Greece

Athens! If I thought that Eastern Europe was old - well.. Athens is older. Athens was in its prime in 400 b.c. and Greece is arguably the first great civilization in all of Europe. We had a great time in Athens and then went to a small town which Homer refers to in his Odyssey with king Agamemnon and such (Troy, Trojan horse, etc.).

The Parthenon. The mighty Parthenon (around 400bc) sits above Athens and is THE thing to see here. Athens itself is a bit dirty, crowded and congested. 2004 Olympics helped clean it up a fair amount.



This statue (say, 450 bc) by my count is only missing 4 of his 11 digits. Which is far better than most statues from 2500 years ago. Unfortunately most of the statues are missing their 11th digit (ouch).



I came across this striking statue just outside the Acropolis. Looks like some kind of explorer. Note his confident pose and dominating stature. I did a count, and yes he has all of his digits.



So far this trip we have been eating really well and cheap. Markets supply most of our food although sometimes we make mistakes. I had the pleasure of eating yeast in Romania (it's not butter). A heaping handful of Kalamata olives? 1 euro.



I like this shot on the grounds of the Acropolis. It looks like each column is smoking. Which is appropriate, because pretty much everyone in Europe smokes like it's going out of style. The Greeks are particularly bad - smoking is apparently a course during all meals.



Napflio, Greece. This was voted Lovestead's best site of 2007 so far. We had an awesome room with a great view. A castle and good food. Lots of Greeks here running about. The big thing is the sun glasses that George Michael (born Greek, Mikeolakis Georgogakisapolis) made popular in the 80s.



Big ass stadium. These are all over the place. Which in itself isn't that interesting. But this one is in mint condition and is from 300bc. Seats 17,000. Old. etc. (Tara says, "Greece = old and ruined")



Ah the citadel. I am in love with these places. 1007 steps (Tara counted of course) to the top of Palamidi Fortress. This place is a masterpiece of military defense. Totally impregnable (without modern weapons) except one achilles heal, no water. It sits way above the town and makes for a hell of a workout.



This is a shot of our hotel (just kidding). A shot from the fortress. That's the town below and just on the right side of the photo is our hotel.



Just a photo to make everyone jealous. This is our hotel for 3 nights. We planned 1, we stayed 3. We absolutely love this little town (Napflio). It costs us 30euro a night (a bargain).

Bulgaria

Sophia - we spent a mere 2 days visiting the capital of Bulgaria. The first day we went around looking at all the sights. The second day we revisited them all... Sophia doesn't have that much to see.

Life here is a bit different from the rest of Europe. The average salary is around $140 US a month! The girl who ran our hostel confirmed this (I got the number from a newspaper clipping). That means my camera is a years salary here. Which explains why everyone stared at me and why there were NO camera stores around.

The most important and impressive building here is their church (as with most cities). Very large, very ornate. As you can imagine we are getting a little burned out on all churchs.



There are a lot of Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Bulgaria. Thus you get a lot of these characters walking around. Try reading the sign above them to figure out what they were buying. Good luck, everything is in a cyrillic alphabet. We had a heck of a time getting around with all the signs this way. We've learned to navigate by the landmarks alone by now.



Want a cheap thrill? That bottle of vodka in the middle is about $2.3euros.

Translyvania, Romania

Velcome to my home. Well.. my home for the past week. We spent the entire week in the country trying to find that special medieval world that is gone from Western Europe. Also I was secretly looking for Dracula.


Translyvania, Carpathian mountains, Romania.. It all sounds so romantic and old world.



Not the greatest image - but look closely. It is spring time here and the crops need to be planted. So time to break out the horse and plow. I saw people in vast fields with a single hoe. I also saw people picking potatoes one by one. I later saw a guy taking a shit next to the river, but that's a different story.



Vlad Dracul (the order of the dragon), fathered Vlad Tepes (the impaler) who for many years held back the Ottoman Turks. While greatly outnumbered by the Turks, he would use fear tactics like impaling people (who took days to die). At one point he had the entire Turkish army on the run using these gorilla warfare techniques. It earned him a place in history as well infamy. Later to become the famed "Dracula". Who, by the way, the locals hate because Bram Stoker basically took their hero and turned him into a Hollywood legend.



Vlad Dracul and his family (including little Dracula) lived in the citadel in Sighisoara. His house is still there (550 years old!) and is now a restaurant. This citadel is the real deal and we loved walking around it's walls. This is a shot from the crypt beneath the church (from 1488). This is where Tara scared the living daylights out of me by jumping out at me from around the corner.



