TURKEY THROUGH MY EYES #6 - SLIDE-SHOW

The morning dawned warm and crystal clear. I didn't feel like staying at the resort, sunbathing by the poolside or on the beach. I didn't feel like joining an organized tour to visit Antalya city (30 miles away), either. I don't like to be guided to places that are not interesting to me. I don't like to listen to the information given by tour guides. Neither a tour guide nor a guide book makes me feel the pulse of the local life and.... I like feeling it.

On the day before, I had seen a bus stop not far from the hotel, which made me believe that there might be a frequent bus service to the city or somewhere else. Ok, I decided to walk up to that stop and wait for a bus coming, having assumed that the bus might drive me to the city. Approximately half an hour later, a bus without any passenger stopped. The driver didn't speak a word of a common language. I said 'Antalya' and he did an up-and-down head nod   as saying 'yes'.  I boarded the bus, he picked up some coins from my hand but I did not get any ticket. I took one of the front seats as I wanted to enjoy the landscape and if possible, take some photos. Assuming the bus would drive me to the city it would take up to one hour or so, I thought.

The bus interior was something I had never seen before. So many ornaments!!! The bus went through the rural area and I did not see bus stops anymore. Local people waved down the bus wherever they happened to be. Half an hour later or so, the bus was crowded and I started to wonder whether I was being driven towards Antalya. Perhaps, the bus terminal would be somewhere else in a rural area. I did not care. It would be interesting to get off at an unscheduled destination.

Actually, the bus terminal was not in the city but somewhere else named Serik. If I wanted to go to Antalya I should board another bus. I did it, thinking that on the following day I would come back to that rural town. After all, I already knew the way to!

One hour more of driving and I was in Antalya city, one of the most important tourist centers in Turkey. Following the suggestion of a Turkish lady who had immigrated to Switzerland and was revisiting her homeplace, I dropped off at a certain place in the city, in the belief that I would be not far from the city center. She had misinformed me... I walked and tried to get information from local people but once again nobody spoke a foreign language... I even got into a hotel - thinking that the front desk staff might help me - but nobody did. They had no city plan, either. In the meantime, I took photos of the places and street names that might guide me in the evening to walk back and take a bus to return to the hotel.

I knew the city center was not far from the city port. I often asked people for the direction by just mentioning 'port' but even though I was not understood. Later, at a coffee-shop, I realized that instead of port I should have mentioned 'marina'!!!

After a two-hour walk, I saw a little bit of blue colour on the horizon. Good, I was walking on the right direction...

I relaxed at an open-air café overlooking the scenic Mediterranean Gulf of Antalya. I visited the Ethnography Museum and I strolled through the picturesque old quarter with its narrow, winding cobbled streets of historic Turkish and Greek houses. This quarter is enclosed in ancient city walls, which now protect the peaceful quarter from the the noise of the concrete metropolies of a million people.

I passed by The Clock Tower that  has survived through the present day among the towers of the citadel surrounding the city of Antalya. In the past the total number of these towers was 80.

The Bazaar 'perspired' all the charm and hospitality that Antalaya had to offer, brought together in a single place. I got into a Turkish carpet store and bought three carpets after bargaining for more than one hour. Obviously, the seller was fluent in English and taking advantage of his knowledge, I asked him the best way to return back to the hotel. He wrote the bus direction name on a slip of paper and passed it to me. At that moment I felt confident how smooth the return way would be. Silly of me!!!

I walked for a mile or so and many buses were running ones after the others. Buses displayed a board on the windscreen indicating the route and number. For locals they must be easily recognizable from a distance, but for me it was difficult to decipher the route description quickly enough to wave down the right bus. Luckily, I saw a long queue of people and realized there might be the 'bus stop'. I showed the slip of paper to one of them and she nodded her head. Great... that would be the first stage of my adventure back to the hotel.

