Yerevan

The 2012 UNESCO World Book Capital (what every that entails)

After my first impressions of the boarder personnel I was expecting a very Russian city and to be honest, I’m not quite sure what I got. You see I’d not spent a huge amount of time thinking about what I would do in Armenia. Like most places on the trip I had heard the name, thought ‘Oh that sounds good’ and hurried off to visit the place, with a general Australiany direction all I needed in terms of Justifications. 

They even empty the bins are

After my first walk around Yerevan the Armenian Capital I was very impressed. The city is covered in 4G mobile signals and wifi is available for free practically all over the city. The entire centre of the city is (or at least the bits I should see) were all concentrated in an inner ring road around the city. Then roads are set in grid fashion to allow for easy navigation. The boulevards are tree lined and wide enough to easily compete with the Parisian style it imitates so brilliantly. I couldn’t help but think that Yerevan could actually be a little Paris, without the Eiffel tower (and without the dirt).

Accompanied by Tiko (my local guide) I was shown the impressive Republic Square, which I’m told is one of the most beautiful public squares in the world. Having just 24 hours ago been looking at Tbilisi Republic square It wasn’t difficult for me to believe this to be true.  We saw different churches which could really be missed if blinked, to be honest if I hadn’t have had Tiko with me to point them out I probably wouldn’t have realised they were churches at all. We passed by the major attractions of the City, The Yerevan Museum, and The Yerevan Opera House and obviously waved at Mother Armenia. I was surprised to see, in the country which prides itself on being the first place a Christian Church was build, numerous mosques, maybe I’d had too many preconceived ideas about what I would expect to find in this Ex Soviet Republic. I learned about the governments future plans to grow the city and how the country as a whole hopes to be accepted into the European Union soon and as such the visa restrictions will be being altered from January 2013; and Yerevan is rated as one of the fastest developing capitals in region.

Republic Square

With a couple of days here to relax my time didn’t feel so precious and so I was able to do that one important thing I hadn’t done much of during my time in the Istanbul and Tbilisi hostels, Sleep! I had treated myself to a private room, No dorm! How exciting! I even had a lie in, with breakfast and a film! Oooh the wonders of having a private room will never cease to amaze me! On a brisk and dry afternoon after a long lie in, I decided I would visit the Cafesjian Museum of Art. This trip involved my attempt at using the subway here. I had previously used the Tbilisi subway and was grateful for their dual English/Georgian Script signs, and I, wrongly, assumed I would be able to find similar signs on the Yerevan underground. I bought my ticket, which wasn’t a ticket at all but a plastic coin which I placed into a barrier much like the ones you see on the London underground and I boarding the escalator to descend into the world of the Yerevan Subway system. The decoration were very ornate and much more attention had been paid to the aesthetics of the public transport station, however all sigs, all announcements were in Armenian language and script. I guess since I was in Armenia, this is something I should expect after all, Market Street Tram Stop in Manchester only displays text in English script. Either way I was under ground or I was going to use this underground train system, even if I would be guessing where I was going, after all isn’t getting lost half of the fun? The gods of luck were clearly on my side and after two stops I found myself exactly where I wanted to be, outside the Cafesjian Museum of Art (but modern art).

Does My Bum Look big is this?

 I had passed this earlier with Tiko but had not ventured up it. The Museum of Modern art was bizarre. The entire design has incorporated a massive stair case to either side of the building which gave way to many terraces. On these steps and terraces where many statues, installations, art pieces (whatever you want to call them really) set against a back drop of the city far below. It was here I saw my favourite monument; a big fat naked woman lay on the floor without a care in the world. She must have been freezing, I had a leather jacket and gloves on and my nipples could still have cut ice, but she didn’t seem to care. She was a trouper! Once at the bottom of the gallery, I was approached by a young boy, maybe 12 or 13 who was trying, hopelessly to sell hand painted impressionist style pictures of the gallery building. As nice as they were I explained that I was not interested in buying any (if only I knew the Armenian for I don’t have a wall to hang it on) when he laughed at me, shook his head and gave me one, telling me it was his gift to me. A little sceptical I questioned him a little more until I felt I was on the edge of looking ungrateful and I took the gift he had given me. I now need to find me a wall to hang it on!

