It's been nearly 6 months since i finished my Erasmus place ment, the end of it tailing away into somewhat of anti-climax of emotions, sadness at having to leave a place which had been home for nearly a year and the eagerness to return to normality. Not all quite went to plan, my mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer not long after i came back, which was another spanner in the works, but after the initial shock, it has helped us all become more ponderous and thoughtful, although it is something that you would never wish on even the worstest of enemies!
Having now settled back in at the University of Leicester, preparing to work hard for my final year, I've reminisced more about Turkey than ever, especially with preparing for the International fair. I guess i never had the opportunity to think about, miss, evaluate or feel nostalgic about my time in Turkey, may not have been long enough, or it may have just got swept aside by a whirlwind of sorrow and troubles. Looking back, it was a fantastic experience, great opportunity, to live, feel and love another culture and of course, I'd do it all over again! I'd like to think i'd do certain things differently but i'm not so sure I actually would. There were times when I cursed the place but at the end of the day, it will always have a place in my heart. It's funny, never thought i'd really miss it, weird how things come full circle.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Fast & Furious in Cappadocia
On Thursday morning we took the train to Ankara, where we then caught a bus which went to Cappadocia, the journey lasted around 9 hours with waiting for buses, so we arrived in Goreme, a town in the heart of Cappadocia just before evening. We then found a hostel for 15 liras a night and set about checking out the local scenery. The hostel was nice, clean and set in a cave as many of the hotels/hostels are in Cappadocia but we were never quite sure who was a guest and who was staff, we found a Japanese guy, who was travelling around the world, serving us breakfast! Also met a Welsh guy, who quit his job to see the World, he has done 9 countries in 3 weeks, a very interesting character!
We hit the sack quite early, although i found it tough to sleep due to the amount of snoring in the Dorm, not pleasant! Made me soo glad that I don't snore myself. We woke up and planned on hiring motorbikes for the day but the owner of the hotel advised us to rent a car instead as we were planning to go quite far and it would cost the same as the tour of that area. Having not driven for a while i jumped at the chance! The car was a Renault Symbol and the interior was much the same as my Clio back in the UK, apart from the fact that the steering wheel was on the other side. It was the first time i had driven on the right hand side, but i was soon into my stride, checking out what the car could do! It was fun and we drove down to see one of the underground cities, which is not recommended for those who are claustrophobic, as there were a couple of tight squeezes. It was a city built underground back in the times of the Byzantine Empire, to protect civilians from invading armies. Soon after, we drove to a small village called Belirsirma, which was as rural as it gets! Very refreshing however and we then moved on to Ihlara valley. We made a few more stops at some monuments and old churches, aswell as another underground city. We then made our way back, I loved driving on the empty roads, made some sandwiches and walked around Goreme.
The following day we planned to use the mini bus transport service they had in Goreme, however Mario, one of the guys who came, was adamant he wanted to hire motorbikes, so we did! They were Mopeds really, but having never really driven one, and then driving them on dirt tracks and up mountains, It was much more of an adrenaline rush then it may seem! With the bikes we did a radius of about 20 km around Goreme, going off road and into dirt tracks and along the highways around the mountains and up into the mountains. It was a great experience, although it gets quite cold even with the sun shinning. We definitely conquered most of what there was to see.
The journey home was more than eventful, the two Spanish guys wanted to hitchhike, but we were such amateurs, in the end we settled on buses and trains. We eventually got back home around 2am. Cappadocia, calm, dusty and enough to do, definitely worth a visit.
We hit the sack quite early, although i found it tough to sleep due to the amount of snoring in the Dorm, not pleasant! Made me soo glad that I don't snore myself. We woke up and planned on hiring motorbikes for the day but the owner of the hotel advised us to rent a car instead as we were planning to go quite far and it would cost the same as the tour of that area. Having not driven for a while i jumped at the chance! The car was a Renault Symbol and the interior was much the same as my Clio back in the UK, apart from the fact that the steering wheel was on the other side. It was the first time i had driven on the right hand side, but i was soon into my stride, checking out what the car could do! It was fun and we drove down to see one of the underground cities, which is not recommended for those who are claustrophobic, as there were a couple of tight squeezes. It was a city built underground back in the times of the Byzantine Empire, to protect civilians from invading armies. Soon after, we drove to a small village called Belirsirma, which was as rural as it gets! Very refreshing however and we then moved on to Ihlara valley. We made a few more stops at some monuments and old churches, aswell as another underground city. We then made our way back, I loved driving on the empty roads, made some sandwiches and walked around Goreme.
