START
OF WORLD TOUR
TURKEY
28/03/2003
Hi all,
Well, end
of an era here - it's my last day as 'customs cara' -I'm off
around the
world for a year! - so delete that email address from your
address
book and add this one in it's place: caramcgloin@hotmail.com
Make sure
you keep in touch!
Cheerio.
Cara XXX
15/04/2003
hy ma and
pa - well we arryved yn turkey a
few hours ago - yt
ys freezyng
- 11
degrees! brrrrr....and somewhere between sydney and london I've managed
to
mysplace
both my jumpers!! I know mum...useless. London was great - a
tropycal
18 degrees - we fought the jet lag and made the most of the 24hours
there -
dyd
a walkyng tour ynto town past buckyngham palace etc..a few beers
wyth my
old boss Dawn..a few more beers at my old haunts followed by a
curry. It
was a good day and Greg loved yt there -
Turkey is
great too - people are as lovely and friendly as ever - it is very
quiet -
the people are feeling the affects of the drop in tourism - everyone
is telling
us that turkey is a safe place to be. Apart from freezing we've
been
brushig
up on our turkysh - yt has all come back to me....so were makyng
lots of
fryends
that way.
apologyes
for the poor punctuatyon - the turkysh keyboard ys a byt of a
steep
learnyng kurb - wve only just managed to locate the space bar!
anyway
talk soon - lot and lots of love Cara XXX
15/04/2003
hiya -
house gone? [ rubble was finally removed ] thats a bit sad huh? oh well good news about
being in the
ottaman palace by christmas - we have been at the grand covered byzarre
all
mornyng and there are so many fantastyc pieces here you could fill
the
house out
with. Tiles, carpets, ornate lanterns, leather poufs for 4 dollars
each {no
not cheap sunburnt thespians, dad} etc...I could spend a fortune!
Let me
know how much you spent on your carpet - so I can work out a good
deal - I'm
a great barterer. I should be able to get your ottaman tiles for
about
10dollars or less each - does that sound reasonable?
Went and
bought a jumper this morning so I am all toasty now - but in the
interim
I've had a relapse of the cold - feeling very ordinary - I guess
30hrs on a
plane doesn't help - nevermind should be able to shake it soon -
Singapore
was a spinout - we walk off the plane and everyone was wearing face
masks - it
was like being in the midst of a epidemic - I was coughing and
spluttering
away and it was like the parting of the red sea - people were
falling
over themselves to get out of my way - I felt like I had leprosie!
Had a
great night last night at a pub -
hung out with some funky kurdish
chaps and
sang guns and roses songs?! It's amazing what a few rakys will do
to you -
thankfully I haven't belly danced yet - still there is time...
Erika has
put the departure photos on a site on the web - so I checked them
out - a
few good ones.
When are
you off work? How will I be able to email you?
Talk to
you soon - I'm going back to bed! I've been up since four am!
love cara
XXX
16/04/2003
Hi all -
welcome to the first edition of 'cara & greg's big trip RTW'.
Our first
24hrs were spent in London - which was wicked. London put on a
splendid
spring day for us - I showed Greg around all my old haunts tasting
the local
ales and chatting with the local geezers. Managed to catch-up with
a few
people I knew and finished the day off with a good curry and a read of
The Mirror
(for a laugh of course...).
Back on
the plane the next day - we arrived in a very cold Istanbul. However
the people
are warm and friendly - they are as hospitable as ever. I have
been
pulling out all my turkish phrases from the dark recesses of my brain
and both
greg and I have had some pretty good chats to the locals. We'll be
fluent in
no time. There are very few tourists here - which is good for us,
but a
shame for the locals as it seems so safe and normal - we have not
encountered
one bit of animosity.
In between
dodging show shiners and carpet salesmen we've been doing the
usual
sight-seeing and checked out the grand covered bizarre - which is such
a shopping
temptation! 4500 shops and stalls - carpets galore of-course.
