The weather has been very hot recently. Thursday morning Hamdullah, Zeyni, Izzet and I caught the bus (5 YTL each way) 70 km west along the coast to Kizkalesi.
With a metre-long pide (bread) at the restaurant
The island castle of Kizkalesi (Maiden's Castle) provides the backdrop for beachgoers, swimmers, a simit (bread-ring) seller and a dog.
A family on a pedal boat enjoying the late afternoon sun. Korykos, the castle on the land in the background, used to connect with Kizkalesi in ancient times via a causeway.
-------------------
Labels: turkey - mersin province - kizkalesi
Celebrating the end of the Conversation English course that I took over after Peter returned to Australia. From left to right: Levent, Vural, Vuslat, Ferdi, Irfan, Ebru, myself and Alaattin.
-------------------
Labels: friends
The almost constant noise and colour of political campaign vehicles has finished and, in a few hours time, Turkey will go to the polls to elect a new parliament.
If I could vote, who would I vote for? Definitely not the ultra nationalist
MHP or isolationist
Genc Party. I would probably vote for an independent candidate.
Who will win the largest number of seats? Probably the currently ruling
AK Party. Will they retain a majority? Who knows...
The Turkish Daily News provides a
run-down of the Mersin election candidates, parties and issues.
For the overall election issues and latest news, visit Wikipedia's
Turkish General Election, 2007 pageHamdullah, my flatmate, as he is a public school teacher, will man the election booth at his school today.
My 2004 local government election special is
herePS: Like on previous election days, the sale of alcohol is banned today.
ELECTION RESULTS (2007-07-24): As expected, AKP recorded the highest vote percentage with almost 47% of the total. AKP's percentage actually increased from the 2002 vote but their number of seats gained was reduced although they will still have a majority in parliament. CHP and MHP were the other 2 parties reaching the 10% vote threshold required to enter parliament with 21% and 14% respectively. More than 20, mainly Kurdish, independent candidates also gained enough votes to enter parliament.
Mersin Province was one of only two provinces (along with Osmaniye) to give the most votes to the fascist MHP. However, in Mersin there was only 6% difference between 3 parties with MHP gaining 31%, AKP 27% and CHP 25%.
Election result maps are displayed by the
BBC and
Wikipedia.
For the most comprehensive Turkish election news and coverage in English see
Erkan's field diary.
-------------------
Labels: politics, turkey
The writing linked to these photos is located
here.
A bridge destroyed during the 2006 war with Israel, part of the main Damascus-Beirut highway
A new shopping centre under construction in central Beirut
Razor wire in the foreground, Place de l'Etoile's clocktower in the centre and Al-Omari Mosque in the background.
A skyscraper left abandoned after either the 1980s civil war the or 2006's war with Israel.CORRECTION; from comments:
"The abandoned skyscraper is the Burj El Murr (Murr Tower), which was only partially built when the civil war broke out in 1975. Its frame was finished during a lull the following year, making it a prime militia location for the "hotel wars" of 1977-78. Your photo is of the old Holiday Inn, which was open and functioning for a few swinging years before the war started.
(If you look at the top floor, you will see the tell-tale bulge of one of the old-style Holiday Inn revolving restaurants!)
The Holiday Inn was _also_ used during the hotel wars (hence the name ...)."Thanks again
adiamondinsunlight!
A bullet-holed street sign
Hezbollah's tent city in central Beirut
Around Beirut I saw several pictures of Rafik Hariri, the businessman/politician assassinated in 2005
The entrance to the American University of Beirut. The ladies in this vicinity were particularly beautiful.-------------------
Labels: lebanon
I returned to Mersin Monday morning after catching the 2 AM 'Smuggler's Express' bus from Aleppo to Antakya. I think I and a young Iraqi
Turkoman studying in Turkey were probably the only 'genuine' passengers on the bus. The bus' fuel tanks were very full and there were assorted goods packed into various crevices.
The wireless Internet at home is not operating properly so I have been without access for the past week.
When I get the opportunity I will post some photos of my trip.
-------------------
Labels: syria, turkey travel
Ever since I saw the war footage during the 1980s, Beirut is one place I've wanted to go. Now I've been.
Thursday morning I was expecting to catch a service taxi from the Baramkeh bus station in the centre of Damascus. All the advice received said I could leave from there. However, I ended up having to take a normal taxi to a place with a name sounding like 'San Marie' on the outskirts of town. Eventually, 3 local men, a Russian guy named Max and myself were in this old yellow American car heading to Beirut. The local trip fee was 500 SYP (10 USD; 1,500 LBP) but Max and I were requested to pay 600.
The distance from Damascus to Syria is only 127 kilometres so a day trip is quite manageable. After exiting Syria and driving through one of the world's largest no man's lands we reached the Lebanese entry point, Masnaa. Before granting me a free transit visa (probably valid for 48 hours) the immigration official asked for the pronunciation and origin of my surname. He wanted to know if I was an Arab. Later, after reading
The Daily Star, Lebanon's English-language daily newspaper, I understood why he wanted this information.
Upon arrival to Beirut, Max and I grabbed a taxi from Charles Helou Bus Station to Downtown Beirut. There were soldiers almost everywhere and all the streets surrounding the parliament were either barricaded with concrete blocks or razor wire or check-pointed. The security along with the burning early afternoon sun kept people off the nearly deserted streets. Both the taxi drivers and the cafes surrounding Parliament Square were desperate for customers. The conflict between the Lebanese military and militants in the north and south of the country is not encouraging tourists to visit, particularly so soon after the war with Israel in 2006.