The following day we planned to use the mini bus transport service they had in Goreme, however Mario, one of the guys who came, was adamant he wanted to hire motorbikes, so we did! They were Mopeds really, but having never really driven one, and then driving them on dirt tracks and up mountains, It was much more of an adrenaline rush then it may seem! With the bikes we did a radius of about 20 km around Goreme, going off road and into dirt tracks and along the highways around the mountains and up into the mountains. It was a great experience, although it gets quite cold even with the sun shinning. We definitely conquered most of what there was to see.
The journey home was more than eventful, the two Spanish guys wanted to hitchhike, but we were such amateurs, in the end we settled on buses and trains. We eventually got back home around 2am. Cappadocia, calm, dusty and enough to do, definitely worth a visit.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Travels around Greece
Greece was a pleasant experience for the most part, with very cosmopolitan areas complimented by the historical sights. The first city we stayed in was Thessaloniki, which is greece's 2nd city, we managed to find a nice hotel for 15 euros a night and considering we arrived so late, we snapped it up! There were nice restaurants and the most significant of the historical monuments was the White Tower or sometimes known as the Bloody Tower, which was a building used by the Ottoman's to kill young Greek boys or house them there as slaves. The city was also the birthplace of Kemal Ataturk, although it wasn't really high on my agenda to see his house, and as we didn't have time, we never went. I was also introduced to a drink called the Frappe, no matter where you go in Greece i'm reassured that everybody drinks this coffee based drink, why? I'm not too sure. It is basically nescafe mixed with sugar, milk, cold water and ice. Although i drank more than one, there was nothing appealing about it apart from the fact that everyone else was drinking one!
When we arrived in Athens, we were left with the familiar predicament of having no where to stay, but we found some travelling Canadians and basically followed them to their hostel. It was based in the mother of all ghettos! Walking down the street we saw a man with a needle in his arm, numerous eastern European prostitutes. As a son of immigration, i was bewildered to see how so many immigrants were living, basically on the street, and it was completely against my expectations. There were Africans, Arabs, Asians, Eastern Europeans, yet they were all living in terrible conditions. I spoke to a few of the Bangladeshi, who worked on the street selling souvenirs and they told me that they stay and work for 6 months, and afterwards spend 6 months living well in Bangladesh and being able to provide food and education for their children. At times it was hard to see.
One particular incident came on the final day, when we were walking through the 'tourist shopping' area and an immigrant had sat down on the floor, with the sunglasses he wanted to sell, when the owner of the shop he was outside of, came out and shouted at him in Greek, gave him two swift jabs to the jaw and threw him on the floor. It was unreal. I felt for that guy. For some life isn't filled with promise, as is with our own, Alhamdulilah we're more than blessed.
Acropolis, the ancient Greek ruins, was an amazing sight as were the many other greek ruins we visited around the city. Although not as pleasant as Thessaloniki, Athens had its own aura about it, a city with so much history.
The experience of having to take a bus from Athens to Istanbul, is one i'll never forget and insh'Allah i'll never have to do it again! In the end it had taken us 26 hours to get all the way back to Eskisehir and there were two particular reasons for this absurd journey, or rather the choice of it. Firstly, it was by far the cheapest options, the Greek companies are aware of the appeal of travelling from Greece to turkey or vice vera, so the ferry travel option is very dear, as is the plane or the train! Secondly, we didn't want to get stranded at the border again, hitchhiking across a border, although an experience i'll never forget, it's one i never want to do again!
I'll leave you with a quote from Ancient Greece, by the Philosopher Aristotle:
“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence”
We all have a chance of obtaining it, but Alhamdulilah, some of us more than others.
When we arrived in Athens, we were left with the familiar predicament of having no where to stay, but we found some travelling Canadians and basically followed them to their hostel. It was based in the mother of all ghettos! Walking down the street we saw a man with a needle in his arm, numerous eastern European prostitutes. As a son of immigration, i was bewildered to see how so many immigrants were living, basically on the street, and it was completely against my expectations. There were Africans, Arabs, Asians, Eastern Europeans, yet they were all living in terrible conditions. I spoke to a few of the Bangladeshi, who worked on the street selling souvenirs and they told me that they stay and work for 6 months, and afterwards spend 6 months living well in Bangladesh and being able to provide food and education for their children. At times it was hard to see.
One particular incident came on the final day, when we were walking through the 'tourist shopping' area and an immigrant had sat down on the floor, with the sunglasses he wanted to sell, when the owner of the shop he was outside of, came out and shouted at him in Greek, gave him two swift jabs to the jaw and threw him on the floor. It was unreal. I felt for that guy. For some life isn't filled with promise, as is with our own, Alhamdulilah we're more than blessed.
Acropolis, the ancient Greek ruins, was an amazing sight as were the many other greek ruins we visited around the city. Although not as pleasant as Thessaloniki, Athens had its own aura about it, a city with so much history.
