WELCOME

To ... our family, friends and the just plain curious.

Hope you enjoy our blog, nothing here to flog but a well earned worldwide slog.

We're starting off from this little ole island and hoping to travel the wrong way around the world to the UK. If you follow us on this blog you'll see what we mean.

We hope you enjoy our little adventure.

While you're waiting, have a gander at a few pics from our past adventure to Jordan. Many memories taken but too many to put on here. So checkout pics of The Treasury in Petra and Wadi Rum which was often used for some of the Star Wars' settings and most famously of all, the setting for Lawrence of Arabia. Note the train. Oh! and me and Mig posing with a Johnny Depp lookalike Bedouin. 

David Cobbald - Warrant Officer in his younger days - our chauffeur who took us in his 'Rolls' down to the Ferry port. This wonderful man supplied free water (a swig each) and Werther's Originals (one each) and ancient jokes. 

Girne Ferry Port.

Even the local farmers chipped in to load baggage onto the ferry -  Manchester take note.

Ready to go, bags ready to be netted up on the forward part of the ferry. Very clean and tidy interior with comfortable seats. Coffee, tea and soft drinks served at prices where British airports would go bankrupt.

Tasucu  

Arrived in Tasucu port at 2.30 after a calm and pleasant crossing. 

We were checked in at the Iskele Otel by two very friendly members of staff. The room was clean but basic and no kettle so we’ll have to find another way to boil our socks. Ah well, the fridge was one consolation as it contained two thimble sized cartons of water.  Once settled in, we sipped the thimbles into our dehydrated bodies which made no obvious difference so we headed to Tasucu beach area which was like a Doppleganger of Maplethorpe.

Silifke - Konya 

We had lunch at Silifke Otobus Terminal - a doner kebab in a homemade wrap each, Nescafe, tea and Ayran (salty yoghurt for those not familiar with Turkish diet) which set us back 50 Turkish Lira (£2.50). A Scot and a Yorkshireman can’t grumble at that.  

Our coach was bang on time and a Bernard Cribbins lookalike  threw our bags in the hold with total disregard for the 6 dozen eggs we’d smuggled in from Haci Ali’s battery farm. At 1pm we set off for Konya with no delay. It was an exhilarating drive over mountains and market gardening country until we stopped at Mut, a small town north of Silifke - surprisingly, no dogs to be seen. Bernard did another passenger register as we set off to Karaman.

Some pics along the way.

The first pic shows the driver and Polis after they pulled the bus over for the second time. Spot Bernard Cribbins look alike. Overall, the journey to Konya took 5 hours, apart from the WiFi and TV not working, it was still a comfortable ride and only 5 minutes adrift.  A tenner each for the tickets from Busbud so, overall, another cracking deal. 

Check Konya out in relation to our hotel.

Walkabout in Konya

Settled in the Nun Otel which is within walking distance of the main historical attractions. 

Fell out of a very comfortable bed and down to a breakfast of eggs, meat, fruit and bread. And ... for the obsessed, or rather the possessed, chips.

By the way, as Konya is a very conservative and religious city of Turkey, alcohol is difficult to find. However, there is plenty of Turkish tea and coffee almost everywhere you go. Besides, once you see the splendid historical buildings an Efes is far from your mind. Almost all places of interest are within walking distance. 

There are some very unusual sights such as the narrow shopping streets which seem to go on forever in all directions. Check out the pics of women's clothes on one side of the the street and men's on the other. 

We decided to have a late lunch stroke dinner of Mezes, Shepherd salad, rice, Chicken shish, Chicken wings and 'Long Turkish Pizza' and I mean long. Here it is in all its glory.

If youre interested in how this beast is made then here's a link: https://youtu.be/uNqx2zNJVpI

Mevlana Muzesi

This museum is a must, it is interesting and very intriguing.

The Mevlâna Museum is the mausoleum of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, a Persian Sufi mystic. It was also the dervish lodge of the Mevlevi order, better known as the whirling dervishes. 

Rather than me copy and paste try this link for more detail: https://turkishmuseums.com/museum/detail/2131-konya-mevlana-museum/2131/

Some pics we took inside:

Mevlana Culture Centre

This was the highlight of our visit to Konya to see the Whirling Dervishes. The show started at 7pm on Saturday (this is the only day the show is on) and tickets are on sale in H Block, which is an entrance into the arena, from 6pm at 30 Lira each. The centre  itself was an easy two mile walk from the hotel.

The Show

The arena  itself is very modern and impressive. As for the performance, well you don't have to be religious at all to be taken back by the sheer dedication and commitment of the Dervishes themselves. For one hour, the Dervishes captivated us, and the audience,  by going into a trance like mode as they performed their whirling dance. The respect from the audience showed throughout the whole hour with a total hushed silence. We must admit there was something very serene about the whole experience. Here are some pics and video we took:

Taka Balik Restaurant 

During our stay in Konya we looked high and low for a fish restaurant as most places serve meat and chicken meals. Until, we pair of plonkers realised that we could use Google Maps to find one. Lo and behold, just 900 metres from the hotel was Taka Balik Restaurant.

The food, service and price was amazing. But and a big but, no alcohol. The waiter, Niazi, introduced us to an alternative traditional  drink which was fermented purple carrot juice, Salgam Suyu. It's different but definitely an acquired taste.