Okay I found this thread. I'll read it later.
Salute to adventurers.
Okay I've read it now, except for the extra links; I'll go back for those.
I am certainly looking forward to hearing how this trip pans out. Please keep a diary, dear, on a laptop if possible and then you can entertain us with more of your excellent Travel Digression, by just clicking a few clicks when you get near a web-link.
Will you have to walk at a respectful distance behind your sons? Perhaps that's only in more extreme places, Yemen, Saudi, Pakistan.
Thinking of suitable garments, I always wanted to get a tunic & pants made, of the kind worn to such elegant effect by Imran Khan. But no doubt on me, it would not achieve such suavete. Perhaps I could get some knocked up in a tasteful tartan by Manchester's asian seamstresses
You should definitely deck yourself out in 'kurta pajama', a very comfortable summer garb, with an 'achkan' (long Nehru type jacket) for best. Tartan - hmmm, on the whole I think not.
I shall find internet cafes, laptops are silly things to take on long train journeys into thieving arab lands!
I expect I shall walk 3 paces behind the boys because their legs are longer than mine.. and my girl friend Anwyl has even lengthier strides than they do.
Nice to have all this support!
Fırst leg of Syrıan journey - I and 2 sons but mınus female frıend who was hıjacked by work are ın Istanbul wıth a dodgy Turkısh keyboard whıch wıll ıgnore dotted ı and whose commas are somewhere ın an alternate unıverse.
So although ıt ısnt my fırst vısıt here ıts sofar one of the best. not bad weather though quıte hot and humıd and cheap hotel ın perfect sıtuatıon wıth vıews from the breakfast room over the blue mosque to the sea. Food wonderful as I remember ıt. People not hasslıng and ıt was good to meet an old ınternet frıend from preA2K days yesterday - her flat has vıews to dıe for too. Leısurely day as ıt ıs a holıday so we floated majestıcally up and down the Bosphorus along wıth 300 others on a boat probably buılt for 200.
Sıgn ın cafe wındow - If you do not lıke your poor taste please ask for money back.
It took a mornıng to get traın tıckets for the Toros Express to Syrıa. As usual one ıs sent from pıllar to post and back to pıllar agaın. Fıne ıf you arent ın a hurry!
Maybe a further stroll thıs evenıng and another Turkısh coffee - I do lıke holıdays...
Probably the Syrian keyboards will be much different to the actual Turkish again (the comma is there, where it is on any other European [across the channel] keyboard as well :wink: ).
Have a great time and enjoy your holiday!!! (I'm away to France within hours for a couple of days.)
Clary, Your avatar is making me dizzy.....
Syrian keyboard is a great improvement on the Turkish one!
We had a VERY LONG train ride - 32 hours - airconditioned and comfortable - but didn't stay on until Damascus as we would have arrived after midnight (train was late) so we got off at Aleppo, which has probably been inhabited for 8000 years continuously, and hurray, there was an ATM machine on the station, so armed with money we got a taxi to the hotel of our choice, an old stone house withcourtyard and roof terrace - brilliant place to stayand although expensive by SYrian standards, only $US72 a double and 55 a single. Today we hired a car and drove 4 hours into the grey luminous desert, to Palmyra, ancient oasis city. Look up about Queen Zenobia who ruled it in its heyday. We found a room for $20 for allof uswith a great view of the Crusaders' Castle on the hill, wherewe went at sunset to watch the Roman ruins change from gold to grey. Then a beer on the terrace of the Zenobia Hotel. And shortly, a meal - probably of lamb andriceand salad and yogurt and very nice too.
Gad, Clary, I am envious. Keep those reports coming please. When I was in Syria in '86, I never got out of Damscus.
Zenophobia Hotel, I think they've got some of those in Lancashire. Must be an international chain.
Clary, I'm loving this thread! Apparently MA is doubly excited and McTag is, as usual, playing with words. I'm sure he isn't afraid of foreigners...at least he didn't seem to be afraid of Dys, which means he is quite brave.
Loved both links. This might become a trip Dys and I will do in the future.
How are your short legs holding out with all those long legs surrounding you? This is such fun--I can picture you now, so it is easy to see your facial expressions as you describel various situations. Lovely.
watching with envy
waaaahhhh!!!!
Back ın Turks now, ın Adana, bıg modern southern city and preparıng to get car to do a coastal trip followed by Cappadochia before Rustom, eldest son, has to jet back home.
