ANZAC

ANZAC DAY

24^th April

Cannakale Tusan Hotel

Left hotel early and went across the Dardanelles to visit the Lone Pine area, which was all set up for the service,  took a look at some of the trenches that still exist, the Turkish memorial site, the Nek Cemetery,  Chunuk Bair and looked down on ANZAC cove where the commemorative service was to be held. The Turkish hold their own service on 18^th March to commemorate Ataturk's success of defending Gallipoli.

We returned to the hotel and  left again at 11.00pm to arrive at ANZAC Cove at midnight. I had 6 layers of tops on plus plastic and foil over the top of me and by 4 am I started to feel the cold .(thank god it didn't rain) It was an amazing feeling to watch dawn break and imagine all the ships that were out there in 1915 and the fate our soldiers met. I couldn't believe that I was actually there along with thousands of others.

After the dawn service finished we began to make the trek to Lone Pine for the next service when we ran into my brother (Michael) and so we spent the rest of the day with him. We had arranged to meet him in Istanbul on the 26^th as he had decided he wasn't going to Gallipoli - he  had a change of heart. Over the day we walked about 8-10 kms going from one area to another but it was well worth it. Chunuk Bair only had a small area reserved for its service so most of us didn't get in ,we just sat around on a bit of grass and waited for it to finish.

Finally the buses started to roll past and pick their groups up in 5 minute intervals - we waited for an hour to be picked up.

Sorry this is so diary like, but I'm never going to remember it all unless I list the things we have seen.

We can't believe that we are living this adventure, it all seems like a dream and what we have seen is amazing. Different to be surrounded by mosques Muslims and a male dominated society.

On our last day in Istanbul we went for a Turkish Bath- more like preparation for a BBQ and we were the meat. We spent 40mins in 38-40c heat on a marble slab (hot plate) until the males (servants) came back to pour cold water over the top of us then scrub our bodies with soapy water- all the time dousing themselves with cold water to keep cool. After that they fluffed foam all over us until we looked like we were in a bubble bath and then gave us a bit of a massage and rinsed us off. Not giving us much idea what we were supposed to be doing, we went back to the slab again until we couldn't bear it any longer and went out to the drying room.

The boys came back and arranged our towels on us so they would stay on and then we went for a cool drink . I not sure we would call it enjoyable rather an experience. If you are wondering, we did have shorts on and I had a bikini top.

Must go as we are now in Egypt and it is 11.15pm. We plan to go for a look around tomorrow and probably won't blog again until the end of the trip as I'm not sure if internet access will be available. We have glimpsed the pyramids from the car window. Another pinch yourself moment.

Love C & J

Cappadocia to Cannakale

Cappadocia to Canakkale

Tourist Hotel

20^th April: 5:30am Early morning hot balloon ride over the Cappadocia landscape – magnificent, must have been up to nearly 80 other balloons in the sky with us. ( a bit hair raising when three balloons were touching) The pilot of our balloon was so experienced that he landed the balloon on the back of a trailer, this was topped off with a glass of champagne.

We next went to the Goreme open air museum which consists of cave churches and homes with biblical drawings on the walls. (frescos)

We stopped at Ankara (Turkey's capital) to visit the Mausoleum of Ataturk- a monumental tomb of Turkey's modern founder.

We went to a rug/carpet making place where the price of some were $11,000 - we'll settle for a fake I think. At this place they actually bred their own silkworms and collected the thread to make silk carpet rugs which some took up to 2 years to make.

Next onto Konya - home to the whirling dervish order of centuries ago. Here there were the tombs of these priest like men and even the beard of the most important one, which all the Muslims were having a sniff of through little holes in the glass case and crying. (Mevlana Museum) Called in at another underground city at Kaymakli- glad I live in the 21st century.

Lycus River Hotel

22^ndApril: Pamukkale Relaxing night in the hot thermal pools – a bit stinky but nice. Next morning we traveled to the travertine pools that have calcium ledges and the Hierapolis ruins- an impressive sight. We were able to walk through the pools and get some magnificent photos. (we were only interested in the pools)
Tatlises Hotel

23^rd April: Traveled to Kudasi and toured the ancient town of Ephesus - more ruins and heaps of marble just lying about. We also took a cable car ride to the top of a mountain to see the Acropolis where we could of decked out a few houses with all the spare marble around there - only problem was we couldn't shift it.

Then to continue our religious experience we went to the house of theVirgin Mary where she is supposed to have lived until she died after moving from Jerusalem. We weren't really interested in Troy as we were fairly close to Gallipoli but walked around and looked at more ruins. (I think I'll get the

movie out one day)

C & J

Istanbul Turkey

Titanic Hotel Taksim

17^th April: Arrived in Turkey expecting the weather to be warm but soon discovered that it was colder than home - everybody is still dressed for winter here as Spring has not arrived.

Made contact with my cousin David and went on a guided walk of the areas that tourists don't get to see. Later after a fantastic tour in the car with David and Altin we went out for dinner and were able to experience the delicious local cuisine. David and Altin were the perfect hosts and we are most greatful to them. (they should become tour guides as they know all the history of the area) It was so good to catch up with someone we know

in a different country.

Next day we set off underdressed and ended up quite cold and wet for the day. While pouring with rain we visited the Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, Underground Cistern and the Grand Bazaar. All places were amazing and in the Underground Cistern we felt like we were part of the Phantom of The Opera movie and were expecting the boat to come sailing through the tunnel at any moment.