When the bus stopped, I showed the slip of paper to the driver and he made me a sign to hop on. I stayed all the time by the driver as the bus was crowded and I thought it would be easier for me to know where I should get off and take first bus to the rural village and from there another one to the hotel. As the bus was running slowly and getting more crowded and crowded, my eyes were telling me how that scenery was totally unknown to me. So different from what I had seen in the morning.... the bus was running not through the city but outside ... I was sure of it... industrial plants, no housing! Suddenly the driver made a sign to me to drop off. I did it without hesitation but all I saw was a gas station. OMG, where was I? I walked to the gas station and was told by hand-signs that I should go to the roadside and wait for the bus. Again, no bus stop at all... half a dozen of Turkish people were sitting by the roadside and I joined them... I had got the feeling they might be waiting for a bus... One hour later I was boarding the right bus via the back door... Interesting, this time the door to board was not the frontside one. The bus was crowded, no vacant seats, and I was so tired after walking with the three carpets in a big nylon sack (I've no idea of their weight but carrying that sack was very uncomfortable, indeed). I sat on one of the steps next to a big cardboard box. I felt like a sardine in a tin...

After a very unpleasurable driving, I reached that rural town (Serik) I had been for a while in the morning and from there I took another bus to the hotel. I had though I would be dropped not far from it but again, something adverse happened...

Two French ladies were on the bus and I asked them whether they were staying at the same hotel. They clearly confirmed it. But when they stood up to get off and told me to join them, I followed. They had told me before they were used to taking that bus. Once again, I shouldn't have trusted the information. As we were walking together I could not see any sign of my hotel, though I saw many others. They stopped in front of one and said to me: 'Here you are'. At that moment, I realized why I had been misguided. Their hotel was named Crystal like mine but it was not the Crystal Paradise Resort where I was staying. Mine was 5 miles away... I thought it would be better to take a taxi but I was already so much suspicious of drivers and people's information that even feeling weary I made an appeal to my legs and they accepted it. One hour later I was at my hotel... My adventure on that day was over!

A PART OF TURKEY THROUGH MY EYES #2 - SLIDE-SHOW

Early in the morning, I said goodbye to the beautiful resort at which I would stay once again on my way back from Cappadocia.

From Antalya the highway crossed flat lands with poplar trees and it continued across the Taurus Mountains that separate the south Mediterranean coast from the center part of Turkey. It was a nice trip with very nice scenery through a pine forest and a good road through an 1800m high mountain. High enough to have snow at the top. You could also see picturesque villages perched on the landscape.

After a 'technical stop' at a restaurant next to a petrol station, the driving continued towards Konya - the second largest city in central Anatolia, after Ankara, founded by the Romans in the 2nd century - where I had lunch at a caravanserai. Caravanserais were camel stops on the silk route. Traders used to gather at these caravanserais built every 50 miles along the trade route, a resting place that provided food and shelter for men and animals. Rooms once served as stables, prayer rooms, baths, and bedrooms.

After lunch, I visited the Mevlana Museum, a small museum that is next to a 16th century mosque. The Museum used to be Mevlana's lodge, the founder of the Whirling Dervishes. The lodge was a very interesting place. Regretfully, camera shooting was not allowed inside.

I had time to give a quick look at a cemetery. Tombstones were beautiful examples of the language. I was told that dead people are buried in graves usually without coffin. However, sometimes a dead person may be buried with coffin. It is a widespread practice to inscribe and cut epitaphs and signs on tombstones for the purpose of describing identity, sex and destiny of the dead person.

From Konya to Nevsehir (Cappadocia), the highway crossed flat grasslands as far as the eye could see. Its infinite plains gave me the feeling that I was really far from home. After 6 hours of driving, I arrived at Nevsehir, the major city in Cappadocia. I checked into the hotel, went straight to my room and had rest... the following day would be a bit tough...