Syria has amazing sıghts - Palmyra tops for me, the boys liked Krak des Chevaliers a huge Crusader castle in the countryside. Because we were renting a car we were able to stop at a small ountry hotel with a view of the castle from our room, 20 US for the 3 of us again but we had no tıme for breakfast as we had to drive back to Aleppo to get the weekly train back to Turkey.
Syria was full of trucks piled hugely and high wıth very lıght goods made from oil derivatives lıke foam and polystyrene and buckets swayıng precariously along the un-roadmarked but very wide main roads.
Driving in Damascus has to be the worst İ2ve encountered, or am İ just getting forgetful in mty old age. Im afraid İ found Damascus ugly and smelly and unredeemed by the quaint old town since walking along the narrow streets with mınıbuses grazing your legs is no fun. Went to Essar, the highly recommended restaurant, with an ex-school friend of Tam's and her friend - learning Arabic there. Menu had no prices so as the only older,nonstudent person there İ had to pay whatever they chose. İt turned out to be about 30 dollars for 5 so not going to break the bank.
Quıte used to the breakfasts of fresh bread. tomatoes. cucumber, cheese, olives plus black sweet tea.
The train yesterday not so nice the aircon broke down and we stopped for hours at border while Russian working girls were processed and innumerable shifty oriental gents. But thıs spanking modern city makes up for it. We arrived at 10 30 pm and thought we'd go top-end after the long sweaty journey and tried the Hilton with 17 floors and stunning river views. Unfortunately there was a medical conference and they had no rooms except the presidentıal suıte which they could offer us for HALF PRİCE! Since this turned out to be 500 dollars we regretfully declined but so good was the service that the desk clerk phoned 3 more hotels in the town and procured us one for a modest 40 dollars or so - huge room with a double bed and 4 singles - they go in for familıes in a big way....
Oh, Clary! I'm travelling vicariously again.
I hate noisy minibuses scraping my legs- but I was once struck (while on the narrow footpath) by the wing mirror of a briskly- moving van in Cambridge- so you don't have to travel far for traffic-hassle these days.
Still, abroad is different; my son's sandals still smell of donkey dung from the streets of Marrakesh- and that trip was about six years ago. Different from good old British diesel and sump oil.
Ah yes that thırd world smell of donkey dung and badly maıntaıned two-stroke engines...
But today we are ın a beautıful spot on the south eastern Med coast - Kıska... help Iive forgotten the name of thıs town. A hotel rıght on the beach for the benefıt of the lads who lıke to be ın the thıck of thıngs - damn noısy at nıght though wıth thumpıng Turkısh popsongs. However I excelled myself yesterday by swımmıng out to the ısland ın the bay on whıch ıs a noble ruıned castle - says ın Lonely Planet that only STRONG swımmers can do ıt so I feel pleased wıth myself. Wonderful fısh meals as well as woodgrılled kebabs etc and ıce creams on the beach or the pedalo boat. Even ther ınternet cafe ıs only 2 buıldıngs away from the beach. We hıred a rather pleasıng Ford Fıesta whıch I would have sneered at elsewhere... also stayıng here 2 nıghts so we could do some washıng ın our plugless basın - everythıng drıes ın about 2 hours.
On that mundane note... görüşmek üzere
And now we are in the extraordınary areaofCappadocıa wıth NOT ONLY rotten keyboards whosespacebars stıck butalso: FAIRY CASTLES or phalluses made of tufa wıth hats of basalt - hundreds of very early Christıian churches cut ınto the mountaıns gıvıng an ımpression much like Taos and the pueblo cave townsbut on a much bıugger scale - and underground cavecıtıes possıbly 18 storeys hıgh and able to accommodate 10 000 people. Absoluytely fabulous-the stuff of fables. Westayed ın a cave hotel ın Ürgüp (http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/WhereToGo/CentralAnatolia/Cappadocia/Urgup/UrgupTown.html) and visıted Göreme and Kaymakı today.Now the boyshave gone off to the hammam -Turkısh bath - but ıts already hot so I reallydont feel the need for a steam and massage.
You can see great photosof those places on Google by the way.
Bye all!!
What a hoot your post is, Clary. Not that Cappadoccia is a hoot, it sounds fascinating. I've seen some photos before, amazing.
I have a friend who wanted to buy a place there and have a shop, and me run it. I didn't join the plan for my own reasons of - if I was going to do that, my heart goes to Italy, not to mention I require control re finances so I don't have to submit to other's choices re various decisions. Still, the place she wanted to buy was lovely.
