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You haven’t experienced Turkey until you have…

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…Gazed up in awe at the Dome of Hagia Sofia.

Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul – imperial capital, city of two continents, home to over 13 million people and epicentre of Turkish cultural and economic life. At its ancient heart is the old city, Sultanahmet, where the majestic Hagia Sofia proclaims her seniority to the grand upstarts around her.  The 1600 year dome seems to float effortlessly above the ancient marble floor like a painted UFO coming into land. Cathedral, mosque and museum, Justinian’s masterpiece is a part of the seductive silhouette of mosques and minarets that define the famous city skyline. Rest outside in the lovingly tended parks and listen to the call to prayer in thunderous surround sound.

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…Waded through the icy waters of Saklikent Gorge.

This 18 km gorge in Lycian Turkey is hundreds of feet deep, transports vast quantities of crystal-clear snow melt from the Taurus Mountains every year and is virtually invisible until you get inside it. Traverse the wooden walkways to get to the mouth of the gorge, wade knee-deep through freezing open waters and ascend the 4kms that are walkable. Wear sensible shoes you don’t mind getting wet, be prepared for bruises as you will slip and don’t visit before April or you’ll likely drown. After your healthy exertion take tea in the ramshackle carpeted cafés that line the entrance.

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…Tumbled over the glorious ruins of Arycanda.

Built on five terraces high above a fertile plain, Arycanda was a leading city of ancient Lycia. The ruins are impressive and largely intact as the abandoned city’s high isolation prevented the dressed stones from being plundered in later periods. Unlike more famous sites like Ephesus, Arycanda isn’t overrun by camera-toting tourists so a leisurely tumble is a fun diversion. The city’s position, precariously perched on the side of a verdant mountain provides a spectacular vista. Watch the sun set as it bathes the ruins in soft orange light.

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…Sauntered along Bodrum’s celebrated promenade.

Old Bodrum Town is where the Turkish well-heeled come to get well-oiled.  In the heat of the day people slowly amble along the promenade, gorge on gossip in the cafés, browse and graze in the posh shops or relax under cooling shade of a tall palm tree. By night the prom sizzles to the heavy beat of Turkopop and a madding crowd of the weird, the wonderful and the well-to-do.

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…Dived off a Gulet and snorkeled in shimmering turquoise waters.

A gulet is a two-masted wooden sailing boat originating from the Aegean coast of Turkey. Take a leisurely cruise around isolated coves and drop anchor at various brushy islets for a dip in the gorgeous translucent waters of the warm Ege. Your cheery skipper will provide a simple but delicious lunch of fresh fish, meat balls or chicken accompanied by mezes, pasta and salad washed down with chilled and cheerful Anatolian vino. End the voyage lazing away the afternoon basking on the deck.

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Imagine the absurdity of two openly gay, recently married middle aged, middle class men escaping the liberal sanctuary of anonymous London to relocate to a Muslim country. Jack chronicles their exploits with the mad, the sad, the bad and the glad in a blog for the whole world to ignore. Read about it on Perking the Pansies.

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Are you an expat? Have you spent an extended period of time in one country? If that sounds like you I’d love your contribution to the world experiences series! If you have offbeat and authentic cultural experiences to share from a particular country contact me here.

Related posts:

1. World Experiences: China
2. In Awe of Ancient Athens
3. Off the Radar in Albania

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Signs that will crack you up…

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Italy: In Verona, Italy everything fun is banned! No bathing in fountains, no camping, no eating near monuments and no walking around bare chested.  Yeah way to kill the fun VERONA!

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Slovenia: In Ljubljana it seems the locals walk around with monkeys on their backs, either way they certainly aren’t carrying their children in their arms!

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Italy: In Venice feed the pidgins at your own peril, these birds get real CRAZY!

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Spain: Only the brave with a death wish would dare throw their cigarette butt on the beach in Barcelona. The moment you do, big, strong, hulk, hunky, terrifying El Salvador will hunt you down!

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Products that will make you think twice…

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France: In Nice all the lemonade is Pschitt, cool, refreshing, Pschitt.  Actually I could drink a whole bottle of Pschitt right now!

