Blogs from Middle East - page 915

We left Goreme at about 9:00 for our first day of solo riding with the Turkish capital of Ankara as our destination. The ride itself was pretty unremarkable, a few stretches of scenery, but mostly farmland. We crossed a few patches of rain about half way through, but it did not last more than 10 minutes in total. At one point, being low on fuel, we ventured into a village in search of a service station. At one quasi deserted intersection, I asked the only man in sight if he knew where we could find fuel. I accomplished by pointing at my bike’s tank and saying ''benzene'', the Turkish word for fuel. The man pointed to our right, showed 2 fingers and said ''kilometre''. We thanked him and I proceeded to make the right turn. After ... read more

So following the last entry I returned to the hotel where I met Peter he had just arrived in Damascus and was here for only one day. Went out for supper close by the hotel and whilst it was really quite nice it was a bit bland - rice with chicken that looked pretty unappatizing for 125 SYP though you can't complain. Met up with Peter as I went into the hotel and as he hadn't eaten I accompanied him much to my annoyance though as he found a restaurant which appeared to be serving the yummiest barbequed meat as I drank my water I felt quiet envious of him!!! Friday morning I woke with my first bout of food poisoning not to fun and after Breakfast I had to move rooms - this time I'm ... read more

As the sun sets, and Israel's 60th anniversary officially draws to an end, my sunburned self and friends sit on our upstairs mirpeset (patio) and sing and dance our hearts out to 80s music. Perhaps not a "normal" way to bring this momentous day to a close, it seems a fitting end...dancing and singing...for a day most of the world never dreamed could happen. And on this day, which began in the night with a tekes (ceremony), after a national day of mourning those who had the courage to stand and fight, and were killed in doing so, we celebrate. But, the real question is...what exactly are we celebrating? In the Jewish tradition we are fastidious about marking occasions, events, lives, deaths, and time periods. 30 days after a death is considered the "shloshim" the time ... read more

Come with me, on a trip thru a beautiful country,Israel. This is where it all began. There is a lot of history here,people are great,food super. Great spot to visit.... read more

Greetings all. Hope all is well since our last blog. We've been enjoying the sights of Istanbul. We been able to visit the Blue Mosque, The Topkapi Palace, St. Sofia's catherdal and the Grand Bazaar. This we did with our tour group on the last day. Since then we've been staying with Emma, a friend I used to work with. We've been delayed a little due to the damage down to Stephen's bag. They've agreed to pay us 100 Euro, and we've found somewhere here to mend the bag. We've seen a few more sights, but basically trying to get this backpack fixed. Another day we all spent a lovely afternoon in the park, where I learnt how to play backgammon from three players, let just say it was difficult enough then add three people "trying" ... read more