Athens - Turkey Part II

May 27th to June 8th 2015

Turkey : Was always a  thundering of hoofs and  the Devrish Dancers country for me. My imagination was charged by its  two great empires and the charismatic Kemal  Ataturk .  I expected  palaces, fortresses , churches and mosques; and, a European and an Asian side.

 I was eager to see the Topkapi dagger, encrusted with two almost identical pear shaped  emeralds , the  86.6 carat diamond

86.6 carat diamond - photographed with my mobile

the church  in Ephesus where Mary mother of Jesus Christ spent her last days..after all Bible History was one of my school leaving subjects...

and  last but not the least I wanted to check out the locations of the two James Bond movies that had been shot here. 

I do believe that I  could hear the Bond signature tune as our flight touched down…and not realizing that I was about to have my own James Bond moment.

  I landed at the same time as two Haj flights… The city was in a frenzy…The Elections were a few days away and there were huge crowds everywhere. No matter which way my airport pick up car turned it could barely crawl.

One of the things that I have noticed in my travels is that the driver that is sent for the pick up is a mature man..a family man type…. non risk taking. 

The Man that holds the placard at the airport entrance and helps you with your luggage is usually young, energetic and a " take charge"  type. This was the case in Istanbul as well. 
My " In charge “ suggested that if we wanted to get to the hotel within the next hour we should dump the car..share my luggage between us..walk 500yards to the metro station , jump into a train and after six stops we would be  within a  mile and half of the hotel. Thereafter, we could cab it..or walk again!

Daniel Craig, flew over rooftops on a motor cycle…and I strode through streets lined with shops of wholesale textile and leather dealers and jostling crowds. Daniel Craig perhaps had some important documents on him and I clutched my hand bag and carry on luggage. Our pace was brisk…I think..and my “incharge” …tall lanky with a spiky hairstyle, and an earring..kept looking over his shoulder to ensure that I was right behind him.

There is nothing not to like in Turkey…. The Tulip season was over but the roses were in full bloom.

 Turkey has a fascinating history, architectural marvels ,rock formations that need to be seen to be believed.

Entrance to Hagia Sophia

 

Cappodocia

They have great water bodies. 

I cruised on the Bosphosus...saw the Sea of Marmara 

and had lunch overlooking the beautiful greeny blue Aegean Sea. 

The Turks care for their water bodies and are holding on to their traditional skills of carpet knotting and weaving; pottery..nurturing them via institutions that teach and assist the craftsmen, infusing technology where required.
 

 A garment factory that I visited.. a 100 machine shirt plant had the latest equipment… actually  everything short of robots.

 It’s a Muslim country..but religion for them is a personal matter..and their concerns with  the current  neighboring unrest are more  economic rather than Shia and Sunni. 

Wow and Interesting moments....

Istanbul:  is a bustling city with modern dwellings and buildings that reflect their history.

There is plenty of choice…be it hotels , food or fashion….. There are malls with all the International brands and some great local ones….and there are bazaars

Spice Market

WOW.. 

Hands Down for me it’s the Blue Mosque, The Hagia Sophia and the underground Cistern

Blue Mosque

Hagia Sophia

Entrance to the cistern

INTERESTING...

On my first day my guide met me in the lobby of my hotel with a huge bouquet of flowers..and a Welcome. Everyone stared and I said goodness, they must be thinking   which   film star. My guide replied: actually many people confuse me for Aamir Khan. …a second look…there was a resemblance . His favorite movie was… no guesses …  Three Idiots .

EPHESUS

WOW...

The Ancient City of Ephesus..

goes back I believe to 10 BC and  yes,  it is in ruins . None the less it tells its  story. 

The Theatre, The library, double walled  in order to ensure  that their 12000 scrolls were protected from damp..humidity. 

The Library

Great importance was  given to hygiene. There were baths at the four entrances of the city..and no one could enter without first cleansing themselves.

Toilets for those that could not afford to build their own.

Interesting : 

Lots of cats wander around the ruins…they are not pets..not wild or dangerous. I was told that they keep rodents and snakes away!

On the look out....

The Temple Of Artemis : one of the 7 wonders of the Ancient world..did not take my breath away..a lonely column  in a field on top of which a bird was building its nest.

