Thesaloniki Greece

All is well in Thesaloniki Greece. It is in the north on the Aegean Sea. I have spent the first couple of days of school employees and students summer holidays on the beach in Greece working on my tan. I am staying at a pension/hotel across the road from the beach, 25 km's outside of Thesaloniki.

It is a quiet area. So quite I didn't see anyone guest or staff at the hotel until my third day at the hotel. The keys to my room were left in the mailbox outside of the hotel. For the first night I am not sure if anyone else was here. The hotel has 30 rooms. The second day in the evening I heard people in the hall but that was it and today I finally met the owner. He is a dentist in the town 25 km's away and has the hotel on the side. I have to say he left good instructions and I didn't mind the piece, quiet and sunshine. NIce locals at the beach. One old Greek lady sees me coming and starts smiling. She puts the sunscreen on my upper back. God love her.

Tomorrow I will take the train to Sofia the capital of Bulgaria. I hadn't planned on that stop but it looks good and why just pass through. It will also break up a potential 18 hour ride to Budapest Hungary. So the plan is for the next week or so, Sofia Bulgaria, Belgrade Serbia and then Budapest Hungary. All maybe for a few nights each.

Turkey to Athens, Pictures

You have to love this picture of my Turkish little buddies and a couple of village women. These kids lived by my hotel and were great little gaffers. The hotels are right in the village and because I was there for so long I got to know the neighbours. I was invited into their homes for juice, tea and snacks. They loved me and I love them. It was sad to leave. I loved being immersed with the locals, thanks to Yasar and his friends too for my daily activities and socials. I think if I didn't have this rail pass already bought that you would find me in Turkey in August when I am suppose to come home. But there is still lots to see on my list, so need to get on the move.

I am currently in Athens. I arrived after the 11 hour over night bus from Goreme to Istanbul and then a day walking Istanbul with Jenny from BC. Then to the airport for my flight to Athens which kept getting delayed and was three hours late leaving which put me arriving at the hostel about 3am.

Toured around the Acropolis and main Athens sites yesterday. It was good and hot. Happened across a Polish catholic mass going on at the Acropolis so joined them for communion. The priest was with a group from Poland touring around and they were happy to have an Italian, Canadian and Argentinian join them.

Still trying to plan out the next seven weeks. Looks like I will travel to the north of Greece tomorrow spend maybe a couple of days and then on to Hungary.

Click on this link for a mixture of Goreme, Istanbul and Athens photos

Went to the Archaeological museum in Athens. It is pretty impressive and well done. While there a turtle walked through my legs when I was sitting down so that is a cool photo. I also went to a private museum that had the works of MC Escher at it and it was awesome. He is a great graphic artist with a huge math connection. I have some of his work up in my classroom so that was so cool to check out. I saw it listed in the airplane magazine and was able to find out that it was in Athens. So I was in luck.

Hamam, Turkish Bath

Still hanging out in Cappadocia but I have set the plans for a move. I am taking a 12 hour overnight bus from Cappadocia to Istanbul on Wednesday night with Jenny a girl from BC. We will hang out for the day in Istanbul together and I will catch a flight in the evening to Athens for the next leg of the adventure.

Jenny is having a similar time to me in Cappadocia she too has local friends and like me doesn't know where the time goes during the day. We have become a little lazy and enjoy a scrabble game with our lunch and maybe a walk/hike and then evening entertainment with friends.

Last night I got another trip into the Hamam. Man they are fantastic and I am not sure why I haven't taken advantage of it more often. A little sauna, exfoliation with a big rubber mitt, shampoo, massage and last night was topped off with a jacuzzi. I have learned a little bit about the Hamam. People use to go to the Hamam, or bath house for their weekly bath and wash but now it is a luxury, relaxing thing to do here. I met some American peace core people who were in Morroco and used the Hamam for it's original purpose as their village didn't have running water. They didn't understand why it was so expensive here. I explained it is a luxury here. They were paying 50 cents and here it is anywhere from $20 - $50. Depends on if you get the tourist price or if you go with a local. The men are seperated from the women and men bath men and women, women. So now the whole muslim lack of covering, conservatism etc makes sense to me. The locals go as a social. Often going at the same time and day of the week to gossip with friends.

All is well and I figure the next bit will be moving through the countries quick using my rail pass. So I am enjoying the last few days of relaxation in Cappadocia with the great scenery and people.

Mt Nemrut Turkey, Pictures

I have had an action packed last few days. I went on a three day, two night tour of Eastern Turkey. It was fantastic. It was a little hot. Lots of driving. 16 of us in the van with no air conditioning and a highway under construction so we were covered in dust by the end of the day. It was a bit of a battle to get the driver to keep his window down. He didn't like the wind blowing his comb over we think, but we were hot in the back. So too bad about the hair buddy.

