How did I get that??

I played in a futsal tourney on Sunday. Got kicked in the shins twice in one game, about a minute apart. I got bruises from that (despite the shin guards) but it wasn't too obvious to the naked eye.

On Wednesday night, I played basketball for the first time in more than 3 years. It may have been 4 years, in fact, since I played any sort of basketball game. I was surprised that I didn't completely make a full of myself in front of my (male) colleagues, even managing to score a couple of 3 pointers.

Yesterday (Thursday) morning, I noticed a bruise on the outer part of my lower leg, just under the right knee. It was very faint, and I have no idea whether it came from the day of futsal or the game of basketball, but last night, dad pointed it out (and pressed it!! OUCH!!) and it looked like this:


Ok, I'm going to need someone to explain to me how it got from barely-there to "look at me!". Seriously. Not funny.

I love shoes but...

I am hopeless when it comes to fashion. I tend to choose comfort over catwalk. This doesn't mean that I don't observe what other people wear, because I do. Kudos to them for being able to pick up trends so quickly and to a certain extent, put up with the discomfort in the name of fashion. Bags and shoes seem to really stand out to me in a person's outfit, probably because I seem to have a thing for these, especially bags!

But imagine this scenario: you notice a girl/lady/woman with gorgeous shoes walking towards you. Impeccably dressed, 'face' on, and not a strand of hair out of place. As she walks past you, you turn your head to check out her shoes from behind. And that's when you see it: the price tag (more often that not, it is a white rectangular sticker), still stuck to the sole of her shoe.

Was she in a hurry? Or was she too excited about wearing it that she forgot to remove it?

To the people in my life

Happyness.

I have never been the extremely happy type of person. I realise this may seem completely incomprehensible to some, but it's true. Of late, maybe in the last 6 months, I have been feeling more happy more often. People have seen it, but how can I say that that is the true measure of the person that I really am?

Fact is, I don't believe that any person can be so thoroughly happy that they do not experience low moments, days, or periods. They just may not talk about it or choose not to show it. But those times exist.

Personally, I prefer to show it once in a while. It may manifest in a myriad of ways; equally unpredictable is where and when. But I will not hide it all the time, because hey, that's what gives a person character, dimension. But most of the time, if I tell someone, it would be a person whom I would hope for feedback and support from, but most of all whom I am comfortable enough to confide in and trust.

So please. If I'm not on a constant high, at least know that I'm being honest. To you and to myself. I am more upbeat these days, on a more regular basis, and will make every effort to keep it that way. Try and understand that it is important (at least to me) that if I tell you the bad or sad stories, it's because I think you deserve to know what I really think - the 'real' me. Not the illusion, not the version with icing and ribbons and flowers. Or the doll with the fixed smile and no feelings. But the stripped back, heartfelt version. I hope you'll consider it a compliment rather than an insult.

[On the subject of unhappy people, I seem to encounter a large number of people who have advanced in their careers but for reasons that are beyond me, are so insecure and unhappy that they have to belittle and be spiteful to their subordinates and other colleagues. I don't think I'm particularly good-looking, but sometimes being ugly on the inside can make someone seem uglier on the outside.]

Are you for real?

Today, I received an email from a client about their employee. The sentence went something along the lines of: "Mr X is an expatriate in Malaysia, with a real working permit." Right. Because you'd tell us if your employee was on a fake visa?

A few minutes later, a colleague who was researching another client read this on their website: "We make potato chips - from real potatoes". As opposed to fake potatoes? ;)

A trip to Guilt

It's the one day that I'm supposed to feel special. I was looking forward to this weekend. I did feel special a few days ago. Last night, even. But today, somehow I feel as if I'm not meant to have fun.

For my sister, from my sister

Photos from my sister, to show her that I am thinking of her! :)

Turkey - Day 7 (Pt 2) & 8

[continued from previous post]

Okay, last post!! Well, I'm sure I'll find things to add over time, but this is the last on our activities and tours. The previous post ended with the last stop of our morning tour - at Ayasofya - and the excitement of going to the Spice Market.