Had a good
night with some funky kurdish chaps at a local bar - I introduced
Greg to
the evil Raki (local aniseed drink)- one raki led to another and
before we
knew we were head-banging to Alice Cooper's 'poison', trying to
out do
each other as to who was the biggest booner teenager - happy to say
greg won
that competition. Things took a turn for the worst when I requested
ACDC's-'Shook
Me All Night Long'- ohh the shame. Now with my muscial
integrity
in tatters we'll be daparting Istanbul tomorrow in search of some
warmth
down south.
Hope
you're all well - will keep you
posted. Love Cara
27/04/2003
At last
some heat! Greg and I are now in Fethye, which is down southern
Turkey on
the coast. Currently enjoing the lively and exuberant atmosphere
at our
homely pension - a table of rowdy
Danes to my left and Greg holding
fort with
a group of brits and antipodians to my right. We're all sittıng
around on
carpets exchanging travel tales, as you do. There's much
discussion
about the best routes from Iran through to China given the
current
state of the world and there's also chat about who got the most
sunburnt
on their yacht cruise on the med today- Hmm ...apparently I suit a
life of
liisure.
Sınce
Istanbul we've eaten and drunk our way through Selcuk, Syrence, Bodrum
and Dalyan.
Along the way we met many lovely Turks who have made this trip a
delight.
We've also checked out some amazing
ruins and beautıful little
villages.
Done a boat cruise along the river in Dalyon, saw some massive sea
turtles,
been to the hot springs and played many games of cards while
sheltering
from the rain. Let it be noted that Greg is a poor loser.
all is
well on this side of the planet - Love Cara
excuse the
crazy keys - makes ıt exotıc though huh?
29/04/2003
Hi Mumsy -
I was getting worried about you as well ! Firstly, how are my
pies
doing? I assume they beat the bombers? Yes this is your daughter...
All is
well here apart from the evil cold rearing it's ugly head again -
spent all
yesterday in bed with this chest infection. We had a turkish bath
in Fethye
which requires a steam room session - I think that's the cause of
it popping
up again...anyhoos when you;re on holidays you can take the time
to
recover..Also we're saying in posh hotel so i don't mind hanging out in
bed so
much. That's one of the positives of coming in the off season- we've
scored
some bargins. The place we're in at the moment is soo fancy-1 hundred
metres
from the beach and has a big pool and bar, aircon, the works for
$20.00 per
night - it usually goes for $120.00! Nice one.
Lots and
lots of love Cara XXXXXXX
5/05/2003
Dear
Collen and Vern, Cheers on the congrats. I am a very lucky girl. The
ring is
beautiful and the man isn't bad either...he he.
There was
the hint of an 'occasion' in the air when we were getting dressed
for dinner
and Greg requested I sniff the arm pits of his tee-shirts to find
the one
with the least odour... Like I said, a very lucky girl indeed!
Colleen,
Bridget, No! She's almost his daughter! Those plot writers just
continue
to excel don't they? Easter sounds like it was a blast. Shame to
here about
you losing the house, hope the search for a new place isn't too
traumatic.
All is
well here in Kas. Having a ball. Love to all. Cara XXX
15/05/2003
Mumsy and
Da,
Official
it is. No backing out now! It's really lovely, cheers.
Firstly,
my humblest apologies for forgetting mother's day! I blame the lack
of
advertising in Turkey - Hallmark haven't made a dent in the turkish
market
yet...Hope you had a lovely day and the boys did their bestest best.
All my
love to the greatest woman in the world. Did you score anything nice?
A new
house or something? Speaking of which, what stage are we up to now?
The plans
have been finalised haven't they? It'll be all about fitting
before you
know it! Keep me up-dated.
Currently
in Sanliurfa, grab your map, it's close-ish to Syrian border. East
and West
are very different- mentality and scenery. Eastern Turkey is more
middle-eastern,
whereas Western Turkey is more European.
I think i
was in Olympos last time I wrote. From there we travelled to
central
Turky - Cappadocia region, which is covered in moulten lava that has
eroded
over the centuries to form the most incredible landscape. The locals
live and
work out of caves. We also had our own pension cave room, which was
a bit
posh, for a cave...Fireplace, kingsize bed, flashy bathroom. We really
roughed
it. While there, we hired a scooter and scootered off around the
region,
checking out the various valleys and one of the underground cities.
