Time-Lapse Jordan]]]> Time-Lapse
So, due to my inconsistency getting this blog going, I’ve missed being able to talk about many of the countries we’ve visited over the years.  I’m going to start a new feature.  It’s a Time-Lapse, which will highlight the places we visited and our thoughts on a place.  Tell me what you think of the idea.  

Camel and handler in Petra.

 

Jordan
 
We went to Jordan last December for about 10 days, which was plenty since it is such a small country.  We rented a car and drove ourselves all around.  After living in both South Korea and Turkey, driving in Jordan was quite easy.  All the directional signs are in English and in Arabic, and the roads seemed very well maintained.  Driving in Amman was a little hairy, but no more so than any other big city where we don’t know our way around.

We found the Jordanians to be some of the friendliest people that we’ve ever encountered.  Even though our countries are on two sides of the Palestinian-Israeli issue, not one person said anything negative to us.  In fact, since Obama had just been elected if they did bring up politics it was with a jubilant note that things would be changing for the better in their eyes. 

The main attraction in Jordan is Petra, of course, and it was stunning!  We spent two days there and our favorite times were before 10:30 in the morning and after 3:00 in the afternoon because it seemed that was when the busloads of tourists were not there. 
 
I would suggest buying the three day pass to Petra as there is so much to see and do.  The first day we didn’t get too far in because it was in the evening.  The light was gorgeous for taking photos and there weren’t too many people there.  Although trying to get a photo without a tourist in it was still pretty difficult. 

The Jordanians are some of the friendliest people we've ever encountered.

One of the best parts of our Petra visit was hiking up to the monastery.  It was a gorgeous walk; the vendors offered to make you cups of tea, and there was a goat herder with his flock at the monastery, so that always makes for great photos.

Jerash – Situated a few hours north of Amman, you can easily have a taxi or car and driver from the hotel take you here on a day trip.  The site is a very large Roman area with a colonnaded central area and much more. 

Umm al-Rasas- This site is one of the World Heritage Sites, and the big draw were some large mosaics.  We went later in the day, and there were no people there at all.  One of the guards took us around and shared some stories with us. 

The Umayyad Desert Castles – Taking the long road east towards Azraq (180 kms from the Iraqi border) there are a number of desert castles that historians can’t agree what their use was.  Some think they were  royal retreats, others think they are stops along the way (like a caravanserai) and still others believe they are meant to oversee the crops in the area.  At any rate, they are all different.  Again, this is a pretty good day trip out of Amman, and well worth it.

We visted two castles which are within 18 kms of each other, Qusayr Amra and Qasr Kharaneh; both were amazing.  Qusayr Amra is very small, but with well-preserved frescoes decorating much of the walls and ceilings.  It is the main reason the castles are designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The second one, Qasr Karaneh, was very impressive as well, but in an entirely different way.  The building itself, even though undecorated was fascinating.

Azraq Fort – This fortress was built in the community due to its location on an oasis.  Apparently, the site has been occupied since Paleolithic times.  Lawrence of Arabia liked it so much that he made this fortress his headquarters during the Arab Revolt.

Biblical Sites
Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan – The site is right on the river, and on the other side the Israelis have built a similar site. The water was brown and the site was very small. 

Madaba- The Greek Orthodox Basilica of St. George located here is very ornate and filled with icons and frescoes as well as the famous Map of the World mosaic.  It’s a short stop, but well worth it.

Mount Nebo – Along with some more mosaics, this offers the view of the Promised Land that Moses reportedly saw coming down the mountain.  It was amazing how high you felt and how much you could see. 
 
The Dead Sea – It was cold…and expensive!  The Jordanians know what they have and they want you to pay dearly to experience it.  I would have paid the outrageous cost if I thought I could have enjoyed it for awhile.  My friends went and they only stayed in the water 15 minutes.  They did say it was a strange feeling, being able to stay afloat as well as they were.  I would definitely go if it were warmer.
 
Red Sea – We did go to the Red Sea and went snorkeling one warmer afternoon.  The wind wasn’t blowing quite so badly, and when it did pick up, we left. 
 
The snorkeling was great!  We saw many, many varieties of fish and were able to enjoy some interesting people watching as well. 

Again this endeavor is pretty pricey, but it was worth it in my opinion.
 
