Let's Get You Caught Up, I mean Really Caught Up

Thank goodness for fast internet connections in Europe or Asia or the Middle East or whatever the heck Turkey considers itself. Not only will you get my most recent insights on my trip, but you will get pictures from the whole of Africa through Jordan and Petra, and Istanbul/Cappadocia in Turkey. You can thank me later. Update: Not all hostels have fast internet connections. My current hostel in Antalya is channeling its' inner Africa with their horrifically slow internet, but fear not, you will still get lots of pictures.

I failed to mention anything in my last post about the Dead Sea, other than I drove there. Perhaps the Israeli side is a bit more densely populated, but for our visit on the Jordanian side, it was relatively uncrowded. There were fancy resorts for about a 2 mile stretch, followed by a public beach, and then just a long barren coastline. The Sea was as advertised. Saltiest body of water on Earth and impossible to sink. Ladies need to make sure and not shave a day or 2 leading up to your swim otherwise your legs will burn. Also don't make the mistake I did and crash into the water so violently that you splash water in your eyes. Burned for at least 10 minutes. My friend Ben and I floated in the water for about 30 minutes and even in depths of water about ankle deep, it was still possible to float easily.  A neat experience with gorgeous views.

My time in Istanbul was enjoyable enough. As most of you know, I'm not much for big cities, but I liked Istanbul. Perhaps it was a matter of timing in that it was the first city since being on my own which allowed me to just wander aimlessly on the cobblestone streets, browse the Spice and Grand Bazaar, and view the Blue Mosque in a relatively clean, safe, and cool environment. Had Istanbul happened one month from now, perhaps I would feel differently, but at this point in my trip it was a good place to spend a few days, catch up on journal entries, photo uploads, send packages home, and you may want to sit down for this.....have my laundry done.

I took an overnight bus to Cappadocia, and having been on a truck for so long traveling through Africa, I forgot how I much I hated overnight buses. I would really like to know if I pay extra for an overnight bus vs. the same bus doing that route during the day. I really hope not, because there is nothing different about the overnight bus except that you miss out on the scenery. In fact, I should pay less for an overnight bus for that simple fact alone. Plus, what if I am a person who works the overnight shift at work. An overnight bus would be the time of day when I am awake. My overnight bus should be the one I take while the sun is still in the sky. And, if you are going to call yourself an overnight bus, have seats that recline completely so I can lay down and not spend the night in various uncomfortable semi-reclined positions.

Next rant: Stop charging me for using the bathroom. There is absolutely no reason to charge me for something I have no control of whether I want to do or not. I could get away with not paying in Africa. I would just walk in and out right past the person wanting to collect money because odds are they were just standing there to make money and not really working on behalf of the town or city as an actual job. But here in Turkey, at a bathroom in a restaurant no less, I didn't feel I go do a blow by. Essentially, I was charged to use a long drop toilet (totally shocked there was no toilet paper...ha), which was only accessible by walking over treacherous slippery floors. At least have the decency to put in an actual toilet so I can sit down and not put my thighs through an unnecessary 4am workout. Plus, my aim while squatting at 4am isn't that great because I didn't get good sleep on your 'overnight bus.' So unless you are going to hold my manhood or wipe my bum to save my own capable hands from those 2 strenuous jobs, stop charging me to use the bathroom. Given the state of some these bathrooms, you should pay me to use them due to the risk of disease and a possible fall.

Question: Do you ever get the feeling that you're being made fun of by locals of another country as you pass them by on the street or as you leave them after asking them a question only to realize that don't speak a lick of English? I do.

I don't know whether to laugh or be a bit scared of how demonstrative some of these people get when they talk. I wish I was that passionate with every sentence uttered from my mouth. I almost get the feeling that they raise their voice and wave their arms for a conversation that goes something like this: I AM REACHING INTO MY POCKET TO GET MY KEYS, AFTER WHICH I WILL ENTER MY CAR AND DRIVE TO THE LOCAL MARKET WHERE I WILL BUY A PACK OF CINNAMON GUM. WHAT, YOU DON'T LIKE CINNAMON GUM? WELL I DO, WHICH IS WHY I AM GOING THE MARKET TO BUY A PACK. BUT THAT'S NOT ALL. DO YOU THINK I WOULD JUST GO THE MARKET TO BUY GUM? THAT WOULD ACTUALLY BE QUITE SILLY. I AM ALSO GOING TO BUY 1 APPLE AND 500ML OF MILK. OH WHAT A TRIP IT WILL BE. THEN I WILL COME BACK AND SIT ON MY FRONT STEP, LIKE I DO EVERY AFTERNOON AS I'VE NOTHING BETTER TO DO, SO THAT I CAN ENJOY A NICE COLD CLASS OF MILK, EAT AN APPLE, AND CHEW SOME GUM. 

I feel that if I were to undertake such a boring series of events I would tell it as follows: GOING TO THE STORE. BE RIGHT BACK.  Good thing I don't live abroad. I would probably be the least popular friend in every social group.

And now a poem:

Traveling in Turkey, in a region named Cappadocia
It is amazing and stunning, but does not rhyme with focaccia.
They claim that some rocks are shaped like a fairy chimney.
But as your eyes and mine can quite clearly see
They're actually quite phallic
And this poem was written, all in italics.

Quite a region, that Cappadocia. It was as advertised. Lots of interesting rock formations made from volcanic activity and hundreds of years of erosion. I believe there are 5 different types of rock that can be seen in the various layers of these formations. Quite soft rock as well as it allowed for cities to be dug underground, and countless caves dug into the rock face for homes, churches, and security. There was red, yellow, white, pink, and some purple all throughout the rocks in the region. Quite a unique landscape to say the least. Definitely worth a trip if you ever make it to Turkey.

And now for some additional photos:

I wish that I could add captions for you, but my options are written in Turkish and I don't want to screw things up. I didn't take the pics of those African tribes people with their ornate earrings and lip piercings. Steph and Ben, 2 friends from the trip spent alot of their time in African villages photographing the various tribes and their rituals. Those are just a few of the pics that have in their massive catalog of photos. Mountain gorilla pics were taken in Rwanda on an amazing hike. The rest of the animal pics were taken during various game drives. The big waterfall was Victoria Falls. The churches and castles were taken in Ethiopia. The last grouping of pics were additional Cappadocia. The mosques before that were in Istanbul. The amazing structures carved in the rock walls before the mosque photos were taken in Petra. The pyramids and temples of Egypt speak for themselves, but the square top pyramids just after the churches of Ethiopia were taken in the Sudanese desert. White water rafting on Class 5 rapids was done in Jinja, Uganda. There are more pics still uploading of Cappadocia, but essentially these pics give a good representation of what was seen and done by me over the past 4 months. Hope you enjoyed looking at the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them. Cheers.