tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3345012096539162372024-02-07T05:23:50.308+00:00Overland Drive from Southport (UK) to Melbourne (Australia)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-34466450996990248852010-10-08T11:18:00.003+01:002012-11-29T21:55:30.327+00:00Day 46 – Iran<u>Day 46 – Thursday – 26th August – Iran</u><br />
Yazd<br />
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The Hotel Zand had secure parking. Tick. <br />
The Hotel Zand was bad. Tick. <br />
Running Water and Air Con had to be asked for. <br />
Cockroaches and the smell of leaking Gas were free. <br />
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The Air Con was also turned off about 1am in the morning and we all woke up warm after a poor nights sleep. Zowi & Chesa argued for a partial discount as the Air Con had been deliberately turned off by the manager. The manager retorted that they should have got out of bed, got dressed, gone to reception and asked for it to be turned back on. 1/2 hour later and with a $5 reduction we left the Hotel Zand and headed the short 45 mile drive to Persepolis. <br />
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The ancient city of Persepolis in modern-day Iran was one of four capitals of the sprawling Persian Empire. Built beginning around 520 B.C., the city was a showcase for the empire's staggering wealth, with grand architecture, extravagant works of silver and gold, and extensive relief sculptures, some portraying envoys with offerings for the king. <br />
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The height of Persian rule lasted from about 550 B.C. until 330 B.C., when Alexander the Great overthrew the ruling Archaemenid dynasty and burned Persepolis to the ground. <br />
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It was absolutely scorching and the ruins at Persepolis provided very little shade. However it isnt often that you are able to admire ruins that are 2,500 years old, and soon 3 hours had passed.<br />
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Stopping for some refreshments, provided us with a chance to replenish fluids, but also gave the young guy working in the shop some time to quiz us on England, Iran, Religion, Movies and Travel in general. He pulled up 2 comfortable desk chairs square in front of the Air Con to ensure we spent nearly an hour chatting with him.<br />
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Persepolis was a definite highlight for the both of us. The next time that you're in Iran it definitely needs to appear in your Top 5 list of places to visit. Absolutely Awesome. <br />
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On the road again.<br />
Goin' places that I've never been.<br />
Seein' things that I may never see again.<br />
And I can't wait to get on the road again. (<em>Thanks to Willie Nelson for the Lyrics</em>) <br />
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At 8pm we arrived at Yazd and with the help of the locals, successfully navigated to the well known Silk Road Hotel (known to fellow Overlanders anyway!)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-41215032842642303462010-10-08T08:36:00.016+01:002010-10-11T13:32:39.261+01:00Day 45 – Iran<u>Day 45 – Wednesday 25th August – Iran</u><br />
Shiraz <br />
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Late last night, whilst retrieving a few items from Barnaby in the Hotel Car park, Zowi spotted a car that is somewhat unusual to Iran – a Fiat Cinquecento! <br />
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The Fiat appeared to have been prepared as an Overland vehicle and was decorated with a list of all the countries already visited, starting with flags from Italy through to their destination, Australia. The Fiat also sported a picture of the drivers on the bonnet. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ12dRjQaLG_1vVtJwE-NfJqeNJl9KBm2zLeXQDSBQO8mU12EOcsY7WJuF1Z9nIfbJjBoDHHXitqYYappSjMTJGJaaLTpU0x9bFiE_RxUPVL-U8pnelfh6nJiUP_DRhI09VaVgBeu29l4/s1600/fiat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ12dRjQaLG_1vVtJwE-NfJqeNJl9KBm2zLeXQDSBQO8mU12EOcsY7WJuF1Z9nIfbJjBoDHHXitqYYappSjMTJGJaaLTpU0x9bFiE_RxUPVL-U8pnelfh6nJiUP_DRhI09VaVgBeu29l4/s640/fiat.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Photo borrowed from </em></span><a href="http://www.500downunder.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>www.500downunder.com</em></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><em> as it was too dark to snap their car in the car park!</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>We left a note on their windscreen to say “Hello” and gave our room number in case they wanted to compare notes over a coffee or beer. <br />
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Returning to the hotel we tried to ask the Front Desk if there was a couple from Italy staying at the Hotel, but the guy didn’t know. He told us that the car park is shared with other hotels in the vicinity. It dawned on me that I hadn't put the Hotel Name on the note, just the room number. It was too late now to go and change the note. Perhaps we had the only Room 103 on the street<br />
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At breakfast in walked the pair of travellers with the Fiat, Simon & Chesa. We knew from the car that they were heading to Pakistan next, but they had news that the roads in Pakistan were impassable due to the recent floods that had ravaged the country. Time to put Plan B into action. Shit, we have no Plan B. Plan A it is then.<br />
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Planning to see the more of Esfahan today and to leave for Shiraz later in the day we thought we could compare notes for an hour so. Simon & Chesa were also heading to Shiraz, but had planned to leave in the next 10 minutes. There was just enough time to take their mobile number from them before saying “Ciao”.<br />
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We enjoyed a morning walk around the park near the hotel. Kids were playing football on the field, other men were playing Volleyball, just a typical day which could be anywhere in the world. Within the park is Hasht Behesht, a Palace built in the 17th Century and was once the most luxurious decorated Palace in the city.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-t1siJ4S5FfGeG7uM-CYW1-vCR4pfCXM2WWzjcj1KYQxhXSbhDPCz6s0LTC4iFidLorba003dt_vNflyMILvJx6bg2WMyuW4B4Ubbz0YrqzOouxhM5qG1S8OB85ow8L38cXfc-Tk6cQ/s1600/P1020254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-t1siJ4S5FfGeG7uM-CYW1-vCR4pfCXM2WWzjcj1KYQxhXSbhDPCz6s0LTC4iFidLorba003dt_vNflyMILvJx6bg2WMyuW4B4Ubbz0YrqzOouxhM5qG1S8OB85ow8L38cXfc-Tk6cQ/s320/P1020254.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hasht Behesht, a Palace built in the 17th Century</span></td></tr>
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNko-jca6RyDfh1dRPYAhw3W_fMddcCn9IwUiH0mrB6eKI4MxCLcox73c8QG99LBdXMr3Nk424O8ZfLq-Tt5Xf6UlRFWrvL1VscdGOgGHDFzCofIzPrnDzzvPdzSCS9bt02ihquoHL90M/s1600/P1020261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNko-jca6RyDfh1dRPYAhw3W_fMddcCn9IwUiH0mrB6eKI4MxCLcox73c8QG99LBdXMr3Nk424O8ZfLq-Tt5Xf6UlRFWrvL1VscdGOgGHDFzCofIzPrnDzzvPdzSCS9bt02ihquoHL90M/s320/P1020261.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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The drive to Shiraz was about 300 miles. Iran was the first country that we felt that Barnaby attracted a lot more attention on the roads which may be due to the foreign number plates. It is possible to obtain Iranian Number Plates, but they are not required for stays of less than 10 days and cannot be kept as souvenirs when leaving Iran, so we avoided the extra cost and paperwork and kept N432ENB.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Curiosity on the roads is normally a 7-step process... </div><br />
<ol><li style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzayEDL3eALQYZynbob_1yx1NTeviTVfPlZ9qXyY0PDBF6NoJA7nMCkXoTLhjCkT0wDvyoQWbfIpc50UDtNYPJ-3HNnrZxdrLJoA8aYoVsP2Nt7XXKgM26nCYFTK2XwdOdhylDrl3qiSo/s1600/P1020332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzayEDL3eALQYZynbob_1yx1NTeviTVfPlZ9qXyY0PDBF6NoJA7nMCkXoTLhjCkT0wDvyoQWbfIpc50UDtNYPJ-3HNnrZxdrLJoA8aYoVsP2Nt7XXKgM26nCYFTK2XwdOdhylDrl3qiSo/s320/P1020332.JPG" width="320" /></a>Iranian car with 1 or more occupants overtake Barnaby.</li>
<li style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Iranian car either brakes gently or severely for a closer look at Barnaby.</li>
<li style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Barnaby then overtakes slow Iranian car with all Iranian occupants vying for a closer look.</li>
<li style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Richard & Zowi wave towards Iranians.</li>
<li style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Iranians wave back with smiles.</li>
<li style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Iranian Car slowly overtakes Barnaby so all Iranian occupants can have another look.</li>
<li>If satisfied, Iranian car pulls away. If still curious, Iranians go to step 2 and repeat.</li>
</ol><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-DrDKZ4wBa3NKJLZ4H-87tZQYFFX7ZCcyhZh9tLSPxQ6OMXVshyphenhyphenWHcbi6-VXLC6M6YwVy_rcPmf4r6IQQCEbZTdTMlRSVg5SSuniJUz_b13XGbKOYRwDjqPBZN7n7LUK-0iFHGqGPa4/s1600/P1020331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-DrDKZ4wBa3NKJLZ4H-87tZQYFFX7ZCcyhZh9tLSPxQ6OMXVshyphenhyphenWHcbi6-VXLC6M6YwVy_rcPmf4r6IQQCEbZTdTMlRSVg5SSuniJUz_b13XGbKOYRwDjqPBZN7n7LUK-0iFHGqGPa4/s320/P1020331.JPG" width="299" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Almost there.</span></td></tr>
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGLghp1x3snCXtgSutWkMHaLAPqynUFLKTa7e5aTKji5ULFj_4gG82uUbkUQVnF91gD4HBcj46gRbZTsLrtUNUWjrJh10wtIqKYecC_7DsG-ffhQmoBoj4feFKu6VR_uGIy807yZeUVqA/s1600/P1020326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGLghp1x3snCXtgSutWkMHaLAPqynUFLKTa7e5aTKji5ULFj_4gG82uUbkUQVnF91gD4HBcj46gRbZTsLrtUNUWjrJh10wtIqKYecC_7DsG-ffhQmoBoj4feFKu6VR_uGIy807yZeUVqA/s320/P1020326.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Arriving in Shiraz we set about looking for the Hotel Zand which is about the only hotel listed in the Lonely Planet with secure parking. According to the address and map, it is located just off the main road. We missed the turn off and headed for a U-turn which wasn’t to exist. Suddenly a little Fiat Cinquecento pulled from a side street in front of us. Simon and Chesa were in Shiraz and having the same problem locating the hotel as we were. Pooling our skills, knowledge and resources together we drove around for another 20 minutes before Chesa found the Hotel after asking the locals for directions. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">What a tight fit! The car park entrance to the Hotel Zand was fine for a little Fiat, but Barnaby (and Richard) both a little bigger, struggled to get in, eventually squeezing in after folding mirrors in with only millimetres to spare. Richard was not looking forward to getting out in the morning.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUqFUay8P5Yews6MkJxvgGD_883dfRbbnOoUISu5dCNYYr_onCtrKpwQapuadPBmBulorSL2sl3LBoHQBkYNRN-sl222-VhpTJ09IhzEWtZb54_JrQ_taKAclZYZJmrZdSkhpFt_fHElQ/s1600/P1020337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUqFUay8P5Yews6MkJxvgGD_883dfRbbnOoUISu5dCNYYr_onCtrKpwQapuadPBmBulorSL2sl3LBoHQBkYNRN-sl222-VhpTJ09IhzEWtZb54_JrQ_taKAclZYZJmrZdSkhpFt_fHElQ/s320/P1020337.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Not the nicest hotel choice. Only one night at least.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>After settling into our very basic rooms, we knocked on the door next room to see if Simon & Chesa wanted to find some food with us. They were about to shower and advised that they would go later. The streets of Shiraz had a different feel to the other cities in Iran. Zowi was attracting a little bit more attention from the men standing outside their shops than we both felt comfortable with, possibly as she was only wearing a baggy long sleeve shirt instead of a manteau coat. This was the first time Zowi felt the attention was not welcome. The restaurant that we were looking for had also closed down. Feeling tired and frustrated, we headed back to our room and heated some soup and noodles for dinner before heading to bed to sleep. <br />
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<u>Cataracts or Carrots</u>. I’m not sure where to put this section, as it’s my Blog, and my rant, it is going here. A lot of Iranian drivers who drive at night can be split into 2 distinct groups; Cataracts or Carrots.<br />
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Cataract Drivers are so named due to very poor eyesight. Cataract drivers need to have their fog lights on and their full beam lights on throughout the night, blinding all drivers they pass.<br />
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Carrot Drivers are the complete opposite and can see in the dark very well. Carrot drivers don’t bother with any lights on at all. Kinder Carrot drivers replace the standard headlight bulbs with 1 blue “Christmas Tree Bulb”. “Surprise!” they shout in Iranian as they suddenly appear from nowhere.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7k71slVDYcHuTS_g2EOSSlU2R8vhcKviiqWFMNmhhs3dQkK322IFBuC9RVnyDYQJTkSRWgjPXRewqZ5V353_n5bfxPLSL5qK75B5dR7U27ApjAmo95JNoc_OaOYvfWbyUaauwD0T7d0/s1600/P1020329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7k71slVDYcHuTS_g2EOSSlU2R8vhcKviiqWFMNmhhs3dQkK322IFBuC9RVnyDYQJTkSRWgjPXRewqZ5V353_n5bfxPLSL5qK75B5dR7U27ApjAmo95JNoc_OaOYvfWbyUaauwD0T7d0/s320/P1020329.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj1qO53wfxkXQV035gxWbzO_0YWQvedaiUfhBX1SeaEgbs3rqVS8qgdOOxrG_sJ1aw91kXJeTnz-higO4851pS6Gpb6Vms3trKtlfB3cWp5kbKq12oUNlCs5jGmveS_BjIX6BiGY0qJKw/s1600/P1020344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj1qO53wfxkXQV035gxWbzO_0YWQvedaiUfhBX1SeaEgbs3rqVS8qgdOOxrG_sJ1aw91kXJeTnz-higO4851pS6Gpb6Vms3trKtlfB3cWp5kbKq12oUNlCs5jGmveS_BjIX6BiGY0qJKw/s320/P1020344.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><em> Sandstorm brewing on the side of the road.</em><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb67iCY3-TmeyvmJVEgTmsL-k6oXK8MjLucezBkfsudrkuqWQTHHZSjD7LTowmfbYMxqgNqIgyGyiiYEAorgVWh-VaqgL9E11palBLymduqfci9zAtZd_br1yACxVvnZr7LA6C2fkBPwM/s1600/P1020319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb67iCY3-TmeyvmJVEgTmsL-k6oXK8MjLucezBkfsudrkuqWQTHHZSjD7LTowmfbYMxqgNqIgyGyiiYEAorgVWh-VaqgL9E11palBLymduqfci9zAtZd_br1yACxVvnZr7LA6C2fkBPwM/s320/P1020319.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: small;">He never did say which letter..hmmmm</span></em></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <em>Only three people this time. However not uncommon to see a family of five out for an evening cruise.</em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-41988654619391453292010-10-06T12:19:00.006+01:002010-10-06T12:41:29.960+01:00Day 44 - Iran<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Day 44 – Tuesday 24th August – Iran</span></u><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3UXP9BeiBhoqssE7XHBCkM3zIIVKnd2rzB1cZw-DDIJAnr_bERzPzLDjq1oI4K_YRBHAdqj7rVprAphQP4_0ZFu4f6Fmh4x_Mpfyp0SPp81Sufcll6JKGithrR_n-gq_ish3xjhIclqQ/s1600/P1020334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3UXP9BeiBhoqssE7XHBCkM3zIIVKnd2rzB1cZw-DDIJAnr_bERzPzLDjq1oI4K_YRBHAdqj7rVprAphQP4_0ZFu4f6Fmh4x_Mpfyp0SPp81Sufcll6JKGithrR_n-gq_ish3xjhIclqQ/s320/P1020334.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Esfahan</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The weather again was over 35C and as it was midday, there was very little shade to be found. It was still Ramadan and therefore Muslims are fasting between sunrise and sunset, this includes the drinking of water. Non-Muslim tourists are able to drink discreetly, something that we became adept at in order to survive the midday heat. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP3rF3HJf42Afib6yk1V16g5jA-HeYfIzpzMueSasSwuodhxu-VlPKLtOxCahhjExFWFMdXTyF8GAoO_FtIE0k95Mr_QQ4eZPUU6xy-Z1znkMalsYHzpk4AJnSAfHYZkUEP1OGvGCpMYk/s1600/P1020248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP3rF3HJf42Afib6yk1V16g5jA-HeYfIzpzMueSasSwuodhxu-VlPKLtOxCahhjExFWFMdXTyF8GAoO_FtIE0k95Mr_QQ4eZPUU6xy-Z1znkMalsYHzpk4AJnSAfHYZkUEP1OGvGCpMYk/s320/P1020248.JPG" width="240" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIAKN8wiRDkKhQze9mn8ZaiXNeKvEarVPOOg6Uz1V7FT_jF7hsTFvdXGP5D1YsoqviiMr4-neqhGJ5pylamovsan8mX1ZqHtennVzZ_7vI56vUjFVUYOyu1ri3h6riBWtdCdLusy0UV_A/s1600/P1020252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIAKN8wiRDkKhQze9mn8ZaiXNeKvEarVPOOg6Uz1V7FT_jF7hsTFvdXGP5D1YsoqviiMr4-neqhGJ5pylamovsan8mX1ZqHtennVzZ_7vI56vUjFVUYOyu1ri3h6riBWtdCdLusy0UV_A/s400/P1020252.JPG" width="400" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first place we visited was Imam Square, located in the centre of Esfahan, which as the name suggests, is a beautiful square with 4 sides! On the south side of the square is ‘The Shah Mosque’ and on the west side is ‘Ali Qapu Palace’. To the eastern side of the square is ‘Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque’ – (ladies Mosque), and finally to the northern side is the famous Esfahan Grand Bazaar.</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi907yMo_KClIFSfSSB1qSofceUBnOQtRRPync3ug71mrd9zD1OFELQUZ09wEBDHjCXNDegLLnA-C08Wx4nrMPxaVWqBFrMotHvR-G6dGi38pQcCrBwuRJyAPq7J-Z92z7qvLF_NpY46Vc/s1600/IMG_9393.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi907yMo_KClIFSfSSB1qSofceUBnOQtRRPync3ug71mrd9zD1OFELQUZ09wEBDHjCXNDegLLnA-C08Wx4nrMPxaVWqBFrMotHvR-G6dGi38pQcCrBwuRJyAPq7J-Z92z7qvLF_NpY46Vc/s400/IMG_9393.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir5AzC4w5cSrdSPJOo44WScZ5tgeLKwhezC8p0F-QRghLWtRS4gFT7HORalAfZNyyZerO1X9YThqDNxhWeq_U8Xf3QffS_HqQ31enZXiupfB7cm3-E2fMbTdxRwWKgXx5_AmAPRQayBWo/s1600/IMG_9376.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir5AzC4w5cSrdSPJOo44WScZ5tgeLKwhezC8p0F-QRghLWtRS4gFT7HORalAfZNyyZerO1X9YThqDNxhWeq_U8Xf3QffS_HqQ31enZXiupfB7cm3-E2fMbTdxRwWKgXx5_AmAPRQayBWo/s320/IMG_9376.jpg" width="240" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVTEuekZNxpfSp6aejvpC7VnbtIfmOscpx99gopaPjZg4AFA67GFjNjqvqIaTHQLrOx2z5W5xCwOPsxPVt0-EQdhinU5jxUz6ktuYoXGlIs2TF-DHwXb81P09-g6wzGEuRzU1bkSkRlF4/s1600/IMG_9363.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVTEuekZNxpfSp6aejvpC7VnbtIfmOscpx99gopaPjZg4AFA67GFjNjqvqIaTHQLrOx2z5W5xCwOPsxPVt0-EQdhinU5jxUz6ktuYoXGlIs2TF-DHwXb81P09-g6wzGEuRzU1bkSkRlF4/s320/IMG_9363.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Grand Bazaar is a historical market in Esfahan, and one of the oldest and largest bazaars of the Middle East, dating back to the 17th Century. The Grand Bazaar is a vaulted 2km street linking the old city with the new. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are many shops contained around the square itself. One particular Carpet shop owner came out and started talking with us. It transpired that his brother had emigrated many years ago to Sale, Victoria (a small town in Australia where Zowi’s Mum grew up) and now sells the luxury carpets and rugs that are exported from Esfahan!</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Armond & Lerniks recommendation, we toured the Armenian district of Jolfa, particularly enjoying the painting, carvings and artwork of the impressive Vank Cathedral.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG4qyQvQ0qADSs3740srzDgClkvN8bEzkM1TVdKfaGOgPfgSvXR_y8fFbVQMEc4bzyuFF4bPeEYqz3qOxB6fhrwK0l4HF2nZNQic66JEaRXZPl3aFAzmBqUIy5Q2QfkMDNBDvchrMCUIE/s1600/IMG_9433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG4qyQvQ0qADSs3740srzDgClkvN8bEzkM1TVdKfaGOgPfgSvXR_y8fFbVQMEc4bzyuFF4bPeEYqz3qOxB6fhrwK0l4HF2nZNQic66JEaRXZPl3aFAzmBqUIy5Q2QfkMDNBDvchrMCUIE/s640/IMG_9433.