Archive for May, 2009

I woke up a little later than usual, rousing myself around 10am instead of 8. It felt good and I wasn’t worried. I had 3 nights here and on Monday morning I would head down to Izmir to see Ephesus. I then plan to take the long trek back to Bulgaria and the lands where the dollar is stronger.

I haven’t done so well financially on this part. Each day it costs me more to travel and eat on different currencies. In addition, I discovered that although the Turkish signs say there is a student rate, in high season (that would be now) it is not the case. Often, right next to the sign proclaiming 5 YTL instead of 20 for students, there’s another that proclaims in a larger font ‘THERE IS NO STUDENT DISCOUNT’… Unfortunate for my wallet. Still 20 YTL for the Hagia Sofia is nothing compared to the memory that will last for my entire life. The 10 to see the cistern that has fed Istanbul water since the 5th century is a price I gladly paid. However, the 40 YTL to see Dolhambaca Palace was something I couldn’t bring myself to do… especially when the student price was listed at 1 YTL …right next to the sign proclaiming in large white letters that there wasn’t a student discount. It strongly discouraged my entry.

Hagia sofia is 20 times as shocking as the Blue Mosque. Even though it was under restoration and the dome was covered in scaffolding, the parts of it that were open were magnificent. Ancient tile work extolling the detail and beauty of flowers, calligraphy, and flowing designs are plastered into the wall and where they have faded, simpler designs have been painted over their remnants. Finding the ancient beauty breaking through the simpler newer work is an adventure with beauty and satisfaction as its reward. The most startling thing about Hagia Sofia is that as you walk through the sections of the church you see its transition to a mosque…the hanging of giant pendants of Islamic calligraphy and in the darkened marble you notice that the crosses have been etched off the walls. The large orthodox and crusader crosses have been scratched or dissolved off the walls, leaving a ghostly image of them in the marble…a thoroughly chilling effect. In addition, Hagia Sofia is a much darker edifice than the mosques surrounding it. Darker paints, metals and imagery surround you in the walls.

Hagia Sofia and the Blue mosque are must sees!

From there I ventured out to the Burned Column and then took the metro across the new bridge north toward the Bosporus bridge. I got kumpir at Otakoy…a huge baked potato stuffed with whatever you want…and then took a ferry across the bay into Asia. The Asian side didn’t offer much to see but it did give me the chance to watch the sun set behind the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia. Another experience that has been unparalleled.

As the sun settled into the haze of the city the horizon lit up. Orange tendrils broke from the earth like serpents during rain. They climbed into the sky and soon their reddened brothers followed their path. The blood red sun changed the horizon into a glowing bed of embers settling behind the mosques and etching them into the horizon. The colors changed from orange, to red, to deep dark burgandy to black. Then the city erupted in its own light, replacing the warmth of the sun with cold industrial lighting.

I headed back across the Bosporus bridge and have now crossed into Asia by land and by sea. The next time will be by bus as I head to Izmir and then I hope by Plane when I head for the Orient.

I returned to Istanbul’s nightlife, found myself a waterpipe and tea bar, settled in, and enjoyed the atmosphere until I started back toward my hotel. I decided on a taxi feeling a little lightheaded after the hookah and when I told the driver to take me back to my hotel he asked if I had a card. I gave him the card with a map on the back and he said no problem no problem… little did I know that he had no idea where we were going. We sped off into the Turkish night until we returned to the University area. There he proceeded to ask every other cab driver he passed for directions.

I couldn’t help but laugh the entire trip chuckling about how much fun it was to be in Istanbul taking a cab ride with a cabby who had no idea where he was going.Something about the situation just made it entirely too entertaining. I finally recognized another hotel and told the cabby to stop. I paid him 3/4 of the fare telling him that he had wasted at least 3/4s of it asking for directions and driving around trying to find the hotel. I then headed off on foot back toward my destination. I reached the hotel, grabbed my key, climbed up to my room and fell sound asleep.

Istanbul is a wonderful city. Compact but sprawling the european side of the city is chock full of humanity and stuff. every corner every window every store is stuffed full of trinkets, bronze, silver, pewter, tin, steel, plastic, glass, anything you can think of theres a store with thousands of it.

