LET'S VISIT AMARANTE TOWN- slide-show

Last weekend, I travelled to Amarante, a little town in the

north of Portugal. Playing golf was one of my main purposes as I had neveLast weekend, I headed to Amarante, a small town in the r played its local course, characterized by small, undulating greens. Part of its attractiveness is its hilly nature. Not an easy course but a very challenging one. The town, a melting pot of history, monuments and nature, is pretty with its particular architectural style, yet it is often affected by several flood events.

 

MADEIRA ISLAND #2 AND LAST - FLOWER FESTIVAL - SLIDE-SHOW

Every year, two weeks after Easter, Madeira’s flower-festival fills the main streets of Funchal’s centre with carpets and other displays of a myriad of flowers and colours.  Spring at its best was over there ... Enjoy!

MADEIRA ISLAND #1 - SLIDE-SHOW

Setting my feet on Madeira Island always pleases me. Brimming with smiles and colour, the island is warm and sunny, though this time clouds had gathered above the golf course, making me and my fellow players soaking wet to the point that not many but a few of them gave up playing. Back to the hotel, the sun was shining...

In the evening, we went to the Gala Ball held within the scope of Madeira Flower Festival. The ambience was colorful, the band not bad and playing all those musics we all knew... a fashion show preceded the opening of the ball by the Governor, a very controversial politician, yet with a very unique sense of humour.  

On the following day, the golf course welcomed us with strong wind and a bit cold but better conditions than on the day before. Our team played against a local one and... not surprisingly, we were defeated by the 'Flintstones', so the team was called. They knew every corner of the course, all the tricks and their strategy was perfect. Next time they will fly to Lisbon and the circumstances will be favourable to us... I do hope so!

No golf on the third day. Time to revisit the city and see some signs of the Flower Festival, the highlight of which had been a parade on the day before. Funchal city was crowded with tourists as I had never seen on my previous visits to the island. After having breathed the atmosphere of the old market, I continued my walk through the artist quarter with its artwork on the doors that had already impressed me when I was over there, in October.  I noticed the decorated doors had remarkably increased in number. Some more interesting than others, yet each and all showing creativity. 

FLYING TO MADEIRA AGAIN....

 

Tomorrow, by this time, I'll be flying to Madeira island, for two different purposes, yet inter-related: the participation in a golf tournament that is going to be held within the scope of the Madeira Flower Festival. The Festival takes place every spring when flowers are at their best. I have been in Madeira for several times but never in spring, let alone at the time of the Flower Festival. Once back home, I'll share with you my long weekend. Meantime, stay well and enjoy your days. 

MY VISIT TO CRACOW (POLAND) #5 .... SLIDE-SHOW

I think I can say that Polish people have a passion for meat and cabbages. Chicken and pork are very common and generous helpings of vegetables are served with main dishes. Meals usually kick off with a soup, and these encompass with everything from beetroot barszczc to zurek, a white rye soup, sometimes embellished with sausages and potatoes. I had both, and though they were a bit heavy, I did like their taste.

Pierogi, known as dumplings but actually a form of ravioli, are essential in Polish cooking. They can be filled with meat, cheese, cabbage and mushrooms. They tasted good. The same I would not say about smoked cheese made of salted sheep milk. Extremely salty!!!

There are many restaurants, cafés and bars, everywhere. Most of them looked very inviting. Many Poles, of course, have already parted with tradition. Pizza and sushi restaurants are easily found either or not in the city center. Water was often served with a slice of lemon and one or two mint leaves. It looked nice and smelled welcoming. Polish are said to be great consumers of alcoholic beverages but I didn't see anyone drunk. smoked cheese known as oscypek Traditional Polish smoked cheese known as oscypek on barbecue

I believe Poland is a nation with a sweet tooth. There is a wide variety of sweets and cakes but all were sooo sweet. Artificial sweeteners were not common at all. However, I could find them at supermarkets but at a much higher price than in Portugal.

I went to three open-air small markets but they were not very appealing to my wallet.

There were kiosks everywhere, selling from tobacco to vegetables and fruit. Daily shopping must be a hard task, considering that shops are not very much concentrated, which implies time consumption. I was told there were some large supermarkets but I had no opportunity to visit any of those but small ones, only. At the cashier, no plastic or paper bag was given, the reason why, I suppose, I saw everyone carrying a shopping bag. Consumers awareness of environment pollution? Not sure about it...