Temple of Artemis

Church dedicated to Mary. 

This does not fit under either wow or interesting. 

It is small..and  you can walk through it in less than five minutes. Guides are not allowed, a priest sits quietly in a chair with an inobtrusive presence.  You are encouraged not to linger..pray or prostrate yourself as we do in our temples. Candle lighting , drinking and collecting the holy water is all outside the church.

I did none of the two…but felt good for a long time afterwards

Cappadocia…

is a complete  WOW ...

 Above the ground ..the pigeon homes some of which are inhabited  by  the locals.

Below the ground..a whole underground city..which many a time you have to double up to pass from one chamber to another. 

Dining room underground

Not recommended for those who are unable to touch their toes!

A hot air balloon ride...
yes this is offered in several countries, but for me it was a first and a heady experience. What spoilt it a little bit was a Chinese girl who muttered..Danger..Danger..whenever we passed by another balloon or neared a rock formation. 

Why on earth she did not get her horoscope done before coming..I will not understand!

Turkey & Athens - May 27 to June 8th 2015

Part 1  Athens

The trip to Turkey had been finalized when I decided to ‘add on’ Athens…just one and half hours flying time between Istanbul and Athens.

   

All through my school years Greek Mythology had been one of my  favorite readings. I loved the highly individualistic Gods and Goddesses, icons of various attributes, with passions similar to ours but with astounding prowesses. Another push came from ."Birds without Wings” by Louis de Bernieres .  A novel with the bitter struggle between the Greeks and Turks as its background.   There are gory bits, and some wonderfully etched relationships which exist  in spite of  differences in religion.

The sum total of all this was an additional three days to my itinerary and the ticket was extended.  It was a good decision.

Athens is a beautiful city where the ancient and the modern sit very comfortably together.

I could find no signs of the economic crisis that the country is going through.

The sidewalk cafes and their hosts were cheerful…there were plenty of tourists...

..it seemed normal .

In the midst of this normalcy is a phenomena  that is the Acropolis ....

with its temple of Athena Nike on a rocky hill, the Parthenon temple, the Propylaea gateway and my entire reading came alive.

The view is spectacular ; the Mediterranean Sea is visible

and what a setting for a Maria Callas, John Elton performance.  

I liked Athens.  There are big busy streets and small pedestrian friendly ones.  I love to walk and have the world’s worst sense of direction…but was always given directions happily…accurately!

 The Temple of Apollo ...the god of music who had a daily task of driving his chariot to move the sun across the sky is in Delphi.

 Athens to Delphi is an approximate two hour drive on a road without a single bump

 I was given  strange glances both by my guide and the driver of the car when I kept complimenting them on their roads..the very clean toilets..the efficiency at the ticket window..where they never seemed to be out of change.

  I think I was no different to my US buyers who came to India and  wanted me to stop the car every time they saw a cow on the street which they felt  they simply had to take a picture of.

Trying out the opening bars...before my performance.

 

Delphi

Two other memories that will remain are of Arachova , a charming mountain town on the way to Delphi..it is a ski resort..scantily populated at this time of the year because unlike India..everyone goes to the seaside for summer. Its town of carpet weavers, handicrafts..and picturesque  eating places 

AND that of 

The Acropolis Museum …a beautiful, beautiful home for what is not on site. Bernard Tschumi  Architects  have done a great job..the modernity of the structure, fixtures, in no way quarrels with the exhibits..it just makes for very comfortable and enriching viewing.with enough places to rest, audio visuals and a great café.

Actually you need a complete day here. I need to go back!

Feb 6th to 13th Feburary…..Myanmar

Feb 6th to 13^th  Feburary…..Myanmar

My list of places to visit is long. Hovering at the top are Turkey and Greece, followed closely by Australia, Borneo..and I guess on the “To Do List “..there is “watch the US Open”..August I believe.

I cannot pinpoint when Myanmar( Burma)..pronounce ME..AN..MAR and not MY…AN..MAR crept in.