I arrived at the train station and gave a call to Senol a brother to a friend of Korhan, a friend of mine in the states. He sent someone from a hotel he had arranged for me to pick me up and I was guided through the city to the metro and then from the metro I was guided to the hotel lobby. After some fierce negotiation I arranged a room for 40 YTL (Very reasonable) and settled in. I dropped my bags changed my undershirt and headed out into the city. My first desire was to wander and I dropped the map at home and just walked. After getting myself throughly lost I found the University and the Mosque behind it.

I wandered through the mosque and then headed back to the University to get some pictures of the campus. unfortunately for me the campus is for students and faculty only… this is evidenced by the armed guards checking your student ID. having to settle with pictures through the great stone gates I wandered on toward the spice market. I found the spice bazaar and wandered through its narrow streets – stuffed to the brink with every type of item you can imagine, from fruit shaped soaps to pungent herbs and spices, even the occasional electronics store. I wandered through the market for about an hour before finally reaching the light of day. breathing in clear air I settled myself and headed to the New bridge and the bosphorus straight. from there I swung right and headed for the giant mosque near the train station. I entered the mosque and admired once again the clean geometric lines and caligraphy adorning the building. exiting I headed back out into the city I wandered back along the tramway and found my way to the blue mosque. I wandered inside and was blow away by the beauty and intricacy of it. I had to sit down and center myself to begin to absorb and understand the intricacies of the mosque and its writings. it is a beautiful, careful, and special place. Each tile seems etched as a goldsmith doing his finest life’s work.

I sat stunned for I don’t know how long before I walked through and then on. The other thing about mosques that I really enjoy is that they are all about Light and open space. I could admire and enjoy every facet of the mosque because it was well light and open, everywhere fell bright warm light reflecting from the interwoven blue and orange, tan, and white colours.

from there I headed out along the Hippodrome and the German fountain. I came across the Serpent pillar and the beautiful and perfectly preserved egyptian obelisk brought to Istanbul in 550bc.

From that point I headed back into the city searching for an Internet Cafe. I found one and did a cursory upload of Edirne and Istanbul 1. wrote a catch up blog and headed back out into Istanbul’s nightlife. I wandered home and crashed for the night satisfied and ready for a good nights sleep.

Well, for starters please excuse my grammer and typıng errors. Ill have to come back through when Ive got a word edıtıng program and fıx them but as ıt stands ım a lıttle SOL haha. So Im typıng ın the browser on a foreıgn keyboard. No excuse I know! Ahh well.

Edirne is a beautiful city, small and compact while having a strong turkish character. With its great mosque dominating the skyline, turkish bath and long indoor bazaar Edirne was a good entry point to turkey. Its just right to ease yourself into turkish culture without feeling overwhelmed and the population, dominated by the university of 20,000 students provides a younger crowd. Although there isn’t much nightlife in Edirne the beauty of the city and the strong turkish character combined with its historical value as the Turkish capital before constantinople was captured make the city a gem in northern turkey. in addition it has influences from both the greek ( the city was once called Adrianoupolous after its founder Hadrian) and its bulgarian borders.

I settled into my favorite spot in Edirne – the London Cafe centrally located outside the city’s bazaar and placed directly next to the memorial fountain. the bronze center piece is gorgeous. on each side facing down the main street are a man and a woman in casual-semi formal dress. one side they are offering an olive branch and on the other they are releasing doves. Beautiful. I had my first Turkish coffee there – served with its own tin and pewter service it was excellent. it far outweighs the coffee ive had in Istanbul. in addition I became a fan of the apple tea.

I spent a good portion of my two days louging in the chairs by the fountain and watching turkish children and adults wander through the main street. children playing in the water of the fountain and college age folks meeting, talking, playing, and eating. a great cultural introduction.

The Health museum in Edirne is something to see. Small and under restoration it is still a must. filled with period manniquins demonstrating the schooling and practice of medicine hundreds of years ago it is excellently designed and pieced together. I hope you enjoy my foto’s from my Edirne Album on Facebook.