The experience of having to take a bus from Athens to Istanbul, is one i'll never forget and insh'Allah i'll never have to do it again! In the end it had taken us 26 hours to get all the way back to Eskisehir and there were two particular reasons for this absurd journey, or rather the choice of it. Firstly, it was by far the cheapest options, the Greek companies are aware of the appeal of travelling from Greece to turkey or vice vera, so the ferry travel option is very dear, as is the plane or the train! Secondly, we didn't want to get stranded at the border again, hitchhiking across a border, although an experience i'll never forget, it's one i never want to do again!
I'll leave you with a quote from Ancient Greece, by the Philosopher Aristotle:
“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence”
We all have a chance of obtaining it, but Alhamdulilah, some of us more than others.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
A Most Unforgetable Journey.
It is 1.39 am. At roughly 1.27 am yesterday we set off for our journey to Greece and just that alone has been remarkably memorable. Wer arrived in Istanbul this morning and were lucky enough to find a train to Edirne, which we believed had Trains which came straight to Thessaloniki. However, when we got there, we were met by a very dusty, deserted train station, in a town where very few people appeared to speak English. Eventually after a Burger King, which didn't appear to go down well on any of us and had the adverse effect to what we desired, we managed to get a bus to the bus station, where we thought we would be able to take the bus into Greece.
How wrong were we.
When we got there, we were told we had to take a bus to the Turkish town of Kesan, followed by another bus to Ispala, where we could then get to the Border and cross over into Greece. So much for a quick train ride from Edirne. The journey to Keshan took 2 hours and it was around 6pm by this time. We got the next bus to Ispala at 6.30pm and finally got there at around 7pm.
This is when the fun began.
We took a taxi to the border, and just as our taxi disappeared out of sight, we were informed that we could not cross the border without a car and if we attempted to, we would be shot, as the area between the two borders was a military zone. The Officer promptly advised us to hitchhike across the border, the idea of which seemed easier than in practice.
We tried our best to explain to Lorry drivers the predicament we were in, but many weren't willing to offer help, probably due to fear we were illegal immigrants. There was a British guy who was willing to help but wasn't himself crossing the border for a few hours.
And just when our spirits were at their lowest, a guy who appeared Dutch was telling he would be willing to cross us over.
Bear in mind, we had been travelling for roughly 20 hours at this point, If Charles Manson had offered a lift, I doubt any of us would have rejected.
Alhamdulillah, this guy took us across, and it was revealed that he was in fact a German, originally from Chechnya, a pious Muslim and it turned out to be that my first experience of Greece, was praying with him on the side of the motorway. The more amazing thing however, was that he took us all the way to Thessaloniki, 400 km away! He was going there aswell, subhanAllah!
Things were looking bright, a long day seemed to be drawing to a close..
Until we got to the city and couldn't find a Hotel because they were full for the weekend, but we did find one eventually around 1.20am and the first thing I had to do was to right this down, because it has been draining, frustrating and unbelievable at times, it's just that i think it's one of those scenario's you look back on and think "Actually that was kind of cool!"
A night in a Hotel never sounded so appealing.
How wrong were we.
When we got there, we were told we had to take a bus to the Turkish town of Kesan, followed by another bus to Ispala, where we could then get to the Border and cross over into Greece. So much for a quick train ride from Edirne. The journey to Keshan took 2 hours and it was around 6pm by this time. We got the next bus to Ispala at 6.30pm and finally got there at around 7pm.
This is when the fun began.
We took a taxi to the border, and just as our taxi disappeared out of sight, we were informed that we could not cross the border without a car and if we attempted to, we would be shot, as the area between the two borders was a military zone. The Officer promptly advised us to hitchhike across the border, the idea of which seemed easier than in practice.
We tried our best to explain to Lorry drivers the predicament we were in, but many weren't willing to offer help, probably due to fear we were illegal immigrants. There was a British guy who was willing to help but wasn't himself crossing the border for a few hours.
And just when our spirits were at their lowest, a guy who appeared Dutch was telling he would be willing to cross us over.
Bear in mind, we had been travelling for roughly 20 hours at this point, If Charles Manson had offered a lift, I doubt any of us would have rejected.
Alhamdulillah, this guy took us across, and it was revealed that he was in fact a German, originally from Chechnya, a pious Muslim and it turned out to be that my first experience of Greece, was praying with him on the side of the motorway. The more amazing thing however, was that he took us all the way to Thessaloniki, 400 km away! He was going there aswell, subhanAllah!
Things were looking bright, a long day seemed to be drawing to a close..
Until we got to the city and couldn't find a Hotel because they were full for the weekend, but we did find one eventually around 1.20am and the first thing I had to do was to right this down, because it has been draining, frustrating and unbelievable at times, it's just that i think it's one of those scenario's you look back on and think "Actually that was kind of cool!"
A night in a Hotel never sounded so appealing.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Tales from the Old City.
