Road to Caravanserai

2006.05.30_Islamic Cairo in Black and White

2010-12-21T00:11:00.003-05:00

A year after the terrorist bombing in the souk that killed 21 people, Khan el-Khalili was once again packed with locals and tourists.

2006.05.30_Islamic Cairo 2

2010-12-21T00:06:00.002-05:00

Khan el-Khalili and Islamic Cairo in the afternoon.

2006.05.30_Islamic Cairo 1

2010-12-20T23:55:00.004-05:00

Other than checking out bus and train schedule at the stations, I pretty much spent the entire day strolling and photographing in Islamic Cairo.

I can't say that I love the area. It was noisy, chaotic, dirty, smelly, disorganized, crowded, disorienting, confusing. However, at certain moment when I stood under the shade of a minaret during prayers or took refuge at the tranquil teashop near the souk of Khan el-Khalili, I felt being miles away from the hectic activities and imagined myself entering the world of Mahfouz's novels or The English Patient.

2006.05.29_Hanging Church

2010-12-20T23:09:00.002-05:00

Probably the most beautiful and famous church in Coptic Cairo, the Hanging Church is also one of the oldest. Although much of what we see today of the church's exterior is from the 19th century, many of the interior elements, including over 100 of Christian icons, actually date back to various periods in history. The church was built above a gatehouse of Babylon Fortress, the ancient fortress city in Cairo.

After Coptic Cairo, we spent much of the afternoon at the Egyptian Museum. The museum is huge and filled with treasures from ancient Egypt. The exhibition spaces seem disorganized, though the artifact collection on ancient Egypt, such as the papyrus, stone statues, jewelery, and many funeral items are truly magnificent. The most impressive of all are undoubtedly the collections of royal mummies (famous pharaohs such as Ramses II) and the tomb treasures of King Tutankhamen.

We left the museum at around 17:30. We strolled around a number of gift shops and ended up approaching the riverbank of the Nile. We saw a few felucca captains were cleaning their boats along the dock. We didn't have the interest to hire a felucca. Instead, we headed to Cafe Niche for something to eat. Back at Luna, HC and AK rested a while before hopping onto the taxi heading to the train station. They were off for their journey to Upper Egypt. For me, I would have another day in Cairo before embarking my trip to the Western Desert and Siwa Oasis on my own.

2006.05.29_Coptic Quarter

2010-12-13T21:09:00.003-05:00

We took the metro to the Coptic Quarter of Cairo, where most of the Coptic Orthodox churches are located in the Egyptian capital. Egyptian Coptic is an ancient language dated back to the time of Christ. As Islam and the language of Arabic entered Egypt in the 7th century, the significance of the Coptic language declined. Coptic Orthodox Christianity, on the other hand, continues to evolve and exist as the main stream Christianity in Egypt, ever since St. Mark found the Church of Alexandria in the 1st Century. Along with Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic, the Church of Alexandria (Coptic Church) is considered to be one of the earliest Christian churches. It is also believed that many practices of early Christians had been preserved by the Coptic Church to the modern times.

We toured the St George Church, a Jewish Temple, and the Church of Abu Serga, where it was claimed that the Holy family had once rested when Joseph, Mary and Christ arrived in Egypt. We also toured the Coptic Cemetery in the area. Every tomb in the Coptic Cemetery is like a small shrine on its own.

2006.05.28_Cairo Chat

2010-12-06T23:10:00.011-05:00

Leisure fishing on the Nile

On our way to Cairo, I constantly hold my camera out of the bus window to take snap shots. As a metropolis with a population over 10 million people, traffic is certainly a major problem for Cairo. Indeed, I hardly saw a set of traffic lights in the city. Somehow the drivers on the road have their own way to maintain order. To be honest, we weren't sure where the bus was heading. We get off at Cairo's Opera, simply because we could somehow recognize the area and so could orient ourselves back to Madan Tahir. When we passed by the Nile, we saw a few locals fishing from a bridge. Back at Midar Tahir, we tried to find a pub called Ali Baba. A guy appeared from nowhere came over to "help" us out. He said Ali Baba no longer existed, and led us to his perfume shop. At the end AK and I each bought a tiny bottle of perfume for souvenir.

We walked back to Midar Tahir, trying to search for another pub. Another man approached us trying to give us a hand again. This guy was a swim trainer and a tourist guide (with a button of Canadian flag and a button of South Korean flag at his collar). He showed us a photo of him taken perhaps two decades ago, showing a somewhat masculine looking young man in a swimming suit. He called himself Egypt's Arnold Schwarzenegger. At that moment we were quite interested to speak to the locals. This guy was very talkative, and could speak good English. He looked very friendly, and even grabbed my arm when crossing the street. At last we arrived at a local cafe where local beer was served. Each of us three ordered a bottle, but he didn't order anything. At the cafe, we talked briefly about politics and Islam. He said he had been to Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Jordan. To him, it was very unfortunate that Arab countries never bridged the differences in order to become a unified nation. At the moment, some are pro-American while some are extremely anti-American. Talking about differences, our conversation also steered to the conflict between Sunni and Shia Islam in Iraq. After politics, he recited a few Islam stories to us, mainly about legends that involve miracles.

When we finished the drink, he left with us and led us back to our hotel. Upon arrival, he finally asked us for tips, saying that he wouldn't mind to have some tips so that he could go drinking with his friends. We refused to give him any tips. I said we considered him as a nice and welcoming friend in Egypt, not a cheater of tourists. He understandingly accepted my explanation, kissed our cheek and wished us good luck on our remaining journey, and finally left.

2006.05.28_Giza Pyramids

2010-12-04T23:57:00.003-05:00

The Great Sphinx

Solar ship of Khufu

Great Pyramids of Giza

Our journey of the necropolis region around Memphis continued on as we reached Giza. Probably the most iconic site in Egypt, the Great Pyramids and Sphinx of Giza is an obvious compulsory for all travelers in the Middle East.

The site of the Great Pyramids is quite large, despite its close proximity to the town of Giza. Unlike the image appears on most tourist brochure in which the Great Pyramids are always depicted situating in the middle of the desert, the ancient monuments are awfully close to modern roadways and bounded three sides by low-rise buildings of Giza. The site was crowded as expected, so as the plentiful tourist traps of camel rides and small attractions, and even the extra admission to get into the Great Pyramid itself seemed to us a ripoff. The small tombs dotted around the Great Pyramids were interesting, and we spent much time taking photos of the pyramids and the Sphinx. Unfortunately much of the Sphinx's body was covered with scaffolding.

The great surprise to me was the solar ship of Khufu. The life size timber boat made 4500 years ago was found in a pit at Khufu's pyramid. Supremely preserved, the ship might have carried Khufu's body from Memphis to Giza and then buried with the King. Many also believe that the ship carried symbol ritual values for the resurrected King to travel on the Nile and the heavens with the Sun God.

Outside the gate of the Great Pyramids, we waited for 1/2 hour for the bus bounded for Cairo. We told the taxi not to wait for us because we had no idea when we would be done visiting the pyramids. We weren't sure where to get off, but as long as the bus headed towards Cairo it should be fine.

2006.05.28_Dahshur and Memphis

2010-12-04T02:23:00.003-05:00

Red Pyramid of Snofru with Bent Pyramid beyond, Dahshur

Egyptian hieroglyphics carved in granite, Memphis Museum

Statue of Ramses II, Memphis Museum

After Saqqara, we inteded to go to Abusir. We were told that Abusir was closed so we decided to go to Dahshur instead. Dahshur was another well-known necropolis that served the royal members of Memphis in the Old Kingdom. Known for the three unique pyramids, Dahshur is another unmissable site near Cairo if one is interested in Egyptian pyramids. Our taxi drove us to the three most prominent pyramids in Dahshur, including the Bent, Red and Black Pyramids. There wasn't much tourists at Dahshur, so we decided to pay the admission for entering the Red Pyramid, the oldest smooth plane pyramid.

The sloped ramp down to the burial chamber at the heart of the pyramid was narrow and dark. For the entire way I had to walk with my back bent down. The ramp was dark and there wasn't much head space in the tunnel. It was no easy feat to finally find our way into the not-so-impressive and small chambers at the heart. As predicted no artifacts were in display in the chamber. I found the chamber ceiling quite interesting. It was a neatly done ceiling coffer that reminded me of the stepped pyramid at Saqqara.

Our next stop was Memphis Museum to check out the enormous limestone statue of Ramses II. It lies in the feature gallery of small Memphis Museum.

2006.05.28_Saqqara

2010-12-04T00:58:00.002-05:00

Entrance of a tomb

Wall painting in a tomb

Wall painting in a tomb

Main funeral complex at Saqqara

Stepped pyramid at Saqqara

At Luna Hotel, we hired a taxi for the day. Our intention was to take in a number of attractions in the outskirts of Cairo. Our first stop was Saqqara. Saqqara was a royal necropolis of some of the earliest Egyptian kings and nobles, mainly in the Old Kingdom when the administration and religious centre of the kingdom was in Memphis, the capital city of Lower Egypt. Before we headed to the world famous stepped pyramid of Djoser, a staff led us into one of the many tombs in the site. Inside the tomb, magnificent wall paintings are still preserved. Apart from reliefs that depict the royal members and divinities, I was particularly interested in the paintings that illustrate spiritual possessions and ceremonial feasts.

Outside the tomb, we reached the main funeral complex of Djoser's stepped pyramid. The complex was crowded with various tourist groups, each was led by a tour guide holding an umbrella and speaking with a microphone. We winded through the tourist groups while we passed through the funeral complex to reach the famous stepped pyramid. Out of all the mastabas and tombs in Saqqara, Djoser's stepped pyramid is certainly the most famous of all. The massive monument of cascade stone masonry, dated back to 27th century BC, is known as the earliest Egyptian pyramid in the world.

2006.05.27_Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai

2010-12-01T23:56:00.005-05:00

The Burning Bush

We arrived at Saint Catherine's Monastery at around 08:00. The Saint Catherine's is one of the oldest working Christian monasteries in the world. It is still occupied by monks from Orthodox Christians. Nowadays, it also serves as a pilgrimage spot for tourists and believers from all sectors of Christianity. Within the heavy fortified walls stands a large shrub that is claimed to be the spot of the original Burning Bush mentioned in the Book of Exodus, where God revealed himself to Moses and appointed him as leader of the Israelites.

We waited outside the monastery for about an hour until 09:00. Inside, only the main church, small museum and exterior courtyard where the Burning Bush stands are opened to the public. The courtyard was very crowded. Everyone was trying to take pictures of themselves with the Burning Bush. HC and I toured around a little and slowly walked back to the Mount Sinai parking lot. We were sleepy and tired by the time we reached Bishibishi. At the hotel we grabbed a quick bite, packed our backpacks, and met up with AK in the courtyard.

We took the 14:30 bus leaving for Cairo. It was a long bus ride, passing by the Suez Canal at sunset, and reached Cairo after 8.5 hours. At the bus station in Cairo, we took a taxi to Midan Talaat Harb, a star-shaped plaza at the centre of a shopping district, where our guesthouse was located. It was 23:30 already, but it seemed like 20:00 to me since most of the shops and restaurants were still opened.

2006.05.27_Mount Sinai

2010-11-29T23:05:00.010-05:00

Inscription on Mount Sinai

Sunrise at Mount Sinai

Pilgrims and tourists at Mount Sinai

HC and me

The 2-hour descend

We left Dahab at 23:00 to embark on the journey to Mount Sinai. An organized bus ride took HC and me and a group of tourists from Dahab onto the desert highway. On the road, it was pitch black with only occasional street lamp at road intersections. We had no idea where we were going. At 01:30 we finally arrived at the parking lot of Mount Sinai. Despite in the middle of the night, the place was crowded with tourists and pilgrims all came for the climb up to the summit to view the spectacular sunrise.

