Monthly Archives: November 2010

Turkey

A holiday from travelling and some pretty amazing ruins

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We weren’t sure whether to head straight down to Syria next or to travel up the Mediterranean and Aegean coast to Istanbul which would mean crossing half of the country to get to the Syrian border. After all it’s almost winter and maybe not the best time of the year to go to the beach for a swim… Plus a lot of pensions shut down in Turkey from November until May and it can be hard to find a place with heating and especially hot water. But it was so warm in Cappadocia during the day that we decided to give it a try and headed down to Antalya, the main transport hub for the Turkish Mediterranean coast or the Turkish Riviera as it is often called. Continue reading A holiday from travelling and some pretty amazing ruins →

Turkey

“Something something tourist something”

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In Iran James was “Miiisster James”, I was sometimes “Miisiis” but mostly not addressed by my first name. In East Turkey all foreigners seem to be simply “tourist”. As there aren’t many around we stick out. Wherever we go, we hear blablaba tourist, blabla tourist and wish we could understand some Turkish or rather Kurdish since East Anatolia is predominantly Kurdish. Most people are friendly and helpful but we felt not as open as what we’ve experienced just across the border in Iran. Maybe that’s because of their somewhat difficult standing in this country or maybe because it’s one of the more conservative areas in Turkey. Trying to say a few words in Kurdish rather than Turkish to acknowledge the locals’ ethnic background definitely opens a few doors. Nevertheless we feel welcome and it’s absolutely safe to travel around since the truce between the PKK and the Turkish army. In fact if it weren’t for the army presence everywhere and passport checks on public transport, we maybe wouldn’t have even thought of the violent conflict that used to be in this part of Turkey. Continue reading “Something something tourist something” →

Iran

You’re never alone in Iran

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Our trip from Kashan to the village Abyaneh was really well worth it. Tiny alleys and beautiful old red mud brick houses with ornate balconies. What a contrast to city noise and pollution. It’s incredible that people have been living in these buildings for at least 1500 years. Time stands still here where old men with hats and walking sticks sit chatting on benches in the sun and women in colourful chadors with flower prints sit around in separate groups. We wish we could have stayed in Abyaneh overnight but there isn’t really any accommodation there. So we headed back to Kashan and took an early bus to Tehran the next morning. Continue reading You’re never alone in Iran →