Our tour guide takes us to the stall she recommends before bidding us farewell and going to enjoy her afternoon off. But first, she explains the name of the shop: Harem Saray. If you’d been paying attention to my previous posts you would know that saray means palace, and harem refers to the domestic section of the palace, where the women live. If you hadn’t been paying attention, I won’t hold it against you. I’m sure I missed out on a lot of translations and explanations over the course of the week, anyway :)


We lunch at Hamdi, a restaurant that was recommended to us before we arrived in Turkey, and again by Latife. It occupies all four floors of one shop (not the whole block of shops), and we are lucky in that we got to sit on the top floor and see the magnificent skyline of Istanbul outside our window, even if it is raining and cloudy outside. We lunch on the ‘usual’ – salad, bread, kebabs and finish up with Turkish coffee and teas. It's good, but the service is what we have come to expect in Turkey. Slightly aloof, waiters that disappear whenever you want to actually order something, and far-too-efficient removal of our plates :)


We then return to the Spice Market and spend hours there, enjoying the afternoon of bargaining and joking with the traders. I listen with amusement as my brother is offered camels for my sister – a compliment to her, supposedly. Camels are expensive, alright?? :) We end up purchasing all sorts of things, from T-shirts to pashminas, cushion covers to tea light holders, and of course, spices, dried fruit, Turkish Delight, and apple tea.

When we are finally ready to leave the Spice Market, it is almost closing time, 7pm. Good timing, except where do we go for dinner now? It is drizzling again. I have not yet had ‘authentic’ kebab-shop type food. We’ve had great food in restaurants, but have yet to sample the food from the smaller ‘kopitiam’-type of shops. So I suggest that and there are no objections. We gear up to head out into the cold – gloves, beanies and scarves on; jackets zipped and coats buttoned up; umbrellas up – and begin the walk back in the direction of the apartment, all the while keeping a lookout for ‘authentic’ kebab shops. We find one that looks popular and provides seats upstairs. We have to wait downstairs for a table to become available, and when we finally make our way upstairs, the reason becomes apparent: it’s tiny! Haha. No matter. We put our shopping safely in a corner and await the food that we pre-ordered downstairs.

We tuck into doner kebabs, kebab rolls, fish, and kumpir that are all priced at a fraction of what we paid in restaurants, but certainly no less delicious. Hmm… maybe I should set up a Turkish restaurant in KL! Then I could have all this food whenever I wanted… Our first order is not quite enough; the fish is delicious so we order a second helping of that. I think that we made a spectacle of ourselves, sending the ‘waiter’ down to help us order more food and drink.

Finally satisfied, we set off back to the apartments, stopping along the way so that I can buy some baklava. We hadn’t had it all week, and I couldn’t leave without having some!

We get back at around 8.30pm, arms laden with shopping, bellies full of food, and empty pockets. Lol. Metin is surprised that we have had dinner, but I think subconsciously we all knew that we had to get started early on the packing because we had bought so much :) I think we, all of us, just managed to stuff everything into our respective bags (between the 5 of us, there were 4 final destinations).

That night, we could not get the hot water running in the shower (the wash basin and kitchen sink were fine). We couldn’t in the morning earlier that day either, but I think everyone just assumed that someone else had informed Metin. No one had. Uh oh. I trudge down the stairs to ask if there was a problem with the hot water system. No, I’m told, it should work. The guys check the hot water in the shower in the apartments above and below ours – they work. So what’s up with ours? It turned out that someone had installed the pipes wrongly in our shower, so to get hot water, we had to turn the knob to the right, instead of the left. And didn’t I feel pretty dumb for not having tried that…:p

We pack up, sleep, and the next morning, prepare for our flight without much incident. As expected, there were some dramas during the course of the trip (that I shall not get into), but really, what’s a family holiday without it? This morning, there is no time for drama. In a few hours, we will be parting ways with my sister at the airport. Before that, we have our last meal in Istanbul at Angel’s, snap a few photos with Metin and of mum and dad on his bike, load the car, and are off on our trip to the airport. One last opportunity to see the streets and sights of Istanbul.