Wow, it's been nearly a month since my last blog post, i am seriously getting lazy at this, i can't say i hadn't been warned though, guess when it is no longer something unusual and its much more a normality then your surroundings blend in, nothing seems as excited because it is all part of the norm and you don't feel the need to comment. I truly feel at home. For now atleast.
One thing caught my eye today as i was walking back from Friday prayers and it was the construction. I have to admit the semi built buildings which have left sand and stones everywhere, are not so much a nuisance but an example of authenticity. There is a very Turkish feel about their construction, as you see them building, it doesn't look as safe as it should and living in an apartment myself, it probably doesn't feel as safe as it should. However, its the sand and stones which caught my attention, i can't explain it, but it brought a wry smile to my face. In England, once a building is built, then there is no evidence left behind of the work, everything is finished off nicely. Here, not really the same, but to me its interesting, unique and shows how Turkey are in the middle. They have the aims and ideas to want to grow like Western/European countries yet in practice their it is the Eastern part of this nations mentality which seems to be the practical side.
By no means is that a dig towards the Eastern countries, I love the Eastern countries, it is a realisation that at times Turkey seems to want to dismiss its Eastern roots, these guys had Ottoman Empire which is a huge part of history and was pretty awesome! But at times its like the rich son who wants to forget his pauper father, or vice versa i guess.
A couple of days, I was speaking to a Turkish man and he had asked me where I had previously travelled to, so i gave him a list including Spain, France x2, Ireland etc, and then came the big question, where would you like to go? So i said my next trip is hopefully to Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, this is where he was quick to point out that these countries are nothing like Turkey! I carried on, as though he hadn't said anything and said how i'd love to go to the far east, maybe Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia etc and he looked astonished! "Why would you go these places??" He asked bemused, he again reiterated that Syria, Lebanon and Jordan are nothing like Turkey and they don't speak English there. I Laughed. I told him how if you're from the West, then you want to see the East, and if you're from the East you want to see the West. I don't want to go to places like the USA or Australia because thats my world, they are the same Capitalist, American imperialist product driven states as my own, and as much as i love it, theres more to the world than that, thats why i wanna go east and see the things that are different from my mundane comfortable world.
I looked at the guy and i told "You're right Turkey is not like those places, but it is just as different to me as those places." I wanted to say, you're from the east so you wanna go the West, theres nothing wrong with that as long as you appreciate what you have, if you cant, fuck the west, contentment is sought after in the heart, not in a place and value of its economy, but i thought it would only confuse him. Last night, i had a vision, I want to go to Africa.
One thing caught my eye today as i was walking back from Friday prayers and it was the construction. I have to admit the semi built buildings which have left sand and stones everywhere, are not so much a nuisance but an example of authenticity. There is a very Turkish feel about their construction, as you see them building, it doesn't look as safe as it should and living in an apartment myself, it probably doesn't feel as safe as it should. However, its the sand and stones which caught my attention, i can't explain it, but it brought a wry smile to my face. In England, once a building is built, then there is no evidence left behind of the work, everything is finished off nicely. Here, not really the same, but to me its interesting, unique and shows how Turkey are in the middle. They have the aims and ideas to want to grow like Western/European countries yet in practice their it is the Eastern part of this nations mentality which seems to be the practical side.
By no means is that a dig towards the Eastern countries, I love the Eastern countries, it is a realisation that at times Turkey seems to want to dismiss its Eastern roots, these guys had Ottoman Empire which is a huge part of history and was pretty awesome! But at times its like the rich son who wants to forget his pauper father, or vice versa i guess.
A couple of days, I was speaking to a Turkish man and he had asked me where I had previously travelled to, so i gave him a list including Spain, France x2, Ireland etc, and then came the big question, where would you like to go? So i said my next trip is hopefully to Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, this is where he was quick to point out that these countries are nothing like Turkey! I carried on, as though he hadn't said anything and said how i'd love to go to the far east, maybe Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia etc and he looked astonished! "Why would you go these places??" He asked bemused, he again reiterated that Syria, Lebanon and Jordan are nothing like Turkey and they don't speak English there. I Laughed. I told him how if you're from the West, then you want to see the East, and if you're from the East you want to see the West. I don't want to go to places like the USA or Australia because thats my world, they are the same Capitalist, American imperialist product driven states as my own, and as much as i love it, theres more to the world than that, thats why i wanna go east and see the things that are different from my mundane comfortable world.
I looked at the guy and i told "You're right Turkey is not like those places, but it is just as different to me as those places." I wanted to say, you're from the east so you wanna go the West, theres nothing wrong with that as long as you appreciate what you have, if you cant, fuck the west, contentment is sought after in the heart, not in a place and value of its economy, but i thought it would only confuse him. Last night, i had a vision, I want to go to Africa.
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