The Underground Cistern was used to hold water for the city via aquaducts in the 6^th century. It covers an area of 9800sq metres with 336 marble columns each 9 metres high and arranged in 12 rows of 28. You can imagine how impressive this all looked with a few metres of water in it and dimly lit.

After dinner in the Taksim Square area we wandered around and found a Turkish Delight shop and stocked up for our 9 hour journey on the bus to Cappadocia. Tomorrow morning we are off to do hot air ballooning over the town of Cappadocia.

                                                                     Grand Bazaar

                                                                     Turkish Dinner

                                                           Underground Cistern

                                                                     Grand Bazaar

                                                           Topkapi Palace

Jerash Photos

Jerash/Mt.Nebo/Madaba/River of Jordan

15^th April: Jerash/Jarash  Regency Palace Hotel Amman

Arriving back in Amman at lunch time we decided to take a drive to Jerash just 50 kms from the Syrian border. (close enough for us) There we were introduced to Mohammad our guide who took us on a very informative tour of the very early Roman ruins of the cities of the Decapolis along with many other Muslim visitors. As we were driving along we noticed that the people just stopped anywhere along the road and ate- in amongst the numerous speed cameras they have set up. Safety while driving does not appear to matter, with up to five people in the back seat and little ones standing up with the windows fully wound down. In the local towns it is not uncommon to see a ute full of men. (similar to Vietnam)

16^th April: Madaba, Mt. Nebo and the River of Jordan

Madaba

Once again, being woken to the call of prayer at 4.30am we were ready to set off early.

We arrived at St George's Greek Orthodox Church in Madaba to see the mosaic floor that was discovered from centuries ago and then onto the mosaic factory.

Mt. Nebo is a memorial to Moses who died somewhere on the mountain after speaking with God. A tent had been erected over more mosaic while the church was being renovated and at long last I was able to feel it as it is made out of goats' hair.

Jordan River

After going through a checkpoint of 10 guards at Bethany it was quite exciting to think that we were actually going to the site where Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist. We walked along a track where Jesus was supposed to have met Andrew(didn't really know anything about him) and stopped at the spring which flows to meet the river. Along side of us was a military zone set up to keep an eye on the border to Israel.

Having reached the river, I decided I had to put my feet in it to say I had been in the same river as Jesus - all this under the watchful eye of an armed soldier. As you can see by the photo the river is only about 4metres wide and the Israeli access has been taped off.

                                                        From thetop of Mt. Nebo

Petra and Dead Sea Photos

http://www.tourism.jo/

Petra and the Dead Sea. Movenpick Hotel and the Dead Sea Spa Resort

Hi all, we set off for Petra on the the 12th with a driver that could barely speak english  and traveled through a dust storm for about an hour. The driver left the Desert Highway and took us to Shobuk Castle (we guessed we were going somewhere) which was set high on a hill  with gale force winds so we didn't stay long.
We arrived at our 5 star resort located 50metres from the entrance gate. Next morning we were up at 5.30am and down to breakfast by 6.30am, both of us ate enough for 6 or more people (thankgoodness the rest of our acc. is not 5 star)
We started our journey into Petra which is a huge archaeological site of the Nabataean people. The ancient city has been carved into solid rock with many multicoloured sandstone mountains surrounding it. It took us 9 hours to walk around a fair bit of it and we walked the 900 stairs to the monastery on top of the mountain. We should have taken the donkey up as it took 1 hour to climb and my calf muscles are still in pain.

Next ,our  journey took us down the Kings Highway to the Dead Sea. We passed through towns that looked liked they were half built or abandoned but people were actually living in them. Some of the towns we passed through were Dana, Al Safi, At Talifa Masra, As Sala and could see Wadi Araba from a distance.
We encountered, squat toilets, goats crossing the road and many men standing around. In our 3 hour journey we saw only 4 women and they were covered from head to toe in black burkas with their eyes peering form slits in the hood.
There are still Bedouin people living in tents along the road and on the sides of mountains.

We could see the mountains of Israel , the desert between Jordan and Israel and the West Bank of Palistine as we drove along. We also passed a Magnesium Oxide Plant and an Arab Potash Company.

Our driver constantly text and answered his phone as he drove and only wore his seat belt if we were approaching police. Most of the cars here are a Hyundai Accent or van and have a flag stuck to the front and back window with beads hanging from the mirror.
At the Resort we covered ourselves in mud  and then floated in the Dead Sea.

Back to Amman tomorrow for 2 days and then on to Turkey.

C & J

Amman 10th April Toledo Hotel

After having a rest we ventured out onto the streets and found our way to the King Abdullah mosque which was built in commemoration of the late martyr King Abdullah Bin Al-Hussein, the founder of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Before you enter you are required to remove your shoes and women must be covered in a cloak with a hood - I looked like the “Grim Reaper.” Once inside, we learnt about the design of the mosque and what each part represents.

 Feeling hungry, we tried to find some food but the only place we came across had men only in it so we decided to get a bag of chips and head back to the hotel. We have seen very few women around in the area we are in.

Still eager for adventure, we jumped in a taxi and went for a ride downtown and up to the Citadel where we got a great view of a small part of the city and of the ancient Roman Theatre.

Off to Petra tomorrow

Amman

6.00am 11th April
Have arrived in Amman and are just resting before we head out to have a look around. Not much grass to be seen.
C & J xx