HC and I and our bus group followed a local guide towards a path that I supposed would lead us up. The guide walked extremely fast, while there were many local Bedouins and camel vendors blocking our way and persuading us to rent a camel. A German tourist in our group showed some interest of the camel ride, but he thought it was too expensive. The camel vendors followed our group, and even used their camels to block our way. Our guide couldn't get rid of the camel vendor, but luckily a tourist police appeared from nowhere, stopped the vendor, and let us through.

The hike was not easy, perhaps because it was just too dark. Between the two of us we shared a small flashlight. It took us a little over two hours to reach the end of the path. Along the way we stopped four times for rest. At the end of the winding path there came the steep stone steps, around 700 steps that led us to the top. It took us a great deal of effort to climb to the summit. We reached the top at 04:30.

On the summit there is a small chapel, and a few vendors renting out blankets and mattresses. It was quite chilly up there, but we didn't bother to rent a blanket. At first we stood in front of the chapel waiting for the sunrise. I soon discovered a piece of rock with an unbeatable view towards the east. The rock surface was a little slippery, and if we fell over it could be fatal. The sky turned white at around 05:30, and the sun finally came out at 06:00. I felt so much warmer just by witnessing the rising of the sun behind the ragged mountains. Not until the sun was out that I could realize how crowded the spot actually was. Tourists and pilgrims and their sleeping bags were everywhere: on top of the chapel, on the roof of some distant mud houses, on the path, on stone terraces, on the other side of the chapel, altogether there must be over 200 people.

Under the golden light, the scenery of Mount Sinai and its surrounding was spectacular, arid, rocky, without a single tree in front of the horizon. This is the legendary spot where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God.

At around 06:15 we began the 2-hour descend to St. Catherine's Monastery.

2006.05.26_Dahab

2010-11-29T00:54:00.002-05:00

In the afternoon HC and I went to a diving site called "Islands" for snorkeling. The reefs there were again beautiful and sea life abundant. I swam out to the coral mounts, where I had to pass through a deeper section of open sea. The coral mounts were spectacular, and I thought that they must be what the locals refer to as the underwater "islands".

After the "Islands", HC and I went to the southern tip of Dahab to do more snorkel. There was not much corals in the area, and the water was a lot deeper and as a result colder, despite it was 40 to 45 degrees Celsius above the water. In order to reach the south beaches, we got to walk along a seaside boardwalk and passed by dozens of resort complexes facing the sea. It must be the bombing. All the resorts were extremely quiet. We could only see the local staff killing time with card games and gossips in the shade. We went into one of the complexes and asked for washroom. A staff led us into a resort room to use the toilet. It seemed to me that the entire hotel complex (with at least 50 resort suites) was completely empty. And I got the feeling that it was pretty much the same for all the resorts in the area.

In the evening HC and I returned to Bishibishi for dinner and a brief rest before leaving for our adventure to Mount Sinai. AK didn't go with us. Because of her dives she would not be able to ascend to a high altitude within short period of time.

2006.05.26_Dahab

2010-11-29T00:10:00.003-05:00

I decided to do a whole day of snorkeling. I rented the snorkel and flippers at Big Blue, and followed AK and her Italian instructor to Eel Garden. HC decided to do another introductory dive. Along with us there was also an Italian woman, in her early forties, traveling alone with her Dachshund dog. She came from Rome, had worked in a hospital in Trastevere, where I stayed for 4 months for my architectural study in 2002.

I snorkeled in some lagoons at Eel Garden. Apparently the reefs around Dahab is far better than the ones at Aqaba. I snorkeled at areas of around 3-5m deep, and saw uncounted colourful sea life including all kinds of fish, sea urchins, and of course, coral of various colours.

In midday we returned to Big Blue for lunch. While we ate a black cat appeared in the dinning tent. It suddenly jumped towards the Dachshund dog and scratched the dog on its face and nose. The dog screamed and scared to death as David, the diving instructor drove the cat away with a tea pot.

2006.05.25_Aqaba

2010-11-28T23:35:00.005-05:00

View of Aqaba from hotel window

After we get up we immediately hired a taxi returning to Royal Diving Centre for our refund. The staff there tried to avoid us again. We refused to leave and at last a manager came out with a big smile and agreed to pay us back the admission. Then the taxi took us to the passenger ferry terminal and arrived at the gate at about 09:30. It took us over an hour to go through the customs and deal with the departure tax. At last we were told to board a shuttle bus. The bus drove up slowly into an entrance at the back of the ferry.

Once on board, we found the Egyptian custom officer to stamp our passport. The ferry didn't leave the dock until way over 11:30, over two hours since we got to the terminal. The ferry sailed southwest towards Egypt. We could see the shore of Saudi Arabia to the east. At around 14:30 the ferry arrived at the Egyptian port at Nuweiba. The port was quite chaotic, and that was our first impression on Egypt. At the minbus / service taxi station we met three Australians. The six of us hired a minivan for our destination Dahab, a backpacker seaside resort town at the Egyptian side of Gulf of Aqaba.

The van took us to the bus station at Dahab. The town seemed to me a little quiet, probably because of the recent terrorist bombing on April 24th. The town looked to me very young and relaxing, without the conventional and cheesy type of honeymoon atmosphere. At the station we met Alex, a staff from Bishibishi Garden Village. He led us to Bishibishi, a relatively new hotel establishment in Dahab. We don't usually trust these kinds of sales, but once we arrived at Bishibishi and met Jimmy the owner, we decided to stay at one of their air conditioned triple room. It turned out to be a good choice. AK decided to take a night dive. Jimmy took us all to Big Blue Diving Centre. While AK stayed for the dive, HC and I returned to Bishibishi for dinner. After dinner, we strolled around the town, dropped by an internet cafe, and bought another disposable underwater camera for the next day.

2006.05.24_Aqaba

2010-11-28T23:11:00.003-05:00

In the morning we took the shuttle bus from Crystal Hotel to Royal Diving Centre. At the door we paid 10 JD for admission. A staff inside persuaded us to dive. As an experienced diver, AK immediately went for her dives. HC and I agreed to do the introductory scuba dive at 11:00. The sea in front of the diving centre wasn't the calmest, but we thought we would give it a try. The instructor gave us a short briefing about the equipment, and told us to put on the diving suit. We followed him out to the boardwalk to get into the water. The sea was cold, and I didn't get the way of using my mouth to breathe in the waves. After some minutes in the water I still couldn't learn to breathe through my mouth. At the end, I returned to the boardwalk. HC overcame the challenge and went down with the instructor to a deeper dive.

In the afternoon HC and I went for snorkeling. With the snorkel, I learnt how to breathe through my mouth, and gradually I could enjoy the world under the water. Each of us had a disposable underwater camera and we saw some nice reefs, not extremely spectacular, but we did see a lot of colourful fish. We snorkeled for a few hours and returned to the diving centre and found AK had done with her dives already. Upon leaving we tried to get the refund of the entrance fee. The policy was that whoever dives at the centre does not need to pay admission. The staff hesitated for a while and told us that the cashier was closed for the day. We had no choice but decided to return the next morning. At night we had dinner at Pizza Hut, and did a little shopping at a sneaker shop.

2006.05.23_Wadi Rum 7

2010-11-25T23:49:00.003-05:00

After the Khazali Canyon, our Wadi Rum experience was almost over. We did more camel riding, had a brief lunch, a short nap, and at least we rode back to Rum Village. While we waited for our hired taxi at the Visitor Centre, we went into the official Wadi Rum shop. I bought a black T-shirt with the Rum-art (ancient rock carving of animals) printed on it. We reached Aqaba in late afternoon. For some reason, we ended up having Chinese food for dinner. It was a decent size restaurant on the second floor of a commercial building. We weren't the only table there but of course it was not full. I wondered if it would ever get full. The food was fine. We were all tired and hungry. After the meal, we were quite satisfied.

2006.05.23_Wadi Rum 6

2010-11-25T23:15:00.003-05:00

From time to time, we got off our camels to walk on the sand, or climb another rock mount, and so on. Two to three hours on the camel back was really not the most pleasant experience. Perhaps because of the heat or lack of good vegetation around, HC's camel was a little grumpy at a point that it refused to walk and kneed down all of a sudden, almost throwing HC down onto the sand. I was glad that at least my camel seemed content about what it was doing. Every time we got off the camel after about riding for an hour, we could hardly walk.

The "desert mountains" near and far dominated the landscape everywhere we went. At last we were led to the Khazali Canyon. We didn't have time to go in too deep, but deep enough to see the dramatic sunlight shone through the narrow gap high up and reached the gorge floor in a dramatic fashion. A perfect spot for some nice photos.

2006.05.23_Wadi Rum 5

2010-11-23T23:56:00.004-05:00

We had a small breakfast when we get up. Soon after, our guide of the second day came, along with three camels. The camels were quite skinny, but tall. It was our first time to ride a camel in the desert. We were kind of excited but also worried since we had heard many painful stories about camel riding in the past. We walked to the camels. The guide made a "shuzzz" noise and successfully made the camels to knee down. One by one each of us climb onto a camel. It turned out that my camel was actually the "nicest" one, well trained and relatively well disciplined.

Forgot how long the ride really was, maybe an hour, or an hour and a half, in open desert, over rolling sand dunes. As the morning went by the desert was warming up quickly. I was always trying to find the "best" position on the camel, so that I could balance myself without killing my thighs and comfortably take pictures with my FM2. Every time we passed by scattered plants our camels would venture off a little, lower their heads to chew on the leaves, and always cause a chaotic moments by pulling all camels onto one side, since all of our camels, including the one rode by the guide, were tied together with ropes.

2006.05.22_Wadi Rum 4

2010-11-23T00:40:00.003-05:00

Near our camp site, we climbed another rock mount where we watched the sun set behind layers of rock mountains. It was dry and windy. The desert was open and vast. Despite tired, I totally fell in love with the openness of the desert. The sun was fading. As it receded into the horizon, so as the vivid colours of the landscape. The landscape around me gradually became a world of black and white, or so it seemed to me that suddenly the desert had cooled down and the wind was a little chilly.

The dinner of lamb/chicken rice was delicious and we had a good time in the evening at the Bedouin camp site, chatting and laughing with the Bedouin host and guides.

2006.05.22_Wadi Rum 3

2010-11-23T00:15:00.002-05:00

Um Fruth Rock Arch

View from top of Um Fruth

In a desert canyon

Out of a desert canyon

We started off the afternoon with an interesting climb of the Um Fruth Rock Arch. The arch is about 20m high. At first glance, the slope of the rock surface seemed very steep to us. We couldn't even image how we could reach the top. With his bare feet, our guide showed us the way to ascend the slope. The key was: climb in a slight diagonal, move fast, don't stop and never look back. We did what he said and finally reached the top. Of course, climbing back down was another challenge but we didn't worry too much about it while we enjoyed the view from the top of Um Fruth.

Before heading to the camp site, we were led to a desert canyon where we did a short hike, about 1.5km, by ourselves. The guide came pick us up at the other end. Everything seemed red and orange under the afternoon sun. Perhaps the most unique thing about Wadi Rum is the red colour of its sand, and the rock mounts (or desert mountains as the locals called them). It was a pleasant short walk of good desert scenery.

