Lebanon

War Torn Building - Beirut

Pre-conceived notions are something that we all are guilty of at some time or other, thinking of Lebanon before we arrived, I guess I was and I think Megan was as well.  We both had memories of the TV pictures and radio reports over the years and we were nervous as well as excited by the prospect of seeing Beirut and meeting the people who live there and in the country as a whole.

We got off to a very interesting start.  First hurdle Late arrival at the airport, then taxi drivers; we were besieged, well two anyway, $50 downtown!  Me ignoring them and saying ‘too much money’ through our negotiating team, Megan, till we arrived at $25, change in dollars, yes, OK.  Taxi, not the guy we negotiated with, driver very poor English, didn’t know where we wanted to go, dropped off at the UN building (near where we were staying), no dollars change, big discussion, more negotiation, successful outcome.  Then we experienced the legendry Lebanese hospitality.  First a guard/policeman came across to help, then a smart couple, in the end we had about eight people round us, our phones didn’t work so one girl telephoned Stuart, our couch surf host and he came to find us and take us home, phew!

Bullet Ridden Statue Martyrs Square

Beirut is a big, noisy, dirty city, difficult to get around but we walked a lot through the new downtown quarter with designer shops, visited a museum and saw some of the buildings damaged by the troubles, The Holiday Inn where the journalists stayed is just a shell covered with bullet holes.  Every where we went the people said welcome to Lebanon and passed the time of day talking about their country and the UK, very friendly and warm.

Look How Tall It Is

Baalbek

To escape Beirut was the next option; but how, bus, train, taxi?  Taxi too expensive, no train system, buses difficult to the region we wanted, so brace ourselves, hire a car, reasonably cheap.  We found good accommodation, hostel for two nights and hotel, off season rates, for three.  We stayed in Bcharré up in the mountains, we walked, we visited Tripoli and Baalbek.  The walking in Qadicha Valley is through a deep ravine with ancient churches and caves where hermits lived and some still live, the valley is very green and beautiful, not at all like we expected from the Middle East.

Driving is - how can I describe it? Interesting, you need nerves of steel and eyes in the back, side and maybe even the top of your head.  How we got the car through Beirut (twice), Baalbek, Tripoli, round the mountain roads and the highways without a scratch, was through a slice of luck and a huge amount of skill. Baalbek in the Beka’a Valley is the head quarters of Hezbollah, we passed through an area covered in their flags before negotiating our way through the town to almost stumble on the ancient ruins (Heliopolis), fantastic perhaps the best we have seen, including Ephesus!  

The Cedars

Wood Sculpture - The Cedars

Tripoli is a great place, we saw the Crusader Citadel and walked through the old quarter, everyone smiled and said hello, looked into a bakery where they were cooking flat breads, the man invited us in to see them working, talked, invited us for coffee, the coffee seller came round and we all had small, strong, sweet coffee out of small plastic cups, conversed in broken French a little English and lots of hand waving, looked in the oven with burning wood inside, ate the bread, lots of smiles and laughing, what more can you say.  We were walking a route in a guide book, but were soon taken in hand by Lebanese guy, a teacher, great English, he took us round ‘his quarter’ visited his mosque and talked about Lebanon and in particular the problems in Tripoli which erupt every few days with fighting in the streets between supporters of different politicians – guns and bloodshed.  He says Tripoli is fantastic with lots of places to visit, down the road in Byblos (where we also went) they have lots of visitors as the Christians keep the peace so people go, in Tripoli they don’t because of the fighting, he was very disgusted. 

Wood Burning Bread Oven

Well here we are about to leave, flying to Jordan, our impressions of Lebanon are very good, for a while you forget your unease in the warmth of the people, the only time Megan was scared was when close to steep drops (lots of those) and both of us when in the car, heart in the mouth jobs!

Almost Complete Temple Baalbek

Sea of Clouds

There and Back Again

Safranbolu

 We decided to visit more of Turkey, so with a little reluctance left Istanbul to go east, returning in a few days.  So with bus ticket grasped firmly in the hand we set off for Safranbolu near the Black Sea coast.  It is an old town famous for its historic Ottoman houses, a large proportion of which have been restored.  We were not disappointed, the ‘old town’ down the hill from the ‘new town’ is full of the restored Ottoman houses and many traditional crafts are still carried out.

