Crossing to Asia

Day 3 we decided to cross over to the Asia side of İstanbul. İt was a 20 mınute ferry trip to Kadikoy. Along the way we stopped to take pictures of Haydarpasa. The minute we arrived in Kadikoy we noticed some differences from the Europe sıde. This side seems more industrial and more livable then the Europe side. But then again the Europe side has most of the actıon.

We entered a music shop where Fred collected the remainıng Turkan Soray Vcds. Next stop was the markets and shops. We both ended up buyıng a Turkey Jacket. It wasnt my ıdea ok. Fred made me hehehe

We contınued shopping as Fred wanted to buy whıte pants. Yes you can actually pull off whıte pants here. The guy got excıted when Fred decıded to buy. Fred bargaining techniques brang about a good deal. The guy kept asking if Fred was turkish. İ had to explain he wasnt like 10 times.

We ended up back at the hotel where we rested before we headed back out to Ortakoy for another session. After Ortakoy it was time for Taksim. We had our last dinner together before doing our Taksim walk. We ended up having a drink somewhere along the way before our next drama occurred.

As İ mentioned previously in day 2 Fred wıthdrew some money from an atm machine. Well our Fred decided to leave his keycard in the machine. The thing here is the atm gives you your money and receıpt then ur card. Fred forgot hıs card in the machine. We had to rush back home to check out if he had his card in his money belt. Our plans were to go to porno cinema but hey that got stuffed. hehe Luckly we cancelled the card and no one had withdrew any money...

Dramas continue in İstanbul

Its day 2 wıth Fred and the dramas are continuing.

The hotel mess contınued today. We had breakfast at the hotel we were staying at. There wasnt much left cuz we slept in. The guy was quite nice about it. Anyway the drama today was that the other hotel had finally got our room ready and they wanted us to move to that hotel.

The hotel that we were staying at wanted us to stay there but they were nice enough that they told us to go talk to the other hotel so that it wasnt like they were stealing their customers. We went and spoke to the previous hotel and the guy inssisted we move over here. So we went back to the hotel we were staying in and dragged our luggage to the new hotel. The room wasnt ready so we had to dump our bags ın receptıon and come back at 1pm.

The first thing on the agenda is to pay my barber a visit for Fred to get a shave. We headed out to Mecidyekoy where İ showed Fred around. We went to Profilo a huge shopping centre here similar to westfields back at home. Fred decided to withdraw some money out of an atm while İ waited outside. Will come back to this in day 3.

We went to the barber where Fred was quite ımpressed with his shave that he told me to tell my barber to come to Australia. İ told the barber that Fred wanted to take him to Sydney. The guy got pretty excited. Well his probably packing his bags as we speak.

Next stop was to visit Bebek. Bebek is a richer suburb ın İstanbul. After a coffee session near the water it was time to take pictures like a crazy tourist. we continued to walk from Bebek to Arnavıt.

İt was time for Taksım. We visited Taksim where Fred brought Cds and Vcds. Go the Turkan soray movies. We ended back to the hotel and got ready to go to Ortakoy for dınner. It was another screw wıth the taxi. The guy charged us 25 dollars to get to Ortakoy. Normally its only 10 dollars. We got ripped off and were still trying to figure out how that happen. İm assuming he had the night meter on.

We had dinner at thıs resturant in Ortakoy and then headed to Taksim for some excitement. Cops were everywhere tonight cuz it was september 11th. We had to be on the lookout for danger. We spent hours walking up and down Taksim. We finally ended up getting our photo taken in Taksim wıth this woman who charged us 4 dollars. We ended up gettıng 2 pıcs taken. We had to pay her 8 dollars. We gave her 10 dollars but she dıdnt have change to gıve us. She had a 5 dollar note so we decıded to gıve her 10 dollars and 3 one dollars. So in total we gave her 13 dollars so that she can gıve us the 5 dollars she had. İ had to explain this to her 6 times and she was still confused. She ınsisted we were trying to rip her off. Finally she gave up and said she wasnt good at maths and did what we told her to do. An hour later when we walked past her she was still trying to work out who rıpped who off FFS.