Later that night, being a Saturday, I had been invited out to go clubbing with Tiko. A Saturday night Armenian style, an opportunity not to be missed. Isn’t it strange how some traditions (such as Saturday nights out) transcend all cultures (or sometimes it feels like it)? We made our way down stairs into the first club and I was quickly approached by a ‘Canadian’ with the worst Canadian accent I had ever heard. I later found out he was Russian and pretending to be Canadian, can’t say I really understand why but let’s face it you can get strange folk anywhere. We had a few drinks and attempted to gain access to the dance floor. However when ‘Gangam Style’ came on there was no chance either of us would find room to strut our funky stuff. Our next bar wasn’t so great so we didn’t stay long and instead began walking into a multi story car park, just before I could question where we were going I saw my question being answered in front of me. A club existed with its entrance off the car park, a very good idea as you couldn’t hear any noise from the streets above. With it being my turn to go to the bar I attempted to order 2 vodka and lemonades, unsuccessful I came back with 2 vodka and lemon juices but at a little of £1 each, I didn’t mind the lack of ade in my vodka and lemon(ade) : )The clubs I experienced in Yerevan where surprisingly similar to the ones I had visited in the UK with the main difference being people smoked and that the people would generally dance without the need to be wasted, neither of which I think will catch on in the UK. One major difference I experienced though was the lack of cloak rooms. When Tiko placed his jacket on the table by the clubs entrance my first question was, will it not get stolen? A knowing smile formed on his face and I was told ‘Not in Armenia.’

This is the strangest thing that I’ve found about this place and by strangest I mean the best but it’s just so far removed from what I have been used to. Strangers are genuinely nice to me and to others, despite how easy it would have been for me to have been taken advantage of, being clearly a visitor in the country and speak (nor reading) any Armenian.  The man on the marshrukta who freely gave me his phone to use, the other man who taught me some useful phrases, even if my pronunciation was not correct, I can’t imagine that happening in the UK. Even on a night out, the idea of leaving a bag or coat on the side, or on a hook by the side of the bar would not be conceivable on a Saturday night out in Manchester. Even during my taxi ride to the airport when I was leaving the city the taxi driver offered me some chewing gum and a cigarette, he clearly didn’t like the smell coming from my breathe and wanted to change it but at least he was polite about it.

Being a non smoker and non chewer I kindly declined and when I left the car at the airport and waved him off with a tip in his pocket.

Marshrukta Tbilisi to Yerevan

22nd November

So the alarm went off at silly o’clock in the morning (0725) and indicated that if I wanted to get the first marshrukta to Yerevan I had to pull my finger out and get moving. It’s surprising how quickly you can move when you have the motivation of a 6 hour coach journey to look forward to (it was in comparison to an 11 hour train journey). I don’t think the lack of sun outside helped. I was a little nervous, especially when speaking with a visitor to the hostel and his response to my method of travel was along the lines of ‘so long as you don’t crash and die along the way.’ Still I had been assured because it was an Armenian driver that I would be safe, funny that didn’t really make me feel much better. If anything it just made me dread my taxi ride to the station.

The bus station in 1981, and not much has changed since!

I was however faster than I felt and in no time at all teeth were brushed, face washed and hair hidden and I was out the door readying myself for my first round of bargaining with a Georgian taxi driver. I was getting a taxi to the bus station and had been told the fare would be 5 Leri’s (GEL) (less than £2). I hadn’t made it to the taxi rank when a car stopped and asked me where I was going, I told him and gestured to pay only 5GEL, and it worked. He accepted and I was on my way to the bus station.

It's hard to spend these

Once at the bus station, as advised, I walked past all the touts outside and headed to the lower floor to catch my marshrukta; this apparently is where all international buses leave from. I saw a bus heading to Istanbul. I was curious about the price (and timing) of this journey. I’d only paid £40 for my Istanbul – Tbilisi flight. I think the bus would have to be really cheap to get me to contemplate such a long coach journey. Anyway I found my vehicle, paid my 30 GEL (less that £7) and waited to leave.

The journey was uneventful, to begin with. We stopped at a petrol station to fill up and my heart began to sink when the engine seemed to cut out. I had visions of getting out and pushing, plus questions going through my head about what was so bad about arriving in a city after midnight (my original train plan). Just as I was cursing my decision I realised we hadn’t broken down. We were picking up more passengers. Der, I must remember that not all vehicles break as easy as the ones I like to buy.