 

MY VISIT TO CRACOW (POLAND) #4 .... SLIDE-SHOW

Polish people survived a lot of damage: partitions, WWI, only twenty years of freedom and then WWII, years of planned economy (planned with great deal of help from "their friends" - Soviets). It takes and it will take lots of time to finally catch up with West Europe. But people don't want to wait and that's why they leave Poland. There are as many Poles living in Poland as abroad. The Polish diaspora (Polish community abroad) amounts to 40 million and is thus the second largest diaspora in the world, next to that of China. In Poland, the minimum wage is about 6 Zloty (about US$1.8) per hour. I found some products cheaper in Poland than in Portugal, but the products of international companies cost the same everywhere. So, moving abroad means higher standard of living.

Polish people are fair skinned as they belong to the Slavic family. I noticed they have a certain muscular and skeletal formations in their faces that designate a Slavic/Eastern European descent: high cheekbones and a prominent brow with light colored eyes, perhaps an effect of the environment (windy highlands with less sun).

They seemed to be very hearty, sociable and friendly. The younger generation speaks English fluently but older people don’t. They are kind to foreigners and I was often given a seat on the bus or tram. The one characteristic that stood out was how loud they were when talking to each other and the tone of voice used. It sounded like they were having a massive argument when in fact they might be simply talking on trivialities.

The distinctive aspect of the Poles is that the young women seemed to dress to kill (tight jeans, high boots, short skirts). By contrast, I saw many young men dressed like hooligans, and old people all looked like tired (alcoholics?).

I was surprised with the enumerable people walking their dogs. I wondered they did it as a way to maximize their exercise potential or they did it to minimize their loneliness. Anyway, they must be dog lovers and not very fond of cats. In one week, I could see one single cat!!!

All races have their good and bad sides…

MY VISIT TO CRACOW (POLAND) #3 ... SLIDE-SHOW

I loved so much the Jewish district of Kazimierz that I strolled through it twice. Each time, I could almost hear the history of Krakow and its Jews whispering from every corner of this neighborhood: the layout of narrow streets and market squares, little buildings, synagogues, etc.

After the Second World War and the massacre of Jews by the Nazi invaders, Kazimierz was abandoned and for decades fell into ruin. However, thanks to Steven Spielberg, who shot his Oscar-award-winning Schindler’s List here, Kazimierz has emerged as Cracow’s bohemian social life.  It’s a place particularly appreciated by lovers of antiques and by all those who like to discover by themselves the extraordinary character of a district in which for hundreds of years, two nationalities and two great religions coexisted in harmony.

I had time to step into Klezmer-Hois (The House of Klezmer) whose décor and artistic atmosphere evoked the ambience of the pre-war tradition of Jewish Kazimierz.  Nowy Plac, colloquially called ‘the Jewish Square’ is a colorful trading place, with stalls selling from fresh fruit to household products. There is no shortage of places to grab a drink or eat something. Kazimierz has lots of lovely cafes, bars and restaurants.

I passed by the shopping mall, but didn’t go inside it.  I saw some ruined houses in the surroundings of Kazimierz. Each of them surely held a history of people who constructed it, lived there and abandoned it for some reason…

 

MY VISIT TO CRACOW (POLAND) #2... SLIDE-SHOW

   

Today, let's go a bit farther from the old town and visit Nowa Huta (New Steelworks), built from the ashes of World War II. It's everything the Old Town isn't: the result of an absurd political decision to build a steel mill on a fertile land on the outskirts of Cracow. The new socialist city - now integrated in Cracow -  was, among other things, to cause the disintegration of the social structure of Cracow, which was regarded as being on the "landowner/petit bourgeois" model. Air pollution was so high that it was said that when a person walked down the streets in a white shirt, he would return back wearing black!

Walking through this vast Socialist Realist 'gift' from the Soviet Union and constructed to house 100,000 newly-born communist citizens, was an extraordinary experience and so was the dinner at a kind of a local legend, which had been recently refurbished in the original style. Aged over 50, the restaurant once had a statue of Lenin outside. Nowadays, you can see a small one inside. 