MY TRIP TO JORDAN: THE SOUND OF SILENCE

One of the most spectacular natural environments in the Middle East is the desert scenery of the fabled Wadi Rum (Wadi means river valley and Rum means high or elevated).  It lies in the south of Jordan, covers some 400 sq. miles and it is largely the territory of the Bedouins, the native nomadic tribe of the Middle East.
Archaeologists believe that the Wadi resulted from a great crack in the surface of the earth caused by an enormous upheaval that shattered mammoth pieces of granite and sandstone ridges from the mountains of the Afro-Arabian Shield. 
Wadi Rum is probably best known because of its connection with the enigmatic British officer, T.E. Lawrence, who was based there during the Great Arab Revolt of 1917-18, and much of the movie, ”Lawrence of Arabia”, which was filmed there.
Taking the Desert Highway and then a road skirting the mountains and shadowed by a  freight-only railway track I arrived at RumVillage.  It was hot, hotter than I could have imagined, but apparently not as hot as it can get (I saw 117F, but “that’s nothing” compared to 135F in July, I  was told).
After a buffet lunch served at a Bedouin tent, I roamed around the place in a four-wheel drive jeep.
The main thing to take in was the geology, since that area isn’t big on wildlife.  But the geology was stunning.  As I was touring the area, I could understand why climbers are especially attracted to Wadi Rum, while hikers can enjoy its vast empty spaces. 
When you think of “desert,” you think of sand.  But Wadi Rum is far more than sand, since the rock structures are so interesting.  They rise straight out of the sand, have surfaces that can be sheer or intricate, and have color that changes with the angle of the sun.

The landscape was like nothing I’d ever seen — the best I can describe is a surreal combination of the moon and the Sahara.  But even that’s not quite right; you’ve got to see it in person to understand its unique immensity.
I left that Valley, a starkly beautiful world of silence, timelessness and enchantment, with the exquisite feeling of having been out in the wilderness, miles of everything.
Stunning in its natural beauty, Wadi Rum epitomizes the romance of the desert....

MY TRIP TO JORDAN - AMMAN, PEOPLE, FOOD, ETC.

The city of Amman, ancient Greco-Roman city of Philadelphia, originally built on 7 hills (just like Rome…..the Jordanian flag has a 7-pointed star to commemorate this).The city today is mostly modern, dating from the 1930’s, and expanding out in all directions at an almost alarming rate! In accordance with municipal law, all the buildings are faced with local stone, which gives the effect of a blanket of uniformed white houses.

Wherever I went in Jordan I saw  a picture of the current King Abdullah, sometimes with his wife or with his children, too.  I think  I can say Jordanian people are sincerely and warmly proud of their Hashimite royal family, directly descended from the Prophet Muhammed himself.
Nearly all Jordanian women, Muslim & Christian alike, wear a head covering. Some wear a veil as well or even a burqa with only a lace window opening to see through. This covering is almost as much a cultural thing as it is a religious thing. Very few women choose not to wear a head covering.
They did not seem to be very receptive to cameras... hardly could my  camera capture their faces.
Jordanian food is considered healthy because it's prepared with olive oil, fresh vegetables and fruit. Fish was hard to come by so most main meals were based on lamb or chicken accompanied by rice or flat bread. Sweets were very sweet, and I can't say they were good or not because I never had even one.
An impressive cultural melange of Arab and Islamic imagery was reflected in Jordanian crafts, which included handmade glass, handy earthenware vessels, carpet weaving, and exquisite embroidery. Crafts produced on a smaller scale included artistically decorated sand bottles, finely chiseled sculptures, and uniquely crafted silver jewelry.
I left Jordan with a different image from the one I had prior to setting my feet on the land of this newcomer to tourism... Jordan encompasses much more than camels, deserts and bedouins...