2006.05.22_Wadi Rum 2

2010-11-22T23:31:00.005-05:00

Our guide making tea

Our guide with another Bedouin

Our 4X4 for the day

Panorama view from where we took a short nap

Our guide from Bedouin Roads drove the Land Rover into the shade of a rock mount. We rested on a large smooth rock surface where we had our desert lunch. There were canned tuna, fresh tomato, mixed beans, cheese, bottled orange juice, and a cup of mint tea. The lunch was simple and light, reminded me of the simple nomadic lifestyle that the Bedouin must have once led. After lunch, we had a hour of nap time in the shade.

Despite circumstances after World War II that led to the majority of Bedouin sedentarisation, the myth of the desert nomads continues to inspire literature and cinema, enrich national heritage and enhance global tourism in the region. Today, most Bedouins in the Middle East live in houses or apartments. The few Bedouin tents that remain in the deserts are mainly for touristic purposes, so as many other components of the Bedouin lifestyle, such as camel caravans are very much entirely replaced by modern means of transportation. Often, it is not easy to differentiate the nomadic traditions with reconstructed lifestyles that are largely based on cultural stereotypes and romanticised interpretations.

2006.05.22_Wadi Rum 1

2010-11-22T01:00:00.004-05:00

Inside the Toyota Land Rover

Below the Spring of Lawrence

View from Spring of Lawrence

Red sand of Wadi Rum

Rum art

At 07:30, a taxi came to Petra Moon to pick us up for Wadi Rum. At around 09:00 we arrived at Wadi Rum Visitor Centre. Attayak, our Bedouin guide, greeted us at the ticket office. After we bought our admission ticket to the desert, Attayak drove us into Rum Village, and stopped at the Resthouse Cafe. A Bedouin with blue keffiyeh came over. His name is Shaba, our desert guide for the day. We said goodbye to Attayak and left the cafe with Shaba. The first thing we did was going over to a nearby shop to get bottled water and keffiyeh for HC and me, the Jordanian type with red and white keffiyeh (or shemagh mhadab). Shaba helped us to put on the keffiyeh. We hopped onto his Toyota Land Rover and off we go to the Wadi Rum and began our first ever desert experience.

Our first stop was the Spring of Lawrence. Wadi Rum is the desert where T. E. Lawrence based himself during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Turks. The spring might be one of Lawrence's favorite spot where he bathed and relaxed. It was a 15 minute climb up a rocky hill, approximately 200m high, to the spring. AK, HC and I found our way up, and were a little disappointed to find the spring was no more than a tiny water pool, perhaps an outlet of underground water. Though we were delighted by the magnificent view down the desert valley.

We carefully descended back to the car. Shaba led us to a black Bedouin tent nearby where AK finally bought her set of head-scarf, a red and black combination. Again Shaba helped her to put it on. Not long after, we reached the second stop. It was a cliff where wall carving of camels, goats, and humans can be found. The wall carvings were made by Nabatean caravans 2000 years ago, depicting some of their stories. Shaba told us that Wadi Rum was once lay on the caravan route between Saudi and Damascus.

2006.05.21_Petra 9 - Black and White

2010-11-19T00:55:00.002-05:00

The Siq

Eroded Cave Dwellings

Royal Tombs

Inside a Royal Tomb

Treasury

2006.05.21_Petra 7 - Snake Monument & Birdeye View of Treasury

2010-11-19T00:31:00.003-05:00

At around 14:30 we arrived at the Snake Monument, the destination of one of the longer hikes a tourist can take in Petra. It took us a while to actually locate the snake monument. In fact, we finally saw the monument only because a local pointed it out for us. At the Snake Monument, we encountered a Bedouin family who still lives at the monument site. He asked us if we wanted tea. We thanked him but we didn't accept his offer. There were two kids at the black tent (probably made with goat hair according to traditions), at around 6-8 years old. We played football (soccer) with them for about 10 minutes before heading back.

When we reached the Main Temple, we decided to hike up the hill opposite to the famous Treasury to have a birdeye view of the magnificent monument. We found our way uphill again near the Royal Tombs. The steps were steep, and the hike took approximately 45 minutes. The view was fantastic. Up on the hill, we saw the local guide and the professor again (the first time near Tomb of Soldiers). After taking some photos, we slowly descend down. Both AK and I got ourselves a can of pop. It was very refreshing. Without it, we probably would take us 2 times longer to reach the exit of Petra. At night we dined at Sand Stone Restaurant, and went online at the computer room in Petra Moon.

2006.05.21_Petra 6 - Rock 2

2010-11-19T00:18:00.006-05:00

Near the Tomb of Soldiers we found some of the most impressive rock patterns in Petra (in my opinion). On our way to the Snake Monument, we had a few biscuits and a few sips of water for lunch.

2006.05.21_Petra 5 - High Place of Sacrifice & Soldier's Tomb

2010-11-18T23:57:00.006-05:00

We left Petra Moon Hotel at around 08:30. We entered Petra along the same route as the day before, through the Siq and passed by the Treasury. Before we reached the Theatre, we took a stepped path uphill. Our first destination was the High Place of Sacrifice. The hike took about an hour up the hill behind the Royal Tombs. The view down from the hill towards the ruins was great. We finally reached the high alter where ancient Nabateans made sacrifices to their gods. It is an open area with a raised platform for sacrificial ceremonies. We didn't have enough knowledge on ancient sacrifice to fully understand the layout or retrace the ancient procedures. We didn't stay long.

From High Place of Sacrifice we walked west toward Wadi Farasa and Snake Monument. On our way, we passed by the Tomb of Soldiers. Because of the Roman uniform on the statues, many believe that the tomb belonged to some Roman officers in the 2nd Century. Though some historians also argued that many architectural elements of the tomb facade predated the Roman Conquest of Petra, and the tomb was probably constructed in the 1st Century.

2006.05.20_Petra 4 - Rock

2010-11-18T00:47:00.006-05:00

It was mid-afternoon and we got time to visit two more lookout points uphill to see the arid valley scenery surrounding Petra. Just like the ruin itself, the views of the surrounding were dramatic. On our way out we stopped by more royal tombs and small cave dwellings. We were exhausted from the return hike and heat but we could still get excited and rush to take photos when we encountered rocks with unique patterns. From the ruins of the civic centre it was another 2km before we reached the visitor centre. Everyone seemed to be leaving at the same time, by horses, by donkey carts, by feet and so on. In the evening we had dinner at Red Cave Restaurant. After the meal I walked up to the village of Wadi Musa by myself to the Internet café.

2006.05.20_Petra 3 - Royal Tombs, Theatre and Monastery

2010-11-18T00:43:00.004-05:00

Photos: Royal Tombs (1+2), Theatre, Steps to Monastery, Monastery

After the Treasury, we turned right and walked to the ancient civic centre and the magnificent theatre built against the red hillside of El Nejr, on which many royal tombs can be seen. We stopped at the theatre for a while, and decided to hike up to the second most iconic building in Petra, the Monastery (El Deir). The Monastery was an important ceremonial temple in Nabatean times. It took us roughly an hour to reach the Monastery from the theatre. Similar to the Treasury, the Monastery is a rock-cut building carved out from the cliff. There is a decent sized courtyard in front, probably for religious ceremonies. Many believe that the building was used as a church during Byzantine era, and that is where the name “Monastery” was derived from. We sat down at an open teashop across the courtyard. From our seats we had a perfect front elevation view of the Monastery under the early afternoon sun. We decided to take an hour of rest at the teashop. I made a sketch of the building while we rested.

2006.05.20_Petra 2 - Treasury

2010-11-18T00:36:00.004-05:00

At the end of the Siq, about 1.5km from the gorge entrance, we arrived at the spot where every visitor would stop for the iconic view of the rock-cut Treasury (Al Khazneh). No matter how many times the image of the Treasury has become in the age of mass images, the view is still stunning. While we were taking photos, groups after groups of tourists passed by us and gathered in front of the Treasury. Certainly this is the busiest attraction in Jordan. Unlike the Indiana Jones movie, the interior of the Treasury is a large but empty high ceiling space carved out from the cliff. No labyrinth or traps, only massive blank walls containing magnificent marble-like patterns in colours ranged from white to red to brown. There are legends suggesting robbers and pirates used the building as a treasury of looted objects, and probably it was where the name “Treasury” comes from.

Petra was the capital city of the Nabatean civilization. First as the Nabatean capital and then later as an important Roman trading, Petra reached its prime time from around 100BC to 200AD. The city’s fortunate was closely tied to how well they managed water supplies and how caravan routes had established in the Middle East. In its high time, Petra was a very significant trading city at the west end of the Silk Road, before caravans reached the coast of the Mediterranean. The city flourished as a trading city until the Bride of the Desert, Palmyra, took over its place as trade routes being developed further north in today’s Syria and Lebanon.

2006.05.20_Petra 1 - Siq

2010-11-17T15:47:00.003-05:00

We get up at 06:00 for breakfast. Extremely excited, we were quickly on our way towards the ticket office of Petra down the road. In the itinerary of many Middle East travelers, Petra is perhaps the single most important highlight of their trip. It only took us 5 minutes to reach the ticket office from Petra Moon Hotel, and that was pretty much the only reason for us to stay there. After obtaining our tickets, we walked along a winding and dusty pathway to the entrance of the Siq, a narrow gorge that served as the main entry into Petra. At a few points, the Siq became so narrow and dim that I felt like walking in a tunnel no wider than a car’s lane. From aerial photos one can clearly see how narrow the Siq is – a split in the rose-red sandstone plateau no wider than 3m at some points. In early morning, the rock cliffs seemed to glow in a golden colour. I anticipated the change of colour from gold to red as the day went by. A carved water channel, at about 1m high along the sides of the Siq, was still visible as we walked into the desert city. The water channel was a great engineer infrastructure that led water from flash floods into Petra, where it was stored for daily use.

2006.05.19_Surrounding Landscape of Shobak Castle

2010-11-16T00:45:00.004-05:00

The thing I enjoyed most about Shobak Castle was its surrounding landscape.

We arrived at Wadi Musa at around 16:30. After checking in at Petra Moon, we went to Papazzi for dinner. After dinner, we went to the town centre to get snacks and water for our next day - our first day of Petra!

2006.05.19_Shobak Castle

2010-11-16T00:35:00.002-05:00

Shobak Castle is not as big as Karak. Few tourists (except a local family of six) and free admission. We had a great time wandering in the castle ruins. Originally called Montreal, Shobak Castle was again a Crusader castle built in the 11th century, and similar to Karak, Shobak eventually fell under the army of Saladin.

2006.05.19_King's Highway and Karak Castle

2010-11-14T23:40:00.008-05:00

It was Friday, the weekend holiday for the Muslims. At Wahadat Station in Amman, buses were running on holiday schedule. At last we found a bus bounded to Karak Castle. Our goal of the day was to make a journey along the famous King's Highway from Amman south to Wadi Musa, the base for our Petra visit in the next two days. It was a two hour drive from Amman to the town of Karak. When we got off the bus, the driver told us that there would not be any public transportation from Karak to Tafila on Fridays. Our plan was to visit Karak Castle, take a bus to Tafila, and then hiring a taxi onwards to Shobak and Wadi Musa. At last, we settled with a taxi driver for 40 Jordanian Dinar, taking us uphill to Karak Castle, and then to Shobak Castle and Wadi Musa.

Karak Castle was built in the 12th century by the Crusaders. It is one of the largest castles in the region. Despite the grand scale, Karak has a simpler design and rougher craftsmanship than the Krak des Chevaliers. The view of the castle from the village was spectacular, but the ruin itself, to me, was again less impressive than that of Krak des Chevaliers. Karak Castle has a nice little museum. I enjoyed reading a little about the history of the castle, the Crusades and the Muslim conqueror Saladin.