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Bosnia-Herzegovina: In Bosnia when it comes to candy you have two purchase choices, the politically correct and the not so politically correct one!
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Random smirk inspiring laughs…

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Croatia: Is this freaky Mannequin in the Elafiti Islands meant to be a scarecrow scaring away tourists?  If it is it’s surely doing a damn good job!

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Slovenia: Stepping into this shop in Ljubljana just might be the last shop you ever step into!

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France: Fine, call me immature but you can’t say you’re not seeing what I’m seeing! Who would call a bag shop ‘Willy’ now that’s just false advertising!

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Do you have any funny photos from Europe? Send them in for the next funny Europe feature!

Related posts:

1. Fulfilling My Grand Italian Dream
2. My biff with shopping in China
3. The Unlikely Adventuress

When I was 9 years old I decided that I wanted to learn Italian, I was convinced that If I learnt all the words to ‘Volare’ and read along with the English translation then I would eventually be able to fluently speak Italian or such the simplicity of a 9 year olds childhood mind would believe.  Unfortunately though I did manage to learn all the words and to this day sill remember them, the only Italian I really picked up from the song was  “Nel blu, dipinto di blu” (Blue painted in the blue) yeah like that was going to help me!

My dream to visit Italy became and intense fascination into the country, every school project I could do on a country or It’s cuisines I picked Italy.  In grade 6 I did my major geography project on Italy, in my grade 9 home economics class I cooked a 3 course Italian feast for my food presentation. But the fascination didn’t stop at school projects, any movie with an Italian theme I wanted to watch, over and over again.  I don’t know how many times I watched the ‘Lizzie McGuire’ movie wishing I was a pop super star in Rome with a hot Italian boyfriend.  And I just couldn’t get enough of Mary Kate and Ashley’s ‘When in Rome.’

When I was in High School my Dad went on a trip to Italy and visited Florence, Naples and Pompeii.  I couldn’t get enough of all his stories, eating way too much food with an Italian family, sleeping on a bed with a giant crucifix on the wall above his head, visiting Pompeii, I was envious!  I wanted to go to Italy.  And with that after working two jobs for a year and a half I saved up enough money to finally go to Europe, to finally fulfill my grand Italian dream.

Below are some of the highlights from my trip to Italy in 2008 and all the dreams I fulfilled:

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Standing in the Mighty Colloseum…

One of the first things that entered my find when I thought of Italy was the Colloseum, after all it was legendary!  The moment I caught that first glimpse of the Colloseum was a breathtaking, “wake me up I’m dreaming” moment. After all the years of seeing pictures of the Colloseum in books, finally I was there standing on the ancient ground upon which the mighty Gladiators fought to their deaths.  But this wasn’t what really had me excited! Blame the architecture enthusiast in me, it was the revolutionary way the Colloseum was built and designed that really had me excited. I was finally seeing it for real, I could study it’s design and construction from outside the pages of a book!  I had read all about the architecture of the Colloseum, what I was excited to see was the vaulted arches built using concrete, one of the earliest examples of this revolutionary building method that would change the way buildings were constructed from then after.  The people I was with thought I was pretty weird, staring up in awe at the arches and pointing out that they were constructed with the earliest use of concrete in history, they were all excited just to be where gladiators had been they couldn’t understand how I could be so excited by some ancient concrete!

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Treading where Caesar once trod in the Roman Imperial Forum…

The Roman Imperial Forum was once the centre of Roman life, it was here where government buildings stood, here where elections were held, where some of the greatest speeches were presented.  Legendary Roman figures Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Constantine the Great and Octavius (Augustus) all at one point in history had trodden these grounds.  It was here where one of the biggest Roman drama that went on to inspire a Shakespeare play played out,  Marc Antony’s oration at Julius Caesar’s funeral that caused an uprising of the locals against Caesar’s assassins eventually driving the murderers out of Rome.  How could I not be excited to stand in such a historic place where so many historic tales I had studied had taken place. Standing in that forum surrounded by the mighty ruins of Rome’s great past I let my mind drift and imagine what life would have been like, the city center bustling at the height of the Roman empire.