We couch surfed with a young guy, it was his first attempt at being a host, and we did wonder why he didn’t have any reviews. We needn’t have worried as he was very attentive and looked after us very well, that is the Turkish way, very hospitable.

Safranbolu Mosque

 

However, we could not stay more than two nights as he was off to see his brother for a few days.  ‘Moving on’ seems to be a recurring theme, or maybe that is what this is all about.  So off we went, seen off at the Otogar (bus station) by Fikret (our host) bound for Ankara.  Many Turkish people say it is not worth visiting, but we wanted to see the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations, and with the help of Ayse and Cengiz we stayed with a friend of theirs, now also a friend of ours, Yusuf.

Ankara old town

We have found the people here so friendly and hospitable, opening their homes and lives, sharing their food and conversation, this is not just the people we have stayed with but people we meet on the streets and in markets, shops and museums, it will be with a very heavy heart when we leave on Monday.  Yusuf opened his home to us, from meeting us at the otogar to dropping us off at the train station, visiting Ankara’s old town the first evening and taking us to his University Association wine, nibbles and conversation evening the second, nothing was too much trouble.  The visit was full of excitement as well; we woke up the first morning to a flood in the hall in the apartment - a burst pipe – a small one but it was still wet!  So as true Helpxers we leapt into action mopping and scooping the water up, till the leak was found and the area was dry, Yusuf turned off the water and we had breakfast.  Yusuf we hope all is well and the problem has been cured. 

A Chimera in the museum

So we have returned to Istanbul and will probably return again in the future, we recommend this city to anyone, it seems to have everything a city should have, sights to die for, good transport, great people, fabo food, ferry trips, holiday islands, and loads more.  The holiday islands are the Prince’s Islands (Adalar) about 45 mins ferry ride into The Sea of Marmaris, there nine islands four of which the ferry stops at, we went to Heybeliada for a swim and lunch, fish just speared by our host, yummy, a great day out. 

Last Turkish swim

Lunch Venue

The strangest things happen in life, out of Istanbul’s 17 million inhabitants, and I don’t know how many visitors, we met a Helpx friend, an Australian girl from Ayse and Cengiz’s, there was a tap on Megan’s shoulder in the Museum of Modern Art, and there was Brigitte, and here she is in the apartment playing scrabble with Meg – what a small world!

A reunion cup of cai

So here we are treading water, waiting till Monday night comes around and our flight to Beirut, we will be there for 10 days then onto Jordan for 8 days, talk to you soon.

Istanbul skyline

 

 

Istanbul

Blue Mosque Tiles

Fantastic, is a good description for Istanbul, there are many others; some say it is like a beautiful woman, you will want to return again and again.  We have been to see all the usual places in the guidebooks, The  Blue Mosque, Aya Sofya, Tokapi Palace and the Basilica Cistern to mention a few.  We visited The Blue Mosque and Aya Sofya in the right order, the mosque first.  It was very good and the blue Iznik tiles are incredible, it was built in the early 17C supposedly to outdo the nearby Aya Sofya in grandeur and when we went in it took your breath away.

The Blue Mosque

The next day we went to the Aya Sofya.  It was built by Emperor Justinian and completed in 537AD, as the ’first’ church in Christendom, it had other names - Sancta Sophia in Latin and Hagia Sofia in Greek.  As you pass through the Outer Narthex, made from narrow Byzantine bricks, into the marble Inner Narthex you begin to get an idea of what is to follow, but no amount of preparation can prepare you, the sight of the massive dome rising above you is awesome and I do not use that word lightly.  We stood and stared, and then the realisation that this building was built 1,500 years ago, makes me, even now, almost speechless.  Entering the building after completion, Justinian exclaimed, ‘Glory to God that I have been judged worthy of such work. Oh Solomon! I have outdone you’. What more can I say?

Aya Sofya

Contemplation

Contemplation

The two bazaars, Spice and Grand, were great to see as well, Meg nearly married a carpet salesman and we had a lesson in the qualities of saffron from a guy in the Spice Bazaar.  The smells and sights in both places linger in the memory, fabrics, clothes, food, çay sellers rushing about with their trays, carpets, belly dancing costumes, all come to mind as I think about it.

Spice Bazaar

The Basilica Cistern was great as well, it is an underground water storage area built by the Byzantines, mostly from ‘found’ items.  You go down some steps into the cistern, 140m long by 70m wide, with 336 columns 9 m in circumference, supporting the arched roof bays.  When full it held 100,000 tonnes of water!  Now the water is only about 30cm deep, but here are some pretty big carp living in it. 