2006.05.18_Madaba and Dead Sea

2010-11-14T22:16:00.004-05:00

We arrived at Madaba by a morning bus. Madaba was a significant city during the Byzantine era. Today is frequented by tourists on route to the Dead Sea. Madaba has a number of ruins, many still under excavations. What most tourists come to see, including us, is the famous Byzantine mosaic map of the Holy Land (City of Jerusalem and around) at the Greek Orthodox church Saint George. We stopped by the archaeological museum for a while to see some other pieces of fine mosaic from the Byzantine era, before heading over to Saint George. The church interior was full of tourists, all crowded around the mosaic map of the Biblical World. The map was made in the 6th century. Jerusalem is at the centre, around it lies other significant towns and geographical features in the Biblical time, including the River Nile, Mediterranean Sea, Dead Sea, etc.

After seeing the map, we decided to head over to the Dead Sea to get a taste of the unique floating experience. We tried to find some sort of public transportation but we failed. At last a taxi driver approached us and we agreed on a price of 5 Jordanian Dinar each. Our taxi passed by some rough landscape and sheep herds along the way. The taxi driver pointed out to us as we passed by the Moses Spring at Mount Nebo and Moses Memorial Church. Every stone and stream here seemed to be related to the Bible. To many, this can be a route of pilgrimage that traces the steps of Moses.

Finally we entered a whole new world of Vegas-like hotels and resort complexes. The contrast was phenomenal. We knew we had arrived at the Dead Sea coast. Our taxi dropped us off at a resort called Amman Beach. We paid 4 Jordanian Dinar admission for entering the beach. We changed at the changeroom and walked over to a beach umbrella, dropped off our stuff and moved three chairs and table into our area. A staff came over asking for money. We immediately realized that there is no free lunch at the beach. We refused to pay and the staff moved the chairs and table away. We took our turn to experience the Dead Sea. We put mud on our skin, tried the unique floating experience, took a lot of cheesy photos. It was hot and humid at this lowest point in the world, at 422m below sea level.

As many researchers point out, the Dead Sea is in deep trouble, as less water from Jordan River is feeding the salty inland lake every year. Syria, Jordan, Palestine, and Israel all rely on the area's limited water supplies, such as the Jordan River, for their growing population. In matter of decades the Dead Sea may disappear altogether. We heard that the Jordanian government is planning to divert the water from the Red Sea inland to feed the Dead Sea. When we were there, we could clearly see traces of the previous water level. Just like seeing the evidence of glacier retreat on the Swiss Alps, witnessing the gradual death of the Dead Sea made a huge impact on me. While many in developed nations never worry about their water supply, the situation in the Dead Sea area is truly alarming. Sustainable water management in the area is essential, not only to the survival of millions, but also to the political climate of the Middle Eastern nations. Successful cooperation of water management offers the potentials of peaceful co-existence (indeed there are various organizations working on multi-national water projects in the area). If fails, war over water supply may not be far away.

2006.05.17_Amman Citadel and Champions League

2010-11-14T10:58:00.007-05:00

Back in Amman, we hopped into a few laundry shops asking for the price. At last, a English speaking man in a hair salon recommended one right across from Cliff Hostel. HC and AK went to get their dirty clothes while I checked out the post office for stamps. After we were done with these, we decided to go to the Roman Theatre. I guess we had had enough Roman theatres in the past few days so we weren't willing to pay the admission and go in. We had a peek from the gate and off we go up the Citadel hill of Amman. Along the way we encountered a group of local girls running and playing along the street. They saw us and were very curious about us. We waved to them and took pictures of them. As we took pictures they turned even more excited and laughed out loud. It was a fun moment.

Being one of the oldest human settlement in the world, the site of Amman Citadel had been inhabited for over 7000 years. Today it lies in a ruin of building blocks. The most impressive remain on the hill is the ruins of Temple of Hercules, a Islamic palace and a modest archaeological museum, in which parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls are on display.

In the evening, we had dinner at a restaurant with a large balcony overlooking a busy street. After dinner we returned to the hotel and I immediately turned on the television hoping to watch the final match of the Champions League. No luck of finding a channel that showed the match, I ran back to the restaurant where we had dinner to watch the game. There were about 15 men watching the game in the tiny restaurant. I picked a empty chair behind a man, sat down and ordered a coke. A large window was opened out to the balcony. I could hear the noise and cheers from restaurants and teashops down below. It felt like everyone in the city was watching the game. The restaurant was awfully smoky as almost all 15 men were smoking cigarette or shisha (water pipe), having a bottle of coke, watching the game, and cheering for Barca. When Campbell scored the first goal for Arsenal, the restaurant owner came out and teased all of us. He yelled at me saying "Barca finishes, Arsenal good!" Throughout the game, many viewers went out to the balcony and yelled down to people on the street. I wasn't sure whether they knew each other or they were just too excited about the game. Assisted by Henrik Larsson, at around 75th minutes Samuel Eto finally scored the first goal for Barca. Juliano Belletti finished the game by scoring Barca's second goal at around 81st minute. Final score, Barca 2 Arsenal 1. It was a great result to many Barca supporters in Amman. As I walked back to the hotel, I passed by groups after groups of men coming out from tea shops and eateries after watching the game. Some were walking home in laughter, some were hopping on the cars parked along the street.

2006.05.17_Jerash

2010-11-14T02:06:00.003-05:00

In the morning we took a minibus from Amman's Abdali Bus Station (now closed) to the historical site of Jerash about 50km to the north. Known as the City of Gerasa in the Classical era, Jerash is now a major tourist attraction in Jordan. Many compare Jerash to Pompeii in terms of the level of preservation. To me, there is little common between the two. The three of us entered the site through Hadrian's Gate, took our time to wander around the site and saw a number of ancient buildings, including the Temple of Artemis, many Corinthian columns, some early churches, the magnificent Oval Piazza, and two theaters. At the second theatre, there was a band of Jordanian musicians, dressed in military uniforms, playing ceremonial music on the stage.

We exited the ruins through the north gate, and then we hired a taxi to return to where the bus dropped us off in the morning. At the station, we met an old man who claimed to be an experience tour guide. He said he had been to Hong Kong in early 1970s. He showed us where to take a cheaper bus back to Amman.

2006.05.16_Farewell Damascus

2010-11-12T00:28:00.003-05:00

Before hiring a service taxi from Baramke Station, we wandered in the old city of Damascus one last time. We had some delicious vanilla ice-cream. A ice-cream cone was only about 15 cents USD. A large crowd of school children gathered around the vendor as we about to walk off.

At Baramke, we hired a taxi to make the trip to Amman of Jordan. We picked a driver in his fifties, who drove back and forth Amman and Damascus. He wore a full set of suit.

It didn't take us much time to go through the passport controls on both the Syrian and Jordanian sides. After 1.5 hour we finally arrived at downtown Amman. We checked at Sydney Hotel, dropped off our bags, and off we go to look for the famous Palestinian juice stands for a cup of refreshment. We had our first Jordanian dinner at Cairo Restaurant.

2006.05.16_Maalula

2010-11-11T23:59:00.003-05:00

In the morning we took a minibus from Damascus to Maalula, a small town 50km north of the Syrian capital. Backed against rocky cliffs, Maalula is a small place of rich history and religion. Several Christian monasteries and around 2000 inhabitants. The town is famous for the last town in the world where inhabitants can speak Aramaic, an ancient language that people spoke in Jesus' era, including Jesus himself.

We get off at a fork road. Immediately we went up to the cliffside Mar Sarkis Monastery. We made a short hike to tour around Mar Sarkis. The gorge is so narrow here that it strongly resembles a miniature of the Siq in Petra. We reached a plateau with good views of the village. We turned back to the monastery and made a brief tour of the interior. At the end, a priest offered us a special wine prepared from the monastery.

It was unfortunate that we couldn't stay longer in Maalula because according to our schedule, we were due to travel south to Amman of Jordan in the afternoon. We had another brief glance of Maalula, passed by some new concrete houses under construction, before heading back to Damascus by minibus.

2006.05.15_Damascus

2010-11-11T23:25:00.004-05:00

In Damascus, we decided to visit the National Archaeological Museum. It has a fabulous archaeological collections from all over Syria, from pre-Classical periods up to Islamic and Byzantine times. I was particularly interested in the Ugarit inscriptions. There are the earliest alphabet that we have discovered so far. At the museum shop, I bought a necklace carved with Ugarit alphabet.

MC and I passed dinner. We strolled from district to district and ended up reaching the Mezzeh District, a wealthy area dotted with various embassies. We passed by many embassies and walked through a market area. We passed by street after street of well-maintained French mansions, from which piano music could be heard occasionally.

Back at the hostel, we bumped into a German photography student and an Australian Chinese. Similar to us, the German student visited Turkey before coming to Syria. He planned to travel until mid August. The Australian Chinese is an experienced traveler. He has been to many places in the world. Iran, India, and Pakistan are among his favorites.

In the evening, MC, HC and I went to Galaxy Internet cafe to go online. At 01:00, MC, SH and NU took a taxi for the airport. Their Middle Eastern journey had come to an end. On the other hand, HC, AK and I continued our journey as we entered the final day in Syria.

2006.05.15_Bosra Roman Theatre

2010-11-11T00:08:00.003-05:00

The best preserved remains in Bosra is the impressive Citadel Theatre, a Classical Roman theatre embraced by an Islamic citadel. The construction began in Trajan's time when a 9000 seat theatre was built in this newly selected capital of the Roman Province of Arabia. The fusion came under the Muslim rule when the citadel with eight guard towers was built to defend against the Crusade.

A bridge over a moat led us into a entry hall of the citadel. Walking through the Islamic citadel to enter the theatre was like walking through a labyrinth of tunnels. Without proper signage, it is quite possible to temporary get lost in the underground portion of this complex. Steep stairs and dark corridors led to the entryways of the theatre. Under the bright sun, the dark tone of the basalt, the main construction material of the entire city of Bosra, was clearly shown.

We stayed at the theatre for about half an hour, found our way onto the stage, and hurried out of the labyrinth-like tunnel to exit the complex. We made it on time to the bus station to take the 14:00 bus back to Damascus.

2006.05.15_Bosra

2010-11-10T23:49:00.003-05:00

From Baramke Station we hopped on a minibus for Bosra. Bosra is a World Heritage town that contains artifacts and ruins from many periods, including Nabatean, Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic. At the Agora, we were approached by a local who claimed to be an assistant of a French archaeologist. As a temporary guide, he took us to have a quick tour of various archaeologist sites in Bosra, and led us to visit his aunt at a domestic home. We parted with our temporary guide at the entrance of the Roman Threater before getting in.

2006.05.14_Souk, Damascus

2010-11-10T00:39:00.002-05:00

After Umayyad Mosque, we wandered in the souk. We discovered an unique shop that sells all kinds of textile, scarfs, bags, and embroideries made by Syrian and Palestinian women. I bought two scarves made with camel hair and silk. AK bought a piece of embroidery that depicts a Palestinian marketplace. After some souvenir shopping, we went to a shop called Bakdash, which is Syria's oldest ice-cream parlour. Bakdash has been around since 1890, selling rosewater and almond ice-cream topped with fresh pistachio. Each of us had a cone, and it was delicious.

2006.05.14_Umayyad Mosque, Damascus

2010-11-10T00:06:00.006-05:00

After checking in at Al Rabie Hotel, we ventured out immediately to explore the famous Syrian capital. We walked through the busy streets and congested traffic, passed by the citadel, stroll through a covered souk, and at last reached the gate of the magnificent Umayyad Mosque, probably one of the most holiest Islamic sites in the world. The marble floor of the entry courtyard is clean and smooth. Like others, we took off our shoes, wandered in the courtyard and admired the two beautiful fountains.