I am sad, very sad to leave. I feel like I have only touched the tip of the iceberg, and indeed, as I discover when I get back to Malaysia, there is so much of Turkey that we did not see, and probably could not cover even if we stayed there a year. I had accumulated 1GB worth of photos, a memory full of well, memories, a heart full of feelings, and hopefully a lifetime friendship. I know that made no sense, but I’m trying my hardest to explain (obviously not so eloquently) how this trip has been such an eye-opener in so many ways. Gotta remember to thank the folks for it again one day! ;)

Turkey - Day 7 (Pt 1)

I was originally going to consolidate Days 7 & 8 into one blog post, but by the time I had finished it, it was the length of 4 Word pages! So I'll do the first half of Day 7 in Part 1, and the second half and Day 8 in Pt 2.

I'm not sure why they've set out our itinerary in such a way that we saw the most historical (old European) part of Istanbul, i.e. the Sultanahmet area where the famous Blue Mosque, Ayasofya, Topkapi Sarayi and Basilica Cistern are located. I remember hearing something about Day 2 (the day of our first tour of Istanbul) being a Sunday, so something wasn't open but who knows, I could have dreamt it up for all I know. In fact, I could have dreamt the whole thing up, superimposed myself into the photos, and you wouldn't know that I've never actually been to Istanbul! Unless you actually do know me, and the fact that modifying photos with Photoshop or some other software is completely beyond my technical capabilities.

Okay, enough nonsense. And I wonder why it has taken me so long to finish blogging about Turkey.

First stop for the morning (after breakfast at Hotel Angel's Home) was the Sultan Ahmed Cammii, or more popularly known as Blue Mosque after the colour chosen for the interior of the mosque. This national mosque is easily distinguishable by the 6 minarets that surround the mosque, there are some conflicting stories as to how Sultan Ahmet Cammii came to have such an odd number of minarets. Did Sultan Ahmet I ask for 'gold' (altin in Turkish) minarets, or six (alti)? Had he intended to copy the Holy Mosque in Mecca, which also had six minarets (a seventh was later added to the Holy Mosque to distinguish it from the Blue Mosque)? Whatever the reason, it is these 6 minarets that now make the Blue Mosque such a prominent feature of Istanbul's skyline today.

Visitors are allowed inside the mosque, through a separate entrance from worshippers. Shoes must be removed, but the women among us were not forced to don scarves over our hair. Visitors are restricted from entering some parts of the mosque, such as the main prayer floor, and the mosque is closed during prayer times. There is a carpet museum onsite that houses the original carpets used in the mosque, but the museum, like many other exhibits on this trip, were closed for restoration works.


Inside the mosque, one's attention is first captured by a few outstanding elements:
- the 20,000 magnificient blue Iznik tiles;
- the stained glass windows (of which there are about 200);
- the central dome, which weighs 1 tonne;
- the huge pillars that resemble elephants' legs, that are the main support structures that hold up this imposing monument;
- the 8 tablets inscribed with the names of the Prophet, the 4 caliphs, the Prophet's son/grandson and another figurehead and his son/grandson (I will try and find the exact names!)

Our guide also pointed out the finer details of some of the features that we might have missed otherwise:
- the 4 smaller domes act as counterweights to the central dome
- women conducted their prayers on the balconies, separated from the men
- the pulpit (or minber) from which Imams lead the prayers on Fridays or other holy days
- the low-lying chandelier, which facilitated the changing of candles and cleaning of wax in the earlier years

I'm sure I've missed some things out, but this is what I can remember off the top of my head :)


We move from the Blue Mosque to the Hippodrome just outside, where horse races were once held. There is a loud, boisterous group of friends at the Hippodrome when we are there. Our guide runs through the information amidst the din caused by that group, we take a few photos, but I don't think we are able to pay that much attention. It is a cold day and we are eager to get to the next point, the Turkish & Islamic Art Museum, which will provide more warmth and shelter from the harsher weather today.