MY TRIP TO JORDAN: PETRA

Petra.... I do not even know how to begin here.
Imagine going on a hike in one of the most beautiful geological spots in the world.  Imagine seeing some of the most exquisite archeological remains of a rather astounding village, with stunning temples carved right into the face of mountains.   Well, take them all together and you have Petra!
Since it was made one of the 7 wonders of the world, and with good reason, every tourist passing along Jordan will make a detour to Petra, according to the guide. You might be familiar with Petra (Greek word for 'stone') from the Indiana Jones movie.
There is structure after structure that just takes your breath away.  Petra’s prime was from the second Century B.C. through about 600 A.D.  It was discovered again by the Western world in 1812 by a Swiss explorer.
The guide told me that just 2% of the structures of archeological merit have been excavated at Petra.  I wouldn’t bet the ranch on that estimate, but it did have the sense of a vast town, and had been covered with sand some 20+ feet over the years.  I saw many partially excavated buildings where the top of the door frame was well below today’s level of the earth.  Many of the houses in Petra seemed like the Flintstone's Bedrock, a place right out of history.
Much of the excitement of Petra lies in the approach.  You enter the site and have a decent walk through the canyon before you get to the most astounding structures.  The one hour and half walk is through a gorgeous canyon, with a fairly narrow valley walled off by vertical cliffs.  What’s so interesting geologically is that, from time to time, the rock had sheared off, leaving an exposed face that was essentially a plane.  The Horites, a tribe of cave-dwellers living in the region, used these exposed planes as the start point for the buildings they literally carved into the face of it.
I was  just blown away by what I saw over there.  The beauty of the temples and monasteries, all carved out of sandstone cliffs and mountains is impossible to describe in words, so I’m hoping my pictures carry the load.
Petra, one of the most amazing places I have ever been....

MY TRIP TO JORDAN: TWO FAMOUS PLACES OF PILGRIMAGE

One day was spent visiting Bethany beyond Jordan - this Bethany should not be confused with Bethany in Jerusalem, where Mary Magdalene lived and Lazarus was raised from the dead - and the Mount Nebo.
Bethany on the Jordan side of the Jordan River is one of the most important recent discoveries in biblical archeology. Located next to the River Jordan and near the border of Israel, Bethany Beyond the Jordan is also the place where John the Baptist is said to have preached and lived in the wilderness and Jesus was baptized. Excavations only began here in 1996, following Jordan's peace treaty with Israel in 1994, but have already uncovered more than 20 churches, caves and baptismal pools dating from the Roman and Byzantine periods.
Visitors can descend into the waters of the River Jordan; many people choose to be baptized here or renew their baptismal promises.
The next stop was at Mt. Nebo where Moses is said to have seen the Promised Land and also where he was later buried.  Unfortunately the Moses Memorial Church was closed due to renovations so  just walked around a bit. 
The view was so stunning that the holiness of the place seemed to be almost tangible. However, I wondered could it be that of the Promised Land? No idea as I couldn’t find the sign that said “Promised Land” and wasn’t even sure which compass direction I was facing... it was very hot to stand around to figure it out.

MY TRIP TO JORDAN - GOLFING, JERASH AND MADABA

The day started early, as the golf course was at a one-hour drive from the hotel. I, as well as my friends, were enthusiastic about experiencing golfing in a totally different environment from what we are used to. However, surprise of the surprises, the golf course was far and beyond our expectations.... the greens were not green but black!!! The fairways were sandy and full of gravel which made us feel a bit nervous about hitting a little stone instead of the ball and by doing it, get our clubs damaged, though caddies carried a small piece of synthetic turf that they placed under the ball prior to our hitting it. None of us - we were 10 players - took the play seriously but we had fun.
After having had lunch at the clubhouse terrace, we headed to Jerash,  which is considered one of the largest and most well preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world outside of Italy.  It once had a Roman population of 15,000 to 20,000.
We entered the city of Jerash via the South Gate (dates back to 130 AD) which then opened into what was once used as a marketplace. Once we walked through the gate there were signs for reenactments of chariot races but unfortunately they did not have any scheduled when we were there.
As I walked through Jerash, I tried to follow Lonely Planet’s suggestion to “imagine life 2000 years ago: the center bustling building with shops and merchants, lined with cooling water fountains and dramatic painted facades. Picture today’s empty niches filled with painted statues; buildings still clad in marble facades and decorated with carved peacocks and shell motifs; and churches topped with Tuscan-style terracotta tiled roofs.”
While we were touring the South Theatre - built between 90-92 AD - there was a performance by a trio and due to the bagpipes I thought they sounded rather Scottish.
Leaving Jerash behind, the next stop was Madaba, renowned for its Byzantine-era mosaics.  There was the most famous one in St. George’s Church – it was unearthed in 1884 and is believed to have been constructed in AD 560.  Madaba's chief attraction is the sixth century map of the Holy Land, found in the contemporary Greek Orthodox church of St. George. It is a wonderfully vivid, Byzantine mosaic map showing Jerusalem and the holy sites. With two million pieces of coloured stone, measuring 25 x 5 metres, the map depicts hills and valleys, villages and towns as far away as the Nile Delta. Originally 25 meters long by 6 meters wide and containing more than 2 million pieces, it is now only 1/3 of its original size.
We left Madaba and we still had time to stop along the way at a mosaic factory/shop.