The Umayyad Mosque was built in early 8th century by the Umayyad Caliphate at the shrine where Christian and Muslim pilgrims came to pay respect to St. John the Baptist. The small shrine which housed the head of St. John the Baptist still exists today within the Mosque. Inside the Mosque, it was fairly easy to locate the shrine of St. John the Baptist. It was kept in an elegant Classical structure with green-glazed archways on all four sides. Also kept in the Mosque included the head of Husayn, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad.

After a brief visit of the interior, we walked out to the courtyard and found our way to the Mausoleum of Saladin, the famous and powerful Muslim knight who fought off the Crusades and recaptured Palestine from the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Mausoleum is a small stone building in which a large coffin covered with green textile is placed at the centre.

2006.05.14_Palmyra

2010-11-09T00:46:00.004-05:00

Photos: Tetrapylon, Funerary Temple, Funerary Temple and Citadel beyond, Theatre, Monumental Arch and Colonnade Street.

We get up 05:30 in the morning, and left Citadel Hotel at 06:00. We spent about three hours to tour the ruins in the morning sun. Named "Bride of the Desert", Palmyra lies on an ancient desert trade route between Homs in the west and Dura-Europos in the east. From Homs merchants could go further west to Tyre, a large port city at today's Lebanon with all sort of trade routes in the Mediterranean; and from Dura-Europos, the trade route ran eastern along the Euphrates, passing by cities in the Mesopotamia such as Babylon, then to the Persian Gulf, where access to the Indian Ocean and China could be made. Palmyra gained significance after the Nabatean Empire collapsed in AD 106, when earlier trading usually went through the southern routes across Arabia and converged at Petra before reaching the Mediterranean. In the first century AD, Palmyra became part of the Roman Empire and one of the wealthiest cities in Near East. However by mid third century, as the Sassanid Empire emerged in the lands of Persia and beyond, and disrupted trading along the Silk Road, Palmyra's fortunate turned to a gradual decline.

We left the ruins at 08:45, and headed to the post office to mail out some postcards. We dropped by the Palmyra Museum to see the mummies, and headed over to the storefront of Pancake House to wait for our prearranged transportation that would send us to the closest bus station. To much of our surprise a pickup truck came instead of a mini-van. So we all sat down at the back of the pickup truck for the 5-minute journey in the Syria desert. The truck took us to a local tea-house. Nothing here resembled a bus station, but it was the right place where we hopped on the regional bus that bounded to the Syrian capital Damascus. After about 3.5 hours we finally arrived at the renowned Middle Eastern city of Damascus.

2006.05.13_Palmyra Funeral Towers and Temple of Bel

2010-11-08T23:49:00.003-05:00

At around 14:30 we finally arrived at Palmyra, the famous desert oasis of magnificent ruins from the time dated back to Alexander the Great. We checked in at Citadel Hotel. The staff asked if we wanted to hire a car to visit the tomb towers, and we agreed. We stepped out to the nearby Pancake House to get some snack. Later we found out that there was supposed to be student discount for the transportation. We asked the hotel staff again at Citadel and after some bargaining he finally agreed to offer us discount. At the village museum we bought the tickets for the tomb towers, and then the six of us squeezed into a small red car for the tombs.

Our hired guide from the museum waited for us at the entrance of one tower tomb. He told us some history, and unlocked the door of a well preserved tower for our visit. Many towers in the valley are badly damaged by earthquakes throughout the centuries. The one we visited was a rare exception. Inside we could see the slots on the walls where coffins were once placed. We walked up to the third level, saw many sculptural portraits of the deceased, beautiful and colourful fresco of stars and constellations on the ceiling. After, we visited an underground tomb in which fresco is still well preserved. I can recognized scenes of the Trojan War with Achilles and Odysseus on one of the fresco. Tower tombs at Palmyra are unique examples of Classical necropolis. Some tower tombs can be dated back to the Hellenistic period. Inside there is a narrow staircase that can reach several floors high. Dead bodies were placed on landings and sealed with a sculptural portrait. Some of the larger towers could hold up to 400 corpses.

After the tombs, we had a moment to visit the Temple of Bel. It is the single largest building in Palmyra, and one of the largest temple complex in the Classical world. Bel was the main god of Babylon. The temple was erected in the first century, with influences from various roots from Classical Greece and Rome, Ptolemaic Egypt, to Syria itself. We bumped into the previous guide again, and he told us some brief information about the temple. We walked through the main gate into a huge courtyard that was once surrounded by Corinthian colonnades. At the centre stands the ruin of the Sanctuary of Bel, where we could admire some detail relief carving.

At last, our little red car drove us up to the citadel behind the ruins of Palmyra, where we could watch the sunset. Nothing spectacular but it was a decent way to end the day. In the evening we headed back to Pancake House again for dinner.

2006.05.13_Beehive Houses

2010-11-08T23:04:00.003-05:00

Our second stop was the Village of Twalid Dabaghein where we visited the unique vernacular architecture - beehive houses. Beehive houses are conical houses made with mud bricks. The mass of the masonry and the high volume of the dome are perfect to keep out the summer heat. We were invited to enter one of the houses for tea. Chickens and a herd of sheep wandered in front of the house. Our host showed us his guest-book and offered us mint tea. As we passed around the sugar and tea pot, I began to observe the interior of the beehive house. The interior was painted mainly in white. A fan was hung from the very top of the spiral brickwork. Several decorations were also hung on the wall, including a poster of former Syrian president Hafez al-Assad and a few textile works. As I finished writing my comment in the guest book, an old man who was the host's neighbour and his young daughter came in the house to chat with us. I brought out my sketchbook and let the old man and his daughter to write something down. I showed them a photo of my birthplace Hong Kong, and they seemed very delighted and curious. That's it. We had some pleasant moments in the beehive house, which was actually quite cool despite the late morning sun outside. At the end, we left some tips for the host.

2006.05.13_Qasr Ibn Wardan

2010-11-08T00:23:00.006-05:00

On our return to Cairo Hotel, we passed by a house called as the Palestinian Institute. There was a mural on its front facade, expressing its manifesto in English.

We returned to Cairo Hotel and joined another organized tour by the hotel, a journey that would take us from Hama to our next destination, the desert oasis of Palmyra. The first stop on our way was the Roman ruins of Qasr Ibn Wardan. In the middle of an arid landscape where ancient Romans marked their eastern boundary, Emperor Justinian built this enormous complex in the 6th century attempting to impress the desert nomads. A mixture of local materials and Byzantine styles imported from Constantinople created a magnificent architecture that once encompassed a palace, church and barracks. To the Romans, this site was once a beacon on the border that separated civilized and the uncivilized world. The strips of dark basalt stones on the facades create a strong sense of horizontality against the desert horizon, articulating the grandeur of both the structure and the vastness of the surrounding landscape.

2006.05.13_Norias of Hama

2010-11-08T00:01:00.004-05:00

At 06:30 in the morning, HC, MC and I went to check out the famous norias of Hama. We walked through the old town of Hama and reached a bridge where we could take some good photos of the enormous noria structures. The norias are no longer in use for practical purpose. Though in ancient times they were essential to bring water uphill to irrigate farms.

2006.05.12_Krak des Chevaliers

2010-11-07T23:37:00.003-05:00

Before reaching the castle gate, our tour van stopped at a lookout along the highway for us to take photo of the famous Krak des Chevaliers. Krak des Chevaliers, a Crusader castle near the city of Homs, is probably one of the best preserved crusader castles in the world. Even from a distance we could already appreciate the intact outer walls and guard towers of the fortress. The strong castle was protected by two layers of fortress wall. We entered the complex through an entrance in the lower level, then passed through a vaulted tunnel, and reached the inside of the fortress walls. Another tunnel led us up to the core area of the castle where there was a church/mosque. We climbed the guard towers one by one for the outside scenery. We spent about 1.5 hour at Krak des Chevaliers, and it was certainly one of the most impressive fortresses I had ever visited.

The earlier Muslim fortress on the site of Krak des Chevaliers was captured by the First Crusaders. Later, Krak des Chevaliers was subsequently expanded and became the headquarters of Knights Hospitaller during the Crusades. In 1271 the castle was finally fell to the hands of the Muslims and the Gothic church in the complex was turned into a mosque.

Krak des Chevaliers was certainly the day's highlight. After the visit, our van headed back to Cairo Hotel in Hama. In the evening we had fried and grilled chicken for dinner again.

2006.05.12_Musyaf Castle

2010-11-07T23:26:00.002-05:00

After Apamea, our van took us to the castle at Musyaf. Situated on a hilltop, the Musyaf Castle was built in Medieval times during the Byzantine era. The castle was conquered and controlled subsequently by the Byzantines, Muslims, and Ottomans. We only made a short stay at the castle before leaving for the biggest highlight of the day, the Krak des Chevaliers.

2006.05.12_Apamea

2010-11-07T22:43:00.003-05:00

From Aleppo we took a morning bus to Hama, a beautiful city south of Aleppo and north of Damascus. Under the morning sun and the shade of the palms, olive trees and fruit trees, Hama seemed to me an ideal Middle Eastern city. At first we had a little trouble to get the right orientation. A taxi driver came by and helped us to find the right direction to the clock tower at the town centre and our Cairo Hotel.

Cairo Hotel was clean and the staff was friendly. We joined one of their tour for the Crusade castles and archaeological ruins in the region. Our first stop was Apamea. The ruins at Apamea was massive. From the km-long colonnade we could truly appreciate the scale of the ancient city of Apamea, which was once a significant Hellenistic city with a population of half a million, ruled under the Seleucid kings before Roman conquest. Because of its strategical location on the routes of commerce, the city flourished in ancient times.

2006.05.11_Aleppo

2010-11-07T00:40:00.002-04:00

After our extremely lucky hitchhike experience, we had a quick bite at a cafe across from the citadel. After lunch, I split from the group and headed back to the souk to get another necklace, took some photos of vernacular architecture, went to the main post office to buy some stamp collections, spent some time at an internet cafe, and at 16:45 I reunited with the group at the National Museum. We toured the museum for roughly an hour, saw many ancient artifacts from the region, including the Cuneiform script from Mari, one of the earliest written language of human civilization in history. For dinner we had some fried and grilled chicken, nothing fancy, but filling.

2006.05.11_Qala at' Samaan

2010-11-06T23:52:00.004-04:00

From the bus station of Aleppo we hired a mircobus to Qala at'Samaan, the famous ruins of the four basilicas built in the Middle Age dedicated to Saint Simeon Stylites. Saint Simeon Stylites was a renowned Christian saint lived in the 4th century. He gained his fame by living and preaching on a small platform on a pillar for over 30 years, whose remains still stood in the middle of the ruins at Qala at'Samaan. The ruin was rather remote, approximately 2 hour of drive north of Aleppo. To me, the ruined archways and columns of the early Medieval basilicas were very photogenic.

We finished our visit at around 11:00. As we walked to the exit, we didn't have a clue of how we can get back to Aleppo. There didn't seem any public transportation in the area, and we were up on a hill at a distance from the highway. At the main parking lot, I decided to test our luck to hitchhike, and of course, since there were six of us it wouldn't be easy. I took a deep breathe and headed towards a big tour bus in which the driver was reading newspaper. I tried to communicate with him in English and luckily he understood my request. He led me to the tour guide and the group of Spanish tourists. They agreed to take us along all at once as they were leaving for Aleppo as well. They were not in a big group, around 15, mainly in their 50s, all looked educated and kind of wealthy. The bus was the most luxurious tour bus we had ever seen, with large comfortable chairs and a banquette seating area at the back where we could sit comfortably. Their bus even dropped by another ancient site along the way, and we were invited to go along with them to visit the sight briefly. On the bus, the group was kind enough to offer us biscuits and snacks. The bus was so comfortable that at the end we all fell asleep. When we get up we had already back at the Citadel of Aleppo.

