Pizza and wine
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
It was a rainy night so a bunch of us at the Hiker's Hostel ordered pizzas and bought some cheap white wine (about $1.30 for a 2L bottle!).
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Ricardo, Simon, and Azi
Ricardo, Simon, and Azi
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Ricardo, from Portugal, was couchsurfing through eastern Europe for three weeks, and Simon, from NZ, had left home a year ago, and had been working in the UK; his plan was to be travelling and working for five years.
Azi, Rachel, Aureigne
Azi, Rachel, Aurelie
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
I met five others in my dorm room at the Hiker's Hostel in Veliko Taranov. Two of them, Rachel and Aurelie, were doing NGO work with the Bulgarian-Helsinki Committee in Sofia. Interestingly, Aurelie had been in Mae Sot for six months and left two months before I arrived last year. We even knew some of the same people! Rachel had spent 10 months in Malawi on a Fulbrights scholarship.
Tsarevets Fortress
Tsarevets Fortress
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Built between the 5th and 12th century, this fortress sits over Veliko Tarnovo at an s-bend in the river Yantra.
Old town Veliko Tarnova
Old town Veliko Tarnova
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
From Plovdiv, I headed four hours north to Veliko Tarnovo, once the capital of Bulgaria. It is a quaint city with an old quarter, that sits in a windy gorge carved by a river.
Mulberries
Mulberries
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
These trees were all over in Turkey and now in Bulgaria. Free eats!
Freeloading at an opera at the Roman Theatre
There was an opera performing at the theatre. I joined a bunch of freeloaders from a viewpoint outside the theatre.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Plovdiv
Plovdiv
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Plovdiv, Bulgaria, a hilly old town riddled with a few Roman ruins. It is supposed to be Bulgaria's most appealing city according to the LP guide, but I'm leaving tomorrow. There are very nice modern pedestrian zones with cheap ice cream, pizza, and kebab stands (all about a dollar or less). The old city is on a hill with cobblestoned streets and crumbling old buildings being renovated with second floors that stick out (like in Damascus's old city). I did discover that things are cheaper here in Bulgaria than they are in Turkey, including digital cameras. Oh well.
Zdrasti from Bulgaria!
Yesterday, I ended up buying another digital camera (Canon's Powershot A430) for 176 Euros, or about $235, thanks to the devalued dollar. I ended up wandering around the same streets I explored three years ago when Kevin and were here. I ended up at the exact same spot in the spice bazaar (a photograph of that spot was on my wall in my apartment). If I stayed another day there, I would not see anything new, so I headed to the massive Otogar (bus station) in the morning and found a bus leaving for Bulgaria within the hour. It was a seven hour ride to Plovdiv, but it was nice and comfortable in the plush Mercedes coach. Even going through the passport control was a breeze (you just sit on the bus while immigration officers board the bus). We did deboard to get our passport stamps and for customs inspection. I smuggled 25 cigars into Bulgaria! A middle-aged man mumbled something and handed me a bag of cigars as we approached the customs inspection point -- I figured he wanted me claim the cigars he bought at the duty free zone were mine. No problem. The customs officer peered into my, then pulled out the cigars. He eyed me and said something in Bulgarian, and nodded his head in agreement to my fine tastes. Everyone laughed, and he moved on.
Almost all the signs in Bulgaria are in Cyrillic, the same letters used in Russia and other Slavic countries. A lot of the rusty and crumbling apartment buildings hail from the Soviet-influenced era, but there are stores selling new electronic gear and hip clothes. The roads are not as smooth as they were in Turkey, and the people have completely ignored, which is amazing. I'll see what the next few days bring.
Friday, June 09, 2006
Dining out
Dining out
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
I met three guys in my dorm at the Orient: Nicholas, Daniel, and Andreas (not shown). They had met at Istanbul's train station and I joined them for dinner and a wander through Istanbul at night. Nicholas and Andreas had were graduating from secondary school in a month and were wandering around Europe, getting into trouble, armed with only a backpack and a rail pass. They were Danes travelling as a Mexican and German to avoid hostilities in a Muslim country (ha,ha). Daniel had just used up his year-long working visa for the UK and was returning to New Zealand. The three of them had spent the day strolling around Istanbul drinking from bottles of Efes beer. It reminded me that I was no longer in the Middle East and I had arrived in Europe, where, like Southeast Asia, the backpackers were looking for a good time.
Aya Sofia Mosque
Aya Sofia Mosque
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Constructed under Emperor Justinian in 532 AD, the Aya Sofia (Church of the Holy Wisdom), was the largest church for a thousand years...until the Ottomans came and converted it to a mosque. It sits across from the Blue Mosque.