The Basilica Cistern

The Topkapi Palace reminded me of the forbidden Palace in Beijing, the same opulence against a large city peopled with mostly poor citizens. 

The list could go on and on but we have had limited time here.  We have been Couch Surfing with Alex and whilst we have been here he has had six other surfers, John from the USA, two Italians Roberto and Irene who are researching a book about the Armenian diaspora, and recently an addition from Argentina, Cecelia who has been travelling first in Africa now Europe.  The morning and evening discussions round the table have been enlightening.

Medusa Head Column Base Basilica Cistern

                                               

Cappadocia

Ballon over the Museum

Weird, could be one description of Cappadocia, strange is too light a word, very interesting is also a good one.  We were dumped by the bus in the central square of Göreme at 5am, dark and heavens above, cold, well cool compared to what be had been used to.  The only movement in the town were two or three stray dogs hanging about for want of anything else to do, almost as if they were waiting for the bus themselves.  It was too early to go to the pansion to get rid of our bags, so it was dig deep and find some warm clothes and wait.  My nose led me to a café/bakery at 6am so we had çay and some strange pastry.  As it got light the hot air balloons started to rise up from behind the houses, maybe 20 or more big balloons, and when the flames were going it lit up the inside of the balloon.

Church Art

Megan in White Valley

First we tried the open air museum, it was so crowded we left as you couldn’t get to see anything, the tours were taking up all the space and when you tried to get past them the guides objected, so we left and walked around the valleys ourselves.  This was much more interesting as we found examples of small churches and habitation in the rocks, which made the discovery more personal.  In fact you can’t miss them, all around dwellings have been carved into the ‘fairy chimneys’ as they call them.  All but a very few abandoned as they are deemed unsafe by the authorities.

1st Tea Man

Hassan

There are some enterprising tea houses in the most unusual places, the first we got passed as he was occupied by three Spanish cyclists, however, we were caught on the way back to share a cup of çay (free we thought) with two American ladies.  We had an interesting conversation with them and then decided to buy some of his dried fruit as a ‘thank you’ half a kilo of mixed 10TL, plus 2TL for the tea!  We were hooked and played like two flounders.  The second at the top of a long valley walk, he had loads of ‘clients’, ‘How much’ we asked, 1TL was the answer, ok we said.  Hassan the tea man was fabo, 3 of languages we heard whilst there.  He has a pet turtle living up a tree, sshh he said to Meg he is asleep, bet it’s a tortoise Megan said, turtles live in water, so up the short ladder she climbs and there in a nook is a stone tortoise, one more snagged!

No Giggling!

Moving About

New Storage Box for Pinecones

Leaving Dikencik behind us, we are on another overnight bus, to Göreme in Cappadocia.  I think back to our time with Ayse and Cengiz and wonder what we will remember most about our time there.  The pine trees set in the hills and the wind sighing through them, the clear blue skies and the Bee Eaters trilling in the mornings and of course the company of new friends, who again we leave behind, with promises to try and return.

Briggete and Megan Scrabble Challenge

We’ll miss the animals; dogs, Rita and Pasha.  The cats, especially ‘Mummy Cat’ and her new litter, although for me, of all the cats, it’s ‘Himself’, a young male cat, one of four, of about four or five months old.  He is brave, caught snakes, but he will have to leave when at about 1 year old he will challenge the big white male and be driven off into the forest.  Such is life for the semi feral cats of the forest.  

'Himself' and Chris (I'm wearing the hat)

Then there are the chickens, although their number is minus one since we arrived.  A young cockerel was trying to gain the upper hand (or beak) and the older cock was having none of, it he made his life a misery so Megan and I beheaded him and put him in the pot, Coq au Vin, lovely.  The chicken’s queen was Megan, you should have seen them following her, but they have a new queen now, Brigitte Mol from Australia, another friend to visit down under next year. 

The Killing Ground

Chicken awaiting preparation

Everyone says we must visit Cappadocia before leaving Turkey, so that is where we are off to, then Istanbul, Safranbolu and Ankara.  Cappadocia is the region where the rock formations are like fairy towers, people have carved out houses and cities in them.  Sounds interesting, we shall find out soon, if you look it up on the net you will see what we mean.