2006.05.10_Evening in Aleppo

2010-11-06T23:47:00.003-04:00

We ended our day with some pleasant walk in the evening. After dinner at a local eatery, we strolled through some busy retail streets before returning to Spring Flower Hostel.

2006.05.10_Aleppo Souk

2010-11-06T23:45:00.003-04:00

Not far from the citadel is the main souk of Aleppo. It is consisted of a series of interconnected covered markets. Similar to many Middle Eastern souks, the Aleppo Souk is vast and labyrinth like. We had a tasty hot omelet. MC and I bought a few metal necklaces from a curious young vendor in the jewelery section who kept on asking us questions about Hong Kong, Canada, and so on. Everybody we talked to in Syria throughout our week-long stay in the country were very friendly and curious. Surely they didn't look like extremists of the "evil axis".

2006.05.10_Aleppo Citadel

2010-11-06T23:13:00.002-04:00

From the Grand Mosque, we headed east and shortly arrived at the gate of the mighty citadel that sits on a hilltop overlooking the city. We crossed the moat and visited the citadel, which today largely lies in ruins. The citadel was once a powerful stronghold of the Muslims to defend their homeland against the Crusaders. Today, a number of domed stone structure remain standing.

2006.05.10_Aleppo and Grand Mosque

2010-11-06T00:27:00.002-04:00

We arrived at Hatay at 08:00. Immediately we hopped onto another bus for Aleppo in Syria. Going through the customs and passport control was easier than I thought. Once across the border to Syria, I finally felt that I had arrived in the Middle East. Aleppo is actually quite close to the Turkish border. It was dusty, crowded, monotonous, and unique. Once we stepped out of the bus, we were immediately approached by a tourist agent, who forced us into his office. He asked where we were going to stay the night, and once he knew that we were heading to Spring Flower Hostel, he enthusiastically picked up the phone and called the hostel. At least we managed to convince him that we rather go to the hostel by foot.

We were disappointed at Spring Flower. The hostel was simply didn't live up to expectations after one has seen its photos on their website. A few minutes of rest was enough to revive our energy. We walked to the Old City towards the famous Grand Mosque of Aleppo. Before visiting the mosque, we picked up some kebabs on the way.

At the gate of the Mosque, we took off our shoes and entered the marble entrance courtyard, where pilgrims and tourist agents mingled together. Inside the mosque, we found the coffin that preserves the remains of the father of St. John the Baptist. We stayed for a while and left for the citadel to the east.

2006.05.09_White Valley

2010-11-06T00:07:00.003-04:00

After a brief rest, we ventured out to tour Cappadocia for the last time. This time, we headed towards the romantic White Valley. It wasn't a easy walk. There were places where we needed to climb and jump and cross farming fields.

At 20:15 in the evening, we left Goreme for Kayseri, where we switched to another bus which departed for Hatay (Antioch or Antakya) at midnight.

2006.05.09_Pigeon Valley

2010-11-05T23:52:00.004-04:00

The weather was poor when we get up. We didn't head out until 11:00am. MC decided not to hike with us this morning. Instead, she stayed somewhere in Goreme waiting for us. The rest of us walked southwest from Elifstar to the Pigeon Valley. We hiked through the Pigeon Valley in 1.5 hour, passed through a number of manmade caves, pigeon holes and spectacular landscape. It began to rain again as we reached Uchisar. We had no choice but to stop at a cafe. After the rain, we hiked back to Elifstar.

2006.05.08_Sunset in Cappadocia

2010-11-05T23:39:00.002-04:00

Magnificent sunset to end the day.

2006.05.08_Caravanserai and Fairy Chimneys

2010-11-04T00:39:00.005-04:00

After Yaprakhisar, the tour bus took us to a pottery shop. HC had his chance to try out pottery making using the turntable. He made nothing but a donut shape mold. A brief stop at the nearby Agzikarahan Caravanserai. The ancient complex was built in the 11th century as a travel establishment for Silk Road caravans.

Lastly, the bus brought us to the final destination, which was a site full of fairy chimneys. The guide Shalif described the formation of those mushroom-like rock towers as a product of volcanic actions and rain erosion. Surreal curvatures under the late afternoon sun. A photogenic place it was.

2006.05.08_Underground City, Ihlara Valley and Yaprakhisar Village

2010-11-04T00:03:00.004-04:00

At 09:30 we joined a local bus tour called the Greenline. The first stop was the famous underground cities of Derinkuyu. With 11 levels and roughly 85m at its deepest, Derinkuyu is the deepest underground city in the region. The guide explained that since the periods of Hatti and Hittite, people in Cappadocia had recognized the softness of the volcanic rock tufa and began to dig and carve to build. In many cases like the Derinkuyu, the underground cities were gradually developed over many generations and greatly expanded to the current scale during the Byzantine time. Ancient citizens often stayed underground for months during wars. Ventilation shafts, food storage, kitchens, and other essential amenities were provided, and so as underground church. We stayed at the underground city for about an hour.

The tour continued to the 1.5 hour hike at Ihlara Valley, a lush green gorge carved out by a stream. It was a pleasant walk along the stream. Along the cliffs on both sides, caves and pigeon holes could be seen everywhere. At the end of the hike, we visited a cave church, and then headed our way to a local restaurant for lunch. After lunch, we arrived at the village of Yaprakhisar, which is often mistakenly recognized as the filming site of one of the Star Wars movie. Local women and shepherds sat on the slope. Stone houses and caves dotted the hill slope, topped with some bizarre looking rock formations that remind people the landscape of a faraway planet.

2006.05.07_Goreme

2010-11-03T00:20:00.003-04:00

After the Open Air Museum, we decided to visit the Rose and Red Valley. Soon enough, the weather changed dramatically and we found ourselves walking in a thunder storm. We ran into a wooden shelter near Goreme, where a large group of football (soccer) players were also sheltering from the rain. Luckily the storm didn't last long. We gave up the hike and returned to Elifstar to get change. Rested for a short while, MC discovered that she'd lost her watch, probably at the wooden shed where we sheltered from the rain. SH and I went to the shed with her. Fortunately she found her watch at the shed. On our way back, the three of us walked up the hill to the lookout we visited in the morning. It wasn't the most beautiful sunset. Though after the rain, everything seemed refreshing and delightful. By the time we returned to Elifstar, dinner prepared by Jacky was almost ready.

2006.05.07_Open Air Museum, Goreme

2010-11-02T23:56:00.002-04:00

We continued to head north to our second destination of the day, the Goreme Open Air Museum, a site of many cave dwellings and cave churches. There are a few fine example of Byzantine cave paintings well preserved. The site was really crowded with student groups and local tourists. Many secondary school students were curious about us and wanted to take pictures with us. It was pretty fun to chat with them in simple English.

2006.05.07_Love Valley

2010-11-02T23:42:00.006-04:00

A short walk to the east from Goreme brought us to the "Love Valley", a little valley with really bizarre fairy chimneys, earth towers capped with basalt. We pretty much had the valley by ourselves, except a few hikers occasionally walked by.

2006.05.07_Elifstar

2010-11-02T23:19:00.006-04:00

Our bus arrived in Goreme at around 08:00. Surprisingly the bus went all the way to the village centre, instead of otogar at Nevsehir. Arriving in the area of Cappadocia in early morning felt like waking up on another planet. Cave dwellings here and there. A few tourists and some souvenir shops. Minimal traffic and occasional herds of sheep. But it was the bizarre rock formations, some of which towered straight up to the sky that captured everyone's attention.

We checked in at our hotel Elifstar, another fun of Cappodocia: to stay in cave dwellings. The owner Jacky and her cat were both very friendly. Jacky pulled out a map and showed us various hiking routes around the area, and recommended a lookout spot. It did offer a fine view of the village of Goreme.

2006.05.06_Hierapolis

2010-11-02T00:18:00.006-04:00

Behind the pools lies a Roman ruins of Hierapolis, which included Roman houses, public buildings, baths, theatre and a large necropolis. In Roman times, people believed that the hot springs in the pools possessed healing power. A town was gradually formed behind the pools as the healing centre in the region. Though judging from the extensiveness of the necropolis (cemetery), the hot springs obviously didn't heal all the patients who came from every corner of the empire. We toured around the Roman ruins for about an hour. HC, AK and I decided to leave the site via a narrow path that winded down the valley. It was a cool short hike. It felt like walking in midair.

We stopped by the garden below Pamukkale, and then killed some time at an Internet cafe, before hopping onto our bus bounded towards Denizli, where we transferred to another bus for Cappadocia.

2006.05.06_Pamukkale

2010-11-02T00:06:00.003-04:00

Three hours of bus ride took us to Pamukkale. Like everyone else, we came here for the spectacular travertine pools. As we hopped off the bus, we were immediately led to purchase our bus ticket for our next bus trip. Along the path to the pools, we stopped by a small Asian shop for a bowl of spicy Korean noodles. Hundreds of white travertine pools against the hillside was a spectacular sight, while the barefoot uphill hike was quite a torture to AK and me. Shoes are simply not allowed when stepped into the pools, which makes perfect sense, though it really hurt. We were a little disappointed when we saw most pools were drained. Some said the spring has been diverted to some resort spas in the area. Anyhow, distant views towards the valley down below were quite amazing.

2006.05.06_Selcuk

2010-11-01T23:57:00.001-04:00

Farewell Homerous.

2006.05.05_Selcuk

2010-11-01T23:45:00.005-04:00

The surreal afternoon continued as evening approached. At 19:00 we (except AK) were invited to the rooftop patio of Homerous for a glass of wine. How much did I hope that the day could never end. Causal chat with fellow travelers, intimate talk with my travel buddies, sublime view of Selcuk, romantic sunset, refreshing glass of white, gentle breeze, occasional noises of cars and dogs, smell from the kitchen... I thought I was dreaming.

2006.05.05_Selcuk

2010-11-01T23:38:00.002-04:00

After we returned to Homerous, HC and SH borrowed two bikes from the staff and headed out. The rest of us walked causally around the town, and headed over to the citadel area. We didn't go inside. The locals in Selcuk were very friendly and they all seemed relaxed and contented under the afternoon sun. It was a surreal afternoon. Everything just seemed so perfect, at that moment at that particular place, while we had no worries from school or work, nowhere to rush to, nothing to really care about.

2006.05.05_Ephesus Black and White

2010-11-01T23:34:00.004-04:00

I shot a roll of black and white at Ephesus.

2006.05.05_Ephesus

2010-11-01T23:20:00.005-04:00

We had a great fruit breakfast in the morning. After breakfast, a staff of Homerous drove us to a bank where we exchanged money, and then to the world renowned archaeological ruins of Ephesus. Ephesus (Efes) was one of the greatest Greek and Roman cities in the Classical era. It is a very popular attraction in this part of Turkey, thanks to its close proximity to the cruise port and airport in the resort town of Kusadasi. The magnificent facade of the Library of Celsus is pretty much the signature image of Classical ruins in Turkey. It was the time in the year where poppies blossomed allover the ruins. We split apart as we wandered the site. MC and I walked around the site, up to the temple and council areas, and then returned to the Library of Celsus where I sat down and make two sketches. At 17:00 we met up once again and headed to the main entrance where the staff of Homerous promised to pick us up.