Amman Citadel - In the middle of the city, on top of the hill, lays the citadel.  It has some Roman ruins and is overall a smaller site, but the one real gem is the National Archaelogical Museum.  It is small in size, but had exhibits ranging from the Bronze Age. 
 
Roman Theatre – Downhill from the citadel (about a 15 minute walk) is the Roman Theatre, which although small, was well-preserved.

Amman Hotels – Canary Hotel email:  canary_h@hotmail.com, phone: 4638353

We were absolutely not impressed with the Palace Hotel mentioned in the Lonely Planet.  It was run down and many of the amenities did not work.  However, they did have a good tour guide service where you can rent a car and driver to take you to all the sites.  The phone number is 4624326 and their website is www.palacehotel.com.jo .

Eating in Amman - Definitely try the Hashem Restaurant.  They only serve one thing, falafel, hummus and mint tea.  Delicious and cheap.  You sit in the alley and it’s a great place to watch people.  Address:  Al-Amir Mohammed St.

The fortress in Azraq.

One of the things we love to do is drive through the many villages of Anatolia.  The people are friendly, and we always see something surprising.  Like on this day.  We were exploring an old aquaduct and across from the site is a huge tomato field.  When [... Gassing Up]]]>

A gas truck stops and refills a needy Turk.

One of the things we love to do is drive through the many villages of Anatolia.  The people are friendly, and we always see something surprising.  Like on this day.  We were exploring an old aquaduct and across from the site is a huge tomato field.  When we arrived, the owner of the field and his wife were picking tomatoes.  I yelled “Merhaba,” and he immediately called us over and dropped an armload of tomatoes in the trunk of our car, then he promptly went back to work.

As we were exploring the aquaduct and some sarcophagi, we noticed a gas truck lumbering down the road.  Our newfound friend flagged him down.  Now what could he possibly want to do?   We figured he was just in the mood for handing out all of his tomatoes to passers by.  No.  He needed gas.  Right there, in the middle of nowhere, the gas man filled up a 10 liter plastic jug for the man and after he was paid, went on his way.

I didn’t even know gas trucks could do that.  I’ll never worry about running out of gas again…in Turkey!

Buyukada, the biggest of the Prince’s Islands is an inexpensive way to get outside of the hustle and bustle of sightseeing in Istanbul and just relax.  Before coming, Devon had mentioned the one thing she wanted to do while here was to ride a donkey.  Thinking back to my childhood, I remembered that we used to take [... Taking It Easy in Buyukada]]]>  

Buyukada, the biggest of the Prince’s Islands is an inexpensive way to get outside of the hustle and bustle of sightseeing in Istanbul and just relax.  Before coming, Devon had mentioned the one thing she wanted to do while here was to ride a donkey.  Thinking back to my childhood, I remembered that we used to take donkeys up to the monastery in Buyukada, and yes, they still do it. 

Getting there was half the fun.  We found out the ferry leaves from Kabatas, which coincedentally is the last stop of the tram.  There are many ferries that leave from this stop, but finding “Adalar” (Islands) was relatively easy; we paid our whopping 3 Tl. and immediately boarded.  We found seats outside, but under the shade.  This turned out to be a great spot, especially when the girls in the row in front of us were shat upon, not once – but twice, by seagulls!

Buyukada was the fifth stop, so we were able to see the other islands on the way.  Many appear to be great future stops.  Upon arrival, we headed straight for the center square (clocktower) and turned left.  There we found the horse carriages that would take us around the island, and more importantly to the donkey corral.  We quickly hired one and were on our way.  We saw many people who had rented the bicycles.  They were struggling, so we figured the carriage was a great deal.  Walking would also work, especially if you plan to stay on the island for awhile.

We hired the donkeys, and up the hill to St. George’s Monastery we flew.  Those donkeys had spunk.  As we were loaded on them, the others in the corral started up such a fuss.  We couldn’t beleive it.  They were mad that they didn’t get to go.  We didn’t have to worry about our weight or how hard they were going to have to work, they practically ran the entire way.  Too, too fun!  At the top, we were unceremoniously unloaded, then into the monastery we wandered.  As all Greek Orthodox churches, it was richly decorated with icons and gold paint, well worth it, but it doesn’t take long.  We walked back down the hill to the waiting carriage and finished our tour.