It seems we cannot get away from celebrations, there was another wedding last weekend, friends of Ayse and Cengiz (they actually introduced the couple).   We helped with the preparations and during the Saturday evening party.

Pine Clad Hills

So once again with sadness and excitement we move on. 

Dikencik 2

New Born

Twenty two hours on a bus; scorpion stings, infected lower leg from insect bites, are run of the mill for hardened travellers like ourselves, but five kittens being born in the middle of the night is enough to soften the hardiest of travellers.  Midwife Megan sprang into action, rescuing the two firstborn from roll of loft insulation, then looking on as the rest emerged.  The hard worker didn’t need anything, Megan and I needed a cup of tea!  Megan demanded I donate a tee-shirt for the new arrivals to make them comfy which I gladly did.  The infected lower leg was treated with painful injections of antibiotics just in time; otherwise I would have to have had it amputated.  Well, I would have eventually, if antibiotics hadn’t been invented or, is it discovered, what the heck I had them anyway.

One week old

It is very beautiful here, the pine clad hills all around, and in the mornings we can hear and see above the pines, Bee Eaters flying around, trilling away.  We are in a smallish clearing in the forest, Ayse and Cengiz have two houses, three if you count the old farm cottage where we sleep, one of the houses sleeps ten and is rented out, a group of Russians had it when we arrived.  Their home also has rooms to rent like a B & B; there is also swimming pool for which I am the current pool boy – first job in the mornings.  We do a variety of jobs, cleaning, tidying, and helping to serve meals.  We also have ‘projects’ Meg is creating decorations for an upcoming wedding; I have made various things including a recycling area.

Recycle

Meg and the chickens

Time is a strange commodity for us, with no fixed weekends and we take time off when we can.  Our present Helpx day is quiet long but that is compensated for, for example our hosts paid for a day boat trip around the islands near Fethiye;  lots of swimming in the sea and a lunch thrown in, we had a great day.  Our hosts are very nice and it is peaceful here, time seems to stand still and rush by at the same time.  It seems like we have been away for ever but at the same time, no time at all and nearly five months have gone by!

We stay in Turkey for three weeks after we leave here and we have booked flights to … no that will have to wait for another Blog, bye.

View from Dikencik

Dikencik

Mavi Konak Hotel

The evening is warm as I sit here composing the latest blog, wondering how many people out there read it.  We know the family does, we also know some people are struggling to leave a comment.  If you are a registered ‘friend’, when you open the blog sign in first and it might improve your chances of saying something.  If you are not a ‘friend’ and do not want to be, we would still like to hear from you, please e-mail us on either chris@chrisvickery.co.uk or meganulrika@hotmail.com  with comments and if you think we don’t know you, explain how you found out about the blog, thanks.

The landing outside our room

Meg Embroidering

We left the Muses House and spent a couple of nights in Muğla (Moolah) in a Ottoman courtyard house now  a small guesthouse with five bedrooms, it is owned by a German couple, who were away, and we were looked after by a young German volunteer!  The town is not really a tourist spot (all the more reason to visit), a great old town with all sorts of shops/businesses – sheet metal, leather, blacksmith and a barbers, well more than one barber, I think the average Turkish male has his hair cut every other day and a shave.  Talking of which I needed a beard trim and Meg wanted to see me have a shave as well, the whole works, lather, cut throat razor and everything.  

The Shave

'The Donkey Down Dere' - Tied

Blog Writing

Anyway Muğla was good, we then caught, yet another bus, to Fethiye where we were picked up by Ayse and Cengiz our new Helpx hosts.

This a different area of Turkey now, on the Mediterranean coast, and we are 700m up in the hills, where the pine clad slopes are a little cooler in the evenings, still very hot during the day.  Our first couple of days turned out be very eventful, we were interviewed for Turkish television for a magazine programme for a slot about volunteering, it will shown next week - Tuesday or Wednesday – we are trying to get a copy.  Then the next morning Megan trod on a scorpion just outside our door (we are in separate quarters to our hosts) and was stung, then had to go to the health centre for anti-venom and antihistamine injections, one on each cheek, she is ok, by the way the scorpion died…….!  

The Offender

TV Star

There seems to be lots to do, both here and around the area, so we will be kept busy for the next three weeks, already been here for nearly a week and we can’t believe how fast time is moving.  Went for a swim in the Med this morning with our hosts then breakfast, the water was smooth and as warm as a bath, fabulous. 

The Med