2006.05.04_Bergama

2010-11-01T22:47:00.003-04:00

After Pergamon, our taxi took us to the Red Basilica in Bergama. Originally a temple for the Egyptian god Serapis, the basilica was later converted into a Christian church in the Byzantine era. The brick structure itself is massive and red in colour. Nothing is left in the interior but we could still sense its grandeur from the remains of archways and massive masonry walls. We stayed for roughly half an hour. We had a quick bite of meat pancakes in an eatery. The town was pretty laid back, with donkeys passing by from time to time, and skillful artisans sewing carpets at shopfronts along the main road. We ventured further up the hill behind Bergama, passed by a military base, to the ruins of Asclepion. Asclepion was a medical complex in Roman times. We could still recognize the theatre, market, and homes in the ruins. After a full day of sightseeing, we headed back to Izmir and then to Selcuk, where we planned to spend the night.

We arrived at Selcuk at around 21:00. At the station, a guy named Michael approached us to sell bus tickets. At last, he convinced us to purchase the tickets to Pammukale for the day after tomorrow. The van from Homerous Pension finally arrived and took us to the beautifully decorated guesthouse. Unique furniture in every room and common area, and friendly staff throughout the establishment, including our host Oya.

2006.05.04_Pergamon

2010-07-18T01:46:00.004-04:00

At 09:00 we arrived at the bus station of Izmir, and immediately, we hopped onto a bus to Bergama, the town where the famous Classical ruined city of Pergamon lies. We hired a taxi from Bergama's otogar (bus station) to the ruins. I was quite excited about seeing the ruined city of Pergamon, largely due to my 2003 visit of Berlin's Pergamon Museum, where Pergamon's high altar is restored and displayed in a majestic way. The site of the Acropolis pretty much in ruins, with a few notable structures, including the Trajaneum (where a headless marble statue in Roman armor stood in a courtyard). The most impressive structure in Pergamon is the Greek theatre, claiming to be the steepest theatre in the ancient world. At the theatre's lower end, we stopped by the Temple of Dionysus, paying a little respect to the God of pleasure and wine, before leaving the Acropolis.

2006.05.03_Efes Beer and Turkish Hip-hop

2010-06-13T22:21:00.009-04:00

Photos: Beer pad; Efes Beer (Photo courtesy: AK); SH and Me at Cheers Bar (AK); HC, SH and Me at Cheers Bar (AK)

We arrived at Eminonu Ferry Dock in the afternoon. We attempted to visit the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, but unfortunately we were too late. We headed back to the neighborhood of our hostel, and hopped into a bar called Cheers Bar for some beer. We killed some time at the bar before heading back to Sultan Hostel for our backpacks. At 19:00 we took a few pictures with the hostel staff and left the hostel.

As we walked by the Blue Mosque, we saw two kids, perhaps early teens, having fun with themselves dancing at the outdoor seating area in front of the monument. They showed great interest in us after we told them that SH knows Chinese Hip-hop. We fooled around with them for a bit as night fell upon.

After some fun with the kids, we took the T4 bus from Aya Sophia to the Taksim Square. We headed over to the office of Kamil Koc and waited for the departure of our first night bus in Turkey.

Photo: MC and Turkish Hiphop(Photo courtesy: AK)

2006.05.03_Cats at Anadolu Kavagi

2010-06-13T22:07:00.003-04:00

2006.05.03_Anadolu Kavagi

2010-06-13T21:24:00.005-04:00

We get off the boat at Anadolu Kavagi. The first thing that caught our attention was the street food around the dock area. We get into a seafood eatery, climbed the stairs to the upper floor, picked a table, and ordered a number of dishes for lunch: fish buns, fried mussels, fried calamari, etc. After lunch, we ascended to the hill behind the village. We reached the ruins of a citadel, took some photos, and relaxed ourselves at an open area overlooking the Bosphorus where it reached the Black Sea in a distance. SH, HC, and AK climbed up the ruins to take some "funny photos", before we headed back to the village. As we waited for our returning boat, we saw a few fishermen in descent blazers and trousers, fixing a fishing net on a boat.

2006.05.03_Bosphorus

2010-06-13T20:07:00.004-04:00

Photos: Riverside Timber Mansion, Under Bridge Architecture, Contemporary and Historical Buildings along Bosphorus, Riverside Luxury Mansions, Riverside shelters for the Poor.

'If the city speaks of defeat, destruction, deprivation, melancholy, and poverty, the Bosphorus sings of life, pleasure, and happiness.' Orhan Pamuk

SH and I bought some stamps at Istanbul main post office. Then we headed down to the ferry dock at Eminonu for the 10:30 cruise up the Bosphorus towards the Black Sea, for the village of Anadolu Kavagi. It was a pleasant boat trip through the city. Our boat sailed under several large bridges, passed by a number of luxury riverside communities, as well as poor neighborhoods. The boat stopped by a number of ferry docks in the city. The countryside and fishing villages gradually took over.

The scenery of the Bosphorus reminds me of the scenes in Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Distant. Especially the last scene when the protagonist sits by the Bosphorus along and watches the ships go by. During the boat trip, we didn't have the chance to contemplate the distant water traffic and indulged in solitude. We did manage to witness how busy the Bosphorus is, including some really large ships.

'To be traveling through the middle of a city as great, historic, and forlorn as Istanbul, and yet to feel the freedom of the open sea - that is the thrill of a trip along the Bosphorus. Pushed along by its strong currents, invigorated by the sea air that bears no trace of the dirt, smoke, and noise of the crowded city that surrounds it, the traveler begins to feel that, in spite of everything, this is still a place in which he can enjoy solitude and find freedom.' Orhan Pamuk

2006.05.02_Beyazid II Külliye

2010-06-12T22:14:00.006-04:00

Photo: Road to Beyazid II Külliye, Across the river from Beyazid II Külliye, Arriving at Beyazid II Külliye, Forecourt arcade, Local Woman.

After the mosques, we ventured to a Roman / Byzantine fortress tower. The security guard was kind enough to show us around. When we were done, he suggested we should take a short walk to visit the Beyazid II Külliye.

We followed his instruction, exited the old city, walked on a road for a kilometer or two, before seeing our destination standing beyond a river where a father and son sat under a tree shadow with two fishing poles in hands. A shepherd dog appeared from under the bridge, looked at us at a distance, and ran away. Two men who sat on a pile of dirt at the back of the tractor waved at us as they drove by. The scene was picturesque and romantic. Farmlands, white clouds, and blue sky at the background. The Beyazid II Külliye majestically stood in front of the horizon.

The Beyazid II Külliye was a unique complex consisted of a mosque, a health university, and a hospital in the Ottoman era. Nowadays, part of the hospital complex is turned into a museum where visitors can learn about Ottoman medicine, their health treatment and long-term health facilities. This complex was once a hospital that treat a wide range of health problems, from eye disease to mental illness. It was one of the first example of mental hospital that treated patients with music, sound of water, and scents.

We stayed for quite a while until late afternoon. We hopped onto a minibus that passed by the kulliye to return to the city otogar for our return ride to Istanbul. In Istanbul, we discovered a local eatery at Aksaray called Nederi Urfa. We had some lentil soup, meat kebabs, pizzas, and some dessert, for only 9 TYL each. Pretty good price.

2006.05.02_Mosques of Edirne

2010-06-12T21:09:00.005-04:00

Photos: Ucserefei Camii ceiling, Eski Camii ceiling, Selimiye Camii ceiling, Interiors of Selimiye Camii.

A primary reason of coming to Edirne was to see its architecture. In a few hours we managed to visited three unique mosques and the Bayezid II Külliye Health Museum. We first visited the Ueserefei Camii and Eski Camii, two modest-size mosques with beautiful interior decorations. Mosques are often decorated with abstract patterns and Scripture from the Qu'ran in vivid. It was forbidden to depict realistic portraits of people and animals in a mosque. The carpet floor of the mosques are often made up with many pieces of small carpets put together. Each small carpet is richly decorated with the same pattern, and each is designated for one prayer.

The third mosque we visited was Selimiye Camii, designed by Mimar Sinan in the 16th century. With its 70m minarets, fine interior arrangement, and magnificent tile decorations, the Selimiye is one of the most famous Islamic architecture in Turkey, if not in the entire Muslim world. Sinan himself considered the Selimiye his best work.

Mimar Sinan is often referred to as the most famous architect in the Ottoman Empire. As the chief royal architect for three sultans, his works ranged from mosques to many institutional buildings in the 16th century. Sinan experimented with various configuration of domes, semi-domes and galleries to form a unified dome interior lit with natural light. He also arranged the mosque and other buildings into large complexes known as külliye.

2006.05.02_Edirne

2010-06-12T20:30:00.006-04:00

Photos: Minaret of Selimiye Camii, Byzantine architecture (former Roman baths), Timber house with tin cladding, Little fruit vendor, Streetscape

In the morning, we took the tram and then underground to the main otogar, a large transportation hub where one can get on a coach and go to any destination in Turkey, and even to neighbouring countries. We picked one company (worth the time and effort to check out the options) for Edirne. Bus companies in Turkey come in various price and quality levels. In general, the buses are clean and pleasant, somewhat better than the greyhound coaches in North America.

Edirne is a relaxed city located near the Greek and Bulgarian border. Often regard as the gateway of Turkey, Edirne was once a crucial destination in between Europe and Istanbul. In the 14th and 15 centuries, it even served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire. Significant buildings and mosques dotted all over the old city. We came mainly to see the magnificent Ottoman architecture.

Laid-back, pleasant, some street live but not crowded. Despite its great Ottoman architecture, Edirne felt like an entirely different world than Istanbul.

2006.05.02_Black and White City, Istanbul

2010-06-08T23:17:00.004-04:00

In City of Black-and-White, every speck of grime on the timber sidings of an old house calls on memories of transient splendors of a great city. Filled with houses whose wooden facades have never been painted for decades, contemporary urban landscape becomes a series of age-old postcards, monotonous and serene. Here humble architecture stands unchanged beyond generations.

Morning smoke from the chimney reveals that the crooked timber house is still occupied. Since an earthquake in the 16th century and until the fall of the Ottoman Empire, timber was the primary construction material for vernacular architecture in Istanbul. This house is probably built in the 19th century when influx of refugee flocked to the ancient Ottoman capital, raising the demand for narrower and smaller dwellings in densely populated areas. The cantilever bay on the upper floor, a common architectural feature during that time, reflects the needs to maximize living space and to shelter the pedestrians on the street below. Despite being inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985, Istanbul’s historical areas are continuously facing the threats from urban transformations. Efforts have been made to maintain this historical urban fabric, a provocative setting of melancholy that reminds people of the bygone eras of the empire. Yet, in a city of 11 million inhabitants, Istanbul’s urban evolution has no turning back. Just as one of the locals commented while I was taking the photo, ‘This house will be gone in 2 years. Look at it, it’s crooked! No one wants to live in it.’

2006.05.01_Grand Bazaar, Cemberlitas Hammam, Istanbul

2010-06-08T22:35:00.008-04:00

On our way down the hill we passed by an area full of hardware shops, and then toy shops. Then we found ourselves arrived at the famous Grand Bazaar of Istanbul. We spent over an hour in this gigantic covered market (over 50 covered shopping streets), selling mainly tacky souvenirs, t-shirts, pottery, not-sure-if-they-are-real jeweleries, etc. It was interesting, definitely predated all shopping malls for a few hundred years. Less romantic than the Parisian arcades, but more colourful and lively, if you don't mind the overwhelming touristic atmosphere. Similar to most tourist shopping areas in the world, it was next to impossible to find one-of-a-kind merchandise here. We left the bazaar empty handed.

