Sighisoara's citadel
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
The citadel sits high above the surrounding area. A church sits on a peak even higher than the rest of the citadel.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Citadel streets in Sighisoara
Citadel streets in Sighisoara
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
From Bucharest, I took a train to Transylvania, stopping in the small town of Sighisoara. It is supposed to be the birthplace of Vlad Tepes, whom later was known as Vlad the Impaler, whom Bram Stoker then fictionally made his "Dracula". A lot of the tourism in Romania is based around Transylvania and the legend of Dracula. I walked into a store in Sighisoara looking for postcards and there were two women. One woman spoke to me and showed me the postcards, but the other one stood near the entrance to the store, just inside, away from the sunlight. I swear she had sharpened incisors, had high cheekbones, and was wearing a high-collared shirt and jacket on a hot day. Moments later, as I was walking down the street I saw abnormally pale-looking laborers bringing loads into a renovated building. All the other laborers in this country are wrinkly and very tan. Legend or not, I added plenty of garlic to my pasta dinner that night.
Scenes from Gare Nord in Bucharest
Scenes from Gare Nord in Bucharest
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Roma, or gypsies, came from northern India and arrived in 1407. Some of them were enslaved, and most were persecuted in some fashion. They remain as one of Europe's largest minorities with no country. A very strange and sad group of folks.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Palace of Parliament
Palace of Parliament
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
In 1984 construction began on this massive building under the order of Nicolae Ceaucescu, the former Romanian communist leader. It remains uncompleted today, however it does house the parliament and functions as a government building. It is the second largest building in the world (after the Pentagon).
Piata Unirii
Piata Unirii
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
This huge fountain encircles a roundabout in Bucharest. It also marks the end of the B-dul Unirii, the Champs Elysee-like boulevard that extends from the Palace of Parliament. It is actually a bit longer and wider than the Parisian street.
Piata Universitatii
Piata Universitatii
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
In December of 1989, Romania's communist regime collapsed, but not before tanks rolled over protesters and freedom fighters in this square.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Buna from Romania
I finally left Veliko Tarnovo and headed north to Romania, leaving Bulgaria behind. Bulgaria was wonderfully cheap and quiet and untouristy even in its most touristy areas. I never quite got used to the headshaking meaning "yes" and the nods meaning "no's", but I was only there for a few days. The streets were full of new imports but also old Ladas, a reminder from not so long ago. Men were buffed out on steroids and lanky women strolled down the sidewalks as if they were catwalks.Now I'm in Romania for a few days to see some Transylvanian sights.
Train station at Gorna Orjahovica
Train station at Gorna Orjahovica
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
I took a train from here to get to Bucharest. It was kind of a dump of a station.
Pizza and wine
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!).
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.
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