Nowa Huta boasts two splendid churches: the monumental St. Wenceslas Church and Cistercian Monastery, dating from the 13th century and the only wooden church in the city, Bartholomew's Church, originally built in the 15th century.

Parks displayed gorgeous autumn colours. Magpies and crows were permanent noisy residents, making me think of the varying degrees of fortune they might bring to people who see them...

 

MY VISIT TO CRACOW (POLAND) #1 ... SLIDE-SHOW

 

After a few hour-layover at Munich airport, I arrived in Cracow, welcomed by a cloudy sky and a low temperature. The airport is not a big one and its original name - Balice - was changed to John Paul II, who spent many years of his life in the city. Mind you, Polish people are very much Catholic and Cracow is dotted with over one hundred churches.

Despite my main purpose of travelling to Cracow - participation in a 'Mind Gym' workshop, sponsored by the European Commission - everyday, I skipped lunch and tried to make the most of the 3-hour break to visit the city. 

Wow, what a cool city! The main Market Square (Rynek Glowny) in the city's Old Town is considered the largest medieval square in Europe. There were easily several thousand people in the square, day and night, eating in cafes, shopping in the stores, taking old-fashioned horse-and-buggy rides around town, and listening/watching the many street performers. It was so much fun just to hang out there!

Of course I visited the Kazimierz, the old Jewish district of Cracow, where there are still many old/preserved synagogues, dating back to the 16th century. I liked it so much that I'll post exclusively about it, soon.

My last evening was spent at the Philharmonica Hall, located in an attractive, historic building. The Cracow Philharmonic Orchestra can be counted as one of the best in Poland. It was the  first philharmonic created in Poland after the Second World War in 1945. An elegant evening to end a fantastic trip!

CAN YOU GUESS #7 : CORRECT ANSWER

 

CONGRATULATIONS

 TO

WURZLE

WHO ANSWERED WITHOUT HESITATION: KRAKOW

(I didn't know my friend Wurzle had been born in Poland)

A special hug to Monica and Marianne. Their answers were close behind the winner.

It was nice of Amalie to have posted the link for the evidence and more information on Krakow

Thanks all of you who wished me a good trip

and

Thanks all of you who joined the FUN

Next round: Monday, October 31, 2011

 

 

MY VISIT TO MADEIRA #4 AND LAST - SLIDE-SHOW

The day following the tournament was spent sightseeing round the island, always on good roads and tunnels (the island boasts 147 tunnels).

The first stop was at a wicker factory, at Camacha. Wickerwork is one of the principal industries of Madeira. Both men and women devote themselves to this typical craft industry putting all their creativity and talent in their works. Local willow trees provide the raw material of canes of various sizes and diameters. Before being used they are cut and peeled then boiled for elasticity making them easier to work, this gives them their characteristic brownish colour. They are then left to dry. Today Camacha is the largest centre of production; its wickerwork is still traditionally made and exported all over the world. We toured the wicker factory showroom and saw how those works were made.

From there we drove up to Pico do Areeiro. As the road climbed up, central Madeira’s green forests gave their way to landscape of turf and later on to rocks. Travelling through fluffy clouds, welcomed by sunshine at the end, left us impressed. We had arrived at Pico do Areeiro, the third largest peak on Madeira that offered stunning views. We were told that it would be best enjoyed at sunset or sunrise. 

Madeira’s Ecological Park started just below the Peak. The great natural beauty in the Laurissilva Forest, a Natural World Heritage listed by UNESCO, still has much of its original vegetation. The trout farms that aim to produce trout to replenish the water of the Madeira island, caught my particular attention. I had never seen such farms before… Some of my friends had a short rest at a local bar and enjoyed Poncha, the typical drink.  Just for your curiosity, I leave the recipe on here:

 You need:
- one measure of alcohol called "aguardente" which is white vodka made from sugar cane
- a little of sugar cane honey (specific kind of honey, different than 'normal')
- fresh lemon juice and orange juice (roughly 2-3 lemon to 1 orange measure)
Stir it and stir and stir again....
And you have your own Poncha. Particular proportions are secret of every producer. So you can try and find you own golden mean.

The taste is excellent, they say. You can drink it chilled on hot days or at 'normal temperature' during autumn.

