Buyuk Antakya

... actually that hotel dıdnt seem so bad. The bathroom pıpes seemed grımy but Ive seen worse. Ive paıd for even more and Ive seen worse! It had satellıte and hundreds of channels that I cant decıde on whıch one to watch. They even have a channel from Srı Lanka. What was ınterestıng though that ıt also had alot of Arab Sex chat channels (the sort wıth skımpy clad or nude gırls wıth telephones ...

... via foreign backpackers. We then cram into the car (four in the back and one in shotgun) and make the three hour journey to Antakya. Checking out of Syria was not as graceful as checking into Syria. We were pointed to several wrong counters to pay the Syrian departure tax when we were supposed to pay at the"Complaints Office" (silly us). We finally paid our penance and could leave ...

... lots of flag waiving too. When we cross the river we see a big rally and decide to just quietly go by them, as tempting it would be to go over and laugh and have fun. One man going by has a bunch of flags, so I ask for one of their national flags. He unfurls it and gives it to me. We shortly come to the church. It is the first church every built in the world and was built by St. Peter. It is actually a cave. After the death of Jesus, St Peter the Apostle came to ...

... meal with cheese Helva. Elif Abla gave me the opportunity to lecture to a group of 100 students about the current economic crisis. I enjoyed it a great deal. We went to the brand new Liwan Hotel for dinner. The food quality, service and the decoration of this renovated Syrian mansion were quite poor. On a more pleasant note, our table was an interesting mix of Sunnis and Shias. I have been told that Shias speak more Arabic at their homes. Hence, they ...

... Cappadocia. Once there, Turkey becomes Turkey and you wont find another place like it anywhere. The people were generally friendly and the landscapes beautiful. Even up to the border of Syria you still feel very inside Turkey. It a country I have to return to in order to see more and feel more. Its weather is great and transport system like any modern countries, maybe not as on time, but definitely reliable...even up to the last outpost before Syria.

... Mersin to our last Turkish port, Iskenderun. There were many lights at sea, some very confusing, including a flashing blue light that seemed to be moving really fast but turned out to be marking a fishing net. I managed to avoid that one but had a near miss with one that looked like a firefly or flying manta ray - that again was a fisherman's marker with the smallest of lights on a black flag!! On this rally there are about 80 ...

... with the shop fellow, who loaded a sack in the floor of the dolumu&#351;. After a spell the driver hailed another passing dolumu&#351;, and directed me to it for the return to Hatay.<br><br>I got a couple of beers and some chips and went back to Koray's. But he wasn't in yet, so I had my beer and chips while unsuccessfully surfing the tv for some English language program. And that was the end to a tireing day. I went to bed about 9:30, I think. Now, is that a day to be jealous of?

... up to me eager to sell me a ticket to . . . . well, anywhere of course. I said well actually I wasn't going anywhere for a couple of days, I just got in. After a little bit of conversation, one of the guys offered to take me into town, it being the end of his working day.<br><br>I showed him the number of my host so he could call to find out where I was to go. He called from the bus company counter (that was a good sign), and I thought I heard a word or two that indicated he was actually ...

... a service bus to my hotel for free, so that worked out OK. <br> <br>Lonely Planet described my very budget hotel as "scary", and while I think that may be a bit harsh I can see how they came up with that description. But still I was being a tight-****, and it has to be expected that sometimes cheap hotels are a little (or in this case very) rough around the edges. <br> <br>I took a wander around the main drag of Antakya that night and the streets were quite dead ...

... Some were good, but the more I visit these sites the more I realize once must visit the museums in London to see the good stuff - it has all been taken there! <br><br>I have a few pics to add later - I'm just adding this entry to record my overnight in Antakya. On to Syria...