MY TRIP TO JORDAN -THE DEAD SEA

I arrived in Amman late in the night after a 8.30h flight. A very spacious room was waiting for me at a huge hotel nestled amongst lush gardens. Set on the northern shores of the Dead Sea, the resort and its spa was an oasis of tranquility.
After a few hours of sleep and a breakfast taken on the veranda of the hotel, with views gazing out towards the sea, I walked around the resort and found some small details that made that place special, like the smell of the flowers outdoors. This hits you while walking or using their golf car. When I mentioned the smell to the hotel staff, I was said that they are especially proud of that little touch.
There was not a lot to do there, other than float in the Dead Sea, cover yourself in mud and have fun.  The mud was smelly and it felt weird after I was fully covered with it. I didn't not experience a magical transformation in skin properties....
'Swimming' in the Dead Sea was a special experience all by itself! You cannot sink to your neck even if you tried hard to do so.  The Dead Sea is seven times saltier than normal seawater! 

As a result of the high rate of evaporation there was a veil of mist over the sea and the surrounding desert, making me a bit disappointed when I downloaded the photos from my camera and viewed them on my laptop. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the 1st slide-show of my visit to Jordan, very often described as a quiet house in a noisy neighborhood. Its neighbors are Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel to the west. Sound like a tough neighborhood?!?!

THANKS TO A CRAZY COW...

During my recent stay in the Terceira Island (Azores), I had the opportunity to visit an extinct volcano chimney, not totally filled with lava in the form of a cone, which is the remains of a 2,000 year old volcanic eruption. It's called Algar do Carvão (Coal Pit in English) and the name was given because the cave walls are formed from dark black lava. The word, algar, is a Portuguese word that means  a natural cavity in the earth that, unlike most caves or caverns, is vertical in its orientation, like a well. The word derives from the Arabic word, al-Gar, which means "the crease".  It was not until 1893 that Algar do Carvão was discovered when a crazy cow fell down the  chimney of the extinct volcano. It's probably a safe bet that the cow didn't survive, but it certainly contributed to the subsequent discovery and exploration of the cave.
Algar do Carvão, which is at an altitude of about 550 meters above sea level, is remarkable for the unique mineralogical characteristics of its silicate stalactites. The site, 40.5 hectares in extent, has been designated a “regional natural monument”.
Although the existence of the cavern had been known for many years, the lack of light inside it, and the obvious danger of a vertical descent into the darkness, its real exploration started in 1963. 













After walking along a tunnel I reached a series of steep steps that followed the contours of the chimney and gave access to the cave at the end of which there was a pool of crystal-clear water.

A guide explained that depending on the season and the amount of rainwater, the pool could be up to 50ft deep. The whole cave was spacious and  showing magnificent stalactites and stalagmites.
Unfortunately, the photos I took of them resulted so bad that I can't show you.  
The warmth of above had gone and as I went down it got colder and colder.

Condensation was everywhere: on the walls, on the ceiling, constantly dripping on the visitors' heads. Someone was concerned about the dripping effect on her hairstyle....

It was a so strange environment.... Lush green and warm at the top but the deeper I went into its depth, the darker and more barren it became.

VIENNA/WIEN

Revisiting Vienna/WIEN is always a great pleasure.I love the city, I love the people. Everything, everywhere sings a song, a song that my hearing keeps for a long, long time....

LET'S VISIT BRATISLAVA #4 AND LAST

When I was a child and started travelling together with my parents and siblings, I was taught that travelling means keeping the eyes well open, observe what we had not seen before, what is different from our surroundings, what ... is or not nice at our eyes.