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: #222222;"></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The bridges over the Zayande river include some of the nicest architecture in Esfahan. The River starts in the Zagros Mountains and flows from west to east through the heart of Esfahan, before drying up in the Kavir desert. The oldest bridge is the "Pol-e Shahrestan" dating back to the 12th Century!</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh25IoeQElt5x-n28YMQWjj19pgJUpONqdwnOdgN6HFEAoTW4fn2aIuS9tjsZM4PSRbayEod6xJtJGiofBWv3F4m4UrtgqKdEW8dKjbeQWZ8ejVOIsND3kYSQG5HZ1VB3oFT-mmd5aDe0/s1600/P1020282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh25IoeQElt5x-n28YMQWjj19pgJUpONqdwnOdgN6HFEAoTW4fn2aIuS9tjsZM4PSRbayEod6xJtJGiofBWv3F4m4UrtgqKdEW8dKjbeQWZ8ejVOIsND3kYSQG5HZ1VB3oFT-mmd5aDe0/s320/P1020282.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAXTv5CrC7Iv2ZbzH149rFsxS92LxKUv4phb_PzzqeQkjgy42Bxbyx9VVbGedo-rvfnrmNGJ51Wp-qxeM8voKzFC5COvpeWVyfY3YLdYw9JAzy6Bop_GWERDvQygeN_hRXFldhitHP98g/s1600/IMG_9446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAXTv5CrC7Iv2ZbzH149rFsxS92LxKUv4phb_PzzqeQkjgy42Bxbyx9VVbGedo-rvfnrmNGJ51Wp-qxeM8voKzFC5COvpeWVyfY3YLdYw9JAzy6Bop_GWERDvQygeN_hRXFldhitHP98g/s320/IMG_9446.jpg" width="257" /></span></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtOB7srxa1wbPSHysRQlzBEw-LLT2Cqncru8yDw6zO5CYx0ek3SgJ-n4teoa-mHiZQewhuFRjEswwVv-rmAq58e31njwI9-EPDT6cY8IImP_7uxJgyFxCme9DFzimwfEXoRLjiqqbVeWs/s1600/IMG_9434.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtOB7srxa1wbPSHysRQlzBEw-LLT2Cqncru8yDw6zO5CYx0ek3SgJ-n4teoa-mHiZQewhuFRjEswwVv-rmAq58e31njwI9-EPDT6cY8IImP_7uxJgyFxCme9DFzimwfEXoRLjiqqbVeWs/s320/IMG_9434.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWfOnKrjGYJesCvMEMtLGVBgoYZglKXmk44JyTxRdjDp8sKqYXDVfaR8XdgHZBttT-71F33Q0SFQkhyphenhyphenTrVUfXM8ywzi-F_ZHecd6wBuOT33w_Fs5PnPqB_4x3jR_PNCXWNQli_uCBcupY/s320/P1020281.JPG" width="240" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCEJdEDoTu4E2mgeNIK8RklC-xSITxzOV9fv6xGMLEVCZAN_Mp6HVRiM3F0eJX0DDIJyXBLuizOg6sywz_r5nUk3amyRZmHugbdMMxlzrOWcqeGd67CXncDiIqYFFlV3t-MBR-_Aa6-p0/s1600/P1020313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCEJdEDoTu4E2mgeNIK8RklC-xSITxzOV9fv6xGMLEVCZAN_Mp6HVRiM3F0eJX0DDIJyXBLuizOg6sywz_r5nUk3amyRZmHugbdMMxlzrOWcqeGd67CXncDiIqYFFlV3t-MBR-_Aa6-p0/s320/P1020313.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> <img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFLMGzouDiux5mF6MLh0vhUn0JOpyuwnDw6sckgFFGmifSU3dGaXVsKmR5mP15vClwEOObQnQjoWWJkxro4yQs5jOByqeDBbZrNQnfoeUJBMlcCxONb1poV9zRePqjk54qSiTXwW5xAUY/s320/P1020298.JPG" width="320" /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-2051457748607153822010-09-16T19:15:00.153+01:002010-09-18T19:12:15.554+01:00Day 41 to Day 43 - Iran<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><u>Day 41 to 43 - Saturday 21st August to Monday 23rd August 2010 – Iran</u></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Tehran</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2XNNcV9qs-ffkgDPxoqa8aBDpEyaesSBW31PZpVV_epOdJthY18iDgwm-GTtdt-g0uPn6Tj3IPU2mUI_nsQznUp98PccFr9DHMNgSx1m-pfFZKPQ-Y1xXms_S8KaUJh905y-qKK4dyXM/s1600/IMG_9352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="104" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2XNNcV9qs-ffkgDPxoqa8aBDpEyaesSBW31PZpVV_epOdJthY18iDgwm-GTtdt-g0uPn6Tj3IPU2mUI_nsQznUp98PccFr9DHMNgSx1m-pfFZKPQ-Y1xXms_S8KaUJh905y-qKK4dyXM/s200/IMG_9352.jpg" width="200" /></a>It was great to wake up in a proper home, no roof tent to put down, and no-one milling around outside, checking out Barnaby in the early hours of the morning.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Many Iranians wake up and head to their local bakery for fresh bread each morning, and it tastes delicious. We enjoyed ours with Cream, Jam one day, and with Eggs on other morning & Chai (Black Tea).</div><br />
After breakfast the boys went to do "secret mens business". Armond took Richard to his uncles shop where there was a repair garage located next door. The hose pipe was quickly replaced after a similar hose was found and altered to fit perfectly. Unfortunately when Barnaby was being filled with coolant, he took the opportunity to point out that another hose had also split, and this too would need to be replaced! <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgER_VhncBVfiB_bn0fOJF4d-nfLOBvTKdN0mKavrZPngp74_zRJ0yMRsTN2mi9maNJFl0K53YdptTuYZHpFUo-PdnUE04QDaR98YPDCWmfn4enOHzvDKBeQvcfbFN_3VaXJOERWMpDw28/s1600/IMG_9285.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgER_VhncBVfiB_bn0fOJF4d-nfLOBvTKdN0mKavrZPngp74_zRJ0yMRsTN2mi9maNJFl0K53YdptTuYZHpFUo-PdnUE04QDaR98YPDCWmfn4enOHzvDKBeQvcfbFN_3VaXJOERWMpDw28/s320/IMG_9285.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: small;">secret mens business discussions</span></em></td></tr>
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2 Hose pipes replaced and Barnaby was ready to go. Or not. Another leak appeared. The mechanic climbed over and under Barnaby unable to locate the leak. Coolant wasnt coming from any of the hoses, it was coming from the Radiator itself! - a Radiator that we had only purchased last month in the UK.</div><br />
The mechanics recommended a Radiator specialist nearby, and Barnaby headed there. The radiator was removed on the street, and checked... - yes the Radiator had a leak in the watery, holdery, comparmenty thingy, hey I'm no mechanic. All I know is that I think it was welded back together, Armond was doing all the liasing with the mechanics, and finally the leaks had ceased!<br />
<br />
Barnaby's filters and oil were changed the following morning. Job Done! Barnaby is now serviced and ready for more action.<br />
<br />
Earlier I had told the story of buying the fuel cards to Armond. I'm not sure that Armond had actually seen a Diesel card as all cars in Iran are petrol. One evening Armond wanted to make sure that we had adequate Diesel cards to get to the Pakistan border and we set off in his car to the Petrol Station.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately it can be hard to track down a Petrol Station within a city centre that sells Diesel. One Petrol Station attendant explained to Armond that the Trucks often fill up on the edges of cities and therefore there is little or no demand for Diesel.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBBS5X5FFWpAh0Au4UQGW5Qibv6kAgq6Q4idMFIlmGpZG1CXm3PsaUdGYpGh1hakmX4vvMzgamKd0ej99RgPN-bJduDxPp6XQmEn6eNN2q-0UmpENUKAOGFmxH9T4XG8c6pM8jRwquTng/s1600/P1020238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBBS5X5FFWpAh0Au4UQGW5Qibv6kAgq6Q4idMFIlmGpZG1CXm3PsaUdGYpGh1hakmX4vvMzgamKd0ej99RgPN-bJduDxPp6XQmEn6eNN2q-0UmpENUKAOGFmxH9T4XG8c6pM8jRwquTng/s640/P1020238.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: small;"> Rooftop view at night of Tehran from Armond and Lernik's home</span></em> </td></tr>
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The following day Barnaby out to find an elusive Diesel pump, and eventually our persistence paid off. Armond checked all 8 Diesel cards and our fears were confirmed, they were all 100 litre Cards. The Petrol Attendant near the border had sworn to Allah that this was a genuine 1,000 Litre Card but it turned out to be a 100 litres. I hope Allah has a word with him about this. At least all 8 cards were valid and had not expired.<br />
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Armond also managed to fill Barnaby with Diesel without using any of the Diesel Cards. The price was still the same, about $3, but a $5 tip was given to the attendant to say thanks! I'm not sure how much success I would have had on my own without a Diesel Card.<br />
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Whilst Armond & I had been busy doing important man stuff, the ladies had had a leisurely morning. Zowi & Lernik strolled around Narmak, looking at the various shops and visiting the local park. <br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJH4i-7juaLYa_B1phWIu0-GUxrvJUv_lJ-NluBFouX30-CzKt2_Vq_gMcOMEnrqcLmU-YdZ680cnHZIe9zJ1beVaSHBhTrLZlbk5k9CngXYQa_y3f8ieazIpptyOPbrnbINT7opDkogE/s1600/IMG_9274.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJH4i-7juaLYa_B1phWIu0-GUxrvJUv_lJ-NluBFouX30-CzKt2_Vq_gMcOMEnrqcLmU-YdZ680cnHZIe9zJ1beVaSHBhTrLZlbk5k9CngXYQa_y3f8ieazIpptyOPbrnbINT7opDkogE/s320/IMG_9274.jpg" /></a>Lernik told Zowi that many women in Iran often fill their afternoons visiting friends and family.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcowUrfSCHs8eWswZmpoTxkItk_Tybe_HZJXR2dzc5aY1wFDLwtGDQPkIl4rS27c2Xo_pNvy-IwQzZNgp7TvqlEH6LrUV8V681OLyD7qWxDJ7qHPhHt3C9u-Z0TZwfKbQdyO8iCgOEhto/s1600/IMG_9273.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcowUrfSCHs8eWswZmpoTxkItk_Tybe_HZJXR2dzc5aY1wFDLwtGDQPkIl4rS27c2Xo_pNvy-IwQzZNgp7TvqlEH6LrUV8V681OLyD7qWxDJ7qHPhHt3C9u-Z0TZwfKbQdyO8iCgOEhto/s200/IMG_9273.jpg" width="200" /></a>The girls being social butterflies later met Lerniks Mother and Brother, and also Edwards Mother for afternoon tea. Even though Zowi is not too familiar the delights that Coffee offers, she was tempted into enjoying a Turkish Coffee, and also was introduced to the a fruit known to us as "The Flat Peach"</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> On the second evening Armond & Lernik took us to the Armenian Club in the North of Tehran. Armond took this opportunity to demonstrate his unique skills behind the wheel. Tehran traffic is not the easy to contend with, however "Mr Armond Schumacher" did this with great speed and agility, as he weaved his way through the evening traffic. Armond or Schumacher? - I'm not sure which would be quickest around the roads of Tehran.</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit2aqxiokX07eZek9jCVLyT79xTz0gPZAk5d3RM3VWFEm6JUu1f_Tg1PNvW-ey6IOkun-LJqdDW48U3fITRkiXwvJ8Cg912-9nrWOiEKFZtirwKg_eSzqWCeSyHNzm6m2rWf8fA7ep7pE/s1600/IMG_9277.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit2aqxiokX07eZek9jCVLyT79xTz0gPZAk5d3RM3VWFEm6JUu1f_Tg1PNvW-ey6IOkun-LJqdDW48U3fITRkiXwvJ8Cg912-9nrWOiEKFZtirwKg_eSzqWCeSyHNzm6m2rWf8fA7ep7pE/s320/IMG_9277.jpg" /></a>The Armenina Club was fantastic and sported many facilities. It had a large leafy courtyard with restaurant, huge outdoor swimming pool, another pool for good measure, basket ball court, running track, football pitch, snooker hall and so much more. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We were there in the evening to indulge in fantastic food, along with great company. After arriving we were soon joined by Lerniks older brother, Sevan, and his wife Angeline who both seemed really nice.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>There was a jug of water on the table and Zowi was the only one to have taken a glass. Sevan suddenly pulled out a couple of bottles of water from his bag, and Zowi wondered why no-one had told her not to drink the water from the jug.<br />
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Armond explained that the water in the jug was fine to drink, Sevan had brought some "special water" for us to drink. Alcohol is not allowed in Iran and of course we didnt have any Alcohol, but the special water went down very well.<br />
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The evening was just what we needed after many weeks on the road. Even though there were a few language barriers, the 6 of us were laughing so much all night. Humour is a Universal language!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: small;">the boys had no idea</span></em></td></tr>
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The next stop of the evening was to be the Water & Fire Park, in the middle of Tehran. Armonds choice of parking space appeared snug. After some international mocking that we would never fit into such a small space, Schumacher accepted the challenge. In one swift manoeuvre, the car was parked. Perfect. Perfect, except for the fact that Schumacher was unable to open his door to leave the car and had to clamber over to the passenger seat to exit the car, much to all our amusement.</div><br />
The Water & Fire Park wasnt what we expected. It was about 11pm at night and it was packed with people. People who were playing Badminton, Roller Blading, Walking, Talking, Picnicking, and enjoying the cooler end to the day outside. The main attraction of the park for young and old alikeare the water fountains that sporadically shoot water out from the ground, catching out people who attempt to make it from one side to another without getting soaked. The water fountains are surrounding by towers that erupt flames, and light the night sky brightly.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHsjWtr7zYYOScongJZxNpjXT3aKvpx2zMGvkBsimQLc5T7hCtXc1sQcRfbpET8zHJhUDCGDClEZcvee9PB73tA6GTy-kJYMphjFvmRWKmC3amGDQVzy3RsvNSMc-U7687vxIrz6-ZJIE/s1600/IMG_9288.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHsjWtr7zYYOScongJZxNpjXT3aKvpx2zMGvkBsimQLc5T7hCtXc1sQcRfbpET8zHJhUDCGDClEZcvee9PB73tA6GTy-kJYMphjFvmRWKmC3amGDQVzy3RsvNSMc-U7687vxIrz6-ZJIE/s640/IMG_9288.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitYtsk-077hIDITNBkdPqF9b3aqjM3hQCs_IHuI5Lh6AFHYYuY0xQkeoteyGFCbx89N4IxkzezJdBTlZb0rgTxnHZpbYmzED4Sm_-Ryrm1iM4pbhWQU3whEnAt0yqpFdb0UvNMt0kJA-4/s1600/IMG_9294.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitYtsk-077hIDITNBkdPqF9b3aqjM3hQCs_IHuI5Lh6AFHYYuY0xQkeoteyGFCbx89N4IxkzezJdBTlZb0rgTxnHZpbYmzED4Sm_-Ryrm1iM4pbhWQU3whEnAt0yqpFdb0UvNMt0kJA-4/s320/IMG_9294.jpg" /></a></div>A wonderful night was had by all. <br />
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Armond and Lernik had made us feel so welcome in their home. Lernik has insisted that there was to be no Tarouf here, we should treat their home as our own. This enabled us to relax and unwind so much that we considered moving in permanently!<br />
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On the final evening a wonderful BBQ with all of Lerniks family was planned. The food was yet again out of this world, more special water appeared which was most appreciated. It was really great to feel welcome and be apart of this family evening. Our travels had meant that we often only dined together, to enjoy this family meal was something special to us.<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Sadly, our final morning with Armond & Lernik was upon us. Armond drew us a map that would guarantee we wouldnt get lost when trying to navigate our way out of Tehran. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Our bags packed, it was time to leave, we joked that we could have stayed for a year with them, Lernik replied "Okay". Tempting. Very Tempting.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><strong>The most wonderful host family.</strong></em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><strong>Lernik, Armond & Selia</strong></em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Armond came with us to the main road before jumping out of the car. It was time for us to go. We waved goodbye and we were back on the road, this time towards Esfahan.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHszG1OKUpBgjHyglQh02zB9G43QANnDY2EOpsa6gf3r95iFeH3S6dWtyJh6hWWf8FDRpZO5We7kGkCQIwiS3vJFhdscX7RFxVOSADd87WXaOIyLf7KgsI_ahWTZEgVbcCsPe8d2OHGJo/s1600/IMG_9358.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHszG1OKUpBgjHyglQh02zB9G43QANnDY2EOpsa6gf3r95iFeH3S6dWtyJh6hWWf8FDRpZO5We7kGkCQIwiS3vJFhdscX7RFxVOSADd87WXaOIyLf7KgsI_ahWTZEgVbcCsPe8d2OHGJo/s400/IMG_9358.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
An hour later and Barnaby overheated. Arrgggh! We pulled over on the side of the road and let him cool down a little. These issues should have been left behind in Tehran! <br />
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20 minutes later and we were moving again. 42mph mean that Barnaby cruises into "Overdrive". At this speed the engine just ticks over and doesnt need to work hard, and therefore should not overheat. 5 minutes later and Barnaby overheated again! Arrgggh!<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjgsNIjDpKLXQx3PmDOtIh2F3Lqx6ZWF_MHpe6ZEMsKAUROMdbHmsWzYsIvih2gAgCi88-c4xbuAxupgacaRtJP4K5PCesi01HKpR-hLVcLr3s59lJh7sVRQ0Wh4chCDb6ywuoJ4Jmq7s/s1600/IMG_9353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjgsNIjDpKLXQx3PmDOtIh2F3Lqx6ZWF_MHpe6ZEMsKAUROMdbHmsWzYsIvih2gAgCi88-c4xbuAxupgacaRtJP4K5PCesi01HKpR-hLVcLr3s59lJh7sVRQ0Wh4chCDb6ywuoJ4Jmq7s/s320/IMG_9353.jpg" /></a> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Removing the Radiator Cap with caution we filled the Radiator in case some Coolant had escaped. 2 Litres of water in and Barnaby was still thirsty for more. Another 2 Litres of water, and Barnaby still wants more. It was at the start of the 3rd bottle that Barnaby announced he was full with a gargle at the top of Radiator. Did this mean that we had another leak, or was the coolant level not topped up after the Radiator repair?</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">As always in Iran, a truck driver who had seen us earlier at the roadside stopped to assist. It looked like we were OK now, but he wanted to ensure that we were OK and followed us for about 30km's to see that we were fine. After an exchange of friendly beeps to confirm we were OK, we slowly pulled away and his Blue Truck disappeared into the distance behind us.</div><br />
It was late when we finally made it into Esfahan. The Hostel that we had marked in the Lonely Planet was full, the Hostel next door wasnt great and not cheap. We decided to check the Hotel Totia across the road, and were pleasantly surprised to find that the price was the same as the Hostel. The room was great, it included Breakfast and, most importantly, had secure parking. Perfect.<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-68586977532517622802010-09-16T15:46:00.013+01:002010-09-16T16:20:30.132+01:00Day 40 - Iran<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><u>Day 40 – Friday 20th August 2010 – Iran</u><br />
Tehran <br />
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<div style="text-align: right;"></div>Diniz is a beautiful, mountainous, skiing area some 120km outside Tehran.<br />
