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The (not quite) Cairo to (almost) Istanbul Trip Highlights (in Pictures) 2

Posted by The Working Traveller on July 20th, 2011

Laying slap bang in the way of getting to Turkey, we needed to cross Syria to get home but when we turned up at the border Syria said no and turned me away. We had to decide what to do next. The temptation was to turn around and head back to Egypt and take the once in a lifetime opportunity to have the Pyramids and the rest of Egypt’s historical assets to ourselves.

Then we remembered the country we bumped when planning our route. I had thought the Syrians wouldn’t let me in at the border twice without a prearranged visa but now that they had already rejected me Lebanon was on the table again. We flew to Beirut.

Posted in Cairo to (almost) Istanbul, Photo Features

Tags: amadiya, beirut, dohuk, erbil, iraq, lebanon, tripoli

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The (not quite) Cairo to (almost) Istanbul Trip Highlights (in Pictures)

Posted by The Working Traveller on July 16th, 2011

Now we are back we are attempting to wean ourselves away from writing solely about our recent adventures. Having predictable access to the internet again means we can get back to writing researched pieces about working and volunteering abroad and focus more on other areas of the planet outside of the Middle East.

For the rest of this month though I’m taking a last chance to indulge ourselves and show some pictures of our travels. I learnt a long time ago our friends ain’t interested but the advantage of having a website is I can force them on to you. (Tip: I don’t pay much attention to our stats so if you want to slowly back away from the computer now I won’t know about it).

Posted in Cairo to (almost) Istanbul, Photo Features

Tags: amman. aqaba, dahab, egypt, jerash, jordan, petra, sinai, snorkeling

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Photo Feature: Apollo Temple, Didim, Turkey

Posted by The Working Traveller on July 8th, 2011

Our home town in Turkey is very much a package tourism destination. Young families and the retired from the UK come to lie on the beach in the mornings and afternoons and drink in the bars and clubs in the evening.

Turks from nearby towns and villages daytrip in Altinkum, the beach area of Didim, and residents of Ankara or Germany spend some of the season in their summer homes.

The vast majority go nowhere near the Temple of Apollo, Didim’s only notable attraction aside from the beach. It is the same story for the Turks who staff the bars for six months each year before returning to their homes dotted around the rest of Anatolia.

Posted in Cairo to (almost) Istanbul, Living in Turkey, Photo Features, Travel Features

Tags: altinkum, didim, photos, seven wonders, turkey

9 Comments »

Photos of Beirut Street Art

Posted by The Working Traveller on June 18th, 2011

Bordering Israel and with its own multi fragmented political scene, it should come as no surprise that the most politicised street art I have noticed was found in Beirut.

I don’t go around looking for such things but I have had a soft spot for stencilled street art ever since I lived in south London. The Tooting Bec chapter of a Peruvian political group was particularly active in painting small clenched fists on blank white walls in the streets around my home.

Posted in Cairo to (almost) Istanbul, Photo Features, Travel Features

Tags: beirut, lebanon, photos

4 Comments »

Photo Feature: Jerash Roman Army and Chariot Experience

Posted by The Working Traveller on June 2nd, 2011

Twice a day Saturday to Thursday (except Tuesday) the Romans come to the Jordanian town of Jerash. There they demonstrate their soldierly skills, stage a gladiator fight, and race their chariots around the former Empire’s smallest Hippodrome.

The Romans have been in Jerash before. Pompey’s Legions took over the region in 64 BC and Gerasa as it was then known later become part of the Decapolis: ten Roman city states on the eastern border of the Empire.

The Roman Army and Chariot Experience is good fun but I have a fantastic suggestion to make it even better.

Posted in Cairo to (almost) Istanbul, Our Travels, Photo Features, Travel Features

Tags: jerash, jordan, photos

3 Comments »

Photo Feature: Erbil Citadel

Posted by The Working Traveller on May 4th, 2011

Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish region of Iraq lacks the world class attractions of other cities. Despite spawning urban souls for longer than almost anywhere on our planet, a sightseeing tour of the city will take in a few average mosques, a couple of nice parks and a busted minaret.

On only one attraction can Erbil compete and compete well: the Citadel. Erbil’s Citadel offers the freedom and fun that other citadels with a less filled in near past can lack.

Posted in Cairo to (almost) Istanbul, Photo Features, Travel Features

Tags: citadels, erbil, iraq, photos

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Photo Feature: Along the Siq to the Treasury, Petra

Posted by The Working Traveller on March 20th, 2011

I got called Indiana Jones a lot on our big trip around the world. I’d love to say it was because of my rugged features and ability to keep dangerous religious artefacts out of the hands of the forces of evil but if I did Deirdre, loafing around next to me thinking of descending on the town’s eateries like a locust, would call me out as a big, stinking liar.

The real reason was the hat. The smart Fedora, purchased with the dying financial embers of a much abused credit card, solicited complimentary, if cheeky, comments from children and adults alike across three continents until lost in a drunken incident in Turkey a year or so back.

Posted in Cairo to (almost) Istanbul, Our Travels, Photo Features, Travel Features, Travelling

Tags: hats, indiana jones, jordan, petra, wadi musa

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Photo Feature: St Katherine’s Monastery

Posted by The Working Traveller on February 7th, 2011

Enclosing itself protectively around the alleged site of the burning bush, God’s chosen media to communicate with Moses, St Katherine’s Monastery shares the distinction of being one of the world’s oldest working Christian Monasteries. Around 20 Greek Orthodox monks reside there.

The Byzantine Emperor Justinian fortified a fourth century chapel, dedicated to Christian martyr St Katherine, and built the Monastery in the sixth century.

As a religious site the Monastery’s significance is felt by millions of Christians, Muslims and Jews. As a tourist attraction it is a pleasant drive through an arid national park to share a peek at a bush with a large crowd. The bush is no more interesting than any other bush I’ve ever seen.

Posted in Cairo to (almost) Istanbul, Photo Features, Travelling

Tags: egypt, sinai

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The Yavari Project, Puno, Peru

Posted by The Working Traveller on October 19th, 2010

It is easy to slip past Puno on the way to Bolivia, the Uros Islands and the other, more conventional, islands situated in Lake Titicaca. If you do stop there though it is worth spending a little time investigating the story of the SS Yavari.

Built on the Thames in 1861 the steamship was cut into 2,766 pieces. It took six years for the ship to be transported by mule across the mountains to the lake where it was reassembled and put into service two miles above sea level.

Posted in Photo Features, Travelling

Tags: museums, peru, photos, puno, yavari

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Parque Das Aves, Iguacu, Brazil

Posted by The Working Traveller on July 10th, 2010

The Parque Das Aves is often overlooked by visitors to the Brazilian side of the Iguacu Falls. A shame, as the bird life from around the world is easy to view either in cages or in the covered enclosures.

The enclosures are entered via double doors to prevent the free flying birds from making off and you will be able to experience screeching parrots, storks blocking your path and toucans flying from their tree perch to land a foot away from where you stand.

In other enclosures visitors may interact with humming birds and large butterflies or view caymans and turtles.

Posted in Photo Features, Travelling

Tags: brazil, iguacu falls, wildlife

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