A Visit to Turkey

Our Video of Turkey

This is my first attempt at a "Home Video".  So it is rather rough in spots and the music I added sometimes doesn't quite go with the scenes that I intended it to.  Just "click" the "Our Video" link above to watch... warning though, it's about 20 mins long!  Despite it being rather amateurish and long, it at least gives a video tour of Turkey, highlighting some of the many tourist attractions and capturing some of the landscape and culture of this amazing country.

For a "quicker" look ... here's a few photos:

Cappadocia

 A sunset as viewed from our "hobbit" hotel in Goreme ... a land of "fairy chimneys"!

The balloon ride was definitely a highlight!

The Archaeological Site: Ephesus

The Goddess "Nike" ... can you see the Nike symbol?

Town of Kusadasi, near Izmir

Tunis to Sidney

With the arrival of the full heat of a Tunisian summer well upon us, we are grateful for the opportunity to "weather it out" back in Canada.  So have returned to spend the next few weeks in Sidney and Sidney Island.  

Roy is hoping to get after a number of projects, and I'll be happy to get back to my familiar kitchen.

First Summer Project - Planting Trees!

Curfews Away ... Now Time To Play

A Trip To Dougga "Thugga" - Another Ancient Roman Ruin
Not far from Tunis, a few hours drive west of the capital is one of the better preserved Roman Ruins.  Perhaps not as much exposed land mass as Oudna, but the walls that are still standing are higher and in many cases better preserved.

I particularly liked this one ... really shows the concept of the "keystone".  This arch still very much intact and looking every bit as strong as when it was built a few thousand years ago.  Not too many Canadian buildings could hope to boast that architectural feat!

It was very hot on the day of our visit +40 degrees Celsius!  So we didn't stay long and mostly sought out the shade.  Especially since we had Misha with us.  But we couldn't resist a few shots with Misha ... this one is our attempt at her being the "head" of this otherwise "beheaded" statue.  I guess we really are becoming that "pet dog has replaced the kids" couple ...

Finally, I couldn't resist a shot of the "communal toilet".  This bathroom had ~ 12 toilet spots, set around in a semi-circle and close enough for easy conversation with your fellow bathroom mates.  I wonder how much Roman planning happened in this very spot?  All very civilized, complete with running water and even remnants of ceramic pipes showing that they had hot water!

Here's a close up of those ceramic pipes which would have provided heated water.  They had underground passages where apparently fires were lit to heat up the water and then were piped to the baths, etc.

Curfews and Cockroaches

This from a local news report:
"Tunisia’s state news agency TAP announced a curfew for 8 governorates to take effect at 9 PM and last until 5 AM....The curfew was announced at eight o’clock, leaving precious little time for citizens to clear the streets. It also came immediately after Khaled Tarrouche, spokesperson for the Minister of the Interior, declared in a press conference on national television that there would not be a curfew, though one would be implemented in the coming days if unrest continued.  The curfew applies to areas that saw violent protests last night, possibly in connection to an art exhibition considered blasphemous by religious conservatives."

Can you find Tunis?

I had just arrived with a few friends to our monthly book club meeting, totally unaware that there was a curfew (in fact it was announced just 30 mins after we arrived).  Not real familiar with the area, I had arranged for a driver to come pick me up ... having now to make that time many hours earlier than originally planned.  I decided to make things easier for the driver by walking down the quiet residential street so it would be easier for him to find the address.  Needless to say, it was dark, I'm feeling slightly on-edge (being my first Tunisia curfew experience) and in unfamiliar territory.  As I look down at the road, I notice that it appears to be moving!  On closer inspection, I could see that it was a bunch of Cockroaches!  And I'm wearing sandals!  To heck with the curfew, I was totally freaking out by the cockroaches!!!!  Some poor fellow passed by me and I'm sure he thought the this curfew was likely caused by "yours truly", based on my totally crazy behaviour.  Well by the time I finished my freak out, and ran to the end of the road way, I kind of lost track of where I was (off coarse again) and had to have one of my lady friends accompany the driver to come find me.  Needless to say, all ended well ... we all got home in time ... with no further incidents.


Today all seems quiet and normal.  Went to the gym, coffee with a friend and then some shopping at the local fruit/vegetable market.  Not noteworthy in itself, but just to show that we keep hearing about protests, etc ... but nothing seems to be affecting our day to day lives here.  We are being cautious, but are going about our lives just as we would be otherwise.

Return to Tunis - June 2012

It's hard to believe that it's been the better part of 7 weeks since I was last in Tunis!  And that time sure flew by.  Roy & I managed to get a week at the cabin on Sidney Island and then I was able to have a few weeks in Sidney but otherwise spent most of the time in Calgary.  That meant being able to spend quite a bit of time with my mom and the kids.  Mostly Jessica though as Stephen had to head up to Fort McMurray for his summer job this year.

Landing at Carthage Airport, Tunis

The weather here in Tunis is already very hot, today's high will be +38 degrees!  So we are more thankful than ever to be so close to the water.  There seems to be always a breeze blowing in off the ocean and we get to benefit not only by hearing the sound of the waves hitting shore, but the cooling effect.  I think it will be much easier to pass the summer in our current home versus last year at the apartment.