The Turkish & Islamic Art Museum contains many artefacts, and explains the history of the carpets that Turkey is so famous for. There are also exhibits about the way of life in different regions of the country, and beautiful pearl-inlaid koran stands and boxes from the Ottoman period. We do not get much time to browse the exhibits here, but if Turkish & Islamic history is your thing and you want to take your time, you could probably spend a couple of hours here.

We hurry along to our next stop, the final stop on our official tour of Turkey. We have found out that today is supposed to be Latife’s day off, but she has had to work to accommodate the change in our flight schedule, so we will try to help ensure she gets the full afternoon off.

Call it what you want: St Sophia, Hagia Sofia, or Ayasofya is a magnificient building that has evolved to reflect Turkey's history, from Byzantine to Ottoman periods, to its current status as a republic.

The current building was constructed in 5 years from the year 532 A.D. and is actually the third church to be erected on the site. The previous two (smaller churches) had been destroyed by earthquakes and riots. Then, when the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinopole, Sultan Mehmed II ordered that the church be used as a mosque. The beautiful gold mosaics depicting Jesus and the Virgin Mary were covered up with plaster, the marble floors covered with carpet, the altar was removed and a mihrab installed in its place (a mihrab indicates the direction of kiblat/Kaaba in Mecca/where Muslims should face when praying). Hence, the mihrab looks slightly off-centre on the main platform. Finally, when Turkey achieved independence and became a republic, its founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, decided to change the building into a museum.

As a result, some of the coverings put in place when the church was converted into a mosque was removed to showcase the splendour of the church. Other parts of the building were left as they were during the Ottoman period. It is an interesting mix and contrast, if a little spoilt by the scaffolding that has been erected inside the museum to support the dome. According to our guide, the scaffolding was erected after the last earthquake in 1999, as it was the quickest and cheapest way to support the dome, and is likely to become a permanent fixture in the museum. What a pity.


As with the Blue Mosque, there were 8 plates inscribed with the names of the Prophet, the 4 kaliphs, etc. Flash photography is not permitted against the gold mosaics, though it may be used in other areas. This rule, we learnt, is quite heavily enforced. Whenever a flash went off, the guards were quick to shout out ‘no flash, please’. At one stage, even a school teacher who was on a field trip with her class told some visitors to turn off their camera flashes. Probably not something you’d witness in Malaysia! Towards the end of the tour of Ayasofya, our guide shows us a jar that is made from a single piece of marble. This wouldn’t be a huge deal, until you consider the fact that the jar’s capacity is 12,000 litres! *faint*

We ended this whirlwind morning tour of Sultanahmet with a short ride to the Spice Market. If you could have seen me, I was probably clapping my hands in glee. We were going shopping for food, people! :)) Even now, I still get excited at the thought of it.


[to be continued...]

Turkey - Day 6

On the home stretch, people! Just two and a half more days left in beautiful Turkey. My apologies that it has taken me this long to get to this point!! I am truly a certified, professional, master procrastinator.

It is Christmas morning. We repack our bags in the morning and are met by only the driver today. The drive to Izmir this morning, and the ensuing flight back to Istanbul are uneventful (thank goodness!) and we make it back to Istanbul and our guide, Latife before noon.

It is a gorgeous day; apparently it snowed in Istanbul the night before, too. We have the option of doing the whole tour that was scheduled for Day 6, or half on that day and half the following day, or the whole thing the next day. As the weather was so beautiful, and just about everything we had to do was outdoors anyway, we decided to do the scheduled tour for the second half of the day on Day 6, and visit the remainder of the scheduled tours the following morning. That would leave us just half a day to shop on the last day, but it couldn't really be helped.

So we headed back to the apartments, unloaded the luggage, freshened up and headed to Topkapi Sarayi (Palace) Museum. I'd realised by this stage that 'kapi' is the word for 'gate'. 'Top' means 'canon', and this was how locals refered to the palace because of the openings for canons in the wall surrounding the palace (the original name of the palace was the New Imperial Palace). This wall, by the way, totals 7.5 km in length, so this gives an indication of the size of the area of the palace grounds. More information and history on the palace can be found here and here.