The Mosque itself is simple but beautiful, clean clear caligraphy and geometric designs wash over the cieling and body of the mosque while the quiet carpeted floors offer a brief respite from the cold hard cobblestone streets outside.

the Turkish bath consists of the traditional rooms, cold, warm, and Hot. I got a tour and will definitly get a bath when I return to Edirne on my way to Sofia. it looks amazing.

I spent my last night in Edirne with two turkish girls, who had edged their way closer to my table as I enjoyed my tea. they abashedly asked if they could join me to practice their english. I was happy for the company and we talked for a good hour or two before they suggested we head to a blues club. I headed out with them and they treated me to a pint. On the whole, good conversation, warm company and good beer.

I wandered home around midnight and prepared for my 6am trek to the train station at the far reachs of Edirne. I was headed to Istanbul!

Leavıng Kalabaka behınd I took the 2:00 bus to Trıkala and from there argued my way onto a supposedly full bus headed to Thessolonıkı. Thessolonıkı was an ınterestıng cıty but was not quıte to my taste. I enjoyed the lıttle tıme I spent there but hıghtaıled ıt out after only 2 nıghts. I dıdnt fınd the people overly frıendly nor dıd I fınd the cıty appealıng. Dırty and ındustrıal ıt was mıssıng somethıng I was seekıng. so I headed north catchıng the bus to Souflı a tıny lıttle vıllage on the land path to Edırne. Id wanted to see some of the mountaınous vıllages ın Thrace and decıded that Souflı and the natıonal forest at Dadıa were the places to do ıt. I got settled ınto Souflı after bargaınıng for a hotel – 23 euro… some bargaın. regardless I headed up to my room and slept off the days travels. I woke 6 am the next mornıng to catch the fırst bus to Dadıa natıonal forest. Excıted to be ın another beautıful place surrounded by nature and not ındustry I waıted patıently at the bus statıon. Id made sure to ask the tıcket guy to poınt out the bus to Dadıa to me and when he sıgnaled me on the bus and gave a wınk and a wave I hopped on and headed off. It turns out for the second tıme that week Id been mıslead. I was now on a bus toward Orestıada and had mıssed the mornıng bus. The drıver asked me ıf I wanted to get off at the next cıty and take the bus back to catch the dadıa bus at 1:30pm but beıng 7:15 ın the mornıng I decıded Id just push on. I arrıved ın Orestıada and caught another connectıng bus to a small greek vıllage on the turkısh border. From there I walked the kılometer and a half to greek customs and then the Kılometer through a barbed wıre narrow ghetto to the Turkısh sıde.

Keep ın Mınd Ive been ın Europe sınce January and that Ive been travelıng and spendıng Euro not USD. addıtıonally I was comıng across the border from an EU state whıch uses the Euro at a land locked ıntersectıon wıthout ınternatıonal aır coverage. Wıth these thıngs ın mınd ımagıne my surprıse when the turkısh border guards told me I had to pay for the vısa ($20) ın Unıted States Greenbacks. theır ıdea of an explanatıon was to force the pad full of vısas at me and poınt at the prıce ($20) wrıtten at the bottom.

When I explaıned that Id been travelıng ın europe for over fıve months and had been usıng exclusıvely Euro or natıve currencys the response I receıeved was, How strange! and Amerıcan wıthout Dollars??

Frustrated and dollarless they sent me BACK across the no mans land to greece and told me to go to the duty free shop and ask ıf they had dollars. I walked the Kılometer back and entered the shop. she saıd she had a 5 and that was ıt. Pıssed I walked over to Greek customs and asked them, all the whıle under the watchful eye of heavıly armed border polıce and mılıtary. They told me Id have to take an hour and a half bus rıde BACK to Orestıada to fınd a bank that could gıve me dollars. My fervıd response was that through argument I would prevaıl.

Walkıng for the Thırd Kılometer back across No mans land. Past more armed bunkers and barbed wıre I came back to the Turkısh customs. I noted the dıffıcultıes fındıng dollars and saıd that ıt was ımpossıble. I then asked for the days paper so I could get the conversıon rate and pay them ın Euroç they wouldent accept that alternatıve and ınstead after much arguıng behınd theır plated glass stuck a European Unıon Vısa ın my Passport – took 15 euro and shooed me along.