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The mountain roads in Diniz are unbelievably steep. I could not believe how steep the roads were. Zowi could not believe how steep the roads were. Barnaby could not believe how steep the roads were, and he panicked. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMlXbCKC1qVTKrPmpAOsfd40uvzYm9iTktWg79Flx31DlHUfHKu1KjLNdkk4Lapfks5ZzXusvVOIrZ5oR5ssRlKhhjFSQn9PNGd2QJ58zhb8tzPrxBQU1LCGjvHH3AqAG0t__DDnyDME/s1600/IMG_9269.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMlXbCKC1qVTKrPmpAOsfd40uvzYm9iTktWg79Flx31DlHUfHKu1KjLNdkk4Lapfks5ZzXusvVOIrZ5oR5ssRlKhhjFSQn9PNGd2QJ58zhb8tzPrxBQU1LCGjvHH3AqAG0t__DDnyDME/s320/IMG_9269.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnfiS1FmKiDEY6H-kuiFhpiqRH7282GnBbIP8q8KyTgbSxESG8L3Q0UXgd38GOCJVqo037YQwVHq3G5T5Y5yL6DMnURXF_Bwz1roLKrVP5_SUXMWp4WkFcL6x4ntSm9Nix10scxrwXVJ0/s1600/P1020228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnfiS1FmKiDEY6H-kuiFhpiqRH7282GnBbIP8q8KyTgbSxESG8L3Q0UXgd38GOCJVqo037YQwVHq3G5T5Y5yL6DMnURXF_Bwz1roLKrVP5_SUXMWp4WkFcL6x4ntSm9Nix10scxrwXVJ0/s320/P1020228.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqvm_UoJcHD704cmwLBt-pQzrnYt7smbbwurdTvOG3hBc-uzTqvAYLhCyy3Yi1NC_kqweJLwZYHfstjVYHeSK7MfpQNn7gMzIiLnEh6cYfpsDw-gl2qhrQ43AzQl2kDyhdcZFU1CosHjE/s1600/P1020230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqvm_UoJcHD704cmwLBt-pQzrnYt7smbbwurdTvOG3hBc-uzTqvAYLhCyy3Yi1NC_kqweJLwZYHfstjVYHeSK7MfpQNn7gMzIiLnEh6cYfpsDw-gl2qhrQ43AzQl2kDyhdcZFU1CosHjE/s400/P1020230.JPG" width="400" /></a>A guess its one way to meet Iranian Winter Olympic Skier, Hossien Kalhor! Hossien kindly helped us to cool Barnaby down with a hose pipe, and then noticing that Barnaby had not been washed for a few weeks, set the hose pipe on him with Richard scrubbing Barnaby clean. He even made sure that not a spot was missed. He must have known that it would be a long time comming before the car would be this clean again. </div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Hossien works as a Ski Instructor in the Winter months, but in the Summer months he sells Tea and <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzTF1xIxKhwsMKsrJnD6FMoChybvlrQb6TMjoI5uVcmT4jQlJAmm0UKRMZDDTFoNQywkciAf7NoDIVx7CoTkqxBoG2rCMKNrd84u3Mefxjzpw0Q_PxW8sQURkLs6OKHvLnYUYfBLsxAUM/s1600/P1020233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzTF1xIxKhwsMKsrJnD6FMoChybvlrQb6TMjoI5uVcmT4jQlJAmm0UKRMZDDTFoNQywkciAf7NoDIVx7CoTkqxBoG2rCMKNrd84u3Mefxjzpw0Q_PxW8sQURkLs6OKHvLnYUYfBLsxAUM/s320/P1020233.JPG" /></a>Soup by the roadside. As we waited for Barnaby to cool down a little more, we offered tea, which we gladly accepted, then we were offered soup which tasted delicious.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQ9RFI7rHOsu7-9WajmG7Ym7NtVX9CbUyO1g2FxTKvOLK5USIlEor1rkdunYrLPnYz9oxIakNxDhuv2qH7u-Eg_trAKtvOf42mzAFPpGlCq93184PLnTBgi2HJTo2V_LutKPfHWrmuCw/s1600/P1020231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQ9RFI7rHOsu7-9WajmG7Ym7NtVX9CbUyO1g2FxTKvOLK5USIlEor1rkdunYrLPnYz9oxIakNxDhuv2qH7u-Eg_trAKtvOf42mzAFPpGlCq93184PLnTBgi2HJTo2V_LutKPfHWrmuCw/s320/P1020231.JPG" width="320" /></a>Hossien's tea shop. What a view. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Hossien would not accept any money, either for his assistance with Barnaby, or for the food and drinks that he plied us with. Hossien told us that we were "his friends" and that you cannot accept money from friends.</div><br />
We had read in a guide book that many Iranians subscribe to something called "Tarouf". It is a situation whereby an Iranian will refuse payment for something, or maybe offer something such as a meal or a room for free, but he doesn't actually mean what he has just said! (sometimes he may not be able to financially fulfill this offer), you then have to work out if the offer is genuine or not, often by refusing their kindness several times. If the offer is sincere, it can be accepted on the 3rd or 4th time of asking! <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
Hossiens offer of not taking any money from us was sincere! </div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJCCgrOnFdiUE96Ah8J8DTsu1kvkew28t_NP7yhVvtJLXJ6FGlxwz70YQQabjVM3WFGjnj0RnH8ZyVGKtbvb8N5WKMrqnmkaOJ0pyK2Kg6TwlBuI4sl5JrOOnKPbYxXz3bUcgAUbcwpA/s1600/P1020225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJCCgrOnFdiUE96Ah8J8DTsu1kvkew28t_NP7yhVvtJLXJ6FGlxwz70YQQabjVM3WFGjnj0RnH8ZyVGKtbvb8N5WKMrqnmkaOJ0pyK2Kg6TwlBuI4sl5JrOOnKPbYxXz3bUcgAUbcwpA/s320/P1020225.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0fJSQi07hJr4tOSe0bJ_EKWU33hvY0CeA-g3yQuVFTSreODbNTGmgYkrh7Ev-H4HTXM4EL-x4_A-RPFZONWFDc6O0em2s6e4UpXD2PGUv5rlHcs50JoiPD6snsH86b3FTqy3C1Vi7pBE/s1600/IMG_9266.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0fJSQi07hJr4tOSe0bJ_EKWU33hvY0CeA-g3yQuVFTSreODbNTGmgYkrh7Ev-H4HTXM4EL-x4_A-RPFZONWFDc6O0em2s6e4UpXD2PGUv5rlHcs50JoiPD6snsH86b3FTqy3C1Vi7pBE/s320/IMG_9266.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">50m higher up the mountain and Barnaby panicked again. A hose pipe had burst and it wasn't a pretty site. Fortunately we had stopped at another Tea seller who spent nearly 2 hours helping us fix the burst hose, even stopping other motorists to ask for spare parts!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The DIY patch did its job, and we all made it without any problems into Tehran.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihQT7YwLe-M_06U5H-NHJqDS2fc6Afq93WvE8dNLlhfOUwCacUPgYajNOQKOCOs1KVP1TczG1_M8-xSedPk_3TF8m0O1WiOf1toIDrpPZFL_JxX11jvI8h07jMrdEljVxh1hHu4Ohtdjo/s1600/IMG_9267.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihQT7YwLe-M_06U5H-NHJqDS2fc6Afq93WvE8dNLlhfOUwCacUPgYajNOQKOCOs1KVP1TczG1_M8-xSedPk_3TF8m0O1WiOf1toIDrpPZFL_JxX11jvI8h07jMrdEljVxh1hHu4Ohtdjo/s640/IMG_9267.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Sunset over the Mountains at Diniz</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">There are 20 million people living in Tehran and it feels as though 19.9 million of them are all driving with 100 metres of you! Even though it was getting towards late evening there was so much traffic, and so much chaos.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We stopped and with the help of a local guy, we purchased a local payphone card and an international calling card. The guy translated the Farsi phone card instructions, and we were soon speaking with Edward back in England for rough directions to his Niece, Lernik, in Tehran. </div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Stopping at a photograph shop for some directions, 2 coffees were handed to us whilst one of the guys drew us a basic map to get into the right suburb of Tehran. It feels odd to be made this welcome in a foreign country, a little suspicious at first, but very appreciative of the kindness shown.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We stopped a further 3 times at shops and garages to ask for directions - everyone stopped what they were doing to offer assistance. When we called Edwards niece, Lernik, and her husband, Armond, it turned out that we were only 5 minutes away! - Not too bad!</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9te-30dakvCTzkDCCmKn3ccB7GOaotXLD8Eot4uMyHcVlRG_F0ZJMryeZgv7RAGu0x06QcH4v9nUNnSgK64qzsb-VxxTmG_MfeX6-qX38nmpKMll-hF7soPO4y-6WJIRQv1K9yPa2Rbg/s1600/P1020242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9te-30dakvCTzkDCCmKn3ccB7GOaotXLD8Eot4uMyHcVlRG_F0ZJMryeZgv7RAGu0x06QcH4v9nUNnSgK64qzsb-VxxTmG_MfeX6-qX38nmpKMll-hF7soPO4y-6WJIRQv1K9yPa2Rbg/s320/P1020242.JPG" /></a> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
As we waited for Lernik and Armond on the street corner, I found myself smiling at every horn that beeped in case in was them. In Tehran that means a lot of horns, and a lot of smiles.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Lernik and Armond are a married couple with a young daughter, Selia. They have a wonderful home that we were made to feel very comfortable in. Even though it was getting late, we enjoyed a fantastic meal before stealing Selia's room for a good nights sleep. Thanks Selia!</div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-27274897919035601902010-09-16T13:28:00.003+01:002010-09-16T16:00:58.813+01:00Komunitas Trooper IndonesiaToday I received an email from Ian Abu from Indonesia. Ian Abu is part of the Trooper Indonesian Community or Komunitas Trooper Indonesia. Over in Indonesia, Isuzu Bighorns are known as Chevrolet Troopers!<br />
<br />
We have sent a few emails to each other since Ian Abu first introduced himself, and he has even sent some brilliant photos of his car and the Komunitas Trooper Indonesia which I hope he doesnt mind me sharing with you...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUfLEXopRM5iJDmqnsD72NY0VrRyBWz-SmYviulbqDuN3BKGL1T-q45ZVpYdT9-wTpPWwbbdygw8glxhCFn-gmf4ki-blqtXaEXMELQLHYWNEF_JUMD8oGZ73jImT8SKUbh6H92_HN5yo/s1600/DSC_0103_email.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUfLEXopRM5iJDmqnsD72NY0VrRyBWz-SmYviulbqDuN3BKGL1T-q45ZVpYdT9-wTpPWwbbdygw8glxhCFn-gmf4ki-blqtXaEXMELQLHYWNEF_JUMD8oGZ73jImT8SKUbh6H92_HN5yo/s640/DSC_0103_email.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4IlaBcUV-QjOdlRXljgIf09GmAcKtyk8obVuaz-Yy0W-aq8MIUXJA-sTU21cikeOGDKZS-YYXbY4emN74a8R3AyVkAE3kQ4viNtL1f_Py3VRxh5XPzfqCzhTynrmm4kg3lY5yYHeyxyw/s1600/IMG00189-20100101-1056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="460" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4IlaBcUV-QjOdlRXljgIf09GmAcKtyk8obVuaz-Yy0W-aq8MIUXJA-sTU21cikeOGDKZS-YYXbY4emN74a8R3AyVkAE3kQ4viNtL1f_Py3VRxh5XPzfqCzhTynrmm4kg3lY5yYHeyxyw/s640/IMG00189-20100101-1056.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ozsTty5zq9brzLRrO-xToHgI9y7j-Jiy_jUJChNycvpogsrynyWZF_Q2plYqfxyTiAA0HUbyfc-K0xGR7u1kcg7yyrkeg_8r4WekoDjYSMouS-pe8bn4jFN_BueYsmXd4u9Nrl5hsjE/s1600/IMG_1077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ozsTty5zq9brzLRrO-xToHgI9y7j-Jiy_jUJChNycvpogsrynyWZF_Q2plYqfxyTiAA0HUbyfc-K0xGR7u1kcg7yyrkeg_8r4WekoDjYSMouS-pe8bn4jFN_BueYsmXd4u9Nrl5hsjE/s640/IMG_1077.JPG" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqxlzjnXb_EJuVifuPUsg8JX98DIVPA0pUK1lGXshB9pZibV1yW26bBhwUALWPh4xqpOP_TGmZCQkCeiW6bG52gl5_g01bFe38_9fP6tTjP8_tfnQRvDCYbjWviSeH0b-c0IOiqLiHusU/s1600/Combi_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqxlzjnXb_EJuVifuPUsg8JX98DIVPA0pUK1lGXshB9pZibV1yW26bBhwUALWPh4xqpOP_TGmZCQkCeiW6bG52gl5_g01bFe38_9fP6tTjP8_tfnQRvDCYbjWviSeH0b-c0IOiqLiHusU/s640/Combi_02.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It would be great if we could detour to Indonesia to meet up with Ian Abu and everyone else at Komunitas Trooper Indonesia. It looks like they have a whole lot of fun!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-1819684163593702632010-09-16T13:17:00.003+01:002010-09-16T13:26:35.602+01:00Day 39 – Iran<u>Day 39 – Thursday 19th August 2010 – Iran</u><br />
Chalus<br />
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The Caspian Museum turned out to be quite disappointing. It was just a small room full of artefacts from various periods throughout history! <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0N3MidU6fsQUGNGkOWB_CASjXqpok_aWhdURMDh_cbQlv-Tb9782ZsRFfKJNgFa8fxbDHY1Q22hkTr1ni_o63o5t6azAu_3hEvw22jd_5fD6cNTIZCjdnsQHGbZT7sSio_EJRNnktqiw/s1600/IMG_9256.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0N3MidU6fsQUGNGkOWB_CASjXqpok_aWhdURMDh_cbQlv-Tb9782ZsRFfKJNgFa8fxbDHY1Q22hkTr1ni_o63o5t6azAu_3hEvw22jd_5fD6cNTIZCjdnsQHGbZT7sSio_EJRNnktqiw/s400/IMG_9256.jpg" width="400" /></a>The real attraction was actually a relatively small palace hidden away in the grounds. A beautiful building and very oppulent inside, but would only be used once or twice a year! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-3ubEj4N-Y3aIKkP-kU2uPd7Jpbt4egsMEQVmjHIAwek_Cb3GzGdSNOsJmOJxHsr8mCIdO75vYFrPUMS__uUes6wyCyh74OsF4pHfV7wyv3FFEWHFR3n7OYDOEDQ5azuLDp4U3PxNNY/s1600/IMG_9254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-3ubEj4N-Y3aIKkP-kU2uPd7Jpbt4egsMEQVmjHIAwek_Cb3GzGdSNOsJmOJxHsr8mCIdO75vYFrPUMS__uUes6wyCyh74OsF4pHfV7wyv3FFEWHFR3n7OYDOEDQ5azuLDp4U3PxNNY/s200/IMG_9254.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4CVp_ERCCylWSzTKhyphenhyphenpSljShCwR0Bmlw31eSL3BUhjaQ2GY9OzllslTr5OW5r_7T1Yz3tn9axCTjqayzprSBFvQrW_E2CK4R4pYoG1JYCNcBBBFzhHJ4eky0Tci169po6Cm2o1ZkKLUA/s1600/P1020137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4CVp_ERCCylWSzTKhyphenhyphenpSljShCwR0Bmlw31eSL3BUhjaQ2GY9OzllslTr5OW5r_7T1Yz3tn9axCTjqayzprSBFvQrW_E2CK4R4pYoG1JYCNcBBBFzhHJ4eky0Tci169po6Cm2o1ZkKLUA/s320/P1020137.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOcDw_mlatKVzr6dMxw2C3sEfcPLmsCQ_o0W6uCAJfo1QbPmzcZHfE0aku1-6WaFNmn7fNAbWp5C_mLa3JNYaW4R7f9ajcOUl4VAZE9sesp9cUIu_uhc5mT2j1nXUyrnPKF8TIi0pr3I0/s1600/IMG_9257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOcDw_mlatKVzr6dMxw2C3sEfcPLmsCQ_o0W6uCAJfo1QbPmzcZHfE0aku1-6WaFNmn7fNAbWp5C_mLa3JNYaW4R7f9ajcOUl4VAZE9sesp9cUIu_uhc5mT2j1nXUyrnPKF8TIi0pr3I0/s320/IMG_9257.jpg" /></a><br />
A pushmi-pullyu?</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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After dinner it was time to see if we could sneak a look in the Grand Palace. There were a few windows which had their net curtains offset that offered glimpses inside, but one had an open window that Zowi had accidentally pushed open. Should we climb in?</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1s4N9AoNWo8loTPAkvf617uFj9NbykqFp_jAnQvLQ8uxfgsF6LvKt-Unlsji8ZKC9La-W5lvFFBt7d85pb0p0xwdySFCzyqqVfLU_FEVx8IG1wIN11QCSQB2RR5tL5T_VsASFLMrBRCo/s1600/P1020127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1s4N9AoNWo8loTPAkvf617uFj9NbykqFp_jAnQvLQ8uxfgsF6LvKt-Unlsji8ZKC9La-W5lvFFBt7d85pb0p0xwdySFCzyqqVfLU_FEVx8IG1wIN11QCSQB2RR5tL5T_VsASFLMrBRCo/s640/P1020127.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
Of course not! - we were brought up better than that! - plus we were chicken! - but we did get a photo of the room which looks pretty tired. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgzIXMgdVMF6Dndij8Eki4kfIahVXdwA2F3TQijrPK4Uwasfp8jRNb6L0B9s5fowKCL0Xha2TpD2rW0MPKtd5z0XYgeYKS6PhQQeqEgjKMo7vxr4G9BevVvLMKC4hq1RsBfNrxaoSdY7Q/s1600/P1020167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgzIXMgdVMF6Dndij8Eki4kfIahVXdwA2F3TQijrPK4Uwasfp8jRNb6L0B9s5fowKCL0Xha2TpD2rW0MPKtd5z0XYgeYKS6PhQQeqEgjKMo7vxr4G9BevVvLMKC4hq1RsBfNrxaoSdY7Q/s640/P1020167.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">As we returned to the front of the building a Security guard appeared. The Security guard turned out to be really friendly and actually tried a few doors to help get us into the lobby, though all attempts were unsuccesful. A photograph of us both was taken before we all departed from the Hotel.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi927jfbt2g57LsOfqouA4WTlstj5e8YKAWxBC8CloDGXBG7FpH0haO3E5s-uWe0hedyt1DHrW2OiRg-4WbA3MFcpA99SmbAXL7-HbIXQy51hiwgIfTkbCr9Ln14rJ67ok7SXyZY0hBkL0/s320/P1020186.JPG" /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhczfuELozOkz5y2S44Q_wVMqj03_ec8ArCYA4B-6WalITDRqxA4n_zKMIB959AInDRNL3EmuPLeI2cv_0KmtNYAU5CKl_QiZJdsg3lEqTQ6sCVdhCrMLJGcdfdeQCmH0ff1wE8duzv7ZA/s1600/P1020175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhczfuELozOkz5y2S44Q_wVMqj03_ec8ArCYA4B-6WalITDRqxA4n_zKMIB959AInDRNL3EmuPLeI2cv_0KmtNYAU5CKl_QiZJdsg3lEqTQ6sCVdhCrMLJGcdfdeQCmH0ff1wE8duzv7ZA/s320/P1020175.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqrHQftGPjVTdu9ktHh0IlSyfoyXsC42MeqjdM2Q5efAj_GID2_QY9EZEX-xZKQmuAeDDw8uiCe7FauLcGfsSkE9zZeHMywt6p4_nWPqAWoZfGla3M3IKT4v9OsuH1LAGzgym-SY-RfqY/s1600/P1020178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqrHQftGPjVTdu9ktHh0IlSyfoyXsC42MeqjdM2Q5efAj_GID2_QY9EZEX-xZKQmuAeDDw8uiCe7FauLcGfsSkE9zZeHMywt6p4_nWPqAWoZfGla3M3IKT4v9OsuH1LAGzgym-SY-RfqY/s320/P1020178.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: right;"><em> And he says that I'm the snoopy one!</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: right;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;">We enjoyed a short stroll along the Caspian Sea front before heading off towards Tehran. It looked like Tehran was out of reach at 11pm and we arrived in a town called Chalus. After negotiating the price of a good hotel down to 1/2 price, we were soon sound asleep.</div><img height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhczfuELozOkz5y2S44Q_wVMqj03_ec8ArCYA4B-6WalITDRqxA4n_zKMIB959AInDRNL3EmuPLeI2cv_0KmtNYAU5CKl_QiZJdsg3lEqTQ6sCVdhCrMLJGcdfdeQCmH0ff1wE8duzv7ZA/s320/P1020175.JPG" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 524px; mozopacity: 0.3; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 2359px; visibility: hidden;" width="96" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-2138362270397470832010-09-16T12:53:00.010+01:002010-09-16T13:07:55.115+01:00Day 38 - Iran<u>Day 38 – Wednesday 18th August 2010 – Iran</u><br />
Ramsar<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We woke this morning around 7:30am to find all the trucks that were parked with us had now gone, leaving us feeling very exposed to the motorway traffic with only a clothing salesman selling his wares in the parking bay for cover. The Rooftent was quickly taken down and we drove the remaining 50km’s into Ramsar.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Ramsar was the “Shah’s Playground” back in the 1970’s and still has quite laidback feel to it, though its former glory and opulence have certainly faded since the Shah’s downfall some 30 years ago. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFEjoCP3NvJ7Y-5lb3B-fbU6Zt0IAeL0F1kaPtBU0JYb9UrOItCpNYTbYmvQkPlEEOT_zszGB9y1Ajm7nDfV4CsIBUMOZHbrqoXb8GSLhGZS0P9KaBJuRBmzvtbTFf8tml1Tgbo92vLVo/s1600/P1020126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFEjoCP3NvJ7Y-5lb3B-fbU6Zt0IAeL0F1kaPtBU0JYb9UrOItCpNYTbYmvQkPlEEOT_zszGB9y1Ajm7nDfV4CsIBUMOZHbrqoXb8GSLhGZS0P9KaBJuRBmzvtbTFf8tml1Tgbo92vLVo/s400/P1020126.JPG" width="400" /></a>Adjacent to the Grand Palace / Old Hotel is the newer Hotel which appears to own both buildings. Rooms were priced at $140 USD a night, too much for our meagre budget, so unfortunately we had to politely decline, and make our exit.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Booking into the Hotel Safaryan further down the road at 400,000 Rials (approx US $40 / 30 Pounds) we were happy for a Western Toilet, Shower, Air Con, though maybe a little surprised to find a full sized freestanding fridge.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Both being sleep deprived, we showered, then slept for 6 hours before waking up feeling mighty hungry. Driving down to the beach area there were many younger Iranians, walking and talking along the beach front, all enjoying the slightly cooler end to the day. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">It is quite difficult to find somewhere to eat in different country, particularly one where you are unable to decipher the Persian Script. The odd ‘Well come’ and ‘Fast Food’ appears on the signage outside, but menu’s are all written in Farsi.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">There are some eating places where there are only men eating inside – are these a men’s only club? Can hungry women eat here too? – Not being sure, we moved on until a more family orientated restaurant was found and went inside.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The waiter didn’t speak any English, and our Farsi still isn’t up to scratch. The menu written in Farsi looks very confusing, but thanks to Lonely Planets “Farsi (Persian) Phrasebook”, Zowi managed to order ‘<em>chelo kabab e kubide</em>’ which was roasted lamb mince meat with rice, whilst I ordered ‘<em>ghorme sabzi</em>’ which was a stew of mixed diced meats, beans, tomato paste and vegetables, again with a plate of rice. There is always a certain degree of apprehension before the meal arrives, but both meals tasted very nice, and we were both happy with what we had chosen.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwcrWjPIXJ2wvaaDMBdQnuC9vjQ5YSigyDMp7Rm5WZwz56oPVxhAKV1YGYKDUHy-OoyzqTnU45KoE04NHKsw495tWtkbsbQHnWUL81xgfc7VvQ18JDlyzzSlIPOtyd0N-cDypSZpF63cE/s1600/P1020205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwcrWjPIXJ2wvaaDMBdQnuC9vjQ5YSigyDMp7Rm5WZwz56oPVxhAKV1YGYKDUHy-OoyzqTnU45KoE04NHKsw495tWtkbsbQHnWUL81xgfc7VvQ18JDlyzzSlIPOtyd0N-cDypSZpF63cE/s320/P1020205.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixN-IbrXkNtTsXz5cGoG_Y-4yIhpOWGKmjdke19dSk5wxwFESb-o-iJzcsXtq_lb1icQRVJf4mbbr3ovtXo-COhMO3jTpN3tQ4RZ5cohyphenhyphen-INVziwqdjwrOjsOyc9z8RuLzUq52HDn4H-k/s1600/P1020196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixN-IbrXkNtTsXz5cGoG_Y-4yIhpOWGKmjdke19dSk5wxwFESb-o-iJzcsXtq_lb1icQRVJf4mbbr3ovtXo-COhMO3jTpN3tQ4RZ5cohyphenhyphen-INVziwqdjwrOjsOyc9z8RuLzUq52HDn4H-k/s320/P1020196.JPG" /></a> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">After our meal we drove to the Grand Palace, now known as the “Old Hotel”. In the mid 1970’s my father worked here as a Croupier in the Casino, and it is the reason why we have detoured off the main road to visit this town on the Caspian sea.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNp0JCYFcWlZS50uVVdF1sfw3wgrqJsyJ46USXdEnrSr4VSjMXgCVPxmzxx9DyRwJTiMKbGBAI-PT-DvBHFDliaGtCE0IydKhs6N6_oxqGzs-eWOnBx52upu7t693hBdRRKeyVjgc-H3Y/s640/P1020152.JPG" width="640" /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="text-align: left;">Unfortunately it is not now possible to enter Grand Palace, though it was possible to enjoy an evening stroll through the gardens of the Grand Palace. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Arriving back at our hotel, I asked at Reception if it was possible to go into the “Old Hotel”. “<strong><em>Can you speak English</em>?</strong>” he replied! - managing to refrain from retorting with “<em><strong>Better than you</strong>!</em>” we eventually received confirmation that the Grand Palace has now closed, apart from a Tea Room which opens in the evenings at the front of the building.<br />
