I've arrived!!

My midnight flight from istanbul to Kabul was delayed a few hours. For at least the last hour of the wait we were all on the plane on the tarmac with no air conditioning, sweating it out big time. The plane (Ariana Afghan Airways) was huge, packed and really cruddy (beats aeroflot easily in that regard)... but we eventually made it here! I met an American man at check in who was also sitting next to me on the plane- he had lots of stories to tell about the fascinating things he's been up to in the world so that helped the trip go a bit quicker.

I was met at Kabul airport by an ORA driver. ORA is one of the NGOs that i am checking out while I'm here and it's people are facilitating my trip (www.ora-international.org). The drive from the airport through the city to where i am staying was amazing. Dry dusty streets, crazy drivers, lots of horns beeping, cyclists truly taking life into their hands weaving between the cars, a herd of sheep going round the round about, official uniformed men standing around seemingly doing nothing, burqa clad women carrying children or groceries, stand after stand of watermelons... and on it goes.

My first day was pretty eventful actually (in a good way!). I got taken to the ORA office, where the Kiwi couple who are coordinating things for me also live. They are great people and have been here a few years so i am in good hands! A few doors down is the house where I am living, together with 3 americans. One of whom just got engaged (to a kiwi fella) so at lunch time a whole lot of people arrived at our place for a party. There were about 40 afghans and 10 foreigners there for the occasion. It was great for me to experience. We were outside under a tarpoulin thing, men together at one end and women at the other. Some local musicians were hired and we were treated to some very cool dancing by the afghan men (see photo). Usually for social events like this the sexes are seperate and we wouldn't get to see the men dance so that was a bit special. The girl's parents are here at the moment, and staying at the house too plus there are ppl popping in and out so it is nice. It's a really big and spacious place with a garden (altho it is too hot to be outside). I have my own room with a bed, a wardrobe and a fan (yippee!). There are guys who work as guards to unlock the gate when we come in and out. The place is hard to get into (high fences with barbed wire around them) so i am pretty safe!

Today i went shopping with Bronwyn and her kids (aged 2 & 4) at the markets. It was great... i was a bit afraid of ppl taking advantage of my not knowing how much things are or the language etc, but it seemed not, so that was nice. People look at you and small kids kind of hang around, smile and say hello. I want to look around to absorb everything but i have to keep remembering not to make eye contact with any men, can be hard when i am just so curious about everything! Haven't seen quite as many women. Many of them choose to wear the burqa, although they don't have to anymore, but there are lots who just wear loose clothes that cover all the bumps and something loose over their heads... as do I.

There are so many things to write about and to experience, but ... perhaps next time!

Day 2 istanbul

I had a rather unpleasant start to the day, emptyıng the contents of my stomach ın a rapid fashıon! So trıed to sleep some more and regain some strength.

I spent a couple of hours at the Hagıa Sofıa Museum, originally a church built in the 6th century, but converted to a mosque ın the 15th, and now a museum. For a whıle (ca. 1000 years) it was the largest enclosed space ın the world. The art ınsıde ıs a mix of Christıan ıcons and Islamıc caligraphy, beautıful mosaıcs etc.... was really ınteresting. The photo is of the area facing Mecca; the stained glass windows have Islamic caligraphy on them, and on the wall above the windows is a 10th century painting of Mary with baby Jesus.

Waıted for my lunch whıle mıdday prayers rang out all over the cıty. Just fınıshed ıt, hope ıt stays down! I fly out to Kabul tonıght...

Istanbul 26/06/06

Arriving in Istanbul just after 1 am this morning, I was met by my youth hostel's pickup service. A guy who spoke no English tried his best to converse with me while his brother who drove the rickety old van ran red lights and demonstrated diffıculty choosıng which lane to drive in! The crunching noises the van made and it's general delapidated state made me feel like i was back in Kyrgyzstan. I arrived safe and sound at the hostel but then got attacked by a wasp that had managed to sneak it's way up my trouser leg and sting me as i was in the receptıon area- cheeky little bugger.

After a good sleep in a room all to myself, I ventured out into the rather hot and sunny day. Wıth no guide book I thought the tourist informatıon centre would be a good place to start... but I was wrong. They had a map courtesy of Istanbul racecourse but no brochures about any attractions! Anyway i found the Blue Mosque and a friendly Turk (not hard to fınd). After admiring the beautıful tiles, art and structure of the Mosque, Ibrahim led me to his ceramics shop ("Everything is handmade" "oh, by whom?" "my factory") I told him I had no money so wasn't ınterested in making a purchase. That was fine with him. I got offered a drink and we talked with his uncle. They insisted that they didn't want anythıng more than to show me Turkish hospitality and friendliness. It was pretty funny talkıng to them and they didn't ask if i wanted to buy anythıng. After getting some tips about what to see and do I headed off. Pausıng at a street corner to take a picture an older man started up a conversation. After some tıme we went to his shop (carpets) where i was served tea and given a run down of the Mary and Jesus stories accordıng to the Koran. Again there was no talk of making a sale, just friendly conversation. He tried his best to convince me that if i just read the Koran from cover to cover then I would surely see the light and become a muslim!

Around the corner from his shop was a beautiful park full of trees and flower lined paths. Nice to walk around and be in the shade. I sat under a tree and looked out over the water. A family picnıcing saw me and as i walked past, they smiled and invited me to join them. They didn't speak any English and my knowıng only hello and numbers 1-10 ın Turkish meant conversation was limited! But smiles and chai abounded. I hadn't got any local money yet so was great to eat and drink somethıng. Talk about friendly people here (see photo)!

I checked out the Basilica Cistern, built during the 6th century. It was huge, an area of 9800 square metres and deep underground so i was temporarily safe from the "where are you from?" questions I was bombarded with on the streets. Turkish friendliness can be a bit overwhelming so i retreated to my hostel for a nap. I had dinner on the hostels rooftop restaurant overlookıng the sea choka wıth cargo boats.

My hostel is a pretty interestıng place, not many guests so i get greeted by name by the friendly (surprıse) staff. It's called Sinbad and its slogan ıs "world peace it ınevitable". There are some dodgy pictures painted on the wall in the bar/tv area and beds so old you couldn't imagine but it's cheap and in walking distance of everything. That's it for now... next blog entry i guess will be from Kabul!