Being winter and therefore off-peak tourist season, many of the exhibits and parts of the palace were under restoration works and closed to the public. But there was still plenty to see! From the porcelains brought by the Chinese in the 16th, 17th Century, to the larger-than-life kitchen utensils, the Imperial treasures (many of them gifts to the Sultans), the Sacred Relics, to the very well-preserved garments of the Sultans and heirs to the throne, there were many, many exhibits to satisfy the different interests of individual visitors to the palace. Of course, my interest was in the cooking implements and the kitchen, where about 800-1000 prepared daily meals and snacks for a household of about 5000 people!


There are original tiles dating back to the mid-15th Century when the castle was built (in 6 years!), grand aigrettes (headwear used to decorate the Sultans' turbans) studded with emerald and diamonds, two 48kg candleholders (also studded with thousands of diamonds) the world's fifth-largest diamond (supposedly) at 86 carat which is also known as the Spoonmaker's diamond, the arm and skull and St John the Baptist, locks of the Kaaba, the list is endless, and I have a feeling that my memory was rather selective in what it has managed to retain. It was a pity that we were not permitted to take photos of many of the exhibits; some of the exhibits really were quite mind-blowing.


A visit to Topkapi Palace also provides visitors with a splendid view of the Marmara Sea and the Bosphorus River. Again, I do not remember which we saw first, due to the information overload, but I think it was the Marmara! One could also view the room where the Sultans' young sons were prepared for circumcision, including places for them to relax prior to the ceremony.

As we had been to the Harem section in Beylerbeyi Palace, we were able to skip the Harem here (entry to the harem at Topkapi is at an additional charge). No doubt, this would have been much larger a harem than the one we saw, which was in a summer palace. The Harem at Topkapi Palace is said to have housed up to 400 women!

When we have visited all the exhibits in Topkapi that we are allowed to view (I have read somewhere that you should allow for at least half a day to visit Topkapi Palace), our guide and driver take us to the Grand Bazaar. We ask, because it is the 'touristy' thing to do. We are taken there, but cautioned that prices would be quite high compared to what we would pay at the Spice Market, which we were planning to explore the following day.

We explore a bit of the Grand Bazaar but really don't make it too far. I don't think we got up to 100 stalls (out of about 4000 stalls) before the bright lights and loud noises put us off and we head back to the apartments to get ready for our Christmas dinner.

On arrival back at the apartments, we are informed that there is no electricity, so we wait in the sitting area in candlelight while we deliberate our next course of action. It becomes apparent that we will not be able to shower and 'pretty ourselves' for dinner. Not having electricity is one thing, not having hot water is quite another! So we decide to head out - it is peak hour traffic, and Metin, the owner of the travel agency and apartments, offers to drive us. It will take us a while to get to the restaurant so those of us who were tired (ok, it was me!) could nap in the minvan. No objections there! I catch snippets of the conversation on the way to the restaurant, but for the most part, I am happy to have a snooze.


We arrive at the Ataköy branch of Gelik Meat Restaurant sometime later (me being blissfully unaware of how long we were stuck in the jam for, if at all) for Christmas dinner that we prebooked. There is no turkey for us this Christmas. Guess Turks aren't too excited by the idea of eating the bird. But no matter, there is plenty of terrific lamb, rice and desserts to fill us up. We had a late lunch (around 3pm, after Topkapi), so were not very hungry when we got to the restaurant at around 8pm, but were still able to appreciate the good food! Metin joined us for dinner, and we got to pick his brain a bit about Turkey in general, and his bike in particular. This is one of the things I like about going to a different country: sitting down and talking to a local. It's not easy to do this on a whirlwind family trip that only lasts a week. But it's the best way to learn about a country and its people, local sentiments, cutures, habits, when you get the opportunity.