<br />
</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXD6X-UeT7u_p6Jqmi-_kuV9U3UwVv2KgXt2yK1cy8oGIQebpE3JGc-k4TNDEG0xQ7m1b-YCIivvVtRM3838leGkWoUHonpY-AeoYaOUj5UGtVMgiDE1VBC2_g9FCGKaDt8QdBskCso-c/s1600/IMG_9247.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXD6X-UeT7u_p6Jqmi-_kuV9U3UwVv2KgXt2yK1cy8oGIQebpE3JGc-k4TNDEG0xQ7m1b-YCIivvVtRM3838leGkWoUHonpY-AeoYaOUj5UGtVMgiDE1VBC2_g9FCGKaDt8QdBskCso-c/s320/IMG_9247.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">There is however a Museum located very close to the Grand Palace. There are no clues as to whether this is a Museum for the Grand Palace, or simply a Museum of general Iranian History which just happens to be in close proximity to the Grand Palace grounds. Hopefully we will know tomorrow...</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><img height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixN-IbrXkNtTsXz5cGoG_Y-4yIhpOWGKmjdke19dSk5wxwFESb-o-iJzcsXtq_lb1icQRVJf4mbbr3ovtXo-COhMO3jTpN3tQ4RZ5cohyphenhyphen-INVziwqdjwrOjsOyc9z8RuLzUq52HDn4H-k/s320/P1020196.JPG" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 274px; mozopacity: 0.3; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 114px; visibility: hidden;" width="96" /></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYBNSSSSzEHCi_4ePSbo2T6F7entSZbNIsoYBRPZ9isMeQ1Dzgd_RyE2C8CTryHwLgdtXIjyWhpdS8oPeb6bh3X-wFXizkLHS8Nst4slAcXFAOCzaLRrsqnAqVn4SCfhyphenhyphenstGYpjhzF2I/s1600/IMG_9247.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYBNSSSSzEHCi_4ePSbo2T6F7entSZbNIsoYBRPZ9isMeQ1Dzgd_RyE2C8CTryHwLgdtXIjyWhpdS8oPeb6bh3X-wFXizkLHS8Nst4slAcXFAOCzaLRrsqnAqVn4SCfhyphenhyphenstGYpjhzF2I/s320/IMG_9247.jpg" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 500px; mozopacity: 0.3; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 1534px; visibility: hidden;" width="96" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-27007187185756282922010-09-16T09:59:00.006+01:002010-09-16T11:23:21.776+01:00Day 37 - Iran<u>Day 37 – Tuesday 17th August 2010 - Iran</u><br />
Rasht<br />
<br />
The early morning sun and roof tent combined forces to cook us slowly. The camping ground was also a shortcut for early morning commuters, it was time to pack up and leave.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibbwGaX8_F92YYIx4LMnk77Mw1nXwQnc5F0mHE6spES5Hvtc2wXRCigiParzEgK43NXD5fHyEIeDMjEMgeMUH4CfXpGnfAsYDrhz70nzSSOWS_kJexEyOX4KJ0Hq31PjT8CvLFOh12vEo/s1600/P1020114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibbwGaX8_F92YYIx4LMnk77Mw1nXwQnc5F0mHE6spES5Hvtc2wXRCigiParzEgK43NXD5fHyEIeDMjEMgeMUH4CfXpGnfAsYDrhz70nzSSOWS_kJexEyOX4KJ0Hq31PjT8CvLFOh12vEo/s640/P1020114.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Passing through, I couldnt help but take 1,2,3,...20 photos of the beautiful pinks in the mountains.</span></td></tr>
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip8nhPI6i4O3Q7p-JROFQ4xIy8kC-OXjSFqMUS7hzJjkGX2dKxh7wXNo2rxCdtDX8DzCUF3P6ri-LI67x4w3CVfjQBaetSURxhZY9rKDeEpzHmAPYHcyGI7vp33PwgzcBP9x1SllTF3QQ/s1600/P1020118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip8nhPI6i4O3Q7p-JROFQ4xIy8kC-OXjSFqMUS7hzJjkGX2dKxh7wXNo2rxCdtDX8DzCUF3P6ri-LI67x4w3CVfjQBaetSURxhZY9rKDeEpzHmAPYHcyGI7vp33PwgzcBP9x1SllTF3QQ/s320/P1020118.JPG" /></a>Taking to the road and heading off towards Ramsar we stopped for some Diesel. In Iran, Diesel trucks often get their Diesel around the side, or the rear of the petrol station and this is where we headed. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">A container was unloading Diesel and we would have to wait. The driver of the container tried to guide me to the Petrol queue, but I kept saying "Gasoil" with an accent that any Welsh-Frenchman would have been proud of. Realising that I was English, the driver took me (my woman waited in the car) upstairs to his home, and introduced me to his family whilst the petrol tanker continued to empty the Diesel into the pumps.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgryIELzRkiTW_Q5uQbKV6gnIXXG_cnuk_HAZhCLcdgVqXjWZp30yqRAO4McZih-lZPbypGv1HjFxkU49uJOa7J-UX8LQ0sc1GuRj17o6R5YpPFX4zfHC2NVFFD-WtpOzpSRZJt9gnLEZU/s1600/zo+scalf%23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgryIELzRkiTW_Q5uQbKV6gnIXXG_cnuk_HAZhCLcdgVqXjWZp30yqRAO4McZih-lZPbypGv1HjFxkU49uJOa7J-UX8LQ0sc1GuRj17o6R5YpPFX4zfHC2NVFFD-WtpOzpSRZJt9gnLEZU/s320/zo+scalf%23.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>My Woman!</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I was invited into their home whilst Zowi was left in the midday sun. Even though we could not communicate verbally with each other, they treated me like a special guest. A short while later, I made some excuses to leave, after all, I had a woman in the car that needed looking after.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
They could not let me leave empty handed, and frantically searched for something to give me! - After a search of the fridge I was given 2 kilos of grapes and later, an ice-cold bottle of water! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRw-qaBUOFNrrXeefHebDpBAQNqXla0_AAJBbDSksv-VjvaATfSNsXK4K4SLOwfLbCKelACZPXAMoCC_LyvD-Ip9OT1CiEMSOR-sW-3Ge-mJb2pALg43aX5lNqyGVMARCYALbmDRhKKhI/s1600/P1020107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRw-qaBUOFNrrXeefHebDpBAQNqXla0_AAJBbDSksv-VjvaATfSNsXK4K4SLOwfLbCKelACZPXAMoCC_LyvD-Ip9OT1CiEMSOR-sW-3Ge-mJb2pALg43aX5lNqyGVMARCYALbmDRhKKhI/s320/P1020107.JPG" /></a></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Imagine going to your local BP station in the UK and being treated this well!<br />
<br />
The Diesel came to 30,000 Rials for 50 litres (about $3 or £2) - Hmm this was a cheaper than the 150,000 Rials that we were charged last time. Is it due to the fact that the people at this Petrol station are so nice and have given us a great discount, or were we overcharged last time? If we were overcharged last time, is there actually such a thing as a 1000 Litre fuel card?!?<br />
<br />
Travelling on we entered Rasht around 8pm, tired and hungry. The Lonely Planet helped us find hotels quickly enough, but they were all located on a busy street, with no parking. 2 hours were spent trying to find somewhere safe and secure to park, but nowhere was to be found.<br />
<br />
Time to eat, there was a wonderful barbecue smell coming from many street vendors selling various types of meat on skewers. I found the busiest one, and hand picked 6 skewers, not knowing what I had selected, but thats part of the adventure! Most tasted fine except the last one, and we later found out that it was Lamb, Chicken and Sturgeon (which is popular in this area due to its proximity to the Caspian Sea).<br />
<br />
Fed, but fed up, we left Rasht frustrated at the lack of parking. Our resting place was to be a road side truck stop just outside of town, where we parked in the midst of other trucks.<br />
<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRloL8eowG8iKI4F8C8Z76wRKwdXXxe_k3ooKTBFHBP2-PrYn3fCw7EfsVRErkCRasd1Q5Aa1BtGhg161Sl19xoc2pT2oWswPJwHSOvelfkkXWxN190aicQERbnkR2MHX_I6vd0uPvCBc/s1600/P1020122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRloL8eowG8iKI4F8C8Z76wRKwdXXxe_k3ooKTBFHBP2-PrYn3fCw7EfsVRErkCRasd1Q5Aa1BtGhg161Sl19xoc2pT2oWswPJwHSOvelfkkXWxN190aicQERbnkR2MHX_I6vd0uPvCBc/s320/P1020122.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9z3AHN7S7sfbIzl4jaeZV3unGHKJa_DBrQx-8ksQkJluBeeLNi59o4OYFh-IR_awZzhQQqWZr4rRhfBcghmrprgoKLBTBcP-9OVpTrqyJfcSjjXxWAGacAXiJS-22Ypjz3252xwhaBQA/s1600/P1020120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9z3AHN7S7sfbIzl4jaeZV3unGHKJa_DBrQx-8ksQkJluBeeLNi59o4OYFh-IR_awZzhQQqWZr4rRhfBcghmrprgoKLBTBcP-9OVpTrqyJfcSjjXxWAGacAXiJS-22Ypjz3252xwhaBQA/s320/P1020120.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAeMuKb0viYBls4QKMYUUnCOp-KIbd5B-hQwzF7U7i26-7TpCUeahobOLWFZduEn8xZeJBpvUdaLHQMpt4xFIoE332jXcuOrXGsiRqG0iwaUt09E5xONl7sNuy66TXdFtGQ4H0bFoKzBo/s1600/P1020123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAeMuKb0viYBls4QKMYUUnCOp-KIbd5B-hQwzF7U7i26-7TpCUeahobOLWFZduEn8xZeJBpvUdaLHQMpt4xFIoE332jXcuOrXGsiRqG0iwaUt09E5xONl7sNuy66TXdFtGQ4H0bFoKzBo/s320/P1020123.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<em>These didn't fail to make us laugh everytime.</em><br />
<br />
<em>If only they spent a few minutes planning, they could have fitted at least another 20 sacks on the back.</em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-36100911539731020422010-09-09T20:12:00.002+01:002010-09-15T20:48:02.854+01:00Day 36 – Iran<u>Day 36 – Monday 16th August 2010</u><br />
Tabriz<br />
<br />
People were cheering as some cyclists left Murat Camping in the early hours. It sounded as though the cyclists were underneath the roof tent judging by the loudness of their voices. They soon left and we were left alone, its probably time to get up.<br />
<br />
The toilets and showers at Murat Camping were truly awful. Shit springs to mind - at least the flies were happy. No hot water, no taps that would turn. Just muck and dirt of the dirtiest kind. Not a place we would recommend in a hurry. <br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKQLB9bNiFf6x4lsMgljJJ84NCV5lxUgEbNKkFVISe8c5aAjn5neQrFB1w9hTdH6PDWWsifPx9COd-7om7JEMYVQL_dD3fUz1t6n8af3nOZlxWL1jMgb5E72M6SJWP44ZibzVouhDqgn4/s1600/P1020102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKQLB9bNiFf6x4lsMgljJJ84NCV5lxUgEbNKkFVISe8c5aAjn5neQrFB1w9hTdH6PDWWsifPx9COd-7om7JEMYVQL_dD3fUz1t6n8af3nOZlxWL1jMgb5E72M6SJWP44ZibzVouhDqgn4/s400/P1020102.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mount Arrat (snowcaps and all)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Mount Arrat is located opposite Murat Camping. Mount Arrat had snow on the peak much to our surprise, as at our level we had another day of mid-thirties heat. Heading off to the border we stopped for supplies - mainly drinks, but a few snacks to sustain us on our journey. 3 young boys approached the car as we parked outside the shop, "Money!' they shouted as they held their hands out, "Money". I held my hand out to them and their eyes lit up, "Money" I asked, turning the tables, "I want some of your money!" - They laughed, but didn't give up trying to get some money from us. This banter went back and forth for a while and eventually the boys seemed happy enough if we would just take their photo. Rich did however surprise them each with a bag of lollies.</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdsNoUKa_kamsJqYSwkfblOKgjzHXgwVE5_cQ350W7iRe38sE-3VSD9XNNGYwSZmhZzGD4P7Hvi0sKOLcDpW0VVt_HlMc0MsyQGs2zD5Oc10AFLStz1rpwlHWtI2cutyD2MRUEK9Equ1s/s1600/P1020098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdsNoUKa_kamsJqYSwkfblOKgjzHXgwVE5_cQ350W7iRe38sE-3VSD9XNNGYwSZmhZzGD4P7Hvi0sKOLcDpW0VVt_HlMc0MsyQGs2zD5Oc10AFLStz1rpwlHWtI2cutyD2MRUEK9Equ1s/s320/P1020098.JPG" /></a>Back on the road and a huge row of parked trucks suddenly appeared before us. I had read on another blog to expect this at the Iranian border approach, so we drove along side all the Trucks to the front. Trucks then continue left, and we moved to the right to enter the border through a separate channel.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAY3MwmY8x8q1yfGaIYZBTfIyEhztbUb4hHmVoNrD3eQ5xzX4Hyuhc8tQre8gSSXOJY7DwliZ0CsXtpcGJbPBw2BF1TBIlGUgmkdzIAovf-FIk-ANSz8UXb0JRwCcT3r-_ohTnnXiFVCk/s1600/P1020104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAY3MwmY8x8q1yfGaIYZBTfIyEhztbUb4hHmVoNrD3eQ5xzX4Hyuhc8tQre8gSSXOJY7DwliZ0CsXtpcGJbPBw2BF1TBIlGUgmkdzIAovf-FIk-ANSz8UXb0JRwCcT3r-_ohTnnXiFVCk/s200/P1020104.JPG" width="200" /></a> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Iran here we come...yippeeee....</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So we were a little excited as this we felt was to be our first border crossing into a country that we truly thought we would ever have the pleasure of visiting. </div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxQ-oZjc21caCL98XsEDhVn5KuEehzfFv_QXKk4NH85_N29EMROAtX9nv2yTG8_3yYfNdtBVa64JR53Vvpkp3EFgLf90rDoh_BMirfHtqInTeGUPlPPFpPN2S1SxtGYosElmK1PJTJT8/s1600/P1020109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxQ-oZjc21caCL98XsEDhVn5KuEehzfFv_QXKk4NH85_N29EMROAtX9nv2yTG8_3yYfNdtBVa64JR53Vvpkp3EFgLf90rDoh_BMirfHtqInTeGUPlPPFpPN2S1SxtGYosElmK1PJTJT8/s320/P1020109.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">All ready and covered for the Iranian border</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Much to our surprise, not all border staff wear a uniform or identity badge. Upon entering the border control we met various staff and others seemingly working for the border agencies.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The first helper of the day (Tourist Helper #1 or TH1) jumped on the bonnet, not asking if we wanted his services. We naively presumed that he was official staff. As we did not know what to expect, we accepted his assistance. It turned out that all he did was hand our passports into a booth and have our passports stamped! - 10 Euros for this!</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Tourist Helper #2 attached himself to us as soon as we had passed through immigration, at least he was more helpful. He assisted with the completion of the Carnet, obtained photocopies, ensured that the alcohol wasn't found in the car that we had forgotten to drink before the border. He wanted 20 Euros for his services, but finally accepted 10 Euros when we explained to him several times how poor we had become!</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Tourist Helper #2 passed us onto his colleague, TH3, who we later called "Stripey" because of his Stripey Jumper - the heat really doesn't fire our creative side does it? - TH2 also gave Stripey a piece of white paper, we were not sure what this paper was, but it turned out we should have paid much more attention....</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Car insurance is purchased just before the main exit gate in a building marked "Insurance". Lonely Planet advised to pay up to $45 USD in 2004. Striped wanted $70, but ultimately accepted $40 after a lot of negotiation.</div><br />
I had read in other Blogs that obtaining a Diesel Card at the border will help facilitate the purchase of Diesel throughout Iran. The 2004 Lonely Planet does not mention Diesel Cards, and my research prior to the trip did not include how much they would cost, or how to use them.<br />
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</div>Stripey etched USD $50 onto the window for Diesel and we agreed. Striped beamed from ear-to-ear. How much Diesel would a $50 card buy, we didn't know, but it had to be cheaper than the $2 a litre we had paid in Turkey!<br />
<br />
Now here is where the the problems began. Stripey was actually withholding a stamped white piece of paper that would let us through the border gates. Stripey did not want $50, he wanted $500 or we would not be leaving the border!<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZSA3YqMqe_hbq5Akw27Gvvj44yo9TYdUfiWgHIyLqf4OjiLgHAgy_hup44A3YC3OdQEBW8VS-hDOjZUDkdA5zf2FUbSwvrf1O__V4TScIvwvscsSFpeWi9ywXLXivl-X49xAjBQWGE78/s1600/P1020103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZSA3YqMqe_hbq5Akw27Gvvj44yo9TYdUfiWgHIyLqf4OjiLgHAgy_hup44A3YC3OdQEBW8VS-hDOjZUDkdA5zf2FUbSwvrf1O__V4TScIvwvscsSFpeWi9ywXLXivl-X49xAjBQWGE78/s320/P1020103.JPG" /></a> </div>It turns out that all the Diesel trucks have to pay a fee depending on how far they want to travel in Iran. If the Diesel truck wants to go to Tabriz (nearest city) he pays approx 75 Euros. If he wants to go to Zahedan, near the Pakistan border, he pays nearly 1,000 Euros. I'm still not sure if this money is a Tax, or for Diesel, or something else.<br />
<br />
Stripey was arguing that we would have to pay $500 as we are a Diesel vehicle travelling to Pakistan and that we should pay this amount.<br />
<br />
Holding the white piece of paper hostage, the situation developed into a stalemate situation. There was no way that we would be paying $500 just to leave, we also didn't have $500 to give!<br />
<br />
We went to the Border Gate Guard and tried to explain our situation but he did not want to help us. Tourist Helper #4 later told us that Stripey is actually a very powerful man in this area, and that no one in the border would defy him to help us. Stalemate.<br />
<br />
Trying frantically to escape, we headed to another building to try and buy another white piece of paper. Too late, Stripey had already phoned ahead and the Border Officer would not help us. Everywhere we went Stripey would let himself in behind the counter and stop us. There was no way out. It was 36C in the middle of the day, with no shade and as it was Ramadan, there was no water to drink.<br />
<br />
Away from Stripey, Tourist Helper #4 told us that if Stripey had wanted to help us, he could have told the Border Authorities that we were only going to Tabriz and that we only had $40 on us. TH4 thought it was ridiculous to pay $500, but would not say this anywhere in the vicinity of Stripey. <br />
<br />
TH4 took pity on us, and if it wasn't for him we could have been there for days. He told us to park up and told us to refuse to move. He told us that we should wait for 1 hour, maybe 2 hours, 3 hours, 6 hours. Wait for what? - he didn't say! At one point I think 1am was mentioned but we hoped this time span was just a lost in translation time. We had no idea what we would do until one in the morning. However we set ourselves into a park space and stalemate continued.<br />
<br />
2 hours later and a smartly dressed man wearing all black entered the border. He had a presence about him that all the guards and Tourist Helpers acknowledged and respected. Shaking hands firmly with Stripey he talked with him for about 30 minutes. All this time we sat, watched and speculated as to what was being discussed. It was clear the conversation involved the foreigners in the white 4WD, us.<br />
<br />
Stripey came back to our car and was now prepared to accept $300 in return for the white paper! It was a step in the right direction, but we were still not going to pay this.<br />
<br />
"Everything that we have read about Iranian people is that they are lovely, kind people. You have made us feel unwelcome in Iran and should be ashamed that he has tried to cheat us. How can we trust any Iranians now if everyone is like this? You should be ashamed that this is how you portray your people and country" Zowi cried through the window at Stripey.<br />
<br />
Stripey's whole demeanour changed in an instant. He seemed genuinely appalled by his own behaviour and asked Zowi not to be upset. 15 minutes later he accepted $40 in return for the white piece of paper and left to go to another building for a Diesel receipt. <br />
<br />
TH4 came over when Stripey left and we purchased 5 Diesel Cards, each with 100 Litres on each at $10 each (USD). Stripey came back just as we were about to hand over $50. "Whats going on here?" he barked. TH4 looked terrified. "Just asking directions" Zowi replied, thinking quickly.<br />
<br />
Just 10 minutes later and we were through the border. Stripey himself moved the guard aside and opened the gate personally.<br />
<br />
Parking up just down the road we managed to get the $50 to TH4, we're not sure if Stripey saw this happen, if he did, TH4 may not have any knee caps.<br />
<br />
The first petrol station that we approached we filled up. Fortunately the petrol attendant spoke good English and we were relieved that the Diesel Card did have 100 litres on it. The Diesel pump price read 13,158 - but I couldn't see if this was Tomans or Rials.<br />