And Now To Rome

Taxi driver was going 160 km/hr !!!!

So again, with many of the European destinations being so close and therefore easy to get to, Joanne & I decided to spend the last few days of our holiday visiting Rome.   We knew we had arrived when I realized our taxi driver was going 160 km/hr!  I quickly snapped this photo and he had already slowed down some ... to 140 km ....

Joanne in front of our Hotel

We had arranged for a private tour guide for a couple of days.  A cute Italian named "Mario".  This worked out to be an amazing way to see some of the popular attractions as we were able to bypass many of the line-ups and avoid the navigation confusion if we were to venture out on our own.

Roman Colosseum

Mario, was very knowledgable and passionate about the artwork, history and the ancient ruins.  Here we are inside the Roman Colosseum.  He's describing the "secret" rooms on the ground. But back in it's day, the Romans would raise and lower various stage props during the "show" from some of these rooms... very similar to what was done in a Michael Jackson concert!  Also, we were surprised to learn that the gladiators did not actually "fight to the death" as commonly thought for most of the colosseum's history.  It was just at the end of the era when the "event organizers" were looking to add more interest to the "show".

St. Peter's Basilica

We managed to pack in two very full days, saw many of the "must see" sites.  For both Joanne & I, our favourite was Saint Peter's Basilica pictured here.  This church is simply packed with art work and beautiful architectural details.  There is not an empty spot in the building.  And it is huge!  It would be very easy to spend an entire day just in this one place.

St. Peter's Square

Outside the basilica is the famous St. Peter's Square.  Also very impressive in it's size.  Kind of amazing to see it for real after only seen photos or as the backdrop in various events viewed on TV over the years.


But we would both agree that the favourite thing "to do" was eat!  Luckily with all the walking, we could indulge, without too much guilt, in the amazing Italian cuisine.  Ummm, pizza & pasta every day!!!!

Joanne in front of our hotel, the Boscolo Exedra
in the Plazza della Repubblica
Joanne had to leave to carry on to Germany for some more work related commitments. Hard to say good-by, but again because it an easy "commute" from Tunisia, Roy was able to fly up and join me for the weekend.  So I was able to lengthen out the visit to Rome by a few more days!

Roy in front of the Roman Colosseum

So off again for some more walking and touring. This time, without a guide so just wandered wherever our curiosities lead us.  I was surprised at how many Roman ruins remain in this part of the city.

Roy in front the the Pantheon

                                                                    One of the details I enjoyed the most inside the Pantheon was the stonework on the walls and floor.  Here is a burgundy coloured stone that I had never seen before, I believe it's called "Porphyry".  Mario had explained that this stone was highly prized by the Egyptians and then later the Romans.  The only known supply was from Egypt and during the time of Rome, they ended using up the entire quarry in Egypt ... there is no more to be found.

After many centuries of use, the marble floor tiles show some wear & tear along the edges, but this red stone .... still has nice clean edges.   Earlier in the week, we had seen a few rather large statues and carvings in the Vatican.  The largest piece being a bathtub for one of the popes ... it was about 15' x 8' in size.  I sure hope he appreciated bathing in such a precious stone!


So, some more walking and exploring .... needed to work up an appetite for the best thing to do in Rome "PASTA & CHIANTI"!!!

Another amazing meal 

On our last day in Rome, which was Easter Sunday. We had to make one last visit ... to St. Peter's Square.  Although the pope was giving his easter service, Roy was most impressed by this Italian Police (Carabinieri) Car.  I don't know cars, but it sort of looks like a Ferrari.  I guess being a "Carabinieri", has it's job perks!

An Italian Police Car

Easter Mass was just about to start.  Perhaps because the square is so large, or perhaps not as many people attend as we thought would but either way it was not so crowded.  They had large screens set up and an excellent sound system, so were able to get watch the service quite easily.  

St. Peter's Square on Easter Sunday

The Pope giving his Easter Service

A Visit to Nice, France

One of the great opportunities presented by living in Tunisia is how close, and therefore easy, it is to get to many European destinations.  So when I learned that my sister, Joanne was going to be there for her work, I decided to take a little "mini holiday" and join her.  My hotel was right on the Promenade des Anglais, a 7 km long walkway next to to Mediterranean Sea.   Nice is very appropriately named, a very "nice" place to visit!  Here's some photos:

Beach in front of my hotel

Roadway between beach & hotel

Joanne & myself along the Promenade

Of coarse since we were so close to Monaco and Montecarlo, we had to take a visit there .....

View from walkway in Monte Carlo

No small boats here!

With Marina's this beautiful, you wouldn't even need to leave

All walkways were very beautiful, just like this one ....

.... and this one ...

The famous Casino ... Didn't go inside, but did see some rather high end cars cruising about.  The most popular one seemed to be the Ferrari.  But then, I don't really know cars that well ...

Casino Royal

Hanging out behind the casino

Front entrance, just before entering (this is as far as we got!)