre tegneseriefigurer kjempet om oppmerksomheten. İnnenfor lıgger hovedveien, og etter den en smal stripe med sentrumsbebyggelse som omkranser en basar. Neste overnattingssted ble hotell Kervansaray i ... read more
Quo vadis Svine?

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul March 8th 2007

Newark Airport.... We landed an hour late which was a blessing since Newark was completely desolate upon landing...every airline employee spoke to us with the courtesy and manners I would only expect in Jersey--that being non existant....a simple "what terminal is El Al in?" got me a glare that would kill and a gruff "B" then we took the airtrain which the escalator was broken to get up to...we got to terminal B, took the escalator down (and by the noises it was making I am not suprised the one going up in the other terminal was broken) I really needed to go to the restroom and we walked the entire length of the terminal following signs to a non-existant bathroom...then finally found one and ... read more

Middle East » Turkey » Black Sea » Trabzon March 7th 2007

Bussen kom fram til Trabzon i grålysningen. Otogaren (busstermimalen) ligger et par kilometer øst for sentrum. Vi fikk rigget oss til med en liten haug sykkelvesker og -esker ved en benk, og gikk i gang med å montere tohjulingene. Heldigvis var det oppholdsvær, og ingen som viste særlig interesse for de to raringene som stod og fiklet. En blid fyr trådte til og holdt syklene da vi skulle pumpe opp dekkene. Han ble enda blidere da han fikk eskene (som vi var bekymret for om vi skulle klare å kvitte oss med på anstendig vis). Etter en liten time var vi klare for å trekke i arbeidsklærne og bevege oss inn i byen og finne frokost. Det ble turens første börek, som bakeren insisterte på å hogge opp i småbiter. En overfladisk trilletur gjennom sentrum tydet ... read more

Middle East » Turkey » Aegean » Selçuk March 7th 2007

Today we traveled from Selcuk on Turkey's western, Aegean shore to the ancient city of Pergamon, at one point THE major city in all of what is now western Turkey. I'm fuzzy on the details, but one of the Macedonian Alexander the Great's generals founded the city and the dynasty at a place that already had an acropolis, temple and town. One of the 7 classical wonders of the world, a colossal Greek temple was here. Seeing the layers of history was fascinating. There are 3 temples, to Zeus, Athena and a Roman diety, as well as a theatre. The Greek city was on the hill below the royal palace and temples, and the Roman city is largelly under modern Bergama. ... read more
Pergamon temple
Roman temple foundations
sheep grazing

Middle East » Turkey » Black Sea » Trabzon March 6th 2007

Når man er på langdistansebuss i Tyrkia er blant annet følgende lurt å huske på: 1) Vær forberedt på at busspersonalet (!!) når som helst kan komme gående bort til setet ditt og tilby å sprøyte en god dam med eau de cologne i henda dine. Sett pris på dette og spre den luktende væsken i hender og ansikt. Den forfrisker, og ikke minst: Den fører til at alle passasjerene på bussen lukter nogenlunde likt, selv etter 16 timers busstur med inflasjon på Celsius-skalaen. 2) Hvis du skifter film på kameraet mens du er på bussen, så vær forberedt på at sjefen for busspersonalet må kontrollsjekke at filmen er satt riktig i og at kameraet ellers er av godkjent kvalitet. Selv om du skulle slumpe til å være fotograf av yrke, må du akseptere at busspersonalsjefen ... read more




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