 Actually, for sometime, in the background, there had been a Burma buzz …. Mr. Manmohan Singh went to visit; the US and Europe lifted sanctions and then when two gentleman from the Condo that I live in took up jobs in that country, I found myself reading A History of Burma and  studying quotes from the Theravada form of Buddhism

‘No enemy can harm one so much as one’s own thoughts of craving, hate and jealousy’

Two other powerful influencers were my friend Ms. Tessa Stewart…who sporadically inspires me to step out of my comfort zone..she sent me some wonderful pictures, … and my maid Sujon who pushed off on maternity leave to help her daughter deliver.

The itinerary took shape: Two days each in Yangon , a port on the tributary of the Irrawady river (AKA Rangoon) Bagan..the ancient capital  of the country, and Inle Lake.. and where the oarsmen use a pole and a leg to row.

                   Inle Lake..

                    a city that is on stilts in the water

                     the oarsmen use a pole and a leg to row.

Travel Agents, plan your itinerary around Historical Sites..with ‘cut copy paste ‘ phrases, a Dos and Don’t’s list… names of eating places, bars and I do not know why a visit to the fruit and vegetable market.

 Thrown in also are a factory or two..with local  craftsman at work, a showroom for souvenirs. To this I always add a visit to a garment factory..so that the trip can be labeled STUDY TOUR. The itinerary can in no way give you the flavor of the country..it is something that you sense and feel ; the picture and sound impressions that register.

Several airlines fly from Delhi to Yangon. Thai via Bangkok,  Malaysian via K.L. AND Air India via Kolkotta. I chose Malaysian…they had the best fare, good timing and an adequate transit interval in  K.L… long enough to visit an on the ground washroom ,rest, and check around the duty free. I refused to believe that they were on the “hit list “of some GROUP..my horoscope did not show my end in the air!

Yangon airport is modern and manned by efficient women, with the correct amount of sternness  in their expressions.

Outside .. the arrival Hall was a sea ( India would be a mob) of men with placards. All of them dresses in Lunghis regular shirts and flip flops. I found one ..with KAPUR..which is the correct spelling of my name. Usually I am the impoverished KA  POOR.

The placard was held by my guide, a slim man in his forty’s pleasant looking , with perfect accent less English.

Our Car was not newish..and not oldish..The A/C worked , the seats were well cushioned , the upholstery was not worn or faded and most important the computerized voice alerts “ Slow Down,..Seat Belts please, You are too close to the vehicle ahead..were bang on..except it was all said in Japanese .The car was a reconditioned import from Japan and the alerts I presume could not be redone..which I find strange..because the Japanese are Technical Whizzes and very meticulous. Any how I would not have understood even if the alerts had been in Burmese.

Yangon city..a total contrast to Bagan.. is a city of traffic jams. It has  several lakes 

       It has  several lakes 

         the statue of a 60ft. lying down Buddha

                       beautiful gardens

                    and the famous Shwedagon Monastery.

It is a city on the cusp of consumerism..ready to be overtaken by the Macdonalds and the Reeboks.

The tourist season is from November to early March…and my guide was apologetic about the rush ..but then any one that is from India defines ‘rush’  differently

Inspite of all my reading I was not expecting anything from my visit other than Monastery Marvels

           Monastery Marvels …in stone and  in wood

interesting sculptures and architecture all with their own stories

                   

               interesting sculptures and architecture

               all with their own stories

 The add ons were:

 The smiling gentle people..warm sincere with a quiet diginity. No one puts their hand out. No one followed you trying to sell.

 The Burmese Cat however is not ….gentle… just magnificent

The clear skies …. in Bagan  and Inle Lake.. that provided great  visuals of  the sun rising and setting.

                    Sun set  at Irrawaddy river

In Bagan

Places of Sanctity that insisted on ‘no shoes, no socks, decorum of dress..but  were clean..just a little dust which  you wiped off with a scented paper towel provided by your guide.

                                  Tourists and locals

We ..the tourists.. were the camera toters consulting guide books..out numbering us were the locals..believers..donars.

Hotels and Service : As good ..actually in service better than anywhere in the world.

                               The Hotel in Bagan

                            The bath room at Inle Lake villa

 The Service I feel stems from the nature of the people..a happy people..who want to please…there is a warmth that takes them beyond the trained professional.

                      My guide and I in Yangon

Thank you  Tessa,  Thank you  Sujan,