Similar to what I went in

The scenery in Georgia to the boarder was interesting, and the cloud reminded me of home. We passed a military base ad as the border with Armenia approached, the road seemed to improve. Once at the border crossing we had to get out of the bus and walk through immigration. There was all you could need there, a toilet, and a lady to stamp your passport, plus the duty free shop, which sold a large dog statue, I can’t help thinking that n one would ever leave home without forgetting their dog statue... Passport stamped I walked the remainder of the frontier outside and crossed a river. It was cold, and it was at this point I caught my first glimpse of the Armenian flag and an Armenian immigration official. He looked very Russian. He had a camouflage puff jacket and one of those woolly hats. I would have taken a picture but he looked very intimidating, I guess that’s the point. The remainder of the officials spoke little English and I think I was a little of a novelty for them. I’m basing this on my passport which has had the gold leaf rubbed off so without opening it is impossible to ascertain which country issued the thing, they also made jokes about removing my glasses, just so they could double check my 8 year old picture, before laughing and waving me through. After my problems entering Jordan (ok maybe It’s a little of an exaggeration but still makes me nervous) I’m a little cautious now when I’m going through immigration check points.

Now on the other side of the boarder I began to appreciate all the gorges and valleys along the route. The roads wound up and down the mountains and at times I had to choose not to look. I’ve never been a fan of heights and half way through the journey I noticed we were going through more and more tunnels, I don’t know why, but I was grateful to just have no view. The tunnels didn’t last long and in no time at all we were climbing up the mountain again. It was now that I got a little worried, approaching us higher along the road, was a tank. I couldn’t help worry that after outbreaks of violence in 3 of my last 5 countries; I was really hoping that Armenia hadn’t declared war on Georgia. Once I remembered that Armenia is already at war with Azerbaijan so the tank was probably heading there, I could relax and reassure myself that I hadn’t caused another conflict.

Further into the journey I spoke (in French, my bad French) to the bloke in front of me. See the agency who had arranged my accommodation in Yerevan had told me to contact her an hour before I arrived into the city and then they would arrange for someone to collect me from the bus station. When I told her that I had no working phone in Armenia she advised me ‘Armenian people are nice, just ask to use someone’s phone on the bus.’ This is what I did. And surprisingly it worked. Even when I gestured that I only wanted to give the agency a missed call he insisted that I use his credit and not bother waiting for a return call from the agency. 

This led on to a conversation with more of my bus companions and turned into an impromptu teaching session on the Armenian language. The script is different from English and different from Georgian and I can’t tell the difference between the two of them but I’m assured that they are different. I even met someone who could speak Armenian, but couldn’t read it, however he did speak and read Georgian, I’m not sure why I’m telling you that, It’s hardly the most riveting part of my journey but it’s the best you’re going to get .

Here’s a little lesson in Armenian:

1 – mek

2 – erkus

3 – erek

4 – chors

5 – hing

6 – vets

7 – yot

8 – ut

9 – innnnnnnnnnnn (or in@ for short, I never understood why but the @ symbol indicates you really hold the sound of the n)

10 - tag

PS although I have no pictures, I did drive through snow!

Tbil 'Where?'isi

To be honest I didn’t know much about Georgia before I saw a job for an English teacher there about 9 months ago. I thought about applying but having never been to anyplace like Georgia I was worried if I would be able to live happily there. This stuck with me so when I wanted to plan an unusual stop over point on my way to Australia the capital Tbilisi seemed like a perfect option. I emailed the school to see if I could attend but I heard nothing back from them so instead I was just going to explore the city independently. 

The country used to be part of the Soviet Union but after its breakdown Georgia became an independent nation. Situated on the eastern side of Turkey the country shares boarders with both Azerbaijan and Armenia and since those two countries remain at war with each other Georgia sort of acts as a go between for travellers visiting the ‘Caucus Region.’ Border crossings direct between the two countries are not possible despite a large land boarder. Since independence there have been a few ups and downs but now Georgia is hoping to get admittance to the European Union and is developing many large-scale projects including a streetcar system, a railway bypass and a relocation of the central station and new urban highways. 

As my flight left Istanbul’s Sabhina airport I couldn’t help but feel as though I was venturing into the unknown. I was on a flight to somewhere that I couldn’t even pronounce without careful concentration. Once on the ground I came to see that the airport here looked quite nice, and that any city with an airport as modern as this couldn’t be a scary place. If it hadn’t been for the man smoking a cigarette at the urinal before immigration then I could quite easily have been in any EU airport at all. And they say that men can’t multi task!

Once through immigration I found free wifi and began to feel a little more at home. Suitcase collected I ventured through customs and looked for the driver who the hostel had sent to collect me. He was there, stood waiting with a sign displaying the name of my hostel. I liked him instantly, he spoke no English, and made no effort to speak to me all the way to the hostel, I love taxi drivers like that. I also quite liked his determination. What I mean is his windscreen had a huge crack (I mean from drivers top corner to the passenger side, size crack) and yet he didn’t let that stop him from working with the car, talk about determination. A heart stopping 30 minute ride in his car later and I learned that cracked windscreens are stronger than autos direct would have us believe in England. My first thoughts when he drove up to my hostel were, ‘what kind of place is he taking me to?’