When the electricity has been restored at the apartment (and the buildings surrrounding it), we head back and I am very soon warm and toasty and fast alseep.

Smart guy, not-so-smart woman

I'm on a roll here... Think I've read the newspaper more in the last couple of days than I have in the last month or two...


Marathon recyclers

This is quite inspirational, even though the guy is a bit too extreme - using used cooking oil to power his car! However, some of the principles and practices, like buying locally and supporting local farmers, is really not hard to do. It's something that I tried to practice while I was living in Australia, but have grown quite slack about it since moving to KL, especially because things like co-ops to purchase in bulk are a rare find, and when you consider the fuel consumption required to get to these places, it doesn't sound like I'm doing the environment any favours after all. Oh, and I don't cook here, so I don't really grocery-shop! Still, reading this article has made me resolve to try and be more environmentally-friendly from now on.


Mum of nine needs help again

Now, not to sound heartless, but if you ask for help from the public, who oblige and help you buy a house, then you light josssticks and candles and leave your children alone in the house, what do you expect? 33 years old and 9 kids. I think that says enough.

Turkey - Day 5

[Please click on the photo above for a larger version]

We pack up this morning to check out of the Atinc Hotel as it is our last day in the western Anatolia part of Turkey. We leave the hotel about an hour earlier today because we have a long way to drive to Pamukkale in Denizli, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Enroute to Pamukkale, we visit the site of Aphrodisias, an ancient city built in dedication to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. Kenan Erim, an archaeologist of Turish origin, first obtained the sponsorship of National Geographic, then of other parties, to excavate the site of the city. By then, Aphrodisias had been buried under earth and a village was built on the mound. A more complete history of the discovery of Aphrodisias can be found here.

So what, you might think, yet another ancient city, more marble columns and carved marble. On closer inspection, the carvings here are, if possible, more intricate and detailed than the previous sites we had visited and indeed, far more plentiful, as Aphrodisias was also a school for marble sculpting, due to its proximity to a marble quarry. Hence, a walk through the site and the on-site museum unveiled a huge collection of carvings and sculptures so fine, so detailed, that one had to marvel at the skills of the artists.

The second distinguishing feature of Aphrodisias is that although there was some attempt to reconstruct some of the marble columns, there was far less of this compared to Pergamon and Ephesus, where some concrete was used to fill in the gaps during reconstruction. Instead, in Aphrodisias, most of the marble structures are intact, otherwise the large pieces of marble were left as they were found, placed ad hoc around the site. Granted, it got a tad boring after a while, just looking at bits of marble lying around, but it gave a sense of authenticity to the ruins.

We saw, among other structures and sites, the sprawling south Agora, the expansive theatre (complete with Emperor's chair), the Hadrianic Baths, what might have been the Bishops Palace, and then the Odeon or Boulouterion. Here, it was slightly smaller than the one we saw in Ephesus, but on the ends of each row of seats, the marble was carved into the shape of a (lion's?) paw, with considerable detail. Very impressive.

Then there was the Temple of Aphrodite, and what is probably the highlight of Aphrodisias: the stadium. Said to be the best-preserved ancient stadium, about 260m in length and with a capacity of 30,000. It was truly an amazing sight.

Last but not least of the structures was the Tetrapylon, otherwise referred to as the ornamental gate. A magnificient structure with unbelievably detailed carvings in the marble, it was re-erected by Kenan Erim, whose grave lies just metres from the Tetrapylon. The excavation works, according to our guide, took 30 years to complete, and two days after the site was officially opened to visitors, Kenan Erim died of a heart attack. Now that is what I call fulfilling your purpose in life.

At the end of our tour of Aphrodisias, we visited the Museum of Aphrodisias, which contains some of the sculptures of gods and goddesses, muses, philosophers, and are proof of the skills honed by the sculptures of the time. Like the marble structures outside, the robes, facial features, even the hair, contained remarkable detail, and one wonders what it would have been like to live in that time, with the beauty of such sculptures and carvings surrounding you each day.