The sites were spectacular. The second day started with a wake up call at 2:30 am followed by a twisty, steep drive up the mountain and then a hike for the sunrise at the big heads of Mt. Nemrot. When we left the hotel it was warm and I was thinking I didn't need my warm cloths, but thank god I took them. At the top of the mountain it was freezing and the wind was blowing hard. It was a full day that ended at 10 pm. We saw some more ruins, a Roman bridge, a dam, a local bazaar, Abraham's birth place and then drove to Harran at the south, 15 km's from the Syria boarder to see the first Islamic University and the beehive houses made out of mud and bricks. WOW!

While at the dam two fighter jets flew over and I couldn't help but think they must be going to Iraq. No worries for you though all is well and safe here. It just made me stop and think.

The air conditioning was fixed and made for a better 10 hour ride back.

I am back in Cappadocia now visiting my local friends and using today to figure out where to next. I was up at 6 am this morning for some reason and saw all the hot air balloons out my window so I decided to go for a walk and check them out. The balloons go out every day for sunrise.

Click on this link for lots of photos of Eastern Turkey

Goreme, Pictures

Well I am back in Goreme. It is a small village in the heart of the Cappadocia region in the center of Turkey. I love this town. The views are spectacular, lovely people, great hiking and plenty to see. It is a funny little town. You can see a moped one minute going down the road, followed by a family on a tractor, or a family on a 4-wheeler, a Mercedes or a horse and buggy, anything goes. I have had the use of Yasar's moped so I can bop around to great hiking areas stop, walk, do a little reading and enjoy the scenery. It is fantastic.

Tomorrow I am doing a three day two night tour further east in Turkey. It should be great.

Click on this link for more Goreme, Cappadocia photos

Ayvalik Turkey, Pictures

I had a great weekend with Mel and her boyfriend Alper in Ayvalik. Mel and I took the bus 2 1/2 hours to Ayvalik, on the east coast where he lives. It is a lovely town that has very different architecture than the rest of Turkey. There are some really neat old houses there. His place has a great balcony with a view of the water.

Ayvalik use to be a Greek town and after 1923 the Greeks had to go back to Greece and the Turkish that were in Greece had to come back to Turkey. So there is a lot of history and there are always references to that year and the swap of people. Some families had lived in the different countries for generations but were basically kicked out and sent back to where their ancestors came from.

In Ayvalik Alper runs a basketball school. So there was a brunch on Sunday for the players and their parents and we got to go. It was nice. I should get him in to help with my team. He played on the Turkish National team in his day.

We had a great time walking around Ayvalik and Cunda visiting cafes and taking in the scenery. Check out the pictures at the following like.

Link to Ayvalik pictures

I am now in Goreme again, back to the fairy chimneys, moped and more great people. I am in the Cappadocia area which is in the center of the country.

Pamukkale Turkey, Pictures

I had an early start today. I was up and ready to go by 6:30am. I was awake so I got up and they said to see Pamukkale early in the morning or late in the day to avoid the tour groups. So I headed out. It was a fantastic morning. Turkey has so much to offer. I came to Pamukkale to see the travertine terraces. There is a spring in the area that has so much calcium in it that over 1000's of years it has left a white precipitate on the side of the hill/mountain. You can walk through part of the calcuim covered area and swim in the mineral pools. Over the years the amount of water in the area has depleted but it doesn't take away from this natural wonder. So if that wasn't enough. After I climbed the side of the hill there are Roman ruins at the top. Hierapolis is here, also spectacular. I spent over five hours exploring this area and finished with a dip in one of the mineral pools on my way back down. It was fantastic.

Hierapolis is where St Philip the apostle was martyred. I am humbled regularly by my lack of history knowledge. I am learning. There is an amazing Roman Theatre here complete with the original stage dating back to the second century. The Roman city is great too. I was visiting the basilica in the ancient city when I happened across an American high school group. They are traveling around Isreal and Turkey following five apostles routes. They broke out into Amazing Grace and it was beautiful. I made my way back to them and as they passed me I said how nice their singing was. There teacher explained what they are doing and that they were from Holland Michigan. It was a lovely group of really nice young people.

There were lots of poppies for me to check out while I was walking around too. I love how the poppies grow against the ruins.

Sorry I have ran out of photo space on the blog so I cann't put up a photo with my write up at the moment. I think I can link it with my other email account but the information at the moment is in Turkish so I cann't figure it out. Incase you haven't noticed the photos are coming from a different account now as that original album is full. So if you want to see any of these picture albums you can get them from this address.

http://picasaweb.google.com/getoutandhavefun

this was the original address

http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahemoloney

Click on this link to see the Pamukkale Turkey Photos

Greece for a day, Math Pictures

I took a two hour ferry ride to the Greek island of Samos for the day today. Got to like the idea of going to Greece for the day. It is where the town of Pythagoria is and the math teacher had to visit there. They have a statue of Pythagorous and we use his theorem all the time at school. It turned out to be a national holiday in Greece so there were no busses running, tourism office was closed but I still made it to the other side of the island to Pythagoria, just had to go by taxi. So it was a bit of an effort and expense so that is why I took so many pictures of the statue and you may not like any of them from today. I hope to use them in future math lessons.