That was
really fascinating, it's 8 levels deep underground and was occupied
from
sometime BC til the end of the crusades. Apparently there are hundreds
in the
region and it's the belief that they are all
inter-connected....Turkey
is chokas fulla culture eh...
From
Cappadocia we headed east towards Malatya, which was nothing spec but
we'd
planned to use it as a base for exploring nearby Mt Nemrut. In Malatya
we got our
first taste (or lack of) of eastern Turkey, no beer. Oh dear,
What's an
thirsty intrepid traveller, to do after a hard day intrepidly
travelling?
We scoured the city for 2hrs in search of a quencher. Even the
locals we
met, had no idea where we could find ourselves a beer! Finally on
the brink,
we stumbled across a dark little drinking den which looked like
it had
never seen a woman within it's walls. I was a bit hesitant about
going in,
you know, not wanting to offend the locals and all...but the staff
and the
customers all jumped up to welcome us in, shaking our hands, bring
us nuts
and yummy salads to snack on. Even though feeling welcome, I had to
make sure
I didn't drink faster then Greg...that would have been a social
disaster.
I also have to make sure I don't walk in front of him if we're
doing a
single-file thing, that would be a slight on his manliness...I have
told Greg
not to get used to my submissiveness. Will have to challenge him
to another
footy kicking competition when we're back home, to put things
straight
again...
We went to
Malatya with the intention of getting up to Mt Nemrut somehow
which was
going to be a mission. Came across a NZ guy we'd met previously,
the only
other tourist in the area also. He was trying to get up there too.
So the
three of us hired a driver to tackle the steep, two hour mountain
drive for
us. Arrived there absolutely knackered, had exhausted all my
energy
using my personal breaking system on drive up, ahh corner! squeeze
greg's
arm, Ahh skidding! squeeze greg's arm, Ahh tight corner, huge drop and
driver
lighting cigarette! squeeze greg's arm really really hard. Somehow
arrived
safely and greeted with amazing sight. The mountain is the highest
peak in
the area, the view of the surrounding mountain, valleys and
Euphrates
river was incredible. On top of that, some ancient Roman King had
ordered
his subjects to build a monster statue of himself and his gods and
a replica
on the southern side of the summit. Talk about demanding,
he also
requested
an artificial 50mt high peak be put behind them- he knew his
temples
though, as it was very pleasing on the eye. The statue heads
themselves
were over 2m high! Yep, a definite 'must-see' if you can ever
off-load
the boy and get here, mind you, I don't think mum could stomach the
ride..
Anyhoos from there we were keen to cross the snow-capped peak on foot
and head
down the other side- yep, intrepid. We caught a ride back down the
southern
road with a minibus heading towards Sanliurfa. The driver, a jovial
chap,
broke out into random song every now and again, which was all really
delightful,
l until he was negotiating the van on steep, windy track and
demanded
we clap along with him, to the chorus of his Kurdish ballad. How
the other
passengers managed to keep the beat is beyond me..
Arrived in
Sanliurfa last night around midnight. Very exotic here, a big
kurdish
population, lot's of men in arabic turbans and traditional baggy
pants,
woman in chadors, crazy lively bizarre, some fascinating ancient and
religious
sites to explore etc. Having a relaxing day today after the
cross-country
skiing yesterday. Had a Turkish coffee in a shady tea garden
this
morning in the old bizarre, people were approaching us with invitations
for dinner
at their place! Some young boys sat down with us to practise
english,
apparently they go there every day, in their lunch break, to look
for
tourists to speak to but haven't seen any in months. A questionable
tripe
kebab for lunch, looked like mince to me. Not sitting well, though
greg did
point out that in theory, their innards should blend well
with my
innards, so I should be right. Will be here for a couple of days
then onto
Diyarbakir and Mardin, further east.
Have
located the 'establishment' here in Sanliurfa, so will have to go and
check that
out now.
What's the
story with the car? Sorry about the inconvenience! If you get it
fixed, can
we fix you up on return?
Hope all
is well at home, all my love!