This visit was followed by lunch at a restaurant, then continuing on our journey towards Pamukkale. However, by the time we got to Pamukkale, it was 4.30pm. Too dark and far too cold to venture to the top to see the ancient city of Hierapolis. It was beautiful from where we were standing, but we were shivering as it was, so Hierapolis and the water of the hot springs would have to wait. Perhaps on our next visit to Turkey...

Think our day of excitement was over? Think again! We drove to Denizli airport to catch our flight back to Istanbul. On the way there, the roads started to get icy. Not good, our guide and driver tell us, as our flight might get cancelled. We keep driving, and... it begins to snow!! We found out on arrival at the airport that our flight had indeed been cancelled due to the adverse weather, so we booked a flight back to Istanbul for the following morning, and would have to return to Atinc Hotel for the night. I wasn't too bothered. I'd seen snow before, but not seen it actually falling, and on Christmas eve, so I was in no way trying to put a lid on my excitement. :))

We begin the long, slow (due to the ice) drive back to Kusadasi, and stop for dinner: a specialty of this region is apparently the çop şiş (pronounced chop shish). Kinda like chicken şiş, but tiny tiny pieces of chicken threaded onto a flat skewer and barbequed. You have to eat about 10 15 of these to feel like you've actually eaten something, but they looked so cute (and for some reason, I don't have a photo of them, musta been too hungry - it was 10.30pm by the time we stopped for dinner!). Finally reached the hotel at about 12.30am and we'd have to be ready to go at about 7.30am the next morning. Yikes!

In the news today

Because I have too much time on my hands today.

The Truth? You Wanna Know the Truth?

The next generation may be a bit too liberal, but on the other hand, may not be so quick to sweep things under the rug.


The Epitome of Inefficiency

It takes more than 2 weeks for police to conduct a urine test??? Help.

Special Edition Golf GTi

Saw an article on this in The Star newspaper yesterday, but couldn't find the link on its website. Google searched it and it seems that The Star has plagiarised completely from another website (including the photos)!

Turkey - Day 4

We are met at the hotel by our guide and driver and begin the day with yet another long drive (after breakfast in the hotel and friendly smiles from the waiters to brighten the morning), this time to Ephesus, which is said to be the best-preserved Greco-Roman city in the world.

The first thing we see when we alight from the van that is our mode of transportation, is a huge banner that reads (click on the photo below):


Ah, good start. As with the end of our tour of Pergamon the previous day, we were approached by the traders at the entrance/exit points, trying to get us to step into their shops and purchase their goods. Most could say 'apa khabar', which shows that quite a few Malaysian tourists must frequent Turkey. Most of the traders sold silver, bags, beanies, (genuine) fake watches, souvenirs, prepackaged Turkish Delights and apple tea, bags, pashminas, the list seems endless!

Back to the order of the day. Ephesus is supposed to have been built about 4,000 years ago. An entire city, built almost completely with marble (there were also granite columns and some mosaic tiles). The excavation of the city is not complete. What we saw is merely the heart of the city and the activities of its civilians, and it is estimated to be only 5-15% of the entire city.

We first saw the Odeon or Boulouterion, the small stage and theatre where small ceremonies and poetry readings would have been held. Small it may be, but it was impressive enough. From the seats of the theatre, we could spot what used to be homes in the slopes of the hills, now partially covered by grass and other vegetation. The entrances to these homes had been sealed with metal grills, as had the entrances to other homes and shops excavated, to prevent entry by unauthorised persons. We also saw a Roman bath, communal loos, more arches that have withstood nature's beatings, various temples and carvings of Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, including Hercules, Hermes and Nike. The highlights and most impressive features were the expansive Agora (marketplace), the towering rebuilt facade of Celsus Library, and the enormous theatre, where concerts were (and to this day, are still) held. No microphones and speakers are needed, such are the acoustics of the theatre.


It was an unbelievable and surreal feeling and experience to be there, and witness what civilisations thousands of years ago could achieve. Again, Harry provided many insights and questions for us to ponder.