<br />
The attendant handed back the Diesel card and then asked us to follow him in his car. We followed about 1 mile down the road where he pulled over onto the side of the road. He told us that we would need to buy more fuel cards if we were to get to Pakistan and he had 2 x 100 and 1 x 1000 litres cards for sale. He offered the 200 litres for $20 but accepted $15, and the 1,000 litres for $100, but accepted $65.<br />
<br />
He then asked for 150,000 Rials for the fuel we had purchased which is about USD $15 or £10 - not too bad for 75 lites of Diesel!<br />
<br />
It had been a long day and we searched for a hotel in Tabriz, but only found high-class hotels which wanted $150 or more. Too expensive for us, but as time escaped us it did get more tempting!<br />
<br />
At 2:30am Zowi spotted tents in a field. At last, somewhere to sleep. There was a young guy at the Security Gate who spoke a little English. "Can we sleep there?" we asked, pointing to the tents. I'm still not sure why 2 hours later we were still standing at the Security gate talking to this young man. It was quiet. He wanted to practise his English. He controlled the gate. He seemed to be enjoying conversation with Rich about all sorts, even handicrafts (Rich's favourite topic, of course) and therefore couldn't let us go off to bed.<br />
<br />
Finally at 5am he showed us a map of Tabriz and marked it with monuments and other structures that we should visit tomorrow. Then he handed us another 50 or so identical maps, and then...... he lifted the security gate! - we were through! Parked, tent up, ladder up, Zowi & Richard asleep in record time.<br />
<br />
The silly part is that I'm sure that those 50 maps are still stashed safely away in Barnaby....well you never know.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-10865417996356058672010-09-09T18:15:00.003+01:002010-09-09T18:21:43.042+01:00Day 35 – Turkey<u>Day 35 – Sunday 15th August 2010</u><br />
Dogubayazit<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTiLCKlqOJerKD6714_wzae6b9ikQcO1wbf2Z0i11nHGoA6B2ZITUcDp91F7qVhz9Pnlg0Rz8DuX8mkXsILOkv-O3DmQFJZmDpz_UXoFsO9Q-jAkpr13dFrOpxbV6hFJsmiDMqqt3Zz1M/s1600/P1020044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTiLCKlqOJerKD6714_wzae6b9ikQcO1wbf2Z0i11nHGoA6B2ZITUcDp91F7qVhz9Pnlg0Rz8DuX8mkXsILOkv-O3DmQFJZmDpz_UXoFsO9Q-jAkpr13dFrOpxbV6hFJsmiDMqqt3Zz1M/s320/P1020044.JPG" /></a>As we had rolled into the campsite at some ridiculous time in the morning we set out to find someone to pay for the privilege of camping right at the base of the formations. After much searching we were still unable to locate a sole. Total cost for a few hours kip - £0. Nice one. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Still a little tired we meandered our way though the town, admiring the creative way that these formations have eroded into hundreds of spectacular pillars and minaret-like forms. The volcanic deposits are soft rocks that the people of the villages at the heart of the Cappadocia Region carved out to form homes, hotels, shops and places of worship. </div><br />
<br />
The colours were spectacular and it was well worth the detour inland to see the rocks of Cappadocia.<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Driving from Cappadocia, towards the border town of Dougbayazit, we witnessed a developing thunderstorm in the distance. Later, as we passed under the storm front, on some flat planes, fork lightening hit a field which in turn started a fire or two. Although we are not sure, this may be a possible explanation for the burnt out patches of fields we had passed over the last few days.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVfBnGyqSywYtsOypXe_dbUXZrjVIoQQSbO6fCPQ-_GvKIBmOpSgBKQo3GoW4C624w-OMACUyBGTgKFJoowPOxSasi_6uCFjonhiuNWz2wnGYFricuby5b6Aq6dMKGQzV6Y-VXbVwplo/s1600/P1020094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVfBnGyqSywYtsOypXe_dbUXZrjVIoQQSbO6fCPQ-_GvKIBmOpSgBKQo3GoW4C624w-OMACUyBGTgKFJoowPOxSasi_6uCFjonhiuNWz2wnGYFricuby5b6Aq6dMKGQzV6Y-VXbVwplo/s320/P1020094.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5oD2wqkrpIQTaFDj8CP3x5SczigHl-nVJ4wpjwVzloJuUeK_-jSLXAbOoX7XKgYOXYamsbxLL3NN3yBVz_6DIKfKzsIbcQNr6Xe1wPeBhDhnnl7A5bHYbPxPycA98ZK0uscE6crV__t0/s1600/P1020096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5oD2wqkrpIQTaFDj8CP3x5SczigHl-nVJ4wpjwVzloJuUeK_-jSLXAbOoX7XKgYOXYamsbxLL3NN3yBVz_6DIKfKzsIbcQNr6Xe1wPeBhDhnnl7A5bHYbPxPycA98ZK0uscE6crV__t0/s320/P1020096.JPG" /></a>Again after a very long day behind the wheel we finally arrived in Dogubayazit, affectionately also known as Dog Biscuit or Doggy Biscuit at 2am to a place called Murat Camping. We had chosen this campsite as it has a reputation for overlanders stopping off. Parking under a tree for shade in the morning, the tent was erected and sleep quickly ensued. Although we were not sure where anyone else was staying as we seemed to be the only vehicle there!<br />
<br />
... and below are some random photos from the day!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGjGDAJJ_9V-83q1w46EtNaUyI3Hqhozgwct3P6QRXgPf7ve6NNmRMayyZKfpkwmM2zDHYc8bpICUPfA6qEqDbHEtJsGxCVqDDuaZTxjeTZLCW4offApNV1WNh3TyUWTWMA_hIcamz6Fk/s1600/P1020081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGjGDAJJ_9V-83q1w46EtNaUyI3Hqhozgwct3P6QRXgPf7ve6NNmRMayyZKfpkwmM2zDHYc8bpICUPfA6qEqDbHEtJsGxCVqDDuaZTxjeTZLCW4offApNV1WNh3TyUWTWMA_hIcamz6Fk/s200/P1020081.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4opBP45Uuy9-Pjeikd8lFXbLVTz8qDdUNRhWgInbjdUjn7WP_yDKuXGkZW-xc8PUYaxmKRchD9VZe9PzNM1S7RUuE0JTISKeSFkoNhCUmjlRDiwlFubnMS07aO0egyhQzucjuYYh-Hs/s1600/P1020075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4opBP45Uuy9-Pjeikd8lFXbLVTz8qDdUNRhWgInbjdUjn7WP_yDKuXGkZW-xc8PUYaxmKRchD9VZe9PzNM1S7RUuE0JTISKeSFkoNhCUmjlRDiwlFubnMS07aO0egyhQzucjuYYh-Hs/s200/P1020075.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnF_4nZ52JJDgR-Ru9QoVOM2hB6ep7yWVsKXGntXmWSjNDCK3BusU_OVTKVIwWufRzMffrVRuSpTDS7s3wtt1AwqDuzkk9XTe54bxEV5buVNeGONEMcM2KisPOoGD0gWilT2Buqkfdpm4/s1600/P1020077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnF_4nZ52JJDgR-Ru9QoVOM2hB6ep7yWVsKXGntXmWSjNDCK3BusU_OVTKVIwWufRzMffrVRuSpTDS7s3wtt1AwqDuzkk9XTe54bxEV5buVNeGONEMcM2KisPOoGD0gWilT2Buqkfdpm4/s320/P1020077.JPG" /></a></div><img height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCx2A7CloznW4pvdlp2T1QKLAQIoLQDuKGjf7o_BT0PP-lAoo6_o6bSxBoOw-QI7PK91x7KMIYEyyKJuZpgQWNXPVHcYzicjRdz3qF4J5ojDHrkxCphvTVzlPR_N2EW7T21RpYeHpSlJM/s320/P1020089.JPG" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 394px; mozopacity: 0.3; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 2375px; visibility: hidden;" width="96" /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCx2A7CloznW4pvdlp2T1QKLAQIoLQDuKGjf7o_BT0PP-lAoo6_o6bSxBoOw-QI7PK91x7KMIYEyyKJuZpgQWNXPVHcYzicjRdz3qF4J5ojDHrkxCphvTVzlPR_N2EW7T21RpYeHpSlJM/s1600/P1020089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCx2A7CloznW4pvdlp2T1QKLAQIoLQDuKGjf7o_BT0PP-lAoo6_o6bSxBoOw-QI7PK91x7KMIYEyyKJuZpgQWNXPVHcYzicjRdz3qF4J5ojDHrkxCphvTVzlPR_N2EW7T21RpYeHpSlJM/s320/P1020089.JPG" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-80216434485069752312010-09-03T15:55:00.000+01:002010-09-03T15:55:17.066+01:00We're Safe - Bomb Blast in Quetta<u>3rd September 2010</u><br />
<br />
Earlier today we were trying to leave the town of Quetta, Pakistan towards Zhob.<br />
<br />
Our Police escort did not arrive, and we were told to return to Quetta.<br />
<br />
As we were about to head back to Quetta we heard of the Bomb blast.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11177686">BBC - Quetta Bomb Blast</a><br />
<br />
We were near this area only an hour earlier, and are very fortunate to have moved away from this area.<br />
<br />
We are now back in Quetta, and are in a very secure hotel with approx 30 army / police officers outside.<br />
<br />
Hopefully we will leave Quetta early tomorrow morning under police escort.<br />
<br />
Our thoughts are with the families of those who have lost their lives in the Bomb blast.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-65363101029919079492010-08-29T10:20:00.003+01:002010-08-29T10:21:43.948+01:00Day 34 - Turkey<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of the many banana plantations along the way</span></td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Day 34 – Saturday 14th August 2010 - Turkey</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p>Goreme</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">With time ticking down quickly on our Iranian Visa, the 17<sup>th</sup> August is the latest date we can enter Iran. If we don’t make it in time then I’m not sure how we will enter Oz, the only other possible route is via Georgia, Russia, China, etc and we don’t have Visas for these countries.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">So we pressed on and drove through the mountains and along coast all day, swapping driving every couple of hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQa0xbYrDdZBa2vis_RngP8ZLSXUyyX6PgIUjJot-KP_xBKmop3v09SsDRRods6dmw28bkQE2Rx-l4pTlcKwfr4WL1hEiukqlYcbn6VDT02S_WeOX0h0AbRMASIsy3CCeO_0diJ5bEF8/s1600/P1020002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQa0xbYrDdZBa2vis_RngP8ZLSXUyyX6PgIUjJot-KP_xBKmop3v09SsDRRods6dmw28bkQE2Rx-l4pTlcKwfr4WL1hEiukqlYcbn6VDT02S_WeOX0h0AbRMASIsy3CCeO_0diJ5bEF8/s320/P1020002.JPG" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> God it was sooo hot, Rich's glasses steamed everytime he left the car</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipX5N9cWyvE3YCMjwGndLqZjF6JbA-_Uiw5DA81NX3E5fgTBKxnRodFl7xeVKe7YF0sGmr4XDykInluTnUX_OcFiaIZ2VA8saoRcZNtKl8Rjdp5rEE27kODxNxr3sjWM66f8VHl20eKtU/s1600/P1020003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipX5N9cWyvE3YCMjwGndLqZjF6JbA-_Uiw5DA81NX3E5fgTBKxnRodFl7xeVKe7YF0sGmr4XDykInluTnUX_OcFiaIZ2VA8saoRcZNtKl8Rjdp5rEE27kODxNxr3sjWM66f8VHl20eKtU/s320/P1020003.JPG" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">At 6pm we found a Cafe, its Ramazan (Ramadan) here at the moment and locals do not eat or drink until 8pm. The owner of the Cafe could not speak a word of English, and our Turkish was still a little poor, but he made us feel so welcome and made us sit down at one of the tables.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Ordering food was very difficult and in the end the Cafe owner decided to disappear for a while and then started to bring out food. Zowi & I were not sure what we would be getting and started to imagine the worst, but we were wrong. We were treated to a delicious meal consisting of 2 Pide’s which is similar Pizza; one was a plain Cheese Pide, and the second was a spicy meat one, with a lovely fresh salad to accompany this.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcDIu-t7uf3dtDBy1CzYOZAZIUZoZH04M2zu4UNn7D8IsoJEH0nqUSU4RsxmfmCYRiecgWEs0CeZWx6ISrMD_tMYeBZeOC_2qxzZtUyCwp3ZvYDBQ73A-Bshm50Pgo3x2XPEg6fRsYjbI/s1600/P1020035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcDIu-t7uf3dtDBy1CzYOZAZIUZoZH04M2zu4UNn7D8IsoJEH0nqUSU4RsxmfmCYRiecgWEs0CeZWx6ISrMD_tMYeBZeOC_2qxzZtUyCwp3ZvYDBQ73A-Bshm50Pgo3x2XPEg6fRsYjbI/s400/P1020035.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Towards the end of the meal the Owner joined us at our table. Despite the language barriers we were able to communicate to him our journey so far and he told us that he lived in the area all of his life, and had owned the Cafe for many years. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Although we needed to reach the Cappadocia (or the Cappuccino’s as Zowi says) which was still 5 hours away, the Cafe Owner was making us feel too comfortable. An offer to spend the night in his home was asked several times, and if time had allowed, it would have been a delightful experience. Nearly 3 hours later, 2 further cups of Chai, and having made a new friend, we continued on, buzzing from meeting such a wonderful person.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ3544eujjXt5Um_C9WX309fURs7Ite5mtVfbRgE3EHqYEYo85oEvzMhomWedE1LxSzsf-Fwlek7yAsTC5NiMcvEi6CyO3LmfgcwvjzlPpus9wh6cnXV-xsriXclipoT716YfXt8vFOS8/s1600/P1020004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="101" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ3544eujjXt5Um_C9WX309fURs7Ite5mtVfbRgE3EHqYEYo85oEvzMhomWedE1LxSzsf-Fwlek7yAsTC5NiMcvEi6CyO3LmfgcwvjzlPpus9wh6cnXV-xsriXclipoT716YfXt8vFOS8/s200/P1020004.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjmIDeYMu2x3brOkIYHH7cKrgnI-XKlFkg2cauqQT26oVg4Q9lKMKhN8XcTZbzWkO0yhEv6X4CB50kAaBb0UrDNl6AZLttZsEsHxbjDq0OjMJO0K_Xm_M83ZNf2Pg0hMlONyBS3wRdPpw/s1600/P1020007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjmIDeYMu2x3brOkIYHH7cKrgnI-XKlFkg2cauqQT26oVg4Q9lKMKhN8XcTZbzWkO0yhEv6X4CB50kAaBb0UrDNl6AZLttZsEsHxbjDq0OjMJO0K_Xm_M83ZNf2Pg0hMlONyBS3wRdPpw/s320/P1020007.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNz-p2wL-RyPFn00ln1awbdVqT8jmKDsyhmqiraAVsYWrKQ8lsPvIABRtR2bsZlhZPcRIcxIB-vWo8Os4QAK3A7pRDKkgk8x9GoycYcfzQ4q3QqJZeGrroSYrNmkQD3VC8o1UbSafwX2Q/s1600/P1020023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNz-p2wL-RyPFn00ln1awbdVqT8jmKDsyhmqiraAVsYWrKQ8lsPvIABRtR2bsZlhZPcRIcxIB-vWo8Os4QAK3A7pRDKkgk8x9GoycYcfzQ4q3QqJZeGrroSYrNmkQD3VC8o1UbSafwX2Q/s320/P1020023.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqISTZFZhTQmn0L-qvIaPepOiiVaiaKzS80WgVO1-R6wckfQLYXbSC6o-R9ajgbMjCK_zn9W4kw6WFVZ50lYtYTMgf0HPyVsJtB5em6JZ9xEmYf3hLlwMtQtWakssPsp7spGuJ5_uNx_E/s1600/P1020016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqISTZFZhTQmn0L-qvIaPepOiiVaiaKzS80WgVO1-R6wckfQLYXbSC6o-R9ajgbMjCK_zn9W4kw6WFVZ50lYtYTMgf0HPyVsJtB5em6JZ9xEmYf3hLlwMtQtWakssPsp7spGuJ5_uNx_E/s200/P1020016.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplLvfJ7_l-0N8Xn5Xdlm0y6xWauC26uuDqQtkgmga_lvk_N0pnW_1trKnjHfCNzbZou9PNX8o_JDDrY34vfJazQF7GcrV5jzNWtm2ofZuSs28Uw6J6BehhD6PvFEnai3e0umoqYbZAjM/s1600/P1020022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplLvfJ7_l-0N8Xn5Xdlm0y6xWauC26uuDqQtkgmga_lvk_N0pnW_1trKnjHfCNzbZou9PNX8o_JDDrY34vfJazQF7GcrV5jzNWtm2ofZuSs28Uw6J6BehhD6PvFEnai3e0umoqYbZAjM/s320/P1020022.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphEmlukCcDM6n8n2zHdxn2LWr3zpaGToKujurK6RY4UzSBLtlnOBIOI5KUlSwvsabynRnOYbR_dQjCPjIswUOXTwvD-AxFfccqWBTLnGA31mbuLHY3sL8zayfR_WByg0Q4CczoOqdGPU/s1600/P1020014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphEmlukCcDM6n8n2zHdxn2LWr3zpaGToKujurK6RY4UzSBLtlnOBIOI5KUlSwvsabynRnOYbR_dQjCPjIswUOXTwvD-AxFfccqWBTLnGA31mbuLHY3sL8zayfR_WByg0Q4CczoOqdGPU/s200/P1020014.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAGjYgg9suDipVD-0Q04vIiBdsbBp4zH-AAeW6j1JhhyPZAUZSyGXhCbC2pwbG0Vi2MZ3R-Mxzf1hNFF9ophU0f-B7DNPDVDWn4CLuTXKK-xXJj_tReULMLgl3XeTSXefg2MPEU0U3wwc/s1600/P1020032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAGjYgg9suDipVD-0Q04vIiBdsbBp4zH-AAeW6j1JhhyPZAUZSyGXhCbC2pwbG0Vi2MZ3R-Mxzf1hNFF9ophU0f-B7DNPDVDWn4CLuTXKK-xXJj_tReULMLgl3XeTSXefg2MPEU0U3wwc/s320/P1020032.JPG" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">UP, DOWN, ROUND and ROUND.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> NEVER GETTING ABOVE 30KM AN HOUR</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><i> GRAVEL, GRAVEL and MORE GRAVEL</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The road to the Cappadocia was truly awful. In parts, there was no road, it would literally disappear, or turn into a gravel road, sandy road, winding road, everything but a road! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqG3CO47ofOqsc-gW9T12ss3z4f8q9bjRN9IOnKc5LKAgKdOds83c7uJ1c5Cpir3_ArNwp0WBfs7MAyrUFULfYXnTvOUYyPFA83osMc6_HY5Eox01AXJcGdOA-sHPKB40n1lLwBflWGyI/s1600/P1020031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqG3CO47ofOqsc-gW9T12ss3z4f8q9bjRN9IOnKc5LKAgKdOds83c7uJ1c5Cpir3_ArNwp0WBfs7MAyrUFULfYXnTvOUYyPFA83osMc6_HY5Eox01AXJcGdOA-sHPKB40n1lLwBflWGyI/s320/P1020031.JPG" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">At 2am we arrived at the Cappadocia exhausted after 15 hours of driving on really bad roads. We found a campsite with an open gate, quietly drove in, and settled in for a 3am sleep.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggvnrcyB10uCmVZiXIDWTSMV9PQWmJkQ9zd1MHFYjLsz5Ptr19Mfq529voF3bID_orpEdjolrjJMG_-fypw_3w2UEkXxTW5y3r9PnUCoyCrFD5HtcakqRIhrep3sdWeLbxngwUS5B_Wqw/s1600/P1020026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggvnrcyB10uCmVZiXIDWTSMV9PQWmJkQ9zd1MHFYjLsz5Ptr19Mfq529voF3bID_orpEdjolrjJMG_-fypw_3w2UEkXxTW5y3r9PnUCoyCrFD5HtcakqRIhrep3sdWeLbxngwUS5B_Wqw/s320/P1020026.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7q7ig8hs39jNd_eeYsFwcPrDov53ln0m5EHe9pG9MO22pHez8l9tJJ9_bQDwI03-w3LDpU5vANXL7FJ1zXRwjTToIMTFYZvSGlhQNL_WTvhM3LsOmDxEe8vJhlRogcmyjgnumaiqyWAc/s1600/P1020033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7q7ig8hs39jNd_eeYsFwcPrDov53ln0m5EHe9pG9MO22pHez8l9tJJ9_bQDwI03-w3LDpU5vANXL7FJ1zXRwjTToIMTFYZvSGlhQNL_WTvhM3LsOmDxEe8vJhlRogcmyjgnumaiqyWAc/s320/P1020033.JPG" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><u><o:p></o:p></u></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-19011593560563404752010-08-29T09:09:00.004+01:002010-08-29T09:18:57.904+01:00Day 33 - Turkey<u>Day 33 – Friday 13th August 2010 - Turkey</u><br />
South Coast of Turkey <br />
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Time to pack up and hit the road again. If you are looking for somewhere to stay in Dalyan we both can happily recommend Hotel Mico as a very pleasant place to stay.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsvyWTbmc-27HwyzhJHlVtVrH09SkXLc-JUS58UGhyR-6bnoWG1Z2ogHmrbR_ElLzDWUaWNjBu2cKwuwDd4mOGUNJtJuW-Mhzd6IWVB5Rr2z6cTA1ilE8VLpb9w05ctlbLcqvhRhFo0BE/s1600/P1010975.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsvyWTbmc-27HwyzhJHlVtVrH09SkXLc-JUS58UGhyR-6bnoWG1Z2ogHmrbR_ElLzDWUaWNjBu2cKwuwDd4mOGUNJtJuW-Mhzd6IWVB5Rr2z6cTA1ilE8VLpb9w05ctlbLcqvhRhFo0BE/s320/P1010975.JPG" /></a></div>Our next destination was Blue Lagoon at Oludeniz, unfortunately payment was required to see the Natures Blue Lagoon and for parking nearby. Settling for a nice view of the beach and a tasty kebab we continued east. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgahXqT6aEVQygiQN-cl6kG_Zk3nYeHIU9qZvZ7b4cCOik8Ef4FUbwMYYUsf1IH_OjrXYv5E91_5XFctygkQiyPrmueWqEwb_hra1-FxNUEVHeziC-0mOS1t4mp1bCP2iYuHciJhF_ACkg/s1600/P1010983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgahXqT6aEVQygiQN-cl6kG_Zk3nYeHIU9qZvZ7b4cCOik8Ef4FUbwMYYUsf1IH_OjrXYv5E91_5XFctygkQiyPrmueWqEwb_hra1-FxNUEVHeziC-0mOS1t4mp1bCP2iYuHciJhF_ACkg/s200/P1010983.JPG" width="200" /></a>The coastline of southern Turkey is very beautiful as you will hopefully be able to see from the photos and Mother Nature blessed us with a glorious sunset.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Such an amazing sight to see after a very long days driving</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVr5x9O_h8sN-dLXEBTWT7D7mbWm64RMTMPysmQt-Lea3ubiGU_HSRxH-hZ7yttF12eqjVeFbYrZL4eae97VFCOIOfgbbNQ8btPFSZcwGhFhRGh4W3OcbRwFgT0i7g2O0fMELJ6gf-27A/s1600/P1010996.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVr5x9O_h8sN-dLXEBTWT7D7mbWm64RMTMPysmQt-Lea3ubiGU_HSRxH-hZ7yttF12eqjVeFbYrZL4eae97VFCOIOfgbbNQ8btPFSZcwGhFhRGh4W3OcbRwFgT0i7g2O0fMELJ6gf-27A/s320/P1010996.JPG" width="320" /></a>Dinner was called “Gozleme” and eaten at a roadside hut. Gozleme is a savoury Turkish hand-rolled pancake which was filled with potato, cheese, minced meat and cooked over a hot griddle or stone, and washed down with a cup of Chai (black tea). I quite liked the Gozleme, though found it to be very dry. Zowi didn’t rate it as highly and passed some onto my plate.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmUI3PFEbdV4DWrpOST6Bj2ucmaRpoYkyWWbyzNNVsxsq3BfW_DsnXIjeSpc6DY43J3sGMU6iQnLm_FeQC1-gwEeUKnMR-G-HqbSvmJ1pmECvChNs_F7hQ2jIYUTk7lTP3yI8jw0Pw_y8/s1600/P1010992.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmUI3PFEbdV4DWrpOST6Bj2ucmaRpoYkyWWbyzNNVsxsq3BfW_DsnXIjeSpc6DY43J3sGMU6iQnLm_FeQC1-gwEeUKnMR-G-HqbSvmJ1pmECvChNs_F7hQ2jIYUTk7lTP3yI8jw0Pw_y8/s320/P1010992.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Gozleme being freshly prepared</span></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPNFB_EFpzEzgL_1vb2Es4jGcXDhcD7gO-dZadKkSDCKrwb9kQ3hLwpPKDGlalOa4zClhpKYuMmYADXfas6QH5zNnX612SlPuUBu-Npf2op0eWb5ZT-8fyvss-z9cMla-R1v6TH03i2ZA/s1600/P1010997.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPNFB_EFpzEzgL_1vb2Es4jGcXDhcD7gO-dZadKkSDCKrwb9kQ3hLwpPKDGlalOa4zClhpKYuMmYADXfas6QH5zNnX612SlPuUBu-Npf2op0eWb5ZT-8fyvss-z9cMla-R1v6TH03i2ZA/s320/P1010997.JPG" width="292" /></a></div>It was about 10pm when Zowi spotted a sign that always makes us happy “Camping”. The camping ground was behind a Petrol Station and we were the only guests at this old campsite apart from many broken marble statues. Very bizarre, and it reminded me of a Dr Who episode with the Weeping Angel Statues. It took a few minutes before I was brave enough to blink!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-15066375596406824292010-08-29T07:51:00.005+01:002010-08-29T07:57:17.085+01:00Day 31 & Day 32 - Turkey<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"></meta><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"></meta><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"></meta><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"></meta><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CRichard%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CRichard%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CRichard%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"></link> <m:smallfrac m:val="off"> <m:dispdef> <m:lmargin m:val="0"> <m:rmargin m:val="0"> <m:defjc m:val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440"> <m:intlim m:val="subSup"> <m:narylim m:val="undOvr"> </m:narylim></m:intlim> </m:wrapindent><style>