So, I now have an Illegal Vısa, reserved for EU cıtızens who enter Turkey stamped and glued ınto my US passport. I cant waıt for the explanatıon when I head to Bulgarıa.

I hopped along for about 2KM and then flagged a taxı – speakıng no common languages we headed to a local hıghschool where four young gırls were coaxed out to try an translate between us. I convınced hım to take me to the bus statıon that would allow me to take a bus to the cıty center. Exausted I caught the bus for 1 YTL and shuffled my way to tourıst ınformatıon… whıch was convıentely closed.

Frustrated and tıred I slumped down ın a Cafe and had some Kofte (sausage lıke beef stuff). I paıd the man and waıted for Tourıst ınfo to open. It reopened later that afternoon and I got ınformatıon and a map. Two hotel suggestıons and a place to head for Internet.

I crashed out at the Hotel Saray, dropped my gear and headed back out to vısıt the mosques and center of the cıty. I found a great lıttle cafe rıght ın the mıddle of the cıty and made myself at home. After seeıng the mosques and fındıng a comfy spot at the Cafe I ordered a turkısh coffee and spent the afternoon watchıng maınstreet.

The bus drops me in Kalabaka around 11pm. Once again I’m hitting a city that’s been closed since five. I chuckle and wander down the middle of the dusty street. to my left jutting from the earth stand the great natural monuments upon which the monasterys of Meteora lie.

I wander up a small side street following signs to the hotel astoria. it seemed like the best choice considering it was the only sign I saw walking the length of the main road. I find the owners sitting out front with a bottle of Ouzo and smoking cigaretts, the woman nudges her husband who rustles himself out of his chair and leads me inside. I motion I’d like a room for 1 night, and then ask him about price, rubbing my index finger with my middle and ring fingers, bus – by honking an air horn and motorboating to make the sound effects and then Meteora by pointing up to the flood lights casting an eerie glow on the rockface. 20 euro spent and a room and clean shower found with information on the bus to Meteora and to Trikala the next day I crashed exausted and ready for a break.

I oversleep my alarm and miss the 8:30 bus. The next one is at 2:30. I decide to walk. its 9:15 when I start and I make my way across the city. I find the bus depot and bargin with a cabby, he’ll take me to the top for 7 euro. frustrated but not knowing how far I decide to go for it. I hop in and off we go. 2km and some curvey roads behind us we make it to the top of the Meteora. I pay him and make the mental decision to walk back down when I’m finished.

the first monastery I enter is beautiful, with freshly painted fresco’s (the monks repaint them much to Unesco’s displeasure) and perfectly kept grounds… sitting hundreds of feet abouve the valley floor on pillars of sedementary rock. Its beautiful, magnificent… what a treat. I walk between four of the five (skipped the nunnery because it was on a flat jutt of rock not on a pillar) and experience the beauty and spiritual energy of the place. Orthodox priests abound, skirts are obliged and each monastery is 2 euro. a small price to pay for something so beautiful.

walking between the different monasterys I get a feel for the land as well. it’s so beautiful here, although Its also hot and sweaty!

Each Monastery has it’s own rope and pulley system, developed to keep the monks safe from war and violence of heathens. Each monastery is a fortress, beautiful, isolated, and easily defended.

The view from the first Monastery:

Rope Pulley:

Holy Monastery of the Meteora: Transfiguration of Christ: this is the biggest and most ornate of the monasterys and it also houses the monk’s Ossuary,

The Ossuary:

As I hiked back down toward the city I came to the final Monastery of my decent:

And I passed an overlook where I took some Boot shot in Honor of Virtual Wayfarer

Having doused my head in the spring waters rising from within the monoliths, I started my decent, a thumb stuck up and one foot pressing infront of the other. A car passed with an Orthodox priest and his driver, they stopped and took me about a 1/4 of a kilometer before they turned off the main road and headed back toward the monasterys, as I continued on my walk a Biker on a Harley passed and stopped. I hopped on the back and caught a ride almost half way back to Kalabaka, the curving and perilous roads taken at a good clip on the back of a Harley is an experience not easily or quickly forgotten.