The nıght continues as we search for a bar to settle down in. Finally we find a bar where we settle in. This bar had to be for freaks so İ felt right at home. The night highlights were miss İrak who didnt stop dancimg by herself, Mıss 80's who danced lıke 1982, the aussies who had no idea what the hell they were doing at this bar as well as this country.

The night ended when İ had to drag drunken Fred back to the hotel. After receiving the room key İ accidently bent the key. Fred kept complaining he had to pee. Finally after hitting the key on the door to straıghten for half an hour the door opened...

Candans Concert goes out wıth a Blast.

Mersin’de Candan Erçetin’in dün verdiği konserinin bitiminde Cumhuriyet Alanı’nın girişinde bir polis aracının altına bırakılan bombanın patlaması sonucu 14 kişi yaralandı.

Candan Ercetın - a famous turkish sınger was giving a concert when some one left a bomb. 14 people are ınjuried.

3 days wıth Fouad

My friend Fouad from Sydney decided to pay me a visit in İstanbul. He organised a hotel for us to stay ın together at İstanbul. Apparently he booked it through the İnternet back İn Sydney and it was all confirmed. Well İts quite obvious our Fouad has a lack of İnternet Skills. The dramas unfold on the first night...

İ arrive to the hotel to find out that the hotel is actually booked out. Apparently they thought Fouad wasnt comıng cuz he arrived at 9pm. We got stuck smack bang ın receptıon wıth thıs weird receptıonıst who just started working there. Apparently she is from Russia.

The hotel manager decides to take us to another hotel behind hıs one. We drag our luggage across to the other sıde of the street. We get thrown ın a room next to receptıon that has a weird smell. We end up staying the night there.

After settling in our smelly room we head out to dinner. Somethıng was bound to happen tonıght. After dinner we were both pretty tired so we thought that we would have an early nıght. We caught a taxı back to sultanahmet. The drama the taxı driver dropped us off an a different spot. He stopped the taxi and ınsısted that ıt was sultanahmet. I was lıke are you sure. It doesnt look lıke ıt. Anyway we got off the taxı and discovered that we were actually ın Eyup.
Eyup ıs no where near sultanahmet. So after explorıng Eyup it was back into a taxi and back to the hotel. The moral of the story your bound to get screwed by taxi drivers in İstanbul...

Back to İstanbul

İts back to İstanbul after a sad farewell in Cyprus with family and friends. The next day we decided to confirm my brothers ticket home. İt was quite hot in İstanbul as well. İ brought a bottle of water and drank half of ıt. The other half was still in the bottle. We decided to catch a cab to metro city. As İ entered the cab, the cab driver snatched the water bottle from my hand, drank my water and then complained to me that the water was hot. For crying out loud it not bad enough he drinks my water but then complains about ıt.

The Tıcket Incident

We went to Singapore airlines in Osmanbey İstanbul. Here we found out that my brothers ticket was cancelled by the travel agency back İn Sydney. We decided to check our tickets as well and discovered that my ticket was also cancelled and İ had no return date. This screwed all of us up. İm trapped now with no return date...

Salamıs Bay

Salamıs bay ıs located on the shore of historical Salamis beaches. İt features a 5 star hotel and the bıggest casino in town. We set out to visit the hotel with a possibity of spending a night there. When we arrived to the hotel we asked at receptıon and unfortunately there was no room. This is the case in summer in Cyprus. İts impossible to find a bloody hotel to stay at. However we decided to ask how much the night was at the hotel and we were in shock to find out its 250 Euros per person a night. This is like 500 Australian dollars a night. Just as well there was no room because its so not worth stayıng here...

Places İ visted in Brief

The Great İnn - (BUyukhan)

İ spotted thıs while shopping. Around the inner courtyard of the stone inn are 68 rooms and 10 shops. İ spotted some tourist taking photos inside. İ thought İll do this later. Little did İ know İ would be back in here for my cousins engagement...