Pythagorous Pictures

Ephesus Turkey, Fıve Moloney's and Pictures

Today I had the cool of experience of seeing family in Turkey. My brother Glenn, sister inlaw Shelley, niece Maddy and nephew Max came in on a cruise ship to Kusadasi and we visited Ephesus together. It was awesome to see them all. I was able to find them easily as I was staying in a hotel right across from the pier and there was only one ship in at the time so they were easy to spot. We hired a taxi for the day to take us to Ephesus the second best Roman City remaining after Pompeii which we also have all visited. Ephesus was neat with a lot of marble remaining and it was hot. The heat must radiate off of it or in the valley or something, it was intense sun. The library at Ephesus was the coolest for me with it's great marble columns. The library was built over Celsus' tomb by his son. Max has been learning about this era at school so also found the site interesting and Maddy was all set to pose for photos at any opportunity and had some great shots there. Glenn too liked standing on a column that is the same style as on his business cards, Ionic period we have determined.

We visited the Virgin Mary's house lit prayer candles, wrote prayers and placed them on a prayer wall, blessed ourselves with holy water from a spring there and ended the visit with a beer at the Virgin Mary's house. It was for dad, Glenn said he would think it was funny us having one for him at the Virgin Mary's house.

The Virgin Mary's house was an interesting discovery in the 19th Century. An invalid nun who had never left Germany wrote a book describing the site that she said had been visions given to her. Her descriptions led to it's discovery. It is thought that she came here after Jesus' death with John [I think that is correct, don't quote that, I don't have my book in front of me.]

My hotel room in itself is an interesting story. It has a great view, pool, no elevator and I had seen it listed in a book. I went to check it out, climbed at least 6 sets of stairs with all my stuff to the reception. Again a reception with a view. I was shown some rooms, all the same and finally they told me the price. 40 Euro, I said wow, way too much for me. So they said ok 35, 30. I said sorry no I was interesting in paying about 20 TL which is about 10 Euro. Fine he said, showed me another room, all of them are the same. So I guess some money was better than no money in his eyes, which was good. The place is empty and it is a big spot, they must be hurting, again those economic times.

I was able to see the gang off at the pier. They are off to Egypt and the pyramids next. The hotel had binoculars and I am pretty sure I saw Glenn out on the balcony. I watched the ship take off from the pool, of the life. It was so good to hand out with them for the day. I am glad we were able to meet up.

Click on this link to see our pictures of Ephesus

Dalyan and Kaş Turkey, Pictures

Currently on the coast of Turkey in Dalyan. It is a nice small town centered around a river, lake and the sea. I took a 30 minute boat ride down the river today to the Med. Sea and spent the day at the beach. I should sleep tonight with all the sun I got. It was very plesant a nice breeze all day, so I am sure some wind burn or colour. Not feeling a burn yet.

I have been taking local busses here and I have to say they are great! It is a large coach bus, without bathrooms though, even though they are modern. They have stewarts on the bus that pass out water and the other day we got free ice cream! My kind of bus ride. I took one the other night for 10 hours to get from the middle of Turkey to the south coast and then had to switch to a mini bus, mini van for another four hours. All in all fine, except the big Turkish women I was sharing a seat with took up quite a bit of room and sat like a man with her legs seperated and her arm resting on mine made mine go to sleep from the weight. Anyway that is rude of me. The night bus was fine.

I should enlighten you on the Turkish bath or a Hamam. Wow! I went the other night and lets just say I cann't wait to go again. You start off with a sauna for 15 minutes followed by a massage on a large warm marble slab complete with exfoliation during the massage. Oh yes and the whole time you are douced with bowls of warm water. After a rinse and exfoliation come the bubbles. Your whole body gets shampooed with bubbles. The women has what looks like a pillow case that she dips in the shampoo she then waks it out making the bubbles and completely covers you in bubbles and then another massage and doucing with warm water. Then a dip in a swimming pool, shower and fresh squeezed orange juice. A lovely evening. I think it is very interesting that they have been doing this since the Romans, or before, I don't know in this muslim country that is very conservative. I have to dress very modest in the villages, pants during the day, shoulders cover etc to respect them, but then they go for these Turkish baths and you are pretty exposed. I guess it is a woman massaging a woman and a man a man and you can go as a couple or segregated by your sex. It is all interesting.

The hospitality in Turkey is wonderful and I am not rushing out of here anytime soon. I should be at least another couple of weeks here. The people are lovely and because I am learning some Turkish phrases they love me even more. They all want to know where I learned. I really know only a few but it is appreciated. It is really hard to retain.

Click on this link for pictures of Kaş and Dalyan Turkey