Blue Mosque
Blue Mosque
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Built in 1619, this beautiful mosque lies across from the Aya Sofia. The two of them combined make up the landmarks of this amazing city.
Streets in Sultanahmet
Streets in Sultanahmet
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
This is a street around the Topkapi Palace, home of the sultans during the Ottoman Empire, in Istanbul.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Touchdown Europa!
I made it across Asia minor to the European landmass this morning. It was a beautiful sunrise on the ferry coming to Istanbul. I took the overnight bus from Selçuk to Istanbul last night, and arrived tired and stumbling through Sultanahmet, the old city quarter of Istanbul. I passed by the Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque like I was here yesterday and found myself a dorm bed at the Orient Youth Hostel. Within an hour I had traded for a Europe on a Shoestring LP book and crashed out for a nap.
Wandering around the city and seeing the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, I realized it was too much to bear not having a good camera, so I think I will get ripped off today and buy another one.
This city is amazing with minarets filling the skyline and three bodies of water. Still, I think I will be headed to Bulgaria soon.
Wandering around the city and seeing the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, I realized it was too much to bear not having a good camera, so I think I will get ripped off today and buy another one.
This city is amazing with minarets filling the skyline and three bodies of water. Still, I think I will be headed to Bulgaria soon.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Basilica of St. John on Ayasuluk Hill
Basilica of St. John on Ayasuluk Hill
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
This is where St. John is buried. Somewhere in this field is the Temple of Artemis and its one remaining column. It is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that remains.
Roman show
Roman show
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
The cruise tours brought a show with them with music, costumes, gladidator fight, and the sentencing of a slave.
Hordes of tourists descend
Hordes of tourists descend
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
I was enjoying the lack of tourists at Ephesus for about ten minutes until I looked up hill and saw this mess. Most of them were from cruiseboats that harbored in nearby Kuşadasi.
Theatre at Ephesus
Theatre at Ephesus
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
My Canon Powershot s410 died yesterday so I had to use my videocamcorder for taking photos. The ruins (yes, more ruins) of the city of Ephesus are only two kilometers from Selçuk. Built around the 1st century AD, it was supposed to be second to Athens in beauty. It is a famous Christian site as St. Paul prosetlyzed here (his Letters to Ephesians).
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Ölüdeniz's beach
Ölüdeniz's beach
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
The water was a powdery blue and there was some sand mixed with pebbles. I never even went in because the hotel pool was so nice and devoid of people. From Ölüdeniz you can take a boat to Butterfly Valley, a backpacker haven, but I couldn't be bothered to leave the hotel nor it's buffet table.
Blue Lagoon Hotel in Ölüdeniz
Blue Lagoon Hotel in Ölüdeniz
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
After six days in Olympos, I headed west along the coast to Ölüdeniz, a package tourist destination (catering to mostly Germans and Brits as far as I could tell). Even the prices on signs were in British sterling.
Fortunately I was referred to this hotel by a German couple at the bus station. It was only $22 for an ensuite room with aircon, cable tv, and buffet breakfast and dinner. It was awesome. Even the booze at the bar was cheap (cheaper than Olympos).
Strangely, Hussein decided to come with me to Ölüdeniz which was a little awkward. I started getting flashbacks of that wierd Brit I met in Cairns 19 months ago. But I was only there for two days so I left him behind.
Friday, June 02, 2006
Me at an overlook
Me at an overlook
Originally uploaded by bastchild.I actually got off my lazy butt and hiked up to this citadel to take this photo.
My glasses, which I had sat upon in Palmyra, finally fell apart later this day, so I am in Kumluca today using cheaper and faster internet, getting more money, and getting a new pair of spectacles.
Hussein and me
Hussein and me
Originally uploaded by bastchild.I met Hussein on the bus to Olympos, so we ended up sharing a room at Moonlight, in a strictly non-gay way. He speaks a little English, so I have been learning some Turkish.
I ended up shaving my moustache after this dinner because it was acting like baleen, sieving plankton from the sea. Naaaaaaaasty.
Tree house dwellings
Tree house dwellings
Originally uploaded by bastchild.Even up to three years ago, Olympos was known for its rustic treehouse dwellings, but these are just for show now.
Ruins at Olympos
Ruins at Olympos
Originally uploaded by bastchild.You have to pay 2 YTL everyday to use the path that goes to the beach because it passes by these ruins from the 2nd century. (zzzzz...)