After having had lunch at a typical restaurant we headed towards the northeast of Madeira, the home to the famous and unique thatched cottages that have an A-frame design. They are one of the iconic symbols of the island. 

The day ended with a buffet dinner party, during which the awards and trophies were distributed… My luggage got a bit heavier on the flight back home…

 

 

MY VISIT TO MADEIRA # 3 - SLIDE-SHOW

As I got up and opened the window, a cool breeze blew up on my face and looking at the sky I anticipated a great day for golfing. My forecast proved later to be correct. Not hot, not humid, the perfect weather for a superb golf day. We were 32 golfers, most of which had never played on that hilly course with stunning views over the ocean and the mountains. On that day, it was our first round just to get familiar with those tricky greens and fairways. At the 19^th hole, I heard so many different comments about scores. Most players were not happy with their results. I don’t take golf as seriously as many players do. I had had a very enjoyable time, my score was pretty satisfactory and perhaps on the following day, when the tournament would take place, my clubs would be friendly to me.

Upon returning back to the hotel and feeling my legs in good condition to go for a walk, I went to explore another area of Funchal, a cosmopolitan and very panoramic city with several parks. Funchal has been Madeira’s capital for more than five centuries and is said to have been so named because of the abundance of fennel (funcho, in Portuguese) growing there.

The city is well kept: the pavements are clean and pleasant in themselves with their mosaic, black-and-white appearance. The cathedral, in the very heart of the city, was not very far from the hotel. Pleasant open-air restaurants and cafés surround it. I was not much in the shopping mood, yet I visited a shopping center just to get an idea of the stores in there. Nothing particularly special…. The best shops are hidden away in various shopping arcades and narrow streets, dotted around the city.

It was already a bit late when I reached the local market. Outside it, I saw a few sellers, wearing the typical costume.

My outing ended with a stroll in the city’s main park, where I noticed that romance certainly blossomed among the beautiful trees… in fact, anywhere…

 

MY VISIT TO MADEIRA # 2 - SLIDE-SHOW

I stayed in the capital, Funchal, where hotels are principally on two levels to the west of the sprawling city; one level just above the city centre and the other way above it. I was way up above, so I walked down on my outings, though, like many similar hotels, mine had a free courtesy bus service to the city centre.

The hotel was near the statue of the Empress Elizabeth, commonly called Sissi, who stayed in Madeira twice, for health reasons. The island was known for its favorable climate for the treatment of tuberculosis. Every time I passed by the tribute of the city to Sissi, I always saw some pretty flowers placed in its hands.

Madeira is known as a floating island of flowers. The temperate climate does mean that it is pleasantly warm round the year and this is why so many plants thrive. Perhaps it’s no wonder that the garden-loving English have so liked the island throughout recent history.

I didn’t feel brave to take the cable from the city up to a village high above Funchal. One of my golf friends took it and was marveled by the delightful ride, with a wonderful view.

The day ended with dinner at a typical restaurant where I had the famous island dish, really a kebab of beef, traditionally threaded on a laurel stick, preceded by fillets of scabbard fish, laced with banana!

It had been hot and humid, almost like a tropical weather. I wondered whether I would go golfing on the following day…

 

MY VISIT TO MADEIRA ISLAND #1 - THE OLD TOWN OF FUNCHAL

Madeira island has its own goverment and parliament that take care of a population of about 300 000 living souls. Geometry of the island is rather simple - elipsoid about 20km high and 50km long (about 13 x 30 miles).  On this area, there is almost everything you might find in this climate - from subtropical and Mediterraen weather to mountains - inner mountains are about 1500m (4500ft) high. On Madeira island you can find only rock beaches. Madeira is not island for swimming and sunbathing, but looking.

Funchal is the capital city, where about 100 000 citizens are concentrated.

In a not so distant past, small fishing boats adorned the pebble beach that faces the sea, in the oldest part of the city of Funchal. Perhaps because of this link to the sea, the traditional and most common dish is fish in the 'Old Town'.

Today, Funchal is not longer a fishing city, but the link to the sea remains. In this area, near to the ramparts of a Fortress, an icon in this landscape, some of these small boats, which are a heritage, can still be found.

The area, appropriately called the Old Town, seems to have found in recent times, a new fountain of youth, and has once again become a center for entertainment and leisure for tourists and local people.