Back in town, the restaurant touts do everything they can to get you into their restaurant.  We chose one on the seaside and had a great lunch of calamari and sea bass.  We saw the ferry pull in and out we went.  What a fun day.

Since the girls are here, we wanted to take them to Istanbul.  We’ve heard numerous people tell us about the night train and what a great deal it was, 60 TL. each way; getting into the city in the morning, so you don’t have to pay for another night’s hotel or [... The Two Largest Cities by Night Train]]]>

Bunks on the Anadolu Express

Since the girls are here, we wanted to take them to Istanbul.  We’ve heard numerous people tell us about the night train and what a great deal it was, 60 TL. each way; getting into the city in the morning, so you don’t have to pay for another night’s hotel or waste your daytime getting there.  We decided to do it and booked tickets direct from the train station about a week before we were to leave.  We were a little shocked that the cost was only 30 Tl., but figured that our mid-week tickets were making up the difference.
When we arrived at the station, we realized there were actually two options.  One is the Anadolu Express, which we had booked, and the other the Ankara Express.  The Anadolu costs half as much because you share your cabin with three other people, instead of just one.  Also the Ankara has a small refrigerator that offers free snacks for the ride as well as your own sink for freshening up.  I’m not sure, but I’m willing to bet the Ankara train has much cleaner bathrooms on it, too.
Our train was supposed to go out of track 2, according to the electronic signs, but actually went out of track 3.  Good ol’ Turkish directions…However, it did leave on time.  We found our cabin and waited for the train to pull out so the car captain could give us our bedding, and we could call it a night.
This all transpired within the first half hour and we were blissfully sleeping by 10:30.  We were woken up a few times in the night, once by a cat…who knows what that meant, but for the most part we slept until the morning when we had to pack up our things and get off.  I definitely would recommend this mode of transport at least one way if traveling between Istanbul and Ankara.  For a family, or if you are traveling with a group, the Anadolu is just fine, but if you want a few more amenities and fewer traveling companions, go with the Ankara.
How to get to the train stations:
In Ankara, the train leaves from the main station or “Gar”.  Very easy to get to, and of course every taxi driver knows the way.  If you are downtown, say in Kizilay, it will cost about 10 tl. to get there. 
In Istanbul, the train leaves from Haydirpasa.  This is a bit trickier.  If you are starting your trip here, you need to take the ferry (1.50 tl) from Eminonu to Haydirpasa (Kadakoy).  The train station does have wi-fi and a restaurant for your waiting pleasure.  The great thing is the ferry docks at the train station so either way, you are very close to your end destination, which is actually much easier than taking a bus.

Fresco in Rock Chapel at Goreme Open Air Museum

A tourist’s dream, Cappadocia has much to offer you no matter what your interest is.  To hike, to photograph, to eat good food, what else is there to life?

Cappadocia evokes a romanticism of the Crusades.  In its unique rocks, eroded over millions of [... Fairy Chimneys and Ancient Churches]]]>

Fairy Chimneys in Cappadocia

Fresco in Rock Chapel at Goreme Open Air Museum

A tourist’s dream, Cappadocia has much to offer you no matter what your interest is.  To hike, to photograph, to eat good food, what else is there to life?

Cappadocia evokes a romanticism of the Crusades.  In its unique rocks, eroded over millions of years in a region that is extremely volcanic, people have carved whole cities in which to live and hide for centuries.  Today, most hotels are built into the sides of these rocks to form cave rooms or shops for the millions of visitors that come here each year.

The main attraction is the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Goreme Open Air Museum.  This particular area is host to a concentrated amount of churches in which much of the interior wall paintings have survived. You can come here and be completely satiated with cave paintings, but if you have more time, there are plenty more to explore.  To really get around, it would be best to take one of the tours offered at the guest houses, or even rent a car or bicycle for a day or two.  There are plenty of free maps of the area to show you where to go.

Some things you can do in Cappadocia:
•Ride a hot air balloon over the fairy chimneys
•Rent a four-by-four or go horse-back riding – although these are more for fun than seeing out of the way churches
•Hike in many of the valleys to see out-of-the-way churches and monasteries (two of the most popular are Rose or Pigeon Valleys)
•Stay in a cave hotel
•Shop, shop, shop – Cappadocia is one of the most prolific carpet areas in Turkey