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</style></m:defjc></m:rmargin></m:lmargin></m:dispdef></m:smallfrac><u><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p>Day 31 & 32 - Wednesday 11th to Thursday 12th August 2010 - Turkey</o:p></span></u><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Dalyan<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The Big Blog! – so much time is spent on choosing photos, resizing photos, typing the blog, editing the blog, moving the photos around the blog, etc – I hope someone is reading it to make it all worthwhile!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Swimming in the pool has also featured strongly between blogging, but its mainly catching up with blogging that has consumed the last 2 days.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Swimming Pool at Hotel Mico</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD_YfkxfP-FIeMfI9NWqv8GGezidMZCmGkDYkfxw9RdRBmSOxVWM97OeKyQOJ-MBOK3oHdGjaoH7trqRr4Fh8V6y_ofqRyCJH_TccXOEVWjQjOT_Nlu35ixgDy6k7ohzYabKhiqf5pJnk/s1600/P1010971.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD_YfkxfP-FIeMfI9NWqv8GGezidMZCmGkDYkfxw9RdRBmSOxVWM97OeKyQOJ-MBOK3oHdGjaoH7trqRr4Fh8V6y_ofqRyCJH_TccXOEVWjQjOT_Nlu35ixgDy6k7ohzYabKhiqf5pJnk/s320/P1010971.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Why have 1 Umbrella when you can have 3?</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We have a hungry fridge! - The 2<sup>nd</sup> car battery has run out of puff due to the high 35C heat which appears daily, without fail. The fridge consumes nearly 4amps an hour when running at full speed, in other words...<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">12 hours of Sun (and 12 hours of hot nights) x 4 amps / hour x no car charging = Warm Fridge. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Hindsight has told me that a Solar Panel would have helped to keep the leisure battery fed in this heat. Hindsight, such a knowledgeable fellow isn’t he?<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">In case you are all thinking we are rapidly becoming hotel junkies, there is always a very good reason. This last couple of days have included so much pool time due to Rich having some troubles with his back. Not a totally new issue but one that raised its head for the last three days. So a bit of down time was in order for it to recuperate. Although not fully recovered we must move on tomorrow as we are fast approaching the deadline for entry to Iran with our visas.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-22864510595958100392010-08-20T10:14:00.002+01:002010-08-20T10:19:15.558+01:00Day 30 – Turkey<u>Day 30 – Tuesday 10th August 2010 – Turkey</u><br />
Daylan<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">An early breakfast of Melon, cold meats, boiled egg, tomatoes and bread was eaten before walking to our boat near Dalyan’s Town Centre for a 9am launch.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-yyZpIJUw6VmA6e1Kppj6-sE4zrAFuoacP9wJ16lAu7r5WgVQoRVX9iBdF0fWFzg2CDDs8n89L5kqvhE8wYhyAIOYTkZGEjLlA5FFJPSjfholDHbLVmv-PpWFoUdpvVvydQ55k4Mhpr0/s1600/IMG_9118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-yyZpIJUw6VmA6e1Kppj6-sE4zrAFuoacP9wJ16lAu7r5WgVQoRVX9iBdF0fWFzg2CDDs8n89L5kqvhE8wYhyAIOYTkZGEjLlA5FFJPSjfholDHbLVmv-PpWFoUdpvVvydQ55k4Mhpr0/s400/IMG_9118.jpg" width="400" /></a> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtU_l7Nb7ME3KznBBbfm7dapL_5jupyH3AU-G_F0Ype9PWqmdOj29_y6_Tu6CSP_Se5Mb1jwZlAuC65JGF07mWb4uVDZqMtk-PCCTMqYrp3k487xyHpiTBO7rNR4ZYnTLzRKhbyFX5hBU/s1600/IMG_9148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtU_l7Nb7ME3KznBBbfm7dapL_5jupyH3AU-G_F0Ype9PWqmdOj29_y6_Tu6CSP_Se5Mb1jwZlAuC65JGF07mWb4uVDZqMtk-PCCTMqYrp3k487xyHpiTBO7rNR4ZYnTLzRKhbyFX5hBU/s200/IMG_9148.jpg" width="200" /></a>Dalyan achieved international fame in 1986 when developers wanted to build a luxury hotel on the nearby Iztuzu Beach, a breeding ground for the endangered loggerhead sea turtle species. The incident created a major international storm when David Bellamy championed the cause of the conservationists. The development project was stopped, and the beach is now a protected area. Iztuzu was voted the best beach in the world in 1995. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Life in Dalyan revolves around the Dalyan Çayı River which flows past the town. The boats that ply up and down the river, navigating the maze of reeds, are the preferred means of transport to all the local sites. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Above the river's sheer cliffs are the weathered façades of Lycian tombs cut from rock, circa 400 BC.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxa7iHWeiuN-2chj2h0N9bYjbdqe_46N-QhiTHndsiKpbZYRnxVACdLzIuqV1sdZo24wz67y9E3qvxhDVD79P-kRHhcpSXdvsQAKLJaSYq0210C5C0caWil0AlWdA7cE2Qc6H1xILiwg/s1600/IMG_9113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxa7iHWeiuN-2chj2h0N9bYjbdqe_46N-QhiTHndsiKpbZYRnxVACdLzIuqV1sdZo24wz67y9E3qvxhDVD79P-kRHhcpSXdvsQAKLJaSYq0210C5C0caWil0AlWdA7cE2Qc6H1xILiwg/s400/IMG_9113.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirtAkMfEbLKGpmCgkIC1Sz5eHIp4SC-rDJo6-13fPCIM-GK767LDiCAw_7IqnXSqWI4OoHqTZ0Zu1vDYRDYHEUSd_lWH8xBZLDr8KX_JaWgJxvTu1DoDQ2kArLLDqgvTIVwewhgcj5b9Y/s1600/P1010944.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirtAkMfEbLKGpmCgkIC1Sz5eHIp4SC-rDJo6-13fPCIM-GK767LDiCAw_7IqnXSqWI4OoHqTZ0Zu1vDYRDYHEUSd_lWH8xBZLDr8KX_JaWgJxvTu1DoDQ2kArLLDqgvTIVwewhgcj5b9Y/s320/P1010944.JPG" /></a>The 3 hour trip was very pleasant, the boat wasn’t full, enabling its passengers to manoeuvre around the vessel to try and capture that perfect photo. Travelling down River through the Reeds, past the Lycian tombs, the Captain steered the boat towards a well known Turtle hangout. Blue Crabs were thrown into the air to entice the Turtles to visit, with great success! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeLvyeiZSMnSfQj6BHRbnF-20mgAbr-IHUij7njeFwmX7mRrirruNOXzL8kLGuPJFE5vGEJLkrnPPBrjoYN_Jr7FKrZMwRYPr_CLHpssh2nh4zUAHT_7XkAI5JWs7XguIFJr0qeRE5u1I/s1600/IMG_9111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeLvyeiZSMnSfQj6BHRbnF-20mgAbr-IHUij7njeFwmX7mRrirruNOXzL8kLGuPJFE5vGEJLkrnPPBrjoYN_Jr7FKrZMwRYPr_CLHpssh2nh4zUAHT_7XkAI5JWs7XguIFJr0qeRE5u1I/s200/IMG_9111.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The boat continued on through the Reeds to Iztuzu beach were we had a brief stop before returning to the boat, and back to Daylan. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXrJ25pXR3LsQsa-in-cK74g23Z8ojAMV8AMjR81QYmanfbEh_wZhhFGAX1Jy4odIWehMWmB2HopQo6wia1sU8TsdrttV28CRxYNArpjSH0g0BTKXEM6e_osAmaPiAVRDyVDOnMj7_qZU/s1600/IMG_9134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXrJ25pXR3LsQsa-in-cK74g23Z8ojAMV8AMjR81QYmanfbEh_wZhhFGAX1Jy4odIWehMWmB2HopQo6wia1sU8TsdrttV28CRxYNArpjSH0g0BTKXEM6e_osAmaPiAVRDyVDOnMj7_qZU/s640/IMG_9134.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Loggerhead Turtles, a great morning feeding them off Daylan</span></td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgya3KpDWSwUyl9afbjvmKD0tzJSkhw87ir2GC2BtQ4BiEUqdTV9aJDCQYHiTsjqhTdC-UHXi1o3xBG8rL64emSqPspPSm7JRtnfj2fwa-tFsD4GguzvmuQD8XMIYFjCYw6BhdWawBp4Xg/s320/P1010932.JPG" width="240" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltU_kr6ef73XafdNOkyylLUiYfmKnl7Q_DICNM50E4sW-3eUx5fuSJX71JOmyOn-preml0Vjp2GvLptGSIdKy6L_-9S53kBvEjwTE67muUzkdNoLxVoISXsJCIC20yqPOBoscJa04Zg8/s1600/IMG_9168.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltU_kr6ef73XafdNOkyylLUiYfmKnl7Q_DICNM50E4sW-3eUx5fuSJX71JOmyOn-preml0Vjp2GvLptGSIdKy6L_-9S53kBvEjwTE67muUzkdNoLxVoISXsJCIC20yqPOBoscJa04Zg8/s320/IMG_9168.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">What a great way to spend the morning! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Hand washing our clothes desperately needed doing in the afternoon. Washing clothes is a little harder on the road that it is at home. Dry bags are filled with dirty clothes and water, with a small amount of detergent added. The Dry bags are then emptied after a few hours have past, and the clothes are rinsed. Time to fit in a swim and some sunbathing was still found between all the washing, I still say that we could have found room in the back of Barnaby for a small Washing Machine!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-34968713028373134932010-08-20T09:49:00.005+01:002010-08-20T10:23:45.571+01:00Day 29 - Turkey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><u>Day 29 – Monday 9th August 2010 – Turkey</u><br />
Daylan<br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs1IUNicLVEb6FT2saTk1nMdzSm9RRgJ8Th6reKOzaJpLAYpPjPMv0MedCmDpgZD42hes_GBI9JKpCuHVYyhT_JIg_WopdeuLs1x9HKpC6UI2C6ywIRMTodeBGDsXyysavjeI7N897DHU/s1600/P1010988.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs1IUNicLVEb6FT2saTk1nMdzSm9RRgJ8Th6reKOzaJpLAYpPjPMv0MedCmDpgZD42hes_GBI9JKpCuHVYyhT_JIg_WopdeuLs1x9HKpC6UI2C6ywIRMTodeBGDsXyysavjeI7N897DHU/s320/P1010988.JPG" /></a></div><br />
It didn’t take long for all the Dolmus’s buzzing around our tent to get us up and going early. Three mountain goats were enjoying breakfast near the rubbish bins which reminded us that we too would need some grub. <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">A £2 full English breakfast also provided toilets facilities which the Dolmus Terminus stop didn’t. Fed, nourished and emptied, we moved onto the nearby town of Dalyan – home of the nesting Caretta Turtles (Loggerhead Turtles). <br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ZttuqE2J06w4QOw8bKiUXOOa1wFyzbluf_u_PwNhkHl7L8FPjitx_aXIwnLQ9uFxhJ2eYrTqePKXxmhaTrsP4gT1hMTRiVmWB1mrHabJTckH36vEnfqiqFe79Jx_5FhrSNwCQfPSumc/s1600/IMG_9105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ZttuqE2J06w4QOw8bKiUXOOa1wFyzbluf_u_PwNhkHl7L8FPjitx_aXIwnLQ9uFxhJ2eYrTqePKXxmhaTrsP4gT1hMTRiVmWB1mrHabJTckH36vEnfqiqFe79Jx_5FhrSNwCQfPSumc/s320/IMG_9105.jpg" /></a> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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2 nights of poor sleep and no shower or toilets facilities left us determined that we would find somewhere to stay much earlier in the day. Driving into Dalyan was the right choice. After visiting the River front we decided upon a boat trip the following day. There was a good selection of “Aparts” and small hotels, but again, no campsites.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigXsuOZr_m8CPw_udng2lm-Ug6Ih9oW3OUWAORMkjPL-tHqkxxX9bfKUhPi-qgncqe0zlmMhz2rLtRCEIxbhKlqVT3XL_5b22c9-xTFiWn8BTEMP2N-vZ7gR22gsc5CB3ko1ckekVoppQ/s1600/P1010949.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigXsuOZr_m8CPw_udng2lm-Ug6Ih9oW3OUWAORMkjPL-tHqkxxX9bfKUhPi-qgncqe0zlmMhz2rLtRCEIxbhKlqVT3XL_5b22c9-xTFiWn8BTEMP2N-vZ7gR22gsc5CB3ko1ckekVoppQ/s400/P1010949.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Hotel Mico on the main road offered good value for money, and was only 10 minutes walk from the town centre. Air Con, showers, a toilet, and even a swimming pool! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">A restful afternoon was enjoyed next to the pool before going into town for some nourishment and to book a 3 hour Turtle Boat trip for the following morning.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggOV6OkVLJAA6Di-Z7XWQyA2kOwC_lq2eaj6sdimKuUc4wioSHM6EcOm6THzX6y3XLF0miheL_nJIcYv8UgIrITZdrL-DiaVWehT8Lat2c1U5ZWQLZ58-qxv00xn3ZiM0k-swCY5kiSfk/s1600/IMG_9101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggOV6OkVLJAA6Di-Z7XWQyA2kOwC_lq2eaj6sdimKuUc4wioSHM6EcOm6THzX6y3XLF0miheL_nJIcYv8UgIrITZdrL-DiaVWehT8Lat2c1U5ZWQLZ58-qxv00xn3ZiM0k-swCY5kiSfk/s200/IMG_9101.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZcCKB2ch1fOjAr8gGRb0kw9bWKbQvsJfbygSh5-EQf2ERUlouA4x9aVuxv0_QQBTRDyiUqfCuPfzKnq7M6QkWidsFVx_VQzQ5ESSU2QZUkOccGXr5A14lzMfr2yCSMWYN4iFY2XIqXAk/s1600/IMG_9099.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZcCKB2ch1fOjAr8gGRb0kw9bWKbQvsJfbygSh5-EQf2ERUlouA4x9aVuxv0_QQBTRDyiUqfCuPfzKnq7M6QkWidsFVx_VQzQ5ESSU2QZUkOccGXr5A14lzMfr2yCSMWYN4iFY2XIqXAk/s320/IMG_9099.jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-75653939935311175042010-08-12T20:31:00.006+01:002010-08-12T20:41:54.671+01:00Day 28 – Turkey<u>Day 28 – Sunday 8th August 2010 – Turkey</u><br />
Icmeler<br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1uhXvnL_6Nizr50XY88mOCcXPcCl-eNMmZr53sPJ5GTMbNk-ees8CZE4a6rsxOcdNi6g9ZQYcjg4gPHIQLOnxVgQGbc6EtVx9WJAjJskP675aXrZ5k-sfiuMCFDBTX_yPGKxtvfBbREU/s1600/P1010879.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1uhXvnL_6Nizr50XY88mOCcXPcCl-eNMmZr53sPJ5GTMbNk-ees8CZE4a6rsxOcdNi6g9ZQYcjg4gPHIQLOnxVgQGbc6EtVx9WJAjJskP675aXrZ5k-sfiuMCFDBTX_yPGKxtvfBbREU/s200/P1010879.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">A super long driving day (over 15 hours) passing through Ankara, Turkey’s capital city, all the way down to the South Coast and the resort of Marmaris.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuL36qNdJ_sHjJk3L_rbiTRU1GbR3uO_O4Mc7Vw5qsxE9YMfsos-3MoPs3T0W702EzABAIU5sXYHlLRuyE3x1s9OZwLYe6PcoWFBvS-uNDaqJMUDXBrb14DOcIcHdhujHbEa9eLD4FuBI/s1600/P1010873.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuL36qNdJ_sHjJk3L_rbiTRU1GbR3uO_O4Mc7Vw5qsxE9YMfsos-3MoPs3T0W702EzABAIU5sXYHlLRuyE3x1s9OZwLYe6PcoWFBvS-uNDaqJMUDXBrb14DOcIcHdhujHbEa9eLD4FuBI/s320/P1010873.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>A Suzuki Jeep had crashed and rolled just off the main highway as we whizzed by. A quick glance and it looked like there was still a person inside the vehicle. A hasty U-turn and we found the driver sat alone in driver’s seat. “Are you OK?” we asked very concerned. The driver popped out and explained in quite good English that the crash had occurred over an hour ago and he was now awaiting the arrival of the Tow Truck.<br />
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After ensuring that he was fine, and had plenty of supplies, we headed on our way. This was actually the second crash that we had seen this day, Turkish drivers are generally very “confident”. Considering the state of his car, and the large skid marks on the road, he was one very lucky guy.<br />
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Barnaby also had a quite a few overheating issues today. The days are so hot, and Mountains are so high that it causes the Gearbox Oil to overheat. This results in losing Overdrive, roughly the equivalent of 4th & 5th gears, and nice red lights let you know this. <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV9Cf6ZTxbjXY792fxhUugbLPdORY6Ij_xMWFQ8ugGMAhLT4l9nI_pVvFxE0xx5nIoQWRMTRYCBvzr5YnAJE1qd3lBbZzscJi7Drp4KE7BPNHxcConbvvfGOhTQ1LEnEtZZhe8M8NpaXQ/s320/IMG_9083.jpg" style="cursor: move;" unselectable="on" width="320" /> <img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjbSkvyZ7JFyl2oCofyz9PY5-n3HuU-OWijTV9G9ole3LHtqjOntpSTlgSsBn2epoM9YwHR4nRsd-wf_EOTiF0ZY4NM7xFfpaJFiqwNv8X54n1gg8hhREoSBsSeNCtb-jT7Q3iU7kwjRg/s320/P1010901.JPG" /></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Houston we have a problem</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzeibFXbAFzKBpxLxESylYyvpfDup7m2gKqRXLEpIfWNtNivmL3tKoikLNRl-5p1JtPCm3C-tyVgR-f1-QtggS8SZ0P-WufjBCAGcQjWF_7nJPYw1OWXhhEpsu4YzsdV3El2CuE2jLSiI/s320/P1010891.JPG" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: red;">FAIL - blowing the engine cool</span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Unfortunately with only 3rd gear available, the engine revs much higher at speed, giving little chance for the engine and gearbox to cool down.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: red; font-size: small;">FAILED Chief Mechanic - Richie B</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWSVThEg8yai5RQgWXbz7ADGzurtMbUh1wP7_CDr7-yKQ3HpCOmHBh7EAa0siob75YOScSVzWKKKRFryEC98HtpSEEmuQlFNQA6NCwbTbNrWQVt8d-tan8_c0mg-4ZlOWa21s-wacCKQE/s1600/P1010892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWSVThEg8yai5RQgWXbz7ADGzurtMbUh1wP7_CDr7-yKQ3HpCOmHBh7EAa0siob75YOScSVzWKKKRFryEC98HtpSEEmuQlFNQA6NCwbTbNrWQVt8d-tan8_c0mg-4ZlOWa21s-wacCKQE/s320/P1010892.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: red; font-size: small;">FAIL - spraying water</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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Frequent stopping along the way is the favoured option to help alleviate the problem, when this is not possible; slowing down to keep the revs under 2000rpm is the only other viable alternative.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIV5iklZn8IA-ZAbH1A6YjCN8RwXuYWGydfJ7jQNYCZZ9NSEavWWukZhNWjT0F-gvzuX20FmcYpLO3J7-rOJDUJMERCtyxeY4_Z3rdBMDhUcE8k04xRD0y8ewg2DTWlIr7jEhLLE82Ij0/s1600/IMG_9081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIV5iklZn8IA-ZAbH1A6YjCN8RwXuYWGydfJ7jQNYCZZ9NSEavWWukZhNWjT0F-gvzuX20FmcYpLO3J7-rOJDUJMERCtyxeY4_Z3rdBMDhUcE8k04xRD0y8ewg2DTWlIr7jEhLLE82Ij0/s320/IMG_9081.jpg" /></a> </div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I’ve posted the issue online at the Troopers owners club, it looks like it may be a temperature sensor issue, but it could just need an additional external oil cooler. It’s much harder to fix these issues when your friendly mechanic is so far away.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU7PshIpH6vjHsJ_kGImK6EH_iCZVxZ665hcYCI5Qkmuwx9MtWakvyY4_Up20mvHa-HcrWFXud-ctKBzbdPUEKDGdLebX8uPrtwortYpdWWEabnHjdVfhXhFURA4RwvKWVPpq88cWoIS8/s1600/IMG_9085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU7PshIpH6vjHsJ_kGImK6EH_iCZVxZ665hcYCI5Qkmuwx9MtWakvyY4_Up20mvHa-HcrWFXud-ctKBzbdPUEKDGdLebX8uPrtwortYpdWWEabnHjdVfhXhFURA4RwvKWVPpq88cWoIS8/s320/IMG_9085.jpg" /></a> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD08qFqL8tjqPrKL8uCbshaG8Rw9ZD11XXBWM2yLhIz361FLKkSM3xa0ctMoG-DPmI6eK1froXHRnyoue83eIfG6wlohKcVj7REnlPk9vd3D-ghf_yKLW3LPUSG5sWM8CgbVQaMhy41xw/s1600/P1010907.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD08qFqL8tjqPrKL8uCbshaG8Rw9ZD11XXBWM2yLhIz361FLKkSM3xa0ctMoG-DPmI6eK1froXHRnyoue83eIfG6wlohKcVj7REnlPk9vd3D-ghf_yKLW3LPUSG5sWM8CgbVQaMhy41xw/s320/P1010907.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