Its main street, Rua de Santa Maria, the oldest in Funchal and the first street to be opened by the Europeans, in this case the Portuguese, in the lands discovered in the Atlantic and around it, has a unique atmosphere. Nothing remains of the original street, except fame...

 

 

A PART OF TURKEY THROUGH MY EYES - THE END - SLIDE-SHOW

Another fine day... I had got up in a good mood to make the most of my last day in that beautiful area of Turkey. My legs were operational despite the long long walking on the day before. I was determined to walk as far as my legs would allow me. I wanted to explore the surrounding tourist area. 

The first thing that caught my eye was a lizard but I could not take a decent picture of him.  Maybe he had come out to eat... It was getting hot when an unlocked courtyard gate of a Moske invited me to take photos at the beautiful flowers that populated the garden. People might be at home or on the beach as the roads were empty.

Apartment complexes with well kept and clean gardens, bird feeders here and there, poppies growing on the roadside verges, people on a colourful balloon flight, cats that might have never had the pleasure of being caressed in stark contrast with a well groomed dog whose owner was having a drink at an open-air café... after all this, my legs asked me to have rest. When I saw a bus I waved down and boarded it. I said 'Serik' to the driver and he nodded his head up and down... Good! I would go to that small town where I had already been.

Serik is a small town, yet a busy one. The traffic was not heavy but there were many people on the streets doing their shopping in small shops. I didn't find any big department store.

As I felt hungry I had a quick lunch at a fast food restaurant: a large-sized shawarma (sandwich-like wrap of shaved chicken) and a glass of fresh orange juice. More than enough to satisfy my stomach.

I strolled through the town but nothing particularly interesting to see. After returning back to the hotel I had a Turkish bath. Nothing better than a hamman to relax, feel fresh and light to make myself ready for the early hour's flight back home.

One week had passed so quickly... one week spent in a world so different from mine... A one week stay that widened my horizons, enriched my life and left a lot of good memory in my mind...

I was pleased to share this travel experience with you...

 

TURKEY THROUGH MY EYES #6 - SLIDE-SHOW

The morning dawned warm and crystal clear. I didn't feel like staying at the resort, sunbathing by the poolside or on the beach. I didn't feel like joining an organized tour to visit Antalya city (30 miles away), either. I don't like to be guided to places that are not interesting to me. I don't like to listen to the information given by tour guides. Neither a tour guide nor a guide book makes me feel the pulse of the local life and.... I like feeling it.

On the day before, I had seen a bus stop not far from the hotel, which made me believe that there might be a frequent bus service to the city or somewhere else. Ok, I decided to walk up to that stop and wait for a bus coming, having assumed that the bus might drive me to the city. Approximately half an hour later, a bus without any passenger stopped. The driver didn't speak a word of a common language. I said 'Antalya' and he did an up-and-down head nod   as saying 'yes'.  I boarded the bus, he picked up some coins from my hand but I did not get any ticket. I took one of the front seats as I wanted to enjoy the landscape and if possible, take some photos. Assuming the bus would drive me to the city it would take up to one hour or so, I thought.

The bus interior was something I had never seen before. So many ornaments!!! The bus went through the rural area and I did not see bus stops anymore. Local people waved down the bus wherever they happened to be. Half an hour later or so, the bus was crowded and I started to wonder whether I was being driven towards Antalya. Perhaps, the bus terminal would be somewhere else in a rural area. I did not care. It would be interesting to get off at an unscheduled destination.

Actually, the bus terminal was not in the city but somewhere else named Serik. If I wanted to go to Antalya I should board another bus. I did it, thinking that on the following day I would come back to that rural town. After all, I already knew the way to!

One hour more of driving and I was in Antalya city, one of the most important tourist centers in Turkey. Following the suggestion of a Turkish lady who had immigrated to Switzerland and was revisiting her homeplace, I dropped off at a certain place in the city, in the belief that I would be not far from the city center. She had misinformed me... I walked and tried to get information from local people but once again nobody spoke a foreign language... I even got into a hotel - thinking that the front desk staff might help me - but nobody did. They had no city plan, either. In the meantime, I took photos of the places and street names that might guide me in the evening to walk back and take a bus to return to the hotel.