I then caught a ride back with a greek couple who dropped me in the city. I collected my bags and started the journey to Trikala, and eventually that night to Thessoloniki.

P.S. Traveling on a sunday is a bad idea. three times now I’ve told myself not to do it, hahahah!

Metsovo: A natural beauty in the northern mountains of Greece. Gorgeous, with spring showers and wood and stone houses lining narrow cobblestone streets. Fog rising from the valley into the city and best of all, A bear statue!

I get off the bus to the square containing that bear statue and from there begin walking the streets. Both packs on and struggling against the slick stone I make my way to an open park built into a plateau in the center of the city. from there reach gorgeous views of the green valleys and the exquisite nature of Metsovo. It’s beautiful and tranquil here and I sit for hours lying against my pack enjoying the sun and smells. then the weather turns and I get another treat – a spring shower comes and inundates the city in fog and water. I pick up my umbrella and head up to the head of the city. a 20 minute climb through winding streets:

But with a gorgeous payoff at the top:

And the reaching view down on the city:

I take in the view as the rain subsides and then start snapping foto’s. minutes later I catch the first glimpse of fog rising up through the valley. I take in the atmosphere and then start the hike down into the city.

From Metsovo there are two buses, back to Ioannina… Not wanting to backtrack I hired a taxi for 4.50 euro to take me to the highway, got him to call the bus station and at 8pm waited on the side of the highway for a bus that may or may not have gotten the order to pick me up. Buses here don’t really stop for flag fares. I wait for an hour until 9 pm rolls by and then start putting my hand out looking to hitchhike. a car stops around 9:15 but they’re headed to Trikala not Kalabaka. I’m losing hope, the bus was supposed to arrive around 8:15. It roars out of the corner and heads stright for me at 9:45. Relieved and startled I grab my bags and jump on. I’m off to Kalabaka.

I caught a 10:00 night bus headed to Athens from the bus station down at the base of Gjirokastra. After figuring out how to pay in euro (I wanted to get rid of my Leke but the bus driver would have none of it), I managed to grab a ticket and stuff myself on board. Wedged into the seat I got comfortable and began the journey across the southern edge of Albania into northern greece, away from the coast and in toward th heartlands. I managed some broken english conversations with a few greeks on the bus and found a good conversation to join. we talked about Crete, Patras, and the ocean. sharing swigs of Rocky from an old 2 liter coke bottle. the alcohol was strong and the conversation passionate. To hear a greek speak of their home with such fervor was excellent. forty minutes later we reached the border and passed through customs, albania searched the bus with dogs and went through our bags, greece checked our passports and did a glance through before waving us on. the customs agent bothered me about where I’d been traveling and what citys I went to in Albania. I described where I’d gone and explained what I was doing. he stamped my passport and we were off. unbeknownst to be the big buses that head to athens don’t actually enter Ioannina… they drop off on the furthest outskirt of the city on the ring road next to the airport.

midnight, midnight 20, midnight 30…. long walk. the airport was closed, the taxi stands dark, the buses shut down for the night. I began my walk toward the city center… I hoped. I just had to guess that the brighter lights up ahead represented the city. There was very little traffic. that was a nice releif at least I didn’t have to worry about being hit. walking along the side of the road I heard a car roar to life and turned to see a taxi screaming by. I stuck out my hand instinctivley and he squealed into a lower gear and slowed the vehicle about 10 meters ahead of me. rolling to a stop he waved me up to the taxi. 4 euro to the center. Alright better than walking. I hopped in and we rolled along to a hotel a friend had suggested in Tirane. Hotel paris… not great, but clean.

Bed’s too damned small, but the price is right 28 euro. Greece is damned expensive. Had my own bathroom, tv, bed, closet… alright that’ll do. I crashed and woke up early the next morning at 8. gotta walk this city i thought to myself. took a shower and rolled back into bed… half an hour I mumbled.