Despite Beirut's relative insecurity, Downtown is experiencing a construction boom. Huge cranes and the sound of jackhammers were obvious everywhere. The investors must have confidence another conflict will not hit the city or they have money to burn; or both.
Hizbollah have a tent city set up in Beirut's old Green Line but hardly a soul was stirring. I was able to take photographs there and just about everywhere else in the city. I will post some upon return to Turkey.
Beirut is a fascinating mix of architectural styles: ancient ruins; old French and Ottoman buildings; historic mosques and churches side-by-side; new buildings designed in old styles; and ultramodern skyscrapers. Despite the construction work and the new buildings, evidence of the 1980s and 2006 conflicts was visible everywhere. Many structures, including some skyscrapers were in total disrepair. Other buildings were in use but still displayed the tell-tale bullet holes.
Besides the construction, more evidence of Lebanon's wealth is seen on the road. From observation, it seemed every second car was either a luxury four-wheel drive or a luxury sedan. The money just drips in Beirut.
Following a mixed fruit juice and a cappuccino in a French-styled cafe within a stones-throw of the parliament, I walked west towards Hamra. On the way I stopped at a food store displaying all kinds of exotic foods I had never seen in Syria or Turkey.
The French influence is almost everywhere In Beirut (and the rest of Lebanon, I guess). The street signs are generally in Arabic and French as opposed to the Arabic and English seen in Syria. However, based on advertisements and other signs, English is catching up fast.
From Hamra I walked to the
American University of Beirut, one of the most prestigious universities in the Middle East. Here, like everywhere in Beirut, the women were absolutely gorgeous. Beirut has the head-scarfed women but most of the rest were showing plenty of their supermodel-like tanned skin. I have been told that plastic surgery is huge here so not all that blinded my eyes was completely natural. The relative liberalness of Beirut is like an oasis after Syria.
After a stroll along the corniche in the late-afternoon sun I caught a taxi back to Charles Helou Bus Station, tempted though I was to stay another day in Beirut. While waiting for more passengers to share the service taxi to Damascus, several army tanks and jeeps repeatedly passed the bus station. I'm not sure why they were driving around and around but I guess the barracks were driving them to boredom.
Our car for the journey to Damascus was a modern vehicle and not an American classic and we were only 3 passengers. I paid the equivalent of 20 USD and the 2 Arab passenger 10 USD as I was the ignorant non-Arabic speaking foreigner. I enjoyed the extra room this time, though.
One of the passengers was Mira, a Damascus local whose parents live in Beirut. As she spoke some English we managed to converse. Mira mentioned she preferred living in Damascus because the people in Lebanon are "scared".
The hilly road from Beirut to the Syrian border follows a number of bypasses due to damage suffered to the old highway during the 2006 war. One bridge, in particular, was partially destroyed.
31 USD later and I gained another Syrian visa. The visa process at the Masnaa border was far easier than at the Bab al Hawa crossing between Aleppo and Antakya. At Masnaa the official asked me to change 30 USD (although the bank worker requested 31 USD) and then the same border official did everything else. At Bab al Hawa the identical visa process requires visits to 5 or 6 different places in the immigration building.
I arrived back to Damascus around 10 pm. Jeff took me to the US Marine's bar where we played pool and chatted to folks from various different countries. One of the Marines was generous with the Bourbon shots although I watched my consumption closely.
When Beirut becomes more secure and comfortable I would love to live there. It is a unique and fascinating city, consisting of one part Dubai, one part Paris, one part Berlin, one part Damascus and a million parts of Beirut.
-------------------
Labels: lebanon, syria
Tuesday night Celine, Bangali and I viewed a jazz concert in the Aleppo Citadel. First, an Italian quartet played followed by a Syrian quartet. The historic setting, and mixed audience made the concert more interesting than normal. Will post photos/video when I return to Turkey.
Yesterday I came to Damascus to meet Jeff. After a pizza in a snazzy Damascene restaurant we went to his pad and then the US Ambassador's residence for a 4th of July BBQ. Attending were US diplomats, their families and American students in Damascus to learn Arabic. Hot dogs, baked beans with bacon, burgers, brownies, US beer and choc-chip cookies were on the menu.
I'm about to jump in a service taxi to another location. Will write again soon.
-------------------
Labels: syria
I'm writing from an internet cafe in Aleppo, Syria. To my disgust, the local next to is smoking his 6th cigarette since I've been here and I haven't been here that long!
I came here overland (via Antakya/Antioch) on Saturday as the
Mersin-Latakia ferry only runs Thursdays and Mondays. My 7th Syrian visa from this border cost 30 USD.
This trip has consisted almost entirely of rest and relaxation. Bangali and Celine are looking after me stupendously well. Celine's first night roast lamb with garlic and rosemary, boiled whole potatoes in their skins with butter, and cherry sauce made from fresh cherries was a meal to die for!
One thing slightly annoying is the water outages. Each afternoon/evening the public water supply is cutoff and this lasts until early the next morning. Syria is facing a serious water crisis.
Yesterday afternoon I watched Bangali entertainingly play chess against various opponents in the intellectual cafe on Aleppo's main square. The chess played was almost socialist with the players receiving help from onlookers whether they wanted it or not.
Tomorrow I will take the bus to Damascus to meet Jeff for the first time since his 2002 AIESEC traineeship in Adana.
-------------------
Labels: syria