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In the late hours we arrived in Marmaris which is a very touristy town, particularly at this time of year, and so it wasnt long before we headed to the smaller town of Icmeler in search of a campsite. Unable to find a suitable site after circling Icmeler for 3 hours, we finally settled on camping at the Terminus stop for the local Dolmus buses, the best option available on our budget as the 2 hotels we enquired out were out of our budget.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<img height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU7PshIpH6vjHsJ_kGImK6EH_iCZVxZ665hcYCI5Qkmuwx9MtWakvyY4_Up20mvHa-HcrWFXud-ctKBzbdPUEKDGdLebX8uPrtwortYpdWWEabnHjdVfhXhFURA4RwvKWVPpq88cWoIS8/s320/IMG_9085.jpg" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 516px; mozopacity: 0.3; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 2026px; visibility: hidden;" width="96" /> <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-84914638714055763022010-08-11T19:12:00.002+01:002010-08-11T19:14:46.276+01:00Day 27 – Turkey<u>Day 27 – Saturday 7th August 2010 – Turkey</u><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Istanbul</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia_Se6xOe994eOyErHDWCJ3cnrFTTrTCeFn4U8ah3qS3sXtYBAzmiT07j43a7ZVrKyOazXnUrKzVetkI2OpYFdoPQextBgJGOQGTzVdkT0C0yVfjvM4F4Aor8pOwlkFK8lbty5rMHaaHM/s1600/IMG_9012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia_Se6xOe994eOyErHDWCJ3cnrFTTrTCeFn4U8ah3qS3sXtYBAzmiT07j43a7ZVrKyOazXnUrKzVetkI2OpYFdoPQextBgJGOQGTzVdkT0C0yVfjvM4F4Aor8pOwlkFK8lbty5rMHaaHM/s320/IMG_9012.jpg" /></a>After a wonderful night’s sleep in three star luxury, it was time to start exploring again. Taking advantage of the hotels shuttle service, we were taking straight into the heart of Sultanahmet, home of the Blue Mosque, The Hippodrome, The Grand Bazaar and various other attractions.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwBunVRx032Tl1q5SwrqvGWryliyqi2ScF0GH4G4W1TYqMAf2jl2vCGj8aXUABCs1RERoL0b3DbtqQWhyphenhyphen8m5qapGSpSay9WzZV4NUe2jpBzalt0NBKPiew95WHI14fjNX5CxmdIf_NCvc/s1600/IMG_9002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwBunVRx032Tl1q5SwrqvGWryliyqi2ScF0GH4G4W1TYqMAf2jl2vCGj8aXUABCs1RERoL0b3DbtqQWhyphenhyphen8m5qapGSpSay9WzZV4NUe2jpBzalt0NBKPiew95WHI14fjNX5CxmdIf_NCvc/s200/IMG_9002.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The first port of call was one of the many smaller Bazaars. Attached to the blue mosque this Bazaar was a little quieter, though the sellers still did their best to ply their wares in our direction. The questions began to mull over in our heads....</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Do we? Don’t we? Do we?Don’t we? ..... need a new carpet for Barnaby? </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYo4bbGxELzI_VhcB8DwKODAGnstzQ_-yU7G6-TyuM4-C6zcrbX3WV6t3NPMyaWhmj4jovpPDJtQz9MV46M6M4JxJ-yZcx2N81auI2S4-xt9i92NAI1KMvfDFRKegnS9bSp3N3LGcHwjY/s1600/IMG_9035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYo4bbGxELzI_VhcB8DwKODAGnstzQ_-yU7G6-TyuM4-C6zcrbX3WV6t3NPMyaWhmj4jovpPDJtQz9MV46M6M4JxJ-yZcx2N81auI2S4-xt9i92NAI1KMvfDFRKegnS9bSp3N3LGcHwjY/s320/IMG_9035.jpg" /></a>The call to prayer emanating from the Blue Mosque was a great beacon. The Mosque closes to visitors at prayer times, so after admiring the architecture from the outside, we decided to make our way towards the Grand Bazaar. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with more than 58 covered streets, and over 1200 shops. Opened in 1461, it is well known for the sales of jewellery, carpets, pottery, and spices. The stalls within the Bazaars covered streets are grouped together depending on what they are trading. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjKqth0DuIWJzWoUQlnyb1nkKk0wHyXyOklX7hfa9w60uCg-X7vTRaK8Ar1gIoe3Cc_8wA7o4tE0raFvsPRo5AsG18oog1TJAoDJ0pIBYFY2cgK7QvBqp3vxXuF_rNIOr0IPlGG0CP0D4/s200/IMG_9033.jpg" width="200" /><img border="0" height="150" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeilbrfM6yN_yDj4RP4UMBPzrp89Z4c1bPPG9PMJK0NVW54HsLhnEvoUJs6hl09pb84r7tVDCfJLzYhRPNBO8f9bTaRdAK6AI16DZxmRh4kLOZzgBjprqPPouZ2JnC0ubSLhDxIGZHfk8/s200/IMG_9029.jpg" width="200" /></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Porceline, silver, lanterns, leather and of course carpets.</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnGZRHFsI2E96_VhiDr0Id2B1byVZ7ZvIUiKdQrUbeS6XNMFjVB0mtBHWqlKtAqTUqz31xy4xxRCcATWqSTKU49hnl02vzTJ1lRCsIIgtRvZQr7VfMw05ysu6NzSQMfq2L5boB26C9t0g/s320/IMG_9025.jpg" width="240" /> <img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwaCeyw2_x_LJjPL09AOGzmAwN9AsBI03wXgFYwxKtb-pYFNCCepHHhNd4O_CMXsM34maRG7AduJIP5nXpFSYNGmol155S5vNEaERhN0fMzuRqNbgx3_LjKMJ4lw-NLuDNiBYgANOwPUc/s320/IMG_9023.jpg" /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Getting lost in the Bazaar was pretty easy and we soon lost all sense of direction after winding through the many streets. Bantering with the stall holders was part of the experience that you had no option but to get used to. Despite the many great offers, we had to politely decline them all. The carpet for Barnaby was put on hold this time, there were many great products at prices not to be missed – but do we really need a 12ft Rug when travelling Overland?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqfPM5dfi9F5CU4l-ynrI1_chxMg-KSChbn8Xfbvj-jTmJ96GwpVY5hwS9hHvtGvNv2Hzsf5GbTzNutLk7hqeWEz5zTB4ppwbfiISMeI-wBxFAtTxYNBjEwAw56hJpGz9L5xyd7dNTo2M/s1600/IMG_9022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqfPM5dfi9F5CU4l-ynrI1_chxMg-KSChbn8Xfbvj-jTmJ96GwpVY5hwS9hHvtGvNv2Hzsf5GbTzNutLk7hqeWEz5zTB4ppwbfiISMeI-wBxFAtTxYNBjEwAw56hJpGz9L5xyd7dNTo2M/s320/IMG_9022.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6FICAcCzeOyInuPnwzkaJeBxnytyHoX4dZ8VWySGazs597QuTgMeaxNr00LJGnGpTi_kix4-6BpYPWLZ3F6XdjaBaS6jx5SNL9CVWZH4xUvBLIX6xNmC6K_Tp7rJnx2m9IEwGYv3qRM/s1600/IMG_9038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6FICAcCzeOyInuPnwzkaJeBxnytyHoX4dZ8VWySGazs597QuTgMeaxNr00LJGnGpTi_kix4-6BpYPWLZ3F6XdjaBaS6jx5SNL9CVWZH4xUvBLIX6xNmC6K_Tp7rJnx2m9IEwGYv3qRM/s320/IMG_9038.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Do I want a rug? A lantern? A carpet? Maybe just a loaf of bread?</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Sometimes it's just hard to decide.</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji9J_h4Uoyp0PQCy5ZPj4TQaXqfo_XzT_dp4w5zF21WUdVyX_BBcZ3WEpzptwTW8o4IW3GCcJykO2k2xpjaW9aZxxsPDi2RNgKrvnxWuzZXxhl0berQ196PKHpAjFZcK1S2iUHmWTvsm8/s1600/IMG_9070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji9J_h4Uoyp0PQCy5ZPj4TQaXqfo_XzT_dp4w5zF21WUdVyX_BBcZ3WEpzptwTW8o4IW3GCcJykO2k2xpjaW9aZxxsPDi2RNgKrvnxWuzZXxhl0berQ196PKHpAjFZcK1S2iUHmWTvsm8/s320/IMG_9070.jpg" width="320" /></a><em></em> <img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipZahI9aqYlXQxTQ-8w9GHd01oT4qctyvvmHPEg1fm3ZOHcOTe78k5Q7fP8eZf9-x-yXjCAL13HwvUtdLNwKzjJswQXBrAdZrCgxUvccqAGJm6YppuJBtBEk6PwdrCb5yxE7mDVEyHMwQ/s320/P1010843.JPG" /> The temperature again was very hot. 1 Turkish Lira (about 50p) would buy 1.5L of cool refreshing water every hour. Sticking to this regime all day we constantly fought the battle to fill our bodies with more water than we would sweat out - (we will spare you all a picture).</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0WddZxOoPMIX5MeV6HZD8Q54WYlRqNaMiPhMl1LQgOvZne-YalrNFAGtBzqsGQvsl0buP7xDA803J5dCtfA-ZtNSCiB3lCNaYgDoQElXhpEK7YMViadJHS2Y1hjvPsINkV_IqJYbFGA/s1600/IMG_9016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0WddZxOoPMIX5MeV6HZD8Q54WYlRqNaMiPhMl1LQgOvZne-YalrNFAGtBzqsGQvsl0buP7xDA803J5dCtfA-ZtNSCiB3lCNaYgDoQElXhpEK7YMViadJHS2Y1hjvPsINkV_IqJYbFGA/s400/IMG_9016.jpg" width="400" /></a>Lunch was a delightful chicken kebab, though it has become amusing to both of us to see chips or fries are added to a kebab. This may just be done for tourists or are the locals just a bit partial to chips? A small patch of shade was found were we could eat, rest and coo down before setting off again to fulfil (and enjoy) our tourist responsibilities.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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Muslims enter the Blue Mosque (built around 1609) from the front of the building, whilst the Tourists are sent around to the side of the building. Taking off our shoes and placing them into a carrier bag, we were allowed to enter this magnificent building which gets its name from the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLpwiSWaU7bJZQeBRvVtK82Io8-ZjEUIDo1YUnrojIRyK2QUc7VRr7sHQFwDMs7-ZMWXoUY3-40yuNeQsHonCyTsDFJ8qtY3DDwNNgPI3_KUOAXzEwE5eMD67e_utvRn1nFTAwZedfi-U/s1600/P1010833.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLpwiSWaU7bJZQeBRvVtK82Io8-ZjEUIDo1YUnrojIRyK2QUc7VRr7sHQFwDMs7-ZMWXoUY3-40yuNeQsHonCyTsDFJ8qtY3DDwNNgPI3_KUOAXzEwE5eMD67e_utvRn1nFTAwZedfi-U/s320/P1010833.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaBqejPrONEVTAU7igaOKjHXOdBwRO_IzWhe7Cf2wptQXE3J_TtuYiMGh6llrnvuifffvmmN0va2-UjFQNS7LXM1Arp4O2_HSikd7ud7yf91rtUFUvhU7fy9coRPCJ1fATisXrC-XxDE0/s1600/IMG_9004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaBqejPrONEVTAU7igaOKjHXOdBwRO_IzWhe7Cf2wptQXE3J_TtuYiMGh6llrnvuifffvmmN0va2-UjFQNS7LXM1Arp4O2_HSikd7ud7yf91rtUFUvhU7fy9coRPCJ1fATisXrC-XxDE0/s320/IMG_9004.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The return shuttle was boarded at 5:30pm back to the Hotel. We were reunited with Barnaby and set off into the sunset towards Ankara.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-1221466704659436272010-08-11T13:01:00.015+01:002010-08-11T18:05:56.297+01:00Day 26 - Turkey<u>Day 26 – Friday 6th August 2010 – Turkey</u><br />
Istanbul<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Accommodations Low’s to Accommodation High’s – last night was spent at a very average campsite with appalling facilities.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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Gizem Camping scored a lowly 1/10. <br />
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Facilities included 2 “Toilets” for Men and 2 for Women between 200 people. 1 Shower in a Tin Shed, no lights and no warm water. Plenty of cracked tiles, complimentary bugs, dirt and leaves.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL1m_8KzZih-4XB0a7DtKwDyCGh3vkb_ZDxzaApIsE2I9RcZb-bdOQmsacD1toXCHAA23bZGhT_KuvlJdb7GRnQh9HEZfRuArffm49hY92Yn5qBenbnA3kfnUwsm-v52wY3vp2mTYTNNk/s1600/toilet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL1m_8KzZih-4XB0a7DtKwDyCGh3vkb_ZDxzaApIsE2I9RcZb-bdOQmsacD1toXCHAA23bZGhT_KuvlJdb7GRnQh9HEZfRuArffm49hY92Yn5qBenbnA3kfnUwsm-v52wY3vp2mTYTNNk/s320/toilet.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw1dYfFdFvdQ4n8quNdEV32WF8uQypFmg8QwUW151c9d24SUNHHZwnaOb7gTDjDVgOLez0FWO4JCwkfppVi_mRM0TLroPf-Jn0S5cguel2yMhOhOoQuu9sHntod8DWnHY9jpIgWFDsWyU/s1600/P1010811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw1dYfFdFvdQ4n8quNdEV32WF8uQypFmg8QwUW151c9d24SUNHHZwnaOb7gTDjDVgOLez0FWO4JCwkfppVi_mRM0TLroPf-Jn0S5cguel2yMhOhOoQuu9sHntod8DWnHY9jpIgWFDsWyU/s320/P1010811.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>Not the actual toilet at Gizem Camping - this one is clean and bug free</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">We were very happy to leave and move on towards Istanbul, and after nearly 4 weeks on the road, we succumbed to a little 3 star self indulgence.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Istanbul's Ibis Hotel scored a highly 10/10. Facilities included 1 clean flushing toilet between 2. 1 shower with lighting, pressure and warm water. Complimentary towels, soap and working drainage.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="text-align: center;">We were very happy to stay the night, despite the ominous, though peaceful "Tree of Birds" outside....<br />
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Border Crossing<br />
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Quite a long driving day ahead of us, we encounterd a few interesing sights along the way. Knowing very well just how bad council decorations can be, we intiially thought that these fell right into such a category. Upon closer inspection it was discovered to be the nesting place of choice for the local Herrons.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvM-930rW5cWb3vDI_zEx01zjwTbw7MZY-whTJkIg11XFA5-1qOrCGv3GEc2NdT612j0xF26vmTqz3p1j7Ol6xmvuhrgugQVYnURUIviwqiuw4n6VJ440t3ySECJzfDh9aIV6BwmVkz7k/s1600/P1010759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvM-930rW5cWb3vDI_zEx01zjwTbw7MZY-whTJkIg11XFA5-1qOrCGv3GEc2NdT612j0xF26vmTqz3p1j7Ol6xmvuhrgugQVYnURUIviwqiuw4n6VJ440t3ySECJzfDh9aIV6BwmVkz7k/s400/P1010759.JPG" width="300" /></a>The famous Lion of Amphipolis is part of the late 4th Century BC funerary sculpture, a monument to martial virtue. It is believed that it was erected in honour of Laomedon from Lesbos, one of Alexander the Greats’ three greatest Admirals, known to have settled at Amphipolis.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">It was restored and erected on a conventional base at the spot where it was discovered on the West bank of the River Strymon. Its discovery is connected with Macedonia’s contemporary war history. Greek soldiers digging during the Balkan War (1912-1913) found the first pieces of the monument.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73pdjZXcfEc3xNm7iCy4oP0yzL5HpQ3rcC6gjzPhQ5aBYBJjQ_K-nMukukhYufWCokTUSKVvLJKMR-S8FwYkSzvmV43RuA8tI6yFpHq3c5easf_4E6BjHZwAaqVn4AaLGSJk9_u8Nl5c/s1600/P1010775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73pdjZXcfEc3xNm7iCy4oP0yzL5HpQ3rcC6gjzPhQ5aBYBJjQ_K-nMukukhYufWCokTUSKVvLJKMR-S8FwYkSzvmV43RuA8tI6yFpHq3c5easf_4E6BjHZwAaqVn4AaLGSJk9_u8Nl5c/s320/P1010775.JPG" /></a>Previous Border Crossings were very straight-forward and it was sometimes a surprise to find that you have already crossed into another country. This disappointed Zowi on 2 accounts; the first that a photo opportunity for a Border sign was missed and also no additional stamp would be added to her Passport.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIsxcwcnhDiAA33p9ES-jWo7mEjTRtQ9NXf31yAExsEzIi-z9XaktRo57mdo1zaTgmCrq4eNrFEyXtciSGjjj34CBL80_0th94hzhkxlejqWX6zVlYkO7Qjd8sV4mYQwlb6ltXH7aD81E/s1600/P1010786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIsxcwcnhDiAA33p9ES-jWo7mEjTRtQ9NXf31yAExsEzIi-z9XaktRo57mdo1zaTgmCrq4eNrFEyXtciSGjjj34CBL80_0th94hzhkxlejqWX6zVlYkO7Qjd8sV4mYQwlb6ltXH7aD81E/s200/P1010786.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The Long and winding road...</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBX5N-i0GsNJk2gNBPLvF02tCqnCZZQF1fW_M3nAGKJdTuFQoR2sO8xcS8oTyB7jCXgH0ilDBgTfKPSKTqSM47hWbliNfttZ7NH4227_5CVL67f6AJCPG8Nm-cL_tRtu_OBQXMjQalAUE/s1600/P1010781.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBX5N-i0GsNJk2gNBPLvF02tCqnCZZQF1fW_M3nAGKJdTuFQoR2sO8xcS8oTyB7jCXgH0ilDBgTfKPSKTqSM47hWbliNfttZ7NH4227_5CVL67f6AJCPG8Nm-cL_tRtu_OBQXMjQalAUE/s320/P1010781.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The Greece/Turkey Border was different. Border Guards were present, different booths were dotted along the way containing various people each performing different duties. The first booth people waved us on. Later there was some back-tracking as we needed to pay for our Visas, and also buy insurance for Barnaby. 4WDs are not as common in Turkey as the UK and we have found there can be some confusion as to whether Barnaby is processed as a Car or Campervan. The quickest solution we found is to take a digital photo of Barnaby and show this to the confused individual when needed! – Barnaby has been classed as a Car on most occasions, saving us a few pennies along the way.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<em><strong>Wassup Dude? Just some very cool dude behind the wheel. Him and his homie get up just crusing through town ------->>>></strong></em><br />
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<em><strong>Have you seen this man? Wanted for crimes againt fashion. Small and i mean very small reward offered.</strong></em><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA1IymAhBiIuhd_wQimlyQwIYgWKVebxX9CdFvcmFbsWAykXHFqC_Sf-O7OULTKmUCGDfJ9UKLGGKe-iJ_nbTlfvES7MqC1AGvtlszRZ9ZAIjdz-Uw4zVohlpkWI69pLf0MsJChXBlpLU/s1600/P1010795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA1IymAhBiIuhd_wQimlyQwIYgWKVebxX9CdFvcmFbsWAykXHFqC_Sf-O7OULTKmUCGDfJ9UKLGGKe-iJ_nbTlfvES7MqC1AGvtlszRZ9ZAIjdz-Uw4zVohlpkWI69pLf0MsJChXBlpLU/s400/P1010795.JPG" style="cursor: move;" unselectable="on" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Monkey was sure to have all his documents in order</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEpEMsE06Rvxvf_x7DnnvVrhCvW763_oWGX3orgt9nUZYu2cnLBnBg8n-YHFmZx8pLqII2btmwFTY7pZXrKKyKimqKB1m05ZUb0iDB0SaR97s0lRi92okFoFgIerl37O8Nczmg1WeM3kM/s1600/P1010797.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEpEMsE06Rvxvf_x7DnnvVrhCvW763_oWGX3orgt9nUZYu2cnLBnBg8n-YHFmZx8pLqII2btmwFTY7pZXrKKyKimqKB1m05ZUb0iDB0SaR97s0lRi92okFoFgIerl37O8Nczmg1WeM3kM/s320/P1010797.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Monkey celebrates his arrival in Turkey</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The crossing into Turkey took about 1 hour, however the queues coming into Greece were horrendous. If you are unlucky enough to be going this way, pack lunch, board games, dinner, sleeping bags and pillows as you will have a long wait. A few Regulars were enjoying Picnic lunches as they queued on the Motorway!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFq2ZZuusoiaQ3UeMfbA-OMUEsvcxU54hJE3yaTVe0Mg1XYB8MGkbZemeQnacr0naah412Bg2hFGy-F9yHRKJlx-5JeoEuWhFrRbGoC28KmYHq8FnBcoLGeZns4kkMmjIGBenlXPF7zkQ/s1600/P1010806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFq2ZZuusoiaQ3UeMfbA-OMUEsvcxU54hJE3yaTVe0Mg1XYB8MGkbZemeQnacr0naah412Bg2hFGy-F9yHRKJlx-5JeoEuWhFrRbGoC28KmYHq8FnBcoLGeZns4kkMmjIGBenlXPF7zkQ/s320/P1010806.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The many colours of the Turkish Dolmus</span></td></tr>
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<img height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA1IymAhBiIuhd_wQimlyQwIYgWKVebxX9CdFvcmFbsWAykXHFqC_Sf-O7OULTKmUCGDfJ9UKLGGKe-iJ_nbTlfvES7MqC1AGvtlszRZ9ZAIjdz-Uw4zVohlpkWI69pLf0MsJChXBlpLU/s400/P1010795.JPG" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 405px; mozopacity: 0.3; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 1991px; visibility: hidden;" width="96" /> <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-86647751755492429302010-08-11T11:16:00.001+01:002010-08-11T11:21:58.315+01:00Day 24 - Greece<u>Day 24 - Wednesday 4th August 2010 - Greece</u><br />
Metéora<br />
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Today we visited the Monasteries of Metéora.<br />
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</div>The Metéora (literally 'suspended rocks') is one of the largest and most important complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Kalambaka, Greece. The monasteries are built on natural sandstone rock pillars, at the north western edge of the Plain of Thessaly near the Peneios River and Pindus Mountains, in central Greece.<br />
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The Metéora is home to six monasteries and is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.<br />
Studies suggest that the pinnacles were formed about 60 million years ago during the Tertiary Period. Weathering and earthquakes then shaped them into their present shape. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlOpBzHen_ddrilQnlMJxaajcAB2SD_zjODXrhHZvUVHT0W66xJtvxZkbZQ8LPK50xHoLWjaft5eElYclJsKGOnyBa1QFwSpBI2mhAF55bS3Xl2CzB0egNgLLYDWQzpLF95f5HU_cC0HM/s1600/P1010666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlOpBzHen_ddrilQnlMJxaajcAB2SD_zjODXrhHZvUVHT0W66xJtvxZkbZQ8LPK50xHoLWjaft5eElYclJsKGOnyBa1QFwSpBI2mhAF55bS3Xl2CzB0egNgLLYDWQzpLF95f5HU_cC0HM/s320/P1010666.JPG" /></a></div>Although it is unknown when Metéora was established, as early as the 11th century AD hermit monks were believed to be living among the caves and cut outs in the rocks. By the late 11th or early 12th century a rudimentary monastic state had formed called the Skete of Stagoi and was centred around the church of Theotokos (mother of God), which still stands today. The hermit monks, seeking a retreat from the expanding Turkish occupation, found the inaccessible rock pillars of Metéora to be an ideal refuge. <br />