Bran Castle - a real proper castle used to repel the marauding Ottomans. Built in the mid 1300s, it has a commanding presence in the narrow valley. It is considered "Dracula's castle" but there is no proof he even ever visited here. But that doesn't stop the t-shirts salesmen.



There was of course a princess in Bran castle. And check out the name at the bottom. Ileana, you need to ask Bill why he hasn't built you a castle yet.



The locals heading out for a night on the town. We saw more horse carts than you'd believe.



Rasnov Citadel. High atop the hills above town, this citadel protected the townsfolk below. I loved this place! Towering snow capped mountains in the distance. All the key holes and crannies to shoot down into the approaching armies. There is a well that two prisoners dug to get their freedom. Took 17 years!



This about sums up train travel. It is very cheap in Eastern Europe. Most legs only cost about $15 US. Next stop. Bulgaria.

Istanbul, was Constantinople, now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople

Instanbul has the unique claim to fame of being in both Europe and Asia. The bosphorus straight splits the city and it's 12 million or so residents. We really felt like we had escaped the western world here. Carpet salesmen aside (don't bother asking, none of them are magic flying carpets), the people are really friendly and helpful. With so many languages spoken here, English is becoming the most utilized. We had very little trouble getting around this amazing and ancient city.


Have to brag here - this was taken from our room. We had the most amazing view of the Blue Mosque. So named because of the blue tiles on the roof. The spooky lines above the mosque aren't spirits. They are the very confused gulls flying around. Can you see how their wings flap in time? (click on the photo to see it!)



Turkey is 99% Muslim. But progressively so - thanks to Ataturk ("father Turk"). He was their president during the 1st world war and then helped fight back the Greeks. He did a lot for women's rights (work, voting) and also brought a strong sense of fashion. Today, women are discouraged from covering their heads. But of course, they still wear them in mosques.



Aya Sofya. One of the finest churches in the world. If not THE finest for many many years. How many years? Try 1500 years. This place was built in 537 AD. In 537 most of the world was running around hitting each other on the heads with wooden sticks. And the interior dome is STILL one of the largest in the world. It was first a Christian church (the Romans) and then was converted to a Mosque when the Turkish took over in 1453.



Friday, noon. All Muslim men are required to attend service. A very busy place indeed. This MASSIVE mosque was so full the people were spilling out into the steps and grounds around the building.



Strong is the force in this one.



All young men must join the military for a short tour. As a result you get lots of zany guys with automatic weapons. The police are a very dominant feature around the University as well (usually with shields and tear gas). Apparently the local Uni kids have lots of political opinions.



Don't sneeze.



My favorite part of Istanbul was the narrow streets leading to amazing places. The most beautiful mosques would pop up before your eyes.



Turkish people LOVE cats. Cats everywhere. They feed them in the parks (fresh meat!), keep them as pets and pet them on the sidewalks. I imagine they keep the rat population down and thus the black plague.

Dubai Photos

It's like simultaneously stepping backwards and forwards in time. Towering modern buildings live next door to shacks. Spending time on the bus gets you in touch with a dazzling combination of nationalities. I was determined to get photos of people in action - but found myself a bit nervous.

These two guys were just doing there thing outside the silk market. My American eyes can see and feel the stereotypes based on recent political goings on. But later I watched a gent just like this giving his son a nookie. Seem like regular old chaps after that.


The trading markets (souqs) have had a central place in everyday life since the beginning in Dubai. Life still goes on in much the same way now. Of course with the addition of intruding tourists with cameras.


Everywhere I've been I see this sign. Sad, but a fact of life. We went into a huge mall that had Appleby's, KFC, Starbucks, etc.. Take away the burqas, robes and head dress and you are in any mall in the US.


We only stay in the finest parts of town. So I get lots of these shots. These guys seemed to have a pretty hard life. Moving big stuff on carts. He is probably texting his friend, "Hey some American is taking my photo."

Dubai

Fascinating. I just tried to get onto a friends website (on Flickr.com) and this message came up in an internet cafe here in Dubai.



I've got lots of photos of interesting juxtapositions. Like I just saw a man who makes a living by moving large items on a wooden cart on his cell phone. Or two men in traditional head dress and robes getting ice cream at Haagen Daz.

Dubai is fantastically diverse. Indian, Arab, Asian, Russian (lots come here to shop), European and African all share this tax free environment. And yeah.. it's really really hot.

I haven't been able to figure out how the women in their burqas drink Starbucks coffee.

Coffee in Starbucks = 12 Dirhams
Chai masala on the street = 1 Dirham