Love Cara
XXXX
24/5/2003
Hi ma and
da,
Sorry I
haven't been in touch for a few days - have been travelling great
distances
in the last couple of days and consequently are pretty zonked and
have
limited patience for slow internet connections...Anyway hope you
haven't
been worried (Mum!! i know you can't help yourself!).
All is
going very well on this side of the planet. Sanliurfa was great, we
hooked up
with a couple of young Kurdish chaps who showed us around the city
and
surrounding area. They were hilarious and had the three of us (the NZ
guy stayed
with us for a few days) in stiches. But apart from that, they
knew alot
about the history and politics of the area, which was a bonus- We
went out
to Harren which is an Arabic village about 10kms from Syria and
checked
out the mud 'beehive houses' and castle, we had lunch with a family
in one of
these houses. Halim, one of the Kurdish guys had a crush on the
Arab
daughter and had researched how to obtain her. Sadly, she was out of
his price
range, going for $5000.00us, which would go to her father. Perhaps
one day
he'll be able to afford her younger sister who was a steal at only
$3000.00us!
She wasn't as blessed in the look's department. It's a crazy
world...
From
Sanliurfa we travelled onto Diyarbikar, which was the centre for PKK
activity a
couple of years ago. It wasn't the most scenic of destinations
and there
was a strong army presence there so we didn't hang around long.
However we
made a day trip to a nearby town called Mardin which was really
lovely.
The town was perched on a hill looking out over the Syrian planes,
being so
close, the food and architecture were both Syrian influenced. It
was an
Assyrian Christian village up until a few decades ago when they were
forced to
flee the area but there is still an ancient working monastery in
the area.
We met up with a Assyrian family from Istanbul who were back
visiting
the place they once fled. They were staying at the old monastery and
invited to
drive us there and show us around. It was a beautiful, atmospheric
place and
we felt very lucky to have our own personal tour! It truly is
amazing
how hospitable and friendly the Turks are. In Urfa, we got hijacked
by an
eager young english student and taken to his soccer match, where we
met his
teachers and friends and practised English with them. He told us
that he
was so excited about us coming to watch him play that his heart was
beating
really fast! Bless him, I thought. His enthusiasm was evident when
he spent
the whole match looking over at us and smiling instead of watching
the ball,
much to his team's disgust. The teachers invited us to give a
speech at
the School. I pointed out that the lads had a better grasp of the
language
then we did.
Leaving
the very conservative South East behind we travelled 22.75hrs up
north to
the black sea coast and arrived in hedonistic Trabzon. A totally
different
vibe there, 'Natasha's' aka Russian prostitutes, strutting their
stuff on
the sidewalks, pubs, locals wearing skimpy clothing and toilet
paper!
Apart from soaking it all up, we headed up to the ancient monastery
outside of
Trabzon. It was carved from of a cliff face high above a pine
forest and
river. The church inside is full of ancient frescos dating back
to the 9th
century. Sadly most had been defaced with 'Mehmet 2001' and '
Mehmet and
Mustafa 1999'. Mehmet gets around because he'd also done the same
thing to
the frescos in Goreme... nevermind. We spent a few days in Trabzon,
I got my
hair died, which was an interesting experience, I walked into the
hairdresser
and with the intention of a bit of a tidy-up. The hairdresser, a
flamboyant
guy (as they always are..) started pointing out colours and
making a
huge shpeal in turkish, the only words I managed to pick up were
"cok
guzele" meaning very beautiful. Ohh yes please, I'll take one of those.
I'm now a
fiery redhead. Greg likes it. Had an eventful night out with
German
bloke and an Israeli guy..... ? It's funny how people meet up when
you’re
travelling. All we needed was a Palestinian and you could have made a
joke out
of it.
12hr trip
later we are now in Amasya, described as "possibly the prettiest
town in
turkey", it's very nice indeed. Yet to give it a good going over,
will
report more fully at a later date. Heading back to Istanbul to sort out
a Romanian
visa. Sadly, will be leaving Turkey shortly.
Still
waiting for the Dad epic. Get writing.
Lots and
lots of love. MeXXXX