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Although more than 20 monasteries were built, beginning in the 14th century, only six remain today. These six are: 'Great Meteoron (or Transfiguration), Varlaam, St. Stephen, Holy Trinity, St. Nicholas Anapausas and Rousanou. There is a common belief that St. Athanasios (founder of the first monastery) did not scale the rock, but was carried there by an eagle. <br />
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Access to the monasteries was originally extremely difficult, requiring either long ladders lashed together or large nets used to haul up both goods and people. This required quite a leap of faith – the ropes were replaced, so the story goes, only "when the Lord let them break". In the words of UNESCO, "The net in which intrepid pilgrims were hoisted up vertically alongside the 373 metre cliff where the Varlaam monastery dominates the valley symbolises the fragility of a traditional way of life that is threatened with extinction." <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Monk accessing monastry by cable car.</span> </td></tr>
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In about the 1920s steps were cut into the rock, making the complex accessible via a bridge from the nearby plateau. During World War II the site was bombed and many art treasures were stolen. Only six of the monasteries remain today. Of the six monasteries, five are inhabited by men, one by women. Each monastery has fewer than 10 inhabitants. The monasteries are now some of the most popular tourist sites in the world and now serve primarily as museums. <br />
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At the western region of the Thessaly plain in the middle of northern Greece, these sandstone rocks rise from the ground. Since the 9th century, an ascetic group of monks moved up to the ancient pinnacles. The rocks are composed of a mixture of sandstone and conglomerate. They were formed about 60 million years ago. A series of earth movements pushed the seabed upwards, creating a high plateau and causing many fault lines to appear in the thick layer of sandstone. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Ewl8-0yhz0b21t15GA5BSiSsEKcvQPjkZmBxwKghOrwXcqdn3gz99Es_oUU8kAGUR26MxR4aZO0HJgE-KhMDWXhAGlxk5TdllOYSPJstomXNsm1C43Wn8KhTRCA0qJFlIi_ca6oGE_g/s1600/P1010661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Ewl8-0yhz0b21t15GA5BSiSsEKcvQPjkZmBxwKghOrwXcqdn3gz99Es_oUU8kAGUR26MxR4aZO0HJgE-KhMDWXhAGlxk5TdllOYSPJstomXNsm1C43Wn8KhTRCA0qJFlIi_ca6oGE_g/s320/P1010661.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Continuous weathering by water, wind and extremes of temperature turned them into huge rock pillars, marked by horizontal lines which geologists maintain were made by the waters of a prehistoric sea. Local people believed the plain of Thessaly had once been a sea. If this was accurate, there was most probably an inundation at the end of the last Ice Age, around 8000 BC. The rocks of Metéora are not recorded in the writings of the ancient Greek authors. This has led to the belief that the pinnacles did not exist 2000 years ago; a theory dismissed by modern geologists. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNiGzmz_FrEoX573T_Jymb5qrJ4VbvDnKgSe4FCBzWsjNb1fqb4j_wU7j7tJTFpQa5NVXIlTvAUeHDivC1ptP-R-hbD0IFTM3sbHR2RripoiNKS6YK6RrOMvozt5fmKOCZWINDO_DG1U/s1600/P1010680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNiGzmz_FrEoX573T_Jymb5qrJ4VbvDnKgSe4FCBzWsjNb1fqb4j_wU7j7tJTFpQa5NVXIlTvAUeHDivC1ptP-R-hbD0IFTM3sbHR2RripoiNKS6YK6RrOMvozt5fmKOCZWINDO_DG1U/s320/P1010680.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The first people to inhabit Metéora were hermits, who lived in hollows and fissures in the rock towers, some of which reach 1800ft (550m) above the plain. This great height, combined with the sheerness of the cliff walls, kept away all but the most determined visitors. Initially the hermits led a life of solitude, meeting only on Sundays and special days to worship and pray in a chapel built at the foot of a rock known as Dhoupiani. </div><br />
By the end of the 12th century, an ascetic community had flocked to Metéora. At the end of the 14th century, the Byzantine Empire's 800-year reign over northern Greece was being increasingly threatened by Turkish raiders who wanted control over the fertile plain of Thessaly. <br />
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Until the 17th century, the primary means of conveying goods and people from these aeries was by means of baskets and ropes. <br />
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In 1344, Athanasios Koinovitis from Mount Athos brought a group of followers to Metéora. From 1356 to 1372, he founded the great Meteoron monastery on Broad Rock, which was perfect for the monks; they were safe from political upheaval and had complete control of the entry to the monastery. The only means of reaching it was by climbing a long ladder, which was drawn up whenever the monks felt threatened. <br />
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In 1517, Nectarios and Theophanes built the monastery of Varlaám, which was reputed to house the finger of St John and the shoulder blade of St Andrew.<br />
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Most of the monasteries are perched on high cliffs and accessible by staircases cut into the rock formations. They were created to serve monks and nuns following the teachings of the Greek Orthodox Church. Much of the architecture of these buildings is Athonite in origin. <br />
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The Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron – This is the largest of the monasteries located at Metéora. It was erected in the mid-14th century AD and was the subject of restoration and embellishment projects in 1483 and 1552. The building serves as the main museum for tourists. The Katholikon (main church), consecrated in honour of the Transfiguration of Jesus was erected in the middle of 14th c. and 1387/88 and decorated in 1483 and 1552. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Skulls and Bones of Monks</span></td></tr>
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The best part of the monasteries for me though, was the breathtaking views they offer. Not only do you get a great view of the other monasteries, but the surrounding plains and mountains seen from such heights are truly spectacular and, if there aren’t too many tourists around, you really sense the atmosphere of peace that drew the first hermits here over a millennium ago. <br />
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We spent a lot of time just sitting outside on the 6-million-year-old cliffs, enjoying the sights after climbing to The Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron. Really, what better views are there to indulge in after climbing all those stairs on a very, very hot summer’s day?<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyKj7By7ZV1o6mKGC-RZBxiJQJcvmmy-qohmVENV5cFN5PwR_ouhDAfvC7oI8McqRAgyiBLNfiLO8E0_ukzKzHgidGgVpXN5Uk4LCqYPMQZ70hxq_2jKLtVeCcHcf_Ei6zAco4MVl9n6o/s1600/P1010752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyKj7By7ZV1o6mKGC-RZBxiJQJcvmmy-qohmVENV5cFN5PwR_ouhDAfvC7oI8McqRAgyiBLNfiLO8E0_ukzKzHgidGgVpXN5Uk4LCqYPMQZ70hxq_2jKLtVeCcHcf_Ei6zAco4MVl9n6o/s320/P1010752.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS5lnKLgt5yx2i-3i3OZf_IIOgJdJ369xwxJiTnfKj5PueBs3_FXXu7SP0Dixsl5Sx3wywFIP1_Snu7q_i0hvPxv4kV_ORAumMa9Ei73sxDUFLfDshL2P17umeTF1VWobZ1gb5IUKQQog/s1600/P1010758.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS5lnKLgt5yx2i-3i3OZf_IIOgJdJ369xwxJiTnfKj5PueBs3_FXXu7SP0Dixsl5Sx3wywFIP1_Snu7q_i0hvPxv4kV_ORAumMa9Ei73sxDUFLfDshL2P17umeTF1VWobZ1gb5IUKQQog/s200/P1010758.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Sunset at Stavros. Late night arrival at campsite. Dinner was cooked with haste as a thunder storm developed overhead.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-64312732261348445562010-08-10T23:22:00.003+01:002010-08-10T23:27:24.871+01:00Day 23 - Greece<u>Day 23 - 3rd August 2010 - Greece</u><br />
Camping Acrogiali to Metéora<br />
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The Show Must Go On! A little sadness crept in as our favourite camp site slowly disappeared in the rear view mirror. Today, feeling very bold and new age, we thought we would try something new, and actually plan our destination right down to the campsite for the night. Metéora was the destination, moving inland to central Greece.<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Most of today was spent being at the helm of Barnaby, meandering the cliff top roads and mountains of central Greece. The roads travelling to Metéora were very scenic, the hill tops scattered with villages, with various roadside Monuments dotted along the way. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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Arriving in Metéora we pulled into the campsite. Parked opposite was another Isuzu Trooper with a Rooftent! – and a Landcruiser with another Rooftent parked next to it as well!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNmLJ4QA8EjYxghlF4zw51g5TlGhfOAvbwjRERLrnlHE_qmGkTZiuBpXUxQDwpdOER3B07845FFipZF2qsG3qD49phHc98xtyhxXeBt_IiGsoDk3Aqr6PYzeQbbPxISW7p2nthBExd1ck/s1600/IMG_8994.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" mx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNmLJ4QA8EjYxghlF4zw51g5TlGhfOAvbwjRERLrnlHE_qmGkTZiuBpXUxQDwpdOER3B07845FFipZF2qsG3qD49phHc98xtyhxXeBt_IiGsoDk3Aqr6PYzeQbbPxISW7p2nthBExd1ck/s320/IMG_8994.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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It felt like a day of firsts really, no losing our way, no illusive road signs, arriving in daylight hours and believe it or not, having time to cook dinner before night had fallen! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">With the fresh chicken purchased the day before, and mindful of our previous failed Cobb cooking attempt, we set about cooking this 3 ½ pounds of Poultry in the middle of a campsite. A little seasoning, 2 hours patiently waiting, and Voila! Chicken cooked to perfection and it tasted wonderful. Yummy!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The Campsite’s Toilets were not wonderful. Toilets in the sense that we are familiar with are gone. Toilets are now below ground. Potty training has started all over again.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So we come to the end of the evening, sat at the base of the cliff top Monasteries, full bellies, beer in hand, and blog up to date. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRP7WGeyJKW-eVsG_kx4JR8HI5ZFF-edtevRIAg04cQoG3pYf6bqglcth2-ks-ona4it9jc7cjKVx_sHynK1sEzblpTg-l7J_wi4Ah3aOJU25L3jwJ8ijZlTuHKEjfWJ28VeM0FngH6w/s1600/IMG_8985.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRP7WGeyJKW-eVsG_kx4JR8HI5ZFF-edtevRIAg04cQoG3pYf6bqglcth2-ks-ona4it9jc7cjKVx_sHynK1sEzblpTg-l7J_wi4Ah3aOJU25L3jwJ8ijZlTuHKEjfWJ28VeM0FngH6w/s320/IMG_8985.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNO2d3G4t0CYd4SL6uLdVZJ-m0K1Rj6aEQRAOeHqaBd5zta0a9ankgb0CUXGzHIFw7t-3eL9jNSX_InhvUr_u5RRUxCxxrdb-OTAdT0iZWUN6je1co-adaOghnuZcJvcugDW8_eywv4Hw/s1600/IMG_8977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" mx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNO2d3G4t0CYd4SL6uLdVZJ-m0K1Rj6aEQRAOeHqaBd5zta0a9ankgb0CUXGzHIFw7t-3eL9jNSX_InhvUr_u5RRUxCxxrdb-OTAdT0iZWUN6je1co-adaOghnuZcJvcugDW8_eywv4Hw/s320/IMG_8977.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">NIGHT NIGHT...zzz</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-82072083702790978102010-08-02T15:34:00.004+01:002010-08-02T15:41:31.644+01:00Day 18 to Day - Greece<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Day 18 to 22 - 29th July to 2nd August 2010 - Greece</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">near Preveza</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">"CAMPING ACROGIALI is a meeting place for pleasant and car free holidays" (that is so true!)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">You will find us (that Rich and Zo) 25 km north from PREVEZA port or 60 km south from IGOUMENITSA port. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPPZCbtfBhW0UoEvDBPQNpKAwUa3QCDYu8XOCjN6RnjTTayiEph5nvNw5GEWwdX9fpqm6mcC-MTW06F5KB6TjZzWL9wO7VC9hC_ckI9WMJO6KRZAXmu7RbEGQBwQ3gFUVB07g8pPj7bDw/s1600/P1010560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPPZCbtfBhW0UoEvDBPQNpKAwUa3QCDYu8XOCjN6RnjTTayiEph5nvNw5GEWwdX9fpqm6mcC-MTW06F5KB6TjZzWL9wO7VC9hC_ckI9WMJO6KRZAXmu7RbEGQBwQ3gFUVB07g8pPj7bDw/s320/P1010560.JPG" /></a></div>Yes we have finally stopped for much needed R&R. You will find us lounging by the crystal clear blue sea, or chilling by Barnaby, looking up at Olive trees, or as we are now, sat on the Tavernas balcony updating you guys. Oh its a Hard Life!<br />
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The blue Ionian sea with its magic beaches and the beautiful mountains. <br />
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CAMPING ACROGIALI is located just beside the sea and is shaded by olive, mulberry and poplar trees. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpFBu-AWal3kGkoAH2rXucece-WXVqV1zSSOw2i5Wu-oEeEWSXpSbnUCP1-XZfIeS0ndT6CvXdcrJJQpR9_eCLq2A-xbQhmU-TSe48VhAXzXJ1Op_PREXqSgJcCwuxhCzQ6o_bwjBjCqU/s200/IMG_8945.jpg" width="200" /> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The site meets all our usual requirements and a few extras : restaurant, mini market, playground electricity hot water, kitchen and laundrette facilities. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1-mUKKq5W0e4np9AJCMppq1KrLJAYkfKh9cUeR5XjlAFf_f7bh_QXyPAe-nEm1Hd45ZKD5AdleaKK6B8TWWo8kDwu8v3xvHJ6nucJp_LnbVlekfgdpNWvLgVgqP4-MPMeu3b19-eFUs/s1600/P1010587.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1-mUKKq5W0e4np9AJCMppq1KrLJAYkfKh9cUeR5XjlAFf_f7bh_QXyPAe-nEm1Hd45ZKD5AdleaKK6B8TWWo8kDwu8v3xvHJ6nucJp_LnbVlekfgdpNWvLgVgqP4-MPMeu3b19-eFUs/s320/P1010587.JPG" /></a>The Taverna has offered us a taste of Greek food - lovely Souvlaki and Salads, and looking forward to sampling more food that Greece has to offer.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334501209653916237.post-59086450311600622892010-08-02T14:16:00.011+01:002010-08-02T14:30:29.204+01:00Day 17 - Italy<u>Day 17 – Wednesday 28th July 2010 – Italy</u><br />
Brindisi<br />
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At 9:30am we arrived at Brindisi port. There are 3 operators that sell tickets for the 9 hour crossing to Igoumenitsa. A ticket for the 3 of us came to €114 (without Cabin – €260 with Cabin). Barnaby was classed as a “car” which probably saved us a few Euros, but something that Barnaby still grumbles about to this day!<br />
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There is a ticket seller on the way into the ferry Terminal – I’m not sure if they would have been any cheaper. A couple who did buy their tickets this way had to pay a further €15 each due to a pricing error by the Ticket seller.<br />
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The ferry operator did not accept Credit Cards, so a short trip into Brindisi town was needed to find a Cash Machine. Food Supplies were also replenished at a local supermarket.<br />
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Departure of the ferry was 9pm. The day was filled by cashing up, stocking up and then a snooze whilst parked in a quiet corner of the ports car park. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP17xoft2Vg0YWhLjFi41OwPqZMr18BCs49phUiFJ0LUR2ja1DljtXLB_w0p7syb-PKAR745x0UaPXvzbKU0yWxg5af1TFkuF13G6Jb30Oa1Kgw6_UU6a0JCCIPExGq3kbI8z2kKOwNBI/s1600/P1010559.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP17xoft2Vg0YWhLjFi41OwPqZMr18BCs49phUiFJ0LUR2ja1DljtXLB_w0p7syb-PKAR745x0UaPXvzbKU0yWxg5af1TFkuF13G6Jb30Oa1Kgw6_UU6a0JCCIPExGq3kbI8z2kKOwNBI/s320/P1010559.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Boarding at 7pm went without a hitch.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXuADeNzrhIs_a2pJpHs5gYjaZOVQYRrTtIBybTpuOSXr445LjiY4CMf11TOrr7et6ohTQaYYLo3wzlz78t-nS-Ny98HsH1M9868OWt90kY_lYT37LvUbnMzVyMUbs74USJbY6NFAyh5M/s1600/P1010557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXuADeNzrhIs_a2pJpHs5gYjaZOVQYRrTtIBybTpuOSXr445LjiY4CMf11TOrr7et6ohTQaYYLo3wzlz78t-nS-Ny98HsH1M9868OWt90kY_lYT37LvUbnMzVyMUbs74USJbY6NFAyh5M/s320/P1010557.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; height: 212px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; width: 296px;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ4D_pLxVND4WVaiMN5lp1-6m3SfzJ4VB723k0vf0GOmjmmqkB5eeVuOz8PjzrBmbYlXd3N3Q9A5Erlb8oWMpypwfCSqVsrq-Ie8kxxVkG2YXZK78-2aag5UchE7mI4adKys18zGSgG6o/s320/P1010546.JPG" /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPc4e0fbBXyhY49zmVA0nqtyiSP8lLoyHkuJsBoeMXCJ-4ewLGeDgmdMj5yTV4eI-nnyQ_ZWsIPqS8Bt5OaatLfbxgHPcWoMzLRgyAvWK1Jo58I_EdW0Up7yDb620dHw9fAUsPFp-9gI/s1600/P1010540.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPc4e0fbBXyhY49zmVA0nqtyiSP8lLoyHkuJsBoeMXCJ-4ewLGeDgmdMj5yTV4eI-nnyQ_ZWsIPqS8Bt5OaatLfbxgHPcWoMzLRgyAvWK1Jo58I_EdW0Up7yDb620dHw9fAUsPFp-9gI/s320/P1010540.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfXGts6zVsEzuWZICJBC339j1qKBzZthltjl4cT-3mHaq2KXlkA2hD0qoUnFPoRgd5dFjb2W0X6DgItmvB5VKTAQDpQQHXjpmwlOTXx8TYIWwcUmwNCz3PV2SKMlCC4QR_1qJCCyw6wVs/s1600/P1010550.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfXGts6zVsEzuWZICJBC339j1qKBzZthltjl4cT-3mHaq2KXlkA2hD0qoUnFPoRgd5dFjb2W0X6DgItmvB5VKTAQDpQQHXjpmwlOTXx8TYIWwcUmwNCz3PV2SKMlCC4QR_1qJCCyw6wVs/s320/P1010550.JPG" /></a></div></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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Locals are the ones to follow for a good resting spot on board and can be identified by the blankets and pillows under arm, and a knowing glint in their eye.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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Following them to the very front of the boat, we were successful in landing one of about 20 couches to sleep on located in the lounge/bar area. It soon caught on and about an hour later it definitely was the place to be. At departure time all the sofas were filled, and territory fiercely marked with bags, belongings, and “go away” glares from the lucky ones. It was the floor now for the weak, slow and infirm.</div><br />
It was a smooth crossing and by 3:30am we arrived in Corfu which Rich was sure was our stop. Just prior to walking the plank a member of staff confirmed that Zowi was right this time.<br />
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Time for Zowi to grab a few more zzz’s and Rich to explore the boat before arriving in Igoumenitsa, Greece.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg81PxUS7uWKY5tRi2hNm0i2gUCIHxnT_WEHMpv55xdYr4n1bMAdLLYj8wBczUc3ybzQCsHsV0YLH8iVUbcxn5R0e3IW_V2X4NcEUB4ohXIrNx3tA1_Lb5UeFOJHxKkfYp1TIjRzQYcIcY/s1600/P1010556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg81PxUS7uWKY5tRi2hNm0i2gUCIHxnT_WEHMpv55xdYr4n1bMAdLLYj8wBczUc3ybzQCsHsV0YLH8iVUbcxn5R0e3IW_V2X4NcEUB4ohXIrNx3tA1_Lb5UeFOJHxKkfYp1TIjRzQYcIcY/s320/P1010556.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Arriving in Igoumenitsa</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0