Boats bring daytrippers to Olympos
Boats bring daytrippers to Olympos
Originally uploaded by bastchild.Olympos is a small backpacker strip built around a riverbed 11 km from the main highway about an hour south of Antalya. It's not even a town because it only has pensions and small stores for tourists. I had heard about this place from other backpackers while I was in Syria and Lebanon. Like Dahab, its a great place to do nothing and take a break from all the sightseeing, which is exactly what I am doing.
A room goes for 20 YTL (around $14) which includes breakfast and dinner. An hour after arriving, I headed out toward the beach and heard a couple people call out my name. I found a couple people I had met in Hama two weeks ago and someone I had met in Aleppo. It is a small world on the backpacker circuit.
Buses have airplane-like interiors
Buses have airplane-like interiors
Originally uploaded by bastchild.In Göreme I realızed that I had had enough of sightseeing so I headed to the coast for some quality beach time. I only decided to get on the overnight bus an hour before it left.
Volcano off in the distance
Volcano off in the distance
Originally uploaded by bastchild.Not far from the village of Göreme, I am guessing, that volcano in the distance is what left ashes all over the place.
Underground city in Kymakli
Watch the video I actually don't know anything about this place. Maybe early Christians hide here, fearing persecution. What I did realize, however, is that I was pretty tired of sightseeing, so I headed for the coast on the overnight bus.
Ventilation shaft for Kymakli's underground city
Watch the video The underground city was quite deep and extensive. Ventilation shafts and ports allowed for cooking and lighting without its inhabitants suffocating.
Afternoon in Göreme
Afternoon in Göreme
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Göreme is a very touristy vıllage, but there are loads of cheap accommodation, which is nice. Fortunately a cheap (1.5 YTL, which happens to be $1) can take you to the Nevşehir, the next big town over, which has cheap eats and internet.
View from my new room
View from my new room
Originally uploaded by bastchild.I moved into another room for the next day as it was too cold to "chill out" (har, har!) in the cave. This was the view from my window.
Göreme cave dwellings
Göreme cave dwellings
Originally uploaded by bastchild.Cappadocia is famous for its "fairy chimneys", a geologic phenomenon resulting from wind and rain erosion of volcanic ash. Or something like that.
It sucks arriving so late at night, but I was able to get this room which thankfully had hot water to wash off the day's sweat. It was surprisingly cold in this cave so the comforter helped.
Antakya
Antakya
Originally uploaded by bastchild.I was only here for four hours waiting for my bus to Göreme. It was a long day from my 0500h bus from Aleppo; I didn't arrive in Göreme until 2345h after changing buses three times. But the buses in Turkey are awesome. There are several different operators, and they're not as plush as Taiwan's buses, but they're still quite nice. It's There's even a steward who brings you refreshments.
Entering Turkey
Entering Turkey
Originally uploaded by bastchild.Yeah, what a suck getting in it was. Fifty people at the window thrusting their passports blindly through the window while the one official stamped away; meanwhile about 20 of us formed a sensible line waiting for two hours to get up to the window as more and more people squeezed up and left. Finally a fight nearly broke out with all the line cutting. The bus threatened to leave without me, but they finally decided to help me get my visa and away we went! Strangely, on the Syrian side there were about eight windows with bored officers waiting for customers. What's up with Turkey?
My smallest room yet!
My smallest room yet!
Originally uploaded by bastchild.Only 200 SP, this place had a fan and a stool. It was hot all night and I actually slept only a few hours before my early bus to Turkey. I think this used to be a balcony.
The ruins inside the Citadel walls
The ruins inside the Citdael walls
Originally uploaded by bastchild.The Citadel ultimately succumbed to time. There was a restored theatre and a mosque here. It blazing hot that day, and I took refuge in the shadow of the wall.
The Citadel in Aleppo
The Citadel in Aleppo
Originally uploaded by bastchild.This is the imposing entrance to the Citadel in Aleppo (normal entry price 300 SP, but only 10 SP with my student id card, ka-ching!). Built on a man-made hill, apparently this fortress was never taken. Invaders circled around it, and after a few days, left, deciding it would be too difficult to breach.
The duty free mall and food court
The duty free mall and food court
Originally uploaded by bastchild.This was not a bad place to hang out for 8.5 hours.
Leaving Lebanon
Leaving Lebanon
Originally uploaded by bastchild.Thıs is the border between Lebanon and Syria. There are big yellow American muscle cars that will zip passengers between Beirut and Syria. I actually got a ride on one of these when I eventually made it through the Syrian side. I had forgotten how smooth those beasts were; it actually made me miss my 1978 Impala stationwagon.
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