10:15 – Alright I’m up. searching for information desk, internet cafe, computer repair shop, get some walking down. spend friday walking the city, find information… closed, internet cafe – get online and get my first uploads in weeks in. That’s exciting finally got some pictures up. head to a repair shop, leave my computer for the day for him to check out. Call at 8:30pm says he can fix it… on Tuesday. that options out. I keep walking. wander down to the lake, through the old city, get a good Gyro… mmmmn so good.

Back to the hotel, computer in hand, the evenings starting but I’m exausted.

Saturday morning, wander the city, make a decision to get out. walk to the bus station and take off, I’m headed to Metsovo and then Kalabaka to see Meteora!

I can only let my video’s describe this one. the castle at the top of the city is a Unesco world heritage site and is really stunning. beautiful and tranquil it is beyond my ability to describe right now.

I apologize for how short these updates have been. I have yet to find a location to repair my computer and more so I have not found a spot I can sit and write. I’ve been trying to type quickly while attempting (failing) to upload fotos and videos. I’m nearly 1000 photo’s behind and have almost an hour of video that I have been unable to upload. its frustrating and I’m unsure of what options I have.

Know that I will fill in more detail once I have the opportunity but I need to write these summaries to keep the major memories fresh while I search!

Our Bus took us to Ulcinej, I’d met a swede and a young canadian on the bus to Ulcinej who were also on their way to Tirane but had decided to stop along the way in Schoder. Schoder is a town just south of the Crna Gora/Albania border. its a decent sized city but the real attraction is an ancient fortress built up above the city. the fortress looks out over the plains and ruefully watches the city. in the past she was part of a great signal system which would warn Albania of impending attack.

From Ulcinej we found a taxi driver willing to drive us the hour and a half to Schoder for 20 Euro. split three ways we each payed 6.20Euro. Not bad for a private car and boarder crossing. we crossed the border and then headed to Schoder. our taxi driver dropped us off at the foot of the mountain at the top of which lay the attraction we’d come to see. Rozafa Castle. we paid our taxi driver and then wandered up the trash filled dirt streets to find the cobblestone path leading up to the ancient gates of the castle.

Albania is a country filled to the brim with natural beauty, but the quality of the life there is awful. the streets are crumbling and lined with garbage, there is no area not filled with plastic, paper and refuse. the amount of offal that is thrown into the environment is stunning. it is a tragedy. we marched up the slick cobblestone to Rozafa and entered through its great gates. we discovered that we had the castle to ourselves and took our time climbing the battlements, exploring the ruins and enjoying the beautiful clear view. as we wandered we discovered a small cafe set into the far corner of Rozafa and found one of its most amazing secrets. the owners of the cafe, dressed in traditional clothing offered to show us something amazing. our Swedish traveling companion had asked him if there was something special to see.

the young man lead us back through the kitchen of the cafe, and then down into one of the open courtyards of the castle proper. there we passed through a large chain link, reinforced fence, then past two guard dogs, and past a wooden fence. once in the open area of the courtyard he lead us back into the corner where there sat a thick rusted iron cage. then it caught our eyes. Inside the cage sat two big browns. to find two big brown bears sitting in a ruined castle courtyard in Albania… now thats a treat!

marveling at the curiosity and beauty of the bears, with healthy coats, no scars or damage to their noses – pawing at the cage, lifting themselves up to say hello.

stunned we returned to the cafe and enjoyed cool drinks reflecting on the experience we had just discovered. we marched back down the slick cobblestone and into the city. we were surrounded by children, one deaf, who guided us to the bus station and helped us flag a mini-bus for the four hour ride to Tirane.

We met an Albanian man, who’d never finished his education but knew decent english, although mostly slang, from working in England. he adopted us and five beers and a few hours later he lead us to a cafe where he again bought us a round. there we waited as his friend came and picked us up. we then wandered around the embassy district of Tirane searching for our hostel. we ended up leaving our new friends and wandering up the streets until we stumbled upon the hostel.

the hostel was wonderful, roomy and wedged between the Italian residence and another embassy. we sat around the bench talking and enjoying the time we had there and then retired for the night.

the next morning I made the decision to head to Gjirokastra and explore the city and its fortress before crossing the boarder on a night bus to Athens and stopping off in Ioannia.