I knew the city center was not far from the city port. I often asked people for the direction by just mentioning 'port' but even though I was not understood. Later, at a coffee-shop, I realized that instead of port I should have mentioned 'marina'!!!

After a two-hour walk, I saw a little bit of blue colour on the horizon. Good, I was walking on the right direction...

I relaxed at an open-air café overlooking the scenic Mediterranean Gulf of Antalya. I visited the Ethnography Museum and I strolled through the picturesque old quarter with its narrow, winding cobbled streets of historic Turkish and Greek houses. This quarter is enclosed in ancient city walls, which now protect the peaceful quarter from the the noise of the concrete metropolies of a million people.

I passed by The Clock Tower that  has survived through the present day among the towers of the citadel surrounding the city of Antalya. In the past the total number of these towers was 80.

The Bazaar 'perspired' all the charm and hospitality that Antalaya had to offer, brought together in a single place. I got into a Turkish carpet store and bought three carpets after bargaining for more than one hour. Obviously, the seller was fluent in English and taking advantage of his knowledge, I asked him the best way to return back to the hotel. He wrote the bus direction name on a slip of paper and passed it to me. At that moment I felt confident how smooth the return way would be. Silly of me!!!

I walked for a mile or so and many buses were running ones after the others. Buses displayed a board on the windscreen indicating the route and number. For locals they must be easily recognizable from a distance, but for me it was difficult to decipher the route description quickly enough to wave down the right bus. Luckily, I saw a long queue of people and realized there might be the 'bus stop'. I showed the slip of paper to one of them and she nodded her head. Great... that would be the first stage of my adventure back to the hotel.

When the bus stopped, I showed the slip of paper to the driver and he made me a sign to hop on. I stayed all the time by the driver as the bus was crowded and I thought it would be easier for me to know where I should get off and take first bus to the rural village and from there another one to the hotel. As the bus was running slowly and getting more crowded and crowded, my eyes were telling me how that scenery was totally unknown to me. So different from what I had seen in the morning.... the bus was running not through the city but outside ... I was sure of it... industrial plants, no housing! Suddenly the driver made a sign to me to drop off. I did it without hesitation but all I saw was a gas station. OMG, where was I? I walked to the gas station and was told by hand-signs that I should go to the roadside and wait for the bus. Again, no bus stop at all... half a dozen of Turkish people were sitting by the roadside and I joined them... I had got the feeling they might be waiting for a bus... One hour later I was boarding the right bus via the back door... Interesting, this time the door to board was not the frontside one. The bus was crowded, no vacant seats, and I was so tired after walking with the three carpets in a big nylon sack (I've no idea of their weight but carrying that sack was very uncomfortable, indeed). I sat on one of the steps next to a big cardboard box. I felt like a sardine in a tin...

After a very unpleasurable driving, I reached that rural town (Serik) I had been for a while in the morning and from there I took another bus to the hotel. I had though I would be dropped not far from it but again, something adverse happened...

Two French ladies were on the bus and I asked them whether they were staying at the same hotel. They clearly confirmed it. But when they stood up to get off and told me to join them, I followed. They had told me before they were used to taking that bus. Once again, I shouldn't have trusted the information. As we were walking together I could not see any sign of my hotel, though I saw many others. They stopped in front of one and said to me: 'Here you are'. At that moment, I realized why I had been misguided. Their hotel was named Crystal like mine but it was not the Crystal Paradise Resort where I was staying. Mine was 5 miles away... I thought it would be better to take a taxi but I was already so much suspicious of drivers and people's information that even feeling weary I made an appeal to my legs and they accepted it. One hour later I was at my hotel... My adventure on that day was over!

 

A PART OF TURKEY THROUGH MY EYES #5 - SLIDE-SHOW

Cappadocia is along the trade route that joined the East with the West and the road taken by the Arab armies as they advanced against the Byzantines. It was for this reason that during the 7th through the 12th centuries AD, the people of this area were under a constant threat of unfriendly armies. The Christians who inhabited these lands excavated massive underground towns and villages. These areas were truly underground 'settlements'. In times of danger they could provide shelter to thousands of people. They had several floors and many large rooms.

I visited one of these cities and I tried to take photos inside it but unfortunately the camera could not properly process the underground ambiance. The corridors were very narrow, dark and the ceilings so low. Not good for claustrophobic people, I thought.