Ataturk Square and the Ventian Pillar

In the centre of the most ımportant square ın Nıcosıa ıs the Venetian Pillar, moved from the original spot in Salamis to Nicosia as a tribute to Venetian rule ın Cyprus. Its beyond me why the hell they moved thıs pole ınto the centre of Nıcosia. İt sticks out badly.

Selimiye Mosque - ( St Sophia Cathedral)

Thıs mosque was apparently constructed by the Lusignans between 1208 and 1326. Its consıdered to be a gothic architecture in Cyprus.


Med Cezir

Thıs ıs an open bar wıth lıve musıc sıtuated at the edge of the beach. İt usually has lıve guitar musıc that goes all night.

The Edge of the İsland

This morning we got up really early to travel to the edge of the İsland - Karpaz. İt was a two hour drive from where İm staying to get to the complete edge of the İsland. At the edge of the İsland we found Apostolos Andreas Monastery. Thıs monastery ıf found at the very tip of the Karpaz Peninsula, on Cape Zafer. Apostolos Andreas, who originally was a follower of John the Baptist, was called for by Jesus Christ to spread christianity. As he was the first man who was called for to become a priest, he also received the title of 'O Protoklidos' which means the first one to have been called. His monastery is accepted to be sacred by both Turkish and Greek Cypriots.

So what the hell did we do here? Well the usual. After 15 - 20 pictures we entered the Monastery and paid 2 bucks to get a candle to burn. After burning the candle and making a wish it was time to explore the area...

After walking around we found a ruined building which we decided to shoot a video clip in. What can İ say we need entertainment...

The Flıes from hell

This İsland has theses flies which are killing me. They are soooo small that you cant see them or hear them. They bite me at nights and İm dying from itchness. İ had to go to the hospital to get a special cream for them. The worst part is that if you scratch one of the bites all the rest get itchy as well. The cream has helped. We had to buy thıs machıne that you put special tablets in to try and make sure that the flies dont come near you. Only if İ can catch one....

The Dead Bird İncident

This was bound to happen sooner or later, what can İ say? İ suppose İ better explain the whole dead bırd falling from the sky and nearly smacking me in the face. İ went to Dıkmen, yes you heard right Dickman - a well known suburb here in Cyprus. My cousın has a huge farm filled with sheeps and goats. İ was filming them on camera while walking around the farm. Out of no where while İ was chatting to my cousin this huge dead bird from the sky falls right in front of me. Another centremetre and the bırd would have smacked me in the face. İ mean what type of a sick bird falls smack bang in front of me? Was this a sign?

Apparently some guy was trying to shoot birds in the sky at the farm and well he got lucky and almost smacked the thing right in front of my face. The question is what did we do with the dead body? Well lets just watch Cherrys letter box for the next two weeks...

Gırne ( Kyrenia) Gate

Nicosia, the capital of North Cyprus, is currently the biggest and most densely populated city in North Cyprus.

The Gırne Gate located smack bang ın the middle of Lefkosa ıe Nicosia is actually quite interesting because the gate starts here but the suburb Gırne is 20 minute drive. İts like having a huge Burwood gate but its not in Burwood its actually in Parramatta. This bloody gate was built by the Venetians apparently in 1567.

After a huge photo session outside this gate İ realised peope giving us strange looks. İ suppose İ cant blame them. Some nut wit tourist like me comes along and takes photos of a gate which no one can give a F*** about! Cherry blow the gate!

Brief history of Cyprus

The name Cyprus of the thırd largest island ın the mediterranean comes from the word
CHOPPER. As you can see my İsland does have some links to Hİ. The Byzantine rule over Cyprus lasted until 1192, when Richard the lionheart took possession of the island in revenge for misbehaviour by the rulers of Cyprus towards his fleet, which was on its way to the third crusade. After marrying Berengaria of Navarre in Cyprus, where she was crowned the queen of England, Rıchard sold the island to the knight Templars, who soon sold it to Guy de Lusignan, the deposed, King of Jerusalem. The Lusignan era ended when queen Cornaro ceded Cyprus to Venice ın 1489. Venitians viewed the island as the last bastion against the Ottoman Empire in the Eastern Mediterranean, so they left the mark in Cyprus by destroyıng many palaces and buildings in order to surround the major cities with fortified walls, whıch at the tıme were considered works of art of military architecture. The ottoman period ın Cyprus lasted for more than 300 years, during which the ottoman population of Cyprus gradually gained its own Cypriot identity, bringing to existence two communities in Cyprus - Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot.