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Making a wish at the Trevi Fountain…

The Trevi Fountain for me really was one of the most stunning sights in Rome, the turquoise water cascading down the waterfall, the beautiful statues on the top seemingly reaching up for the heavens. The atmosphere was electric, everyone in the crowd was excited to be there, everyone sitting down eating gelati was smiling with satisfaction and everyone who like me was throwing coins into the fountain making a wish all had that look on their face that said “even if that wish doesn’t come true, hell I can’t complain I’m at the Trevi Fountain!” Throwing that first coin over my shoulder and into the fountain was an exciting moment, in fact I was so excited I don’t even remember what I wished for!  I do however remember the second wish, to return to Rome.  It is tradition that If you throw in a second coin into the fountain that you will one day again return to Rome, it hasn’t happened yet but soon enough it will!

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Hanging out in proximity of the Pope…ok maybe being in a Da Vinci code setting!…

Anyone in the western world has grown up hearing about the Pope, even if they’re not Catholic. But for me quite honestly (no disrespect intended) I couldn’t really care less about the old guy that led the Catholic Church.  What I cared about was the history of Vatican City, the architecture, the art, MICHELANGELO! But what I was interested in the most was seeing the settings in which Robert Langdon’s adventures played out in Dan Brown’s best selling novel the Da Vinci Code. Walking around St Peter’s Basilica and other parts of Vatican City in my mind I was watching Professor Robert Langdon investigate a murder and track down the truth behind the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene.  To me, Vatican City felt more like the setting of a novel then a spiritual place of worship.  It was too huge, too flashy and had far too much gold for me to feel any sense of spirituality.  It felt more like a place to show off the ‘physical riches’ of Catholicism rather than a place for the quiet contemplation of mortality and god.

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Cruising along the Venice canals with a lover…

Ever since I watched an episode of the soap opera ‘Bold and the Beautiful’ when the Forrester’s went to Venice I knew I had to go.  Of course what I learned from that episode was choose wisely who you want to take to Venice. It’s probably not such a great idea to go with your ex-husband,  new lover, the guy you’re really in love with and other members of the family who hate you. After dreaming about the romance of Venice for years after watching that episode I ended up cruising down the romantic canals of Venice with…a bunch of friends.  So while I didn’t fulfill my entire dream, I didn’t really care, either way Venice’s canals were pure magic even if I was enjoying what should have been a romantic moment with 5 other people!

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Visiting the site of the most famous volcanic eruption in history…

When I was in grade 3 I read a picture book about the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79AD that buried the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, I was fascinated.  When I was in High School my Dad went on a work trip to Italy and fulfilled ‘My Dream’ of visiting Pompeii, I was intensely jealous! He rubbed it in even more by showing me all the fascinating photo’s and telling me the historic stories and all that he had learned from his tour guide.  When I finally got to visit Pompeii I was so excited to have the opportunity to visit all the places I had read about, to see the ancient fast food restaurant, to see the beautifully decorated tiles that had remained preserved under a layer of ash for nearly two thousand years! Unfortunately for me my tour group was whisked through so fast all I really got to admire was the picture catalog in the ancient brothel.  I couldn’t help but be disappointed, I saw hardly any of what I wanted to see and although I fulfilled the dream of standing on that ground, when I left I felt like I was leaving with my dream only half fulfilled.  Looking back, although it was disappointing, the positive thing to come out of it is now I have an excuse to go back again!

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Seeing Michelangelo’s Statue of David in Florence…

When I was in High School I was that art nerd that spent many lunch hours slaving away over her painting in the art room.  Ever since I was a little kid I’d loved art, I was always drawing, gluing things, finding creative uses for cereal boxes.  So it was unsurprising that all through school I chose to do art classes.  I loved creating art but I also loved studying art.  When I studied the human form and proportion we spent a lot of time studying the works of Michelangelo but particularly his most famous work the ‘Statue of David’.  When I was in Florence, visiting the museum and seeing the statue for real was the one thing I ‘had to’ do.  And see it I did, stare at his hands I did, it was true what I had learned in art class, his hands did look un-proportionately large!  I wish I had had the guts to take a sneaky photo of the real statue but being to worried about getting in trouble from security I had to settle for a photo of a smaller replica statue in one of Florence’s many piazza’s.

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Holding up the leaning tower of Pisa.