Outside, I felt that I was breathing the atmosphere of a truly area of untouched countryside. Birds of different species, chirping beautifully. Sometimes they brought to my mind the image of children playing hide and seek... livestock calmly pasturing... poultry enjoying freedom... a little boy looking happy with his bicycle... craftswomen selling folk dolls... peasants farming the land and... on the horizon, a snow-mantled mountain dominating the valley... The weather was glorious and the setting idyllic!

I left that area feeling happy for having looked at those rural people. There was something powerful in their carefree faces that we, who live in urban centers, have somehow forgotten.

Shortly after leaving that place, it started raining heavily. No problem. The next stop would be for lunch after which I visited another caravanserai (merchants'stop on the ancient sik road). Before returning back to the resort hotel in Antalya, a stop at a local market. Handicrafts and spices were on sale side-by-side with counterfeit versions of prestigious clothing and accessories makes: Burberry, Nike, Louis Vuitton, Prada and many others, not to refer counterfeit branded cosmetics and perfumes.... unbelievable!

When the sun was about to set, I had reached the Hotel. At the restaurant, once again skillfully carved watermelons added a very beautiful presentation to the buffet tables.

On the two following and last days of my stay, I would embark on my own adventures, again....

 

 

TURKEY THROUGH MY EYES #4 - SLIDE-SHOW

As I suffer from vertigo I didn’t go on any hot-air balloon flight over that fairy region, yet I admit, it must be a unique and fantastic adventure. I embarked on my own adventure, instead.

The hotel was in the middle of nowhere, so I took a taxi and got off at the Nevsehir city’s forum shopping center. This was nice with restaurants, a hypermarket and many stores but much farther from the city center than I had expected it to be. I did some window-shopping and fell in love with two pairs of ear-rings. When I was going to pay, the shop assistant did not accept foreign currency but Turkish lire, only. I had not even one coin of the local currency. Speaking in hand signs – very very few locals speak a foreign language – I was taken to a gold store that for my surprise did the currency exchange, without issuing any document, without asking my passport…. Later I realized that whenever I needed to exchange money, I had to step into a gold store…

After enjoying a glass of orange juice, I left the forum and started walking in search of the center of the city. I had no city map but I never thought this would be a problem as surely there would be signs. I was wrong. I walked and walked until my sense of orientation told me I might be taking the wrong direction. The very few people I saw on the way, none of them spoke a word of English, French or German. I noticed that some of them were carrying bread in their hands. This made me wonder whether a bakery or a market might exist nearby. Again, my eyes told me I was somewhere out the center..

I continued wandering up and down the streets, looking for any sign of urban life. I started feeling a bit confused but never discouraged to give up finding the heart of the city. In the meantime, I had been taking pictures of whatever caught my eye. The young boy with big bread in his hands was so smiley and friendly but he didn’t speak a lick of English. Children were playing as it used to be in our old past… with very simple things!

My intuition guided me towards a busy street…Eureka! I had been keeping a clear mental map in my head of where I was in relation to the forum… Later, I thought, I could walk back there and take a taxi to return to the hotel.

The city center was very interesting, yet it looked very poor at my eyes… people were rushing in and out of the enumerable stores, and the local bazaar was like a colorful and smelly patchwork. I took a moment to visit the flowers’ market staged at a square. Turkish people love flowers and you can see beautiful roses and tulips, mainly, at every corner of their gardens. Very often they grow in big tins that had been formerly filled with cooking oil.

The main square was decorated with a big clock tower. It read ‘Cappadocia lives in Peace’. This sentence made sense to me. I had been told before that the city was inhabited by people of various religions who live together in harmony.

 I started feeling hungry but I could not see any place where I would like to sit for a while and eat something until I found a friendly face sticking out from a window in the side of a very old house. Again speaking in hand-signs, I understood there was some place nearby. I got into a small bakery/pastry store and pointed out at a piece of a not so small half bread/half cake. The shop assistant kindly led me to an acceptable small room where I had rest as I enjoyed a coke and the piece of local pastry. Not bad…

I went on wandering and wandering through all those narrow and crowded streets. I saw most of the women wearing headscarves (hijab). Turkish women have a unique and lovely way to cover their hair with colorful, shiny silk scarves draped modestly around their heads. Not many but very few were wearing face covering cloth. Taking photos at them was not an easy task whereas younger people sometimes asked to pose for my camera.