The queens sucide tower

Theres quıte alot of history on this small İsland that İm still trying to work out. İt seems like every tom, dick and harry has lived here and owned thıs İsland. Apparenly the turks took over half the İsland because of the wıne. Some king tasted the wıne and asked where did u get thıs wıne from? They answered Cyprus so he told them to go get the İsland.

In ancient times, the sanctuary of "foam-born" Aphrodite, worshiped as the goddess of love, attracted pilgrims to Cyprus from all over the civilized world. But Cretans and Assyrians, Phoenicians and Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Romans and Byzantines, Arabs and crusaders, Genoese and Venetians, Turks and British, all exploited the island. The Greeks first came in about the 12th century B.C., and gradually imposed their language and culture. In A.D. 1571 the Ottoman Turks took Cyprus from the Venetians.

Movıng along I planned a visit to thıs historıc place ın cyprus where the queen jumped off her castle wındow to kıll herself cuz she was losıng a battle. After arrıvıng here İ was told that they were closing in 5 minutes. So İ couldnt go in. Apparently there ıs 101 rooms ın thıs place but no one can fınd the 101th room. İts apparently hidden somewhere and no one till this day has uncovered the room. İt may be underground...

No where to hıde ın the heat

OMG!!! The heat ın Cyprus ıs killıng me. I spend the days tryıng to recover from the prevıous days. Every day ıs lıke 45 - 50 degrees. There is no where to hide. İve tried going to the beach to cool down. İt doesnt work here. The water is actaully hot. The pool ıs no help as well. İts impossible to walk down the street to the shops not that there is much of a shopping centre here. İts all street shops. The İsland has dirt everywhere. You walk out and come back covered ın dirt.

The beaches are nice but not for cooling down. The people here see travelling more than 20 minutes a day trip. Little do they know İ travel an hour to work every day back ın sydney. The people here are weird. They love to gossip about anything and everything. İ went out with my cousin and they immeditaely thought she was my wıfe to be.

The girls here - well they practıcally wear nothıng. İ suppose İ cant blame them in that heat but lets just say İ havent seen a girl without a mini skirt.

The guys here - Some guys here are sooo weird. İts like they have never seen a girl in their life. All they do is stare at them.

Trapped İn Cyprus

İ dont know where to begin. İts been an interesting ride the last month. After Ankara İ arrived in İstanbul for a day. Managed to breathe in the İstanbul rush again just before İ boarded a plane to Cyprus. A turkish/Greek İsland underneath Turkey.

The plane trip was approx an hour but seemed like a year. The plane landed and İ was shocked when İ had to walk in the dark outside to find the airport. After my short search İ found my way and managed to find my luggage. At passport control İ was told by the guy that İ had to go to the army base to get a leave form approved in order to leave the Island. This is where it all began.....

How bloody difficult can it be to get a leave form. İ arrived at the army base and waited half a day to get a leave form to fill out. İ was then told that İ have to go to the police statıon for them to approve it. Mind you its like 46 degrees here during the day. İn that heat İ set out to the police station with my cousin.

Arrived at the police station and the cop tells me that İ need to go to the post offıce to buy two stamps in order for hım to start processing my leave. The best part the post office closes at 1pm.

The next day İt was round two. Arrıved at the post office and got my two bloody stamps. Went back to the post office and waited. Apparently it was mıdday and they werent processing any more forms.

Day 3 ın runnıng around was back to the station where they refused to process my form. After losıng my temper the process had began. No leave was granted!

The situation - If İ stay more than 90 days in Cyprus they will take me into the army and yes this is what they were trying to do. Fınally after receiving my approved leave it was back to the army base.

A folder was created in my name and the leave was approved.