We took some rest at the hostel after a full day of walking. In the evening, we walked along the main street where the tram ran, and picked a domestic-looking eatery for dinner. Some meat, some Turkish pizza, some plates of salad that half of us didn't try. I guess we worried about the water that they used to clean the vegetables. I guess I had a little.

After dinner, we walked over to Cemberlitas Hammam for a Turkish bath. It's not bad. Each of us spent 25 Turkish TYL for a service that included a sort-of-private change room (one for HC, SH and me, and another one for the 3 girls), self-serve shower (which we skipped entirely because we had no idea where to begin), body scrub, foam clean, and then short massage. In the change room on the 2nd level, we took off our clothes, wrapped a towel, and walked downstairs into the male shower room. We walked right into the steamy dome-ceiling male bathing hall. It was full of bathers. Some were being served by the staff at the central marble platform, while many sat aside at the individual cleaning niche with a small bucket in hand, soaping and rinsing and chatting. There were also more private washing chambers but we didn't bother to go in. We did what the others were doing, rinsing ourselves with hot and cold water at the perimeter of the big circular dome-ceiling bathing hall. After a while, we felt it was time and one by one we lay down on the central marble platform, awaiting for our turn for the staff to "clean" our bodies. HC was the first to be served, and then SH, and I was the last. Each of us was served by a different staff. They told me that mine was the "best". I wasn't sure, but I was pretty happy about what he had done to my body. Basically I was scrubbed with a rough towel, then rubbed with a soap, then came some massage, punches, pulls, hands and feet, arms and legs, so on and so forth. When we were done, we went back upstairs to get change, and went downstairs to the lobby to wait for our female buddies. At the lobby, each of us was served with a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. A nice closure to a exhausting day. As we strolled back to our hostel, I could sense my muscles relaxed, and skin smoothed. I could truly feel the gentle night breezes touched upon my skin. Quite a sensational feeling.

2006.05.01_Rustern Pasa, Suleymaniye, Istanbul

2010-06-07T23:37:00.004-04:00

Photos: Rustern Pasa, Suleymaniye exterior, Suleymaniye interior, View of the Distant Bosphorus, University Students at Suleymaniye

After lunch, we found our way to visit a small mosque called Rustern Pasa Camii, and a larger Suleymaniye Camii, which is located on a hill. At the back courtyard, there was a really nice view overlooking down to the Bosphorus. Two young guys, handsome looking, came over to us and practiced their English with MC, and then with all of us. Really nice guys, cheerful, a little shy and brave at the same time.

2006.05.01_Topkapi Palace, Istanbul

2010-06-07T23:18:00.010-04:00

At 09:00, we arrived at Topkapi Palace. We began our visit from the Harem, and then the Palace Courtyards, and finally the Treasury. By the time we reached the Treasury, the Palace was packed with tourists. The Treasury contains some really interesting artifacts, including the sword of Prophet Mohammad.

For several centuries the Topkapi had been the royal palace for the Ottoman Empire. Today it's a World Heritage site and a magnificent example of Ottoman architecture. The history of the Ottomans has always fascinated me. From a groups of nomadic tribes (突厥) who dominated the Central Asian Steppes, migrated west to the Islamic Empire and became Islamic warlords of the Near East, and then established their own empire and culture somewhere between Europe and Asia. Their culture was a true fusion.

We had lunch at a restaurant called Hamdi Et Lokantasi, located on the rooftop of a century old building. We had some "authentic" Turkish food, such as Turkish pizza and eggplant kebab. The eggplant with mince lamb meat, grilled to charcoal black. The taste wasn't bad, it's just something I can't have everyday.

2006.04.30_Beyoglu, Istanbul

2010-06-07T22:38:00.008-04:00

Photos: Taksim Square, Police at Taksim Square, Fish Market near Galata Bridge, Fish Market from Galata Bridge, Whirl Dance

We passed by the Galata Tower, continued walking north until we reached Taksim Square. We chose a cafe, climbed up to the rooftop patio, relaxed ourselves, each with a cup of coffee in hand, took some photos, and watched the pedestrian flows on the square for quite some time. Noisy and colourful, this area is one of the busiest shopping district in the city. In the evening, we bought Wednesday's bus tickets for Izmir, and had a fishy dinner at Rekes Restaurant near the Taksim. After dinner, we passed by a fish market by the water. Business was still strong, under the illumination from the bright bulbs that reminded me of the similar light fixtures, sometimes with plastic red covers, that was pretty common at every street market in Hong Kong when I was a little kid. It wasn't bedtime yet when we arrived back in Suleymaniye. We ended up going to the nearby Cafe Mesale, a place near our hostel that constantly advertised on their whirling dervish dance performance. Not until we sat down that we realized the dance was only performed by a single dancer, kind of amateurish, on a portable stage in the middle of an outdoor terrace, around which dozens of tables were filled with tourists, all hidden in some sort of fruity smoke. We picked our table, selected our favorite fruit favour, pulled out the individually packaged mouth piece, and took our turn to experience shisha. When did the dancer finish his dervish dance performance? I don't recall anyone noticed. Though I remember seeing him spending most of his time sitting at the edge of the stage, talking and laughing loudly with the musicians. He had his fun. And so did all of us, and all the tourists surrounding us.

2006.04.30_Basilica Cistern, Yemi Camii, Galata Bridge, Istanbul

2010-06-07T01:20:00.011-04:00

Photos: Basilica Cistern, naan maker, spice market, Yemi Camii, Galata Bridge.

After Blue Mosque, we headed to the nearby Basilica Cistern to visit the ancient underground cistern where pagan ornaments, dim flood lights, and schools of swimming fish complete a mysterious setting. An ancient cistern built probably in early Byzantine times, abandoned and then forgotten. Just then from time to time there were stories about how people in the Middle Age could dig a hole in their basement and then fished from there. Just incredible.

Down a diagonal street from the cistern entrance, we had lunch at an eatery where a lady prepared naan breads in the forecourt. After lunch, we passed by Hippodrome, made a brief visit at Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, picked up some Turkish Delight at Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir, popped into the Yemi Camii, visited the nearby spice market, and crossed the Galata Bridge where many tested their luck of catching a fish in the Bosphorus.

2006.04.30_Blue Mosque, Istanbul

2010-06-07T00:52:00.006-04:00

The Hagia Sophia is grand. The Blue Mosque is poetic.

7 years, 5 months and 6 days was what it took Sultan Ahmet I and his architect Sedefkar Mehmet Agha to complete the building. The mosque with 6 minarets. An urban artifact constantly reminds modern citizens of Istanbul of their glorious past.

Photo courtesy: N.U.

2006.04.30_Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

2010-06-07T00:18:00.011-04:00

Our first destination in Istanbul was Hagia Sophia. The icon of the Byzantine Empire, the equivalent to grandeur. Built upon Constantine's earlier version, Justinian's Hagia Sophia was unique in style, enormous in size, and for many generations of the Byzantine court, the white-elephant to maintain. One of the biggest achievements for architects Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus was the gigantic 100-feet dome without resting on any solid wall support. The cathedral was completed in AD 537, only five and a half years after Justinian went ahead with the project. The iconic cathedral Hagia Sophia of Constantinople was later converted into a mosque when the Muslims conquered the city and transformed Constantinople to nowadays' Istanbul.

After seeing some of the remarkable mosaics on the upper level, we left Hagia Sophia, crossed a small park, and arrived at the entrance of the equally famous Blue Mosque.

2006.04.29_Athens, Istanbul

2010-06-06T19:55:00.007-04:00

At 14:00 we arrived at Athens. We took the underground and get off at Victoria for the National Archaeological Museum. After a brief visit, we headed back to the airport for our evening flight to Istanbul.

20:30, light rain. Underground, and then tram. At 22:00 we arrived at the City's historical heart, Suleymaniye. Istanbul is a crowded city, with a population of around 10 million. Everywhere there were shops and restaurants. We passed by Aksaray, a relatively modern district where local eateries lined up streets after street. In contrast, the tourist Suleymaniye was relatively quiet when we get there. Maybe it was a little late.

Blue Mosque at night. That was the first welcoming monument of old Istanbul. Our hostel was only a block or two behind the magnificent mosque. After checked in at Sultan Hostel, we found a local eatery nearby and dropped in for a quick bite. Nothing special about the food, but at least the restaurant opened late. That's that. Our first night in Turkey.

2006.04.29_On the Plane

2010-06-06T19:24:00.007-04:00

Photo: plane landed in Zurich; shopping and cafe concourse, Zurich International Airport

Toronto to Zurich. Zurich to Athens.

We stayed at Zurich's International Airport for a while. The new 5th expansion done by Grimshaw is very nice. We didn't stay long before boarding onto the place for Athens, the jumping stone before our true Middle East journey.

Thanks to Prof van Pelt for Istanbul: Memories and the Cities by Orhan Pamuk. The autobiographical work truly wet my appetite on Istanbul. The City's complex memories and its melancholy setting. What about contemporary Middle East, a place to many only exists on international news headlines? This is my grad trip, sort of like a conclusion of a previous chapter and an introduction of a new stage in my life. That's something I didn't realize back then in 2006, but I am aware of it now.

Middle East 2006

2010-06-06T19:01:00.006-04:00

I rediscovered the trip diary of my Middle East journey a few weeks ago. It was one of the most remarkable travel experience I had and I figured it would be a pity if I didn't included it on my blog.

40 days. Four plus two countries. Six people, and then three, and then one. Once in a lifetime experience.

View Middle East 2006 in a larger map

06/05 - Farewell Paris. Farewell Continental Europe.

2010-06-05T22:42:00.003-04:00

In the afternoon, we spent some time at the Cite de l'Architecture at Trocadero, saw an exhibition on the proposals by ten famous architectural firms that aim to transform Paris and improved the urban mobility of the Parisian suburbs. We also spent some time at the Maison Europeenne de La Photographie, and was lucky enough to see a show on our favorite photographer Henry Cartier Bresson.

We arrived at Gard du Nord at around 18:30 and hopped onto the Eurostar for London. We bid farewell to Paris and Continental Europe altogether. That concludes our five-week trip of Euro 2009.

06/05 - Black and White Paris 2

2010-06-05T22:37:00.001-04:00

Our last day of the trip. Flâneur in Paris.

05/05 - Black and White Paris 1

2010-06-05T22:29:00.002-04:00

Today we did some shopping, visited Fondation Cartier, strolled around Saint Germain taking pictures, had a Lao food for dinner at 13th Arrondissement, and chilled out at Trocadero in the evening.

05/05 - Fondation Cartier, Paris

2010-06-05T22:20:00.003-04:00

We made a brief visit at the Fondation Cartier, a contemporary art gallery designed by Jean Nouvel. A unique place to house art, with extensive use of living walls and high glazed walls. It is a nicely designed building with pleasant exterior spaces surrounding the main building. The visit was brief, but worthwhile.

Putting a Face on the Gulf Oil Leak

2010-06-05T21:44:00.003-04:00

New York Times photo blog LENS recently published some striking photos that reveal the environmental impact of the oil lead at Gulf of Mexico: Putting a Face on the Gulf Oil Leak

05/05 - Parisian Treat

2010-05-08T00:47:00.003-04:00

This was our last full day in Paris. We couldn't resist anymore. Highly recommend:

Cake - Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki (a Japanese/French patisserie shop)

"One of the best ice-cream in the world" - La Flore en l'Île

04/05 - Void

2010-05-08T00:39:00.003-04:00

Couldn't really remember what we've done on this day, probably shopping, shopping and then shopping. The above photos show the balcony of our hotel room. Yes, we switched from our hostel to a budget hotel in Montmartre.