There were not many cyber cafés but I could find one. For my curiosity, I tried to check my email box but I was unsuccessful. Why? I have no idea. Perhaps because of the keyboard… there were two different keys for the ‘i’, for instance.

Late in the afternoon, I started walking back to the Forum, where I stopped for a light snack at a terrace café, prior to taking a taxi back to the hotel. Oh, the terrace was full of Turkish young people… all of them looked so different from those I had seen in the city…. Why that? I have no idea…

Back in my hotel room I withdrew a conclusion: I had arrogantly assumed I would simply locate an English speaker for directions…but what happens when there isn't’t a single soul in sight who speaks a common language?

TURKEY THROUGH MY EYES #3 - SLIDE-SHOW

Cappadocia is a world heritage site that is one-of-a-kind. The three mountains located in the region, were active volcanoes in the geologic ages. The lava spurted from these active volvanoes, along with many other large and small volcanoes, creating layers of tuff in varying stiffness. Years later, the flood waters and winds coming down from the valley slopes corroded the structure made of tuffs and the interesting formations called 'fairy chimneys' were created. With Christian priests moving there in the 8th century, the region became a religious center, and many churches as well as underground cities were built. The morning tour started with a visit to a Cappadocian town, Ortahisar, dominated by a 90m high fortress-like rock rising above winding roads. The present-day town is located at the foot of the "fortress," and a complicated network of paths leads to abandoned rock dwellings. In addition to cultivating the land, the inhabitants of Ortahisar earn their living by storing fruits yearlong in the caves cut from the volcanic rock. The next stop was at Çavusin, a lovely quiet village, with some amazing sites to visit. The ‘old’ village, now abandoned, was all carved into the hillside. I’m not really sure how old the settlement is, but it’s definitely been around for a long, long time. All the buildings and churches and homes of the village were within the hill and were probably connected internally via tunnels and such. In the afternoon, I visited the Goreme Open Air Museum, probably the most interesting of the groups of rock-hewn chapels. The frescoes in these chapels depict the lives of Christ and His followers and are described according to the beliefs of the Orthodox church. I visited three of the churches which involved a climb up the rocks to reach the entrances. In the evening I watched a local folk and belly-dance show...

A PART OF TURKEY THROUGH MY EYES #2 - SLIDE-SHOW

Early in the morning, I said goodbye to the beautiful resort at which I would stay once again on my way back from Cappadocia.

From Antalya the highway crossed flat lands with poplar trees and it continued across the Taurus Mountains that separate the south Mediterranean coast from the center part of Turkey. It was a nice trip with very nice scenery through a pine forest and a good road through an 1800m high mountain. High enough to have snow at the top. You could also see picturesque villages perched on the landscape.

After a 'technical stop' at a restaurant next to a petrol station, the driving continued towards Konya - the second largest city in central Anatolia, after Ankara, founded by the Romans in the 2nd century - where I had lunch at a caravanserai. Caravanserais were camel stops on the silk route. Traders used to gather at these caravanserais built every 50 miles along the trade route, a resting place that provided food and shelter for men and animals. Rooms once served as stables, prayer rooms, baths, and bedrooms.

After lunch, I visited the Mevlana Museum, a small museum that is next to a 16th century mosque. The Museum used to be Mevlana's lodge, the founder of the Whirling Dervishes. The lodge was a very interesting place. Regretfully, camera shooting was not allowed inside.

I had time to give a quick look at a cemetery. Tombstones were beautiful examples of the language. I was told that dead people are buried in graves usually without coffin. However, sometimes a dead person may be buried with coffin. It is a widespread practice to inscribe and cut epitaphs and signs on tombstones for the purpose of describing identity, sex and destiny of the dead person.

From Konya to Nevsehir (Cappadocia), the highway crossed flat grasslands as far as the eye could see. Its infinite plains gave me the feeling that I was really far from home. After 6 hours of driving, I arrived at Nevsehir, the major city in Cappadocia. I checked into the hotel, went straight to my room and had rest... the following day would be a bit tough...