Blogs from Middle East - page 1031

Geo: 39.9439, 32.856Kate: Today we went to the Grand Bazaar. There is an indoor and an outdoor part of it. What I noticed was that there are a ton of gold objects, mostly gold jewelry in most of the stores in the inddor bazaar. When we ventured outside, Mom and I checked out a spirograph stand. A spirograph is a series of plastic disks that can be used to create drawings. We weren't able to get one at the stand at the time, but later we got one for 3YTL. For the whole day I noticed that there were an insane amount of stray cats and kittens roaming the streets of Istanbul. I wanted to pat and feed each and every one of them because they were so scrawny, but I couldn't pet them because of ... read more

hey everybody! its nadia writing faithfully at rougly 11 oclock pm. Its our third day here. The flights were a pain and i was totally jet lagged at cranky but its getting better. Yesterday we took a boat tour of the city. i fell madly in love with one of the guys on the boat. his name is Isaac and he so cute. i sat with him the whole way there. did i mention hes three years old and adorable? this russian kid would giggle for hours when imade funny faces. i eventually settled on doing cheer facials and he wouldnt stop hiccuping! The river that flows along Istanbul is extremely busy because its the only way to get to Russia by water without going through the north (icebergs!) Its really pretty. its colorful. all the ... read more

Geo: 39.9439, 32.856I woke up about 5:30 when Kate left to use the facilities. I couldn't get back to sleep because I didn't want to wake up when the train arrived in Istanbul. After I got dressed, I opened the window shade and was able to watch the sunrise on the Bosphorus River that is the dividing line between Europe and Asia here. Right now we are on the Asia side. I saw some ducks, a lot of boats-both small and large--some fisherman and quite a bit of housing; some of it reminded me a little of Miami because of the terra cotta roofs and the pink paint.As pretty as it was, by 6 I was getting a little antsy so I went down to the dining car for tea. I expected to get back and ... read more

Dopo una notte insonne trascorsa su e giu' da un lussuoso bus turco, mi ritrovo immerso nel paesaggio surreale di questa regione situata nel cuore dell'Anatolia: improvvisamemnte la monotonia dell'altopiano viene interrotta da un susseguirsi di profonde vallate, alcune delle quali simili a dei veri e propri canyon da far-west, mentre altre, piu' indescrivibili, rassomiglianti a distese gommose di dune bianche, oppure a fitte foreste di grossi funghi rocciosi alti come palazzi. Surreale e' la parola appropriata, la verita' e' che questi luoghi sono stati abitati per millenni e tuttora possono rappresentare la migliore soluzione abitativa; prova ne e' il fatto che mi ritrovo dormire in una grotta scavata nella roccia e mi ci ritrovo davvero comodo: fuori, un sole cocente in un cielo sgombro di nuvole porta la temperatura a superare abbondantemente i 30 gradi, ... read more

Boat trip  Middle East » Turkey » Selcuk By billclaytonJuly 7th 2007Bill Clayton Our day trip cruise went around from cove to cove, accompanied by other similar boats. None of the boats were very crowded; and it was a nice hot day; perfect for laying on the deck in the sun. Swimmers could jump off the boat, take the slide down, or climb into the water, depending on their own level of desire for excitement. There were also boats willing to take you for a bouncy ride on a big inner tube and a more tame version with 3 people side by side towed around. The slide was a kick; first you drop straight down about 6 feet, then you shoot the length of the ... read more