Blogs from Middle East - page 1225

We landed at Istanbul airport last Thursday (24/6)and progressed through the formalities to find that the collection service from the pension had not appeared. This meant an immediate introduction to the Turkish public telephone system - which seemed exteaordinarily expensive simply because the cheapest phonecard cost 20000000 lira. Using currency with such big numbers takes some getting used to, I have made some sort of cock-up every day so far. We stayed 5 nights in Istanbul. It is probably more noteworthy what we didn't do than what we did do. We didn't go to the Topkapi palace. We didn't go around the Blue Mosque or the Aghia Sofia even though all of these were on our doorstep. We did take the tourist ferry up the Bosphorus (£2.60) towards the black sea where we just had time ... read more

Glasgow -----  Dubai First of all I must thank my Dad and arguably 'helpful' little brother for getting me to the airport on time, where I successfully checked in for my Emirates flight to Dubai.  Unfortunately there were no window seats left but hey @ least that means I don't have to ask permission before I can go for a wander or visit the toilet - a priviledge I am sure children in my class would enjoy!! When boarding I showed a rather gorgeous air steward my boarding card. (yes, I really do seem to have a thing for the gay ones)  He made sure I turned right and pointed out that I had an aisle seat on the right hand side of the plane.  As I side stepped other passengers and bashed them with my rucksack & duty-free bags I ... read more

Y los papas de shakira osn de aca... read more

Sultanahmet is the tourist and backpacker centre of Istanbul. Ideally located in the historical centre of Istanbul, between Haghia Sofia and the Blue Mosque. I was amazed at just how tourist-modern it was; it initially reminded me of Gringolandia in Quito. It was quite a surreal experience walking home one evening listening to the call for prayer from the Blue Mosque; as I turned into the main tourist street the sound became intermingled and then literally drowned out by the sounds of Robbie Williams pumping from a local bar. My first night in Istanbul I was roped into the local nightclub experience, for this you have to leave the fantasia of Gringolandia and head out to Taksim, the throbbing heart of the cities nightlife. As an all male group of six we were turned away from ... read more

sur-bahla via jalan bani bu hassan, jami al-Hamoda mosque, wahiba sands, bahla, jebel shams Our route today was going to head inland from the coast towards the town of Nizwa. We went back down to the Sur dhow yards this morning to have another quick look around before heading off to yet another fort at Jalan Bani bu Hassan. We were finally able to find the fort after some difficulty! This fort was in excellent restored condition, and we were the only tourists there. It wasn't open when we arrived, but the guards were there and let us in to wander around for awhile. Afterwards, we sat awhile and shared coffee and dates with the guards... such a great experience! The next stop was Jami al-Hamoda mosque, an oddly shaped adobe building topped with 52 nipple-like ... read more

dxb-mct via sharjah, fujeirah, sohar, al hazm, rustaq, nakhal After a delicious breakfast at the Intercontinental hotel, we caught a cab over to the Budget car rental where our friends D & S were waiting to pick up the car. We would be spending the next few days driving through the UAE and Oman. The rental company required extra Omani insurance, but with 4 people to split the cost, it was reasonable. The plan for the day was to drive across the UAE to the Omani border via Sharjah and Fujeirah, then down along the coast via Sohar to Muscat. It was going to be a very long day and it was already 9:30 by the time we left Dubai. The traffic heading into Dubai from the north was horrendous, practically a parking lot, but our ... read more