In primary school I did a research project on Italy where I learned all about the Leaning Tower of Pisa and it’s legendary lean.  But as a child with no clue of the laws of physics I thought it was just a pretty cool building standing on a very bizarre angle. Seeing it for real was the moment I thought “Wow, it’s really actually learning! How on earth is it still standing.”  Although much of its dramatic lean had been corrected by the time I visited it still was very clearly leaning. I couldn’t resist, I had to take that classic tacky pose that every tourist takes at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the pose where it looks like you’re either holding up the tower or pushing it over! That photo will forever represent my first trip to Europe at 19!

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After all the years dreaming of Italy finally visiting was a dream come true.  Finally I was able to fulfill that childhood dream! But somehow ticking off all the places I wanted to see didn’t leave me completely fulfilled, instead I was left yearning for more.  Yearning to discover more of Italy then just what I leaned at school, to discover more than what my Dad had experienced, to discover more than just history but to actually live it’s culture. I fulfilled my dream to visit, but Italy will forever be a dream that I continue to have, that continues to expand, that I constantly strive to fulfill. Italy is a country that I will forever want to return to!

What was your ‘dream’ travel destination, the destination you always dreamed about as a kid? How did you feel when you finally got to fulfill the dream of visiting? Leave your comments below.

Related posts:

1. Travel Moment: Rome’s Tiber River at Dusk
2. Laughing My Way Around Europe
3. Photo Glimpse: Pisa Basilica

Above: The Parthenon

The day I went to the Acropolis it was a hot sweaty Greek summers day.  The perfect day to turn a dark shade of brown or a bright shade of lobster!  The acropolis was packed though mostly by my tour group who made up 50 of the crowd.  At first It was hard to stand there and imagine this hill top was once a place to worship the pagan Greek gods with the chatter of people in the background and the scaffolding surrounding the Parthenon in an effort to restore it to its former glory.  But once I drowned out the chatter with my thoughts and stared up at the massive Doric columns of the Parthenon standing commanding over the city of Athens I could see how this place was once so inspiring.  In fact it still was.

Above: The overbearing Doric columns of the Parthenon.

If the Parthenon is the king of the Acropolis then the temple of Erechtheum is the queen. What makes this temple unique is the Porch of Caryatids supported by sculptures of five beautiful maidens. Though smaller the fine details and feminine aspects of this temple really resonated with me.

Above: The Temple of Erechtheum

Above:The Temple of Erechtheum overlooking Athens.

Above: Sunlight steams through the ruins in a spectacular display of shadows.

The Odean of Herodes Atticus Theatre is located on the slopes of the Acropolis.  It was originally built in 161 AD by Herodes Atticus in memory of his wife Aspasia Annia Kegilla.  The amphitheater was used to hold concerts with seating for up to 5000 people and is indeed still used to play host to musical spectaculars.

Above: Odeon of  Herodes Atticus Theatre.

Looking out from the Acropolis, in the distance you can see Olympieion, the ruins of the Temple of Olympian Zeus.  This temple was built back in the 6^thcentaury BC in dedication to Zeus and the Olympic Gods.  Though there’s not a lot of it left, this temple played an important role in the history of Ancient Greece.  This is definitely a temple I want to go back and see not just from a distance!

Above: In the distance the ruins of Olympieion.

Seeing the ancient ruins of Greece was like a dream come true feeding my fascination for history and Architecture.  The ruins of Ancient Athens can only be described as amazing, colossal in size and epic in history. Despite having already visited the Acropolis I would definitely go back on my next trip to Athens.  I relish the chance to find a nice shady spot and stare up in awe at Ancient Athens, pencil and sketchpad in hand sketching the wonders of history!

Do you like this new photostory format for the Weekly Glimpse or do you prefer the old slideshow format?  I’d love to hear your thoughts, leave your comments bellow.

If you enjoyed reading this post and wish to be updated on the latest from On UR Way Travel including new issues of the magazine then subscribe to the RSS Feed!!!