It seemed to me that we had entered by the back route - visitors to the city via the harbour in ancient times would have entered the city centre in the opposite direction, but I am almost certain that the guides conduct tours in the other direction for the reason that: if you entered from the harbour side, you would have seen the grand stadium the library and the Agora first. The 'wow' factor would have been so great that most of the rest of the site would have paled in comparison, and tour participants would have gotten bored. This is by no means implying that the rest of the site was boring. It wasn't. But the element of grandeur could not compare to that of the three structures that we saw at the end of the tour. In their prime, who knows, maybe the hospital, temples and baths were spectacular structures that we cannot begin to imagine today.

We exit to another sign of 'genuine fake watches' and more calls of 'apa khabar' from the traders, and head to a restaurant for lunch. We then proceed to another part of Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary (Meryemana Evi). This is where, it is alleged, the Virgin Mary spent her last days.

Outside the house, there are 3 fountains of spring water. The water from the various fountains is supposed to provide the drinker beauty, intelligence, and fertility. I drank from the first two, and decided against the third for the time being.

We returned to the hotel early that evening and the family decided against the hotel dinner in favour of some (window) shopping and local food. I envisaged kebabs from a small shop, but we ended up in a restaurant on the boulevard. We had walked one way along the boulevard, and came back to have a second look at the restaurant and the menu. Then one of my siblings (think it was the brother) noticed a family inside gesturing and giving us the thumbs-up! It was quite hilarious, but we took that as a sign that the food must be that good, and we weren't disappointed. Not only that, but because our dinner took a while to come, we were provided complimentary salad for starters, and tea after dinner. Throw in friendly wait staff who were very willing to pose for photos, and I was quite the happy camper that night. I finished off the night with a tea in our hotel bar, listening to the same guy sing live, while I unloaded photos onto the Book. Ahhh, bliss. I was loving Turkey more and more each day.

Turkey - Day 3

Ok. It is taking me far too long to write these, and as much as I wish I could say I will finish the blogging on Turkey this weekend, I don't see it happening :) The best I can do is aim to finish Day 3 tonight.

This was the day we flew to Izmir, where we would spend the next three days visiting excavated ruins of ancient cities. On arrival in Izmir, we were met by our guide and driver, Harry and Jamal. From there, we headed straight for Bergama, to visit the ancient ruins of Pergamon (Pergamum), which was built by one of Alexander the Great's generals after his death.

We stopped at a service station for gas for the VW van, and the family headed inside for some drinks and snacks. There was fresh pomegranate juice, but sis and I had one craving. After only 2 days, we wanted potato chips! What can I say, junk food addicts, really.


At Pergamon, Harry pointed out some of the interesting features of the city, such as the marble columns and the intricate carvings on the marble, the arches that have withstood numerous earthquakes while everything around them have crumbled, the famous library.

It was a fairly cold day, apparently the first they'd had for a while (just our luck, really, to get to a place where they'd had beautiful weather up til the day before we arrive!), but it was still fascinating to see the ruins and listen to Harry's explanations, insights, and points to ponder.

We then had a late lunch, then were brought to a hali (carpet) place. It's not a factory, as there were no machines. It's somewhere where carpet makers can come to make the carpets that are specific to their tribe or clan, more like a cooperative than a factory. After much bargaining and unrolling of carpets of all different shapes and sizes, we decided on one piece after almost 3 hours.

Finally, we drove back to Kusadasi, to Atinc Hotel where we would be staying for the next 2 nights. Dinner was provided at the hotel, but we got there so late (after 8.30pm) that we had to eat straightaway, because the kitchen closed at 9pm. The service and live entertainment were great. The wait staff, whom we would see a fair bit of over the next 3 days, were more friendly than the ones we'd come into contact with in Istanbul. And the live entertainment: a solo singer on the guitar who sang English and Turkish songs. He was playing some oldies when we first sat down to our meal, and sounded quite good. I was impressed. Unfortunately, the food was nowhere near as good as what we'd had the previous 2 nights. Think we had become a bit too used to posh food! :)