I figured I should put up a proper posting from here in Istanbul. Despite the negative tone of my previous posts, I'm actually having a good time here. For one, I feel quite a bit better today, so I'm confident that I'll be close to 100% again soon. On top of that, I've had some good days filled with cruises, museums, mosques and all kinds of wondrous sights. Today I spent probably 4 hours in the Archeological Museum. Wow! I met a historical geography prof last night who told me about this place, and he was right. it was truly an impressive collection, and it was displayed in an outstanding setting with excellent lighting and full English placards for everything. It was really cool.
Stuffed with Roman and Greek statues, sarcophagii, pottery, jewelry, etc etc, it was a feast for the eyes. There was one sarcophagus in particular that was just spectacular. It must've been 14' long and 8' high. The relief carvings of Alexander the Great an his men slaughtering the Persian army was unbelievable. Each figure was probably 1' tall, but it had to have been 1' deep as well. It just had layer upon layer of detail. It even had some remnants of the original colour left on it. To make it all the more spectacular, the entire sarcophagus was carved out of a single block of marble. It was so astounding that I sat on a benchin front of this thing and just got lost in it for about 15 minutes. Fantastic!
Another really cool experience here has been the time around sunset (7pm specifically) during which I've gone down to a huge food bazaar that's been setup in the old Hippodrome for the month of Ramadan. You see, since nobody can eat or drink anything all day long, they all celebrate the end of the day by gathering together to have a huuuuuuge outdoor picnic that starts with the 7pm call to prayer. It's a treat to watch and to participate in, so I always time my dinner for 7 and join the locals down there. My favourite is the monster baked potato that they whip up for you and then add more toppings than you could reasonably expect a potato to hold. Brilliant!
I'm not sure if I'll have any spectacular photos of Istanbul, but I've got a good range of fairly intense emotional and experiential memories. I've gotten up 2 days in a row quite early to get a proper shot of the Blue Mosque, but both times its been cloudy. It was also cloudy for my trip up the Bosphorous, so no amazing shots there either. Still, I'm sure a couple of them will turn out well. Good enough for the monster photo album I'm going to have to make of this trip. How will I ever pare the pics down to one album? I filled an album during a 2 week trip to Tunisia for crying out loud!
OK, I think that covers all the basics here. I'll be on another overnight train to Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria tonight. I even have a reservation and a pickup from the train station there, so it'll be one of my more well-planned arrivals (actually, it'll be one of my *only* planned arrivals!)/
cheers,
bms
PS: a second thanks to you all for the support. It helped!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
sweet dude. seriously, this blog works wonders. glad we can help you out while you're infinity miles away!
Dear Mike;
I'm very glad to hear you are feeling better. I was quite sure you'd have more wonderous things to see and enjoy.
Have a great trip to Veliko Tarnovo and keep takng good care of yourself.
Love, Mom
Mike,
I have finally had time to read through all your postings and catch up with you. I've got to say, I think you are now a officialy a hard core world traveler. I remember you describing your plans for your (relatively) tame trip to Jamaica. Later, I was quite impressed with your trip to Tunisia. But, now you are travelling solo into the unknown without a plan at all. Well done! Only the tiniest percentage of the population in North America has the courage to do what you are doing and you should be proud.
You know, you really need to add a map to your facebook site or something where we can track your progress. I say that out of selfish reasons. I don't have the time to look up all the places you are going, but some of them sound bloody cool and I want to remember them in case I ever get a chance to head that way.
Also, I saw on one of your recent posts that you were questioning whether to go to rural Romania. Go! I'm telling you that it is like stepping back into a time machine and going back 100 - 150 years. I swear that I have been to museums and seen newer technology than what they use. That was in Maramures. Also, although I only spent a bit of time there, I recommend Transylvania and Bucovina has some cool fortified churches/monastaries that I think you would appreciate.
I also noted that you are finding Istabul not quite up to your expectations. I find that surprising. I have never been to Turkey myself, but have met lots and lots of people that have. Of all the places I have heard people talk about, Prague & Turkey seem to get the most positive responses. Keep exploring. There's got to be something cool there.
I also remeber your comments on Sarajevo. Did you know/do you remember Damir Pasalic? He was in a lot of my engineering classes, but wasn't in engineering in 1st year when you were there. Damir went to Sarajevo to study engineering. When the war broke out he was stuck in Sarajevo for 2 years during the siege during which time he had no word of his family before being smuggled out in a secret compartment built into an aid truck. His family then got refugee status in Canada and he resumed his study of engineering at UVic. Anyway, although he didn't talk about it much, it sounded like a pretty horrible place to be (if you read between the lines) and I think it would be a facinating place to visit.
Based on stories from him, a Croat at Motorola I worked with, a Lonely Planet Guide book and now you, it sounds like a bloody gorgeous part of the world.
A part of me really envies you. I remember the sense of freedom and exhiliration of wandering and exploring. I also remember feeling so privileged to see sights that you know the vast majority of your friends, family and neighbours will never even hear about let alone see.
I also remember times of loneliness. On a long trip like that in the middle on no where, you are bound to. But, I also found that travelling solo brought a whole set of experiences that you would never have travelling by yourself. I would find that if I sat in a bar/restaurant/youth hostel by myself, people would come up to me and start talking. Some of those talks proved to be the most fascinating and often lead to very rare and unique experiences which I truly treasure. But, had I been travelling with others, those same people might have felt like they were intruding and would have completely passed me by. If you want my advise about how to travel solo without feeling lonely, try to carry a novel with you at all times. That way, whenever you start feeling lonely, you can escape. When I was on my trip, I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy, all the James Clavell books, some Tom Clancy and a host of Wilbur Smith. I know you have read most of those yourself. But, check out Wilbur Smith. I think you'll enjoy him.
Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for writing your blog. Although I have never been to any of the places you are visiting, reading of your exploits nonetheless reminds me of my own and allows me to relive them. I envision the sights you are seeing and can easily imagine what you must be feeling inside. When I do, I remember the same thrill that I once experienced.
It's awesome isn't it?
Keep going where few have gone before! Even though parts may be tough, a time will come when you will cease to remember the bad, but memories of the good will make your heart soar. Keep exploring and having fun!
Your friend,
Rob.
Post a Comment