This attitude towards travelling has become part of me but, with the passing of the years and, since I started travelling alone, I have added a pinch of my personal touch: communication with local people, exchange of ideas, learning directly from local sources about customs, idyosincrasies, etc.
I would not like to put an end to the photo report of my visit to Bratislava, without posting the following ones. Hope you enjoy.

         

  

 

         

Upon returning back home

I got shocked when I saw the 'necklace' that is displayed on one of my favorite monuments here, in Lisbon. It is said that it symbolizes the gems that the Portuguese brought from Brazil over the glorious years of the Portuguese history. Hopefully, it will not be on show for a long time.

LET'S VISIT BRATISLAVA #3

Old Town has several statues that tourists love for those Kodak moments. There is a certain Disney-esque quality to them, but they are fun for everybody. Look at this small bronze, literally on the street floor that has become the most popular one in Bratislava. It symbolized the ideal of Communism of "Every man at work" but because so many of them had nothing to do, this sewer worker has his head up out of the manhole and is watching the people go by. I discovered that the Slovaks have a wonderful sense of humor.

See now the bronze of a Napoleonic soldier as another example. There's a neat one of a photographer leaning around a corner to snap a photo, aiming right at the doorway of a bar called Paparazzi.

Lewis Carroll, with characters from Alice in Wonderland, can be found on the main road.

The Gazer, a dapper old man with a hat in his hat. It is based on a real person who died about 40 years ago, but was famous throughout the city. Walking all day along on the streets, he greeted the ladies in the traditional Viennese manner, kissing their hands, wearing white gloves and a hat all the times. He was considered a bit crazy but very nice.   The Pharmacy Museum! Don't ask me why there's a lobster. I didn't go in there.

This is really cool; a compass on the ground with the directions and distances of a bunch of some of the world's largest cities.

LET'S VISIT BRATISLAVA #2

Let yourselves be enchanted by Bratislava's historical pieces that bring you back to the ancient times. Most of them are conveniently located within the Old Town and Castle Hill areas. Here you can see some of the historically most significant sights:

The castle on the hill above the river Danube, which dominates the panorama of the whole Bratislava

The Cathedral of St. Martin, whose construction started at the begining of the XIV century, towers 85m above the Old Town The Old Town Hall building that has several different incongruous design styles resulting in a very unique construction, the tower of which is magnificent The Opera House presents a wonderful view of its beautiful architecture Grassalkovich Palace, home to Slovakia's President The sumptuous Reduta building that houses the concert hall of the Slovakian Philarmonic Orchestra  

LET' VISIT BRATISLAVA #1

Yes.... I had already been to Bratislava much much before, in 1969, to be more precise. On last Friday, when landing on there I got surprised by finding a city that, despite being a remnant of communism, it is obvious that is coming into its own as a capitalistic society.
Bratislava is wonderful! It is stunningly beautiful with really nice people and lots to see.
I was very lucky with the weather: always sunshine and warm temperatures.
The river that flows through Bratislava is the river Danube, the second largest river in Europe.

          

FINLAND - MISCELLANEOUS - THE END

I conclude my photo report by showing miscellaneous photos. I hope that these, together with the previous ones, have given you an idea about what I saw, what I enjoyed during my week stay in that beautiful country that Finland is.

FINLAND - 1ST PART - HELSINKI

    I visited Finland for the first time. Fresh smells, a cold and consistent breeze, dark-blue evenings and quiet streets. I worked hard, nevertheless I had time to enjoy the beauty of Helsinki, a capital city whose urban cosmopolitan lifestyle exists in perfect harmony with nature.

There are flowers everywhere. The parks are so beautiful!

One of the marinas

One can find many different sculptures, here and there.

FINLAND - 2ND PART

 

Finland's greatest treasure, not squandered, is Finland itself, intact. Flora and fauna, those old favourites, are still there, along with forests, fells, dales, ridges, rivers, rapids, lakes, etc. I was particularly attracted by the stunning landscape outside Helsinki.

The lilly-of-of the valley, one of the Finnish symbols

The birch was one of the first tree species to appear after the last Ice Age

Many Finnish people have a cottage and their private beach

At the Kettuma Folk Park

The house, formerly a school, is now a Crafts Museum