Related posts:

1. World Experiences: Turkey
2. Photo Glimpse: Kek Lok Si Temple
3. Off the Radar in Albania

When I was looking into doing a tour of Europe for my first overseas trip in 2008 I saw that I could go through Albania on route to Croatia from Greece. When I saw that itinerary I knew that I simply must do that tour! I didn’t know anything about Albania but the idea that this was a European country that I had scarcely ever heard of appealed to the curious person in me.

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Albanian Hills

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The view approaching the Albania border was a stark contrast from the beautiful mountains we were descending in Preveza north-east Greece.  It was like as though as we approached the border a curtain was drawn. The landscape dramatically changed from the soft green of the Preveza mountains to the dry, arid, golden taupe of the Albanian Hills.

Waiting at the Greek-Albanian border had me completely dripping in sweat. The weather was sweltering hot and being stuck at a notoriously dodgy border had me sitting nervously in my seat hoping that we wouldn’t be stuck there for much longer.  We had been made aware that it is not un- common for the customs officers to ask for bribes in order to let people through. What ever the case there was no way a bribe was going to get paid, if the tour started paying bribes now they would have to pay every time a tour group were to go through and that would certainly not be ideal.  After what seemed like hours (but in reality was probably only 45 minutes) we finally cleared the border, stamps in our passports and no bribes payed!

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Derelict buildings a common site along Albania’s roadside

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After having spend the past few weeks travelling around Western Europe with an Autogrill restaurant seemingly strategically placed every time I was hungry and rich Italians driving past in their Ferraris, travelling through desolate and isolated Albania was a strange experience.  Chain roadhouses are non existent, in fact anything resembling some kind of road stop or petrol station was extremely rare. We were much more luckily to come across one of the many large bunkers a reminder of Albania’s violent past.

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One of many large bunkers

Hungry from the stress of the border crossing, eventually we stopped at a restaurant that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.  It was midday and there was not a sole in sight.  I wondered, out in the middle of nowhere who would possibly come here. Judging by the looks on the few locals faces they were just as bewildered by our presence.

The family that owned the restaurant spoke no English what’s so ever and the menus were written entirely in Albanian.  How on earth were we going to order!? For those who were game enough to pick something at random (none of whom were me) some fared well with an incredibly distasteful spaghetti and others not so well with some sort of meat that for all any of us knew could have been donkey! I personally was quite content with starving and waited till we arrived at the hotel in the capital Tirana before sampling the local cuisine.  Unfortunately for me the food wasn’t that much of an improvement, lets just say I don’t think Albanian cuisine is going to be the next big food craze to sweep the world.

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Pill Box Bunker

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Travelling through Albania what was apparent was that I was in a country still recovering from the wounds of communist rule and the multiple wars that wreaked havoc over the last century.  The cities and towns are dominated by cold, heartless, architecture a lingering ghost of the countries suppressive communist past.  Buildings are left abandoned and unfinished for years, a scar of the financial hardships of Europe’s poorest country. The countryside and cities are dotted with pill box bunkers, seemingly indestructible structures, a symbol of the people’s strength who survived genocide and multiple wars. There are in fact more bunkers throughout Albania then there were able men to fight in the wars.lll

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Sunrise over the capital Tirana.

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Despite the hardships of the past, this is a country that promises to rise up and show the world that it too can be a great European destination. Albanian Tourism are working hard to reshape the image of this country lost off the radar by re-branding it ‘The New Mediterranean Love’. If their website is anything to go by this country is so much more than its communist past, its arid bunker scattered hills and its bad food.  This is a country rich in history dating back to both the Roman and Greek Empires and rich in culture deeply rooted in religion and art. To top it off Albania is set along the beautiful Adriatic Sea with beautiful beaches yet to be discovered by tourists.

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Stunning sunset over Tirana.

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Albania is a country that had me completely intrigued. I merely scratched the surface when I visited, only travelling through and not really travelling in. It is definitely a place I want to go back and explore in more depth.  If you have never considered going to Albania, consider it now! Get in before this country is really discovered and spoiled by the commercialism of tourism. I certainly can’t wait to go back and really discover everything this country has to offer.

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Cruise the Adriatic along Croatia’s stunning Dalmatian coastline with Busabout Croatia Sailing.

If you enjoyed reading this post and wish to be updated on the latest from On UR Way Travel including new issues of the magazine then subscribe to the RSS Feed!!!

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