Geogian Writting

It was 3 am I was tired, cold and in desperate need of sleep, I didn’t care that the sign displaying the hostel name was graffiti badly on the wall at the bottom of the alley; all I cared for was a clean bed and a warm blanket. I got both of them and set my alarm for the early morning so I could arrange my train to Yerevan.

Morning came and I spoke with Bridget the South African worker at the hostel and she advised me to take marshrukta to Yerevan instead of the train. She did present a good argument; half the time, able to see the views along the way and during daylight hours. I was still considering taking the train mainly because I’d heard you got a little picture of a train on your passport stamp and I’d like to get me one of those. But when I checked the train times it resulted in an arrival time of around 0100 in Yerevan, and I don’t like to arrive in a city at silly o’clock in the morning unless I can really help it. So it was decided I was staying in Tbilisi for an extra night and then getting a marshrukta in the morning. For those of you unfamiliar with a Marshrukta it is a minibus that works like a small coach. It wasn’t quite as luxurious as the coaches in Israel (i.e. it had no wifi) but at least I wasn’t in a war zone (ish).

Less of that and more about Tbilisi. I had read that the city was similar to Prague only more run down. I can agree with the run down part but not so sure about the Prague part, I’ll leave that assessment up to you when you visit the place. I started my day with a walk up try and discover a nice Georgian place to eat breakfast at. After my discovery of Egyptian pie (bit like pizza) I guessed that Georgian pie would be similar so I order that. Turns out I was wrong. It was more like a pasty and the filling inside were not good. Still I tried and in the process of trying I was reminded of home; guess who should come on Georgian radio, nobody but Lisa Stansfield. Funny she seems to be stalking me on this trip, she was huge in Italy, I had conversations about her in Belgium and here she is on the radio in Georgia. I think it’s nice she still working. After I had embraced a bit of ‘been around the world and I I I I I  I ‘ (I was still no closer to finding a baby; hers or anyone else’s, sorry)I decided to tackle one of the many hills that surrounded Tbilisi. I chose the one which had the fortress on the top and the statue of Mother Georgia. 

Mother Georgia, do You think she's a red or white girl?

The fortress was also linked to the city centre by an ‘aerial tramway.’ Basically a wire connected the top of the hill with the bottom of the hill. On this wire you could sit in little cabins and ride all the way to the top. These carts had glass floors. I was not sitting in one of those. I’ve just read that in 1990 the rope snapped killing 20 people and injuring many others. I think my rationale for not riding the bugger has been justified

If I’m honest I found the fortress path more as a matter of good luck rather than good planning, but I was glad I was. The view from the top was great. Whilst at the top I met my first Georgian who spoke English, he was trying to sell me a tour but not in the pressured way I was used to in Egypt. Apparently Mother Georgia is a symbol of Georgia’s past and of future hope. If you look at her she has a sword in one hand and a glass of wine in the other (clever woman). The sword represents a warning to her enemies, the woman of Georgia have fought alongside men for years defending  Georgia and her people. The glass of wine is for her friends, it’s this symbol which makes me wish I’d have met her. She also has huge boobs, I’m not sure what that represents, maybe the statue was designed by a straight man?

 

Anyhow from the top it was clear to see that Tbilisi was changing. Sure I was staying in the old town so it was old and dilapidated in parts, but that does have its charm, but alongside the river bank and on the other side of Republic Square you could see modern buildings. I’m no architect but they’re quite unusual designs. Look at this bridge. It’s not what I expected from an ex soviet state. Guess that teaches me to be so judgemental.

Walking around the city I couldn’t quite make my mind up what I thought of it. It was by no means unsafe, in fact I felt safer there than I did in many other cities on my trip, most notably Brussels. The people were friendly when I spoke with them, but no one really cared I was there. I may get an odd lingering look of one of the children, kids will be kids, because to be honest I’m white, blonde and blue eyed, I couldn’t look more like a tourist than if I had a map in front of me. But no one cared; no one pestered me to buy from their shop or to go on one of their tours. It was refreshing.

Some Graffitti

After a day of site seeing I went back to y hostel and spent the evening getting to know the people who lived there. We exchanged stories and even read out funny articles we each found on the internet. The articles became article read from ‘The Guardian’ newspaper. It was at this point I started to get an uneasy feeling. I was already aware that the ceasefire in Israel was no longer being upheld, I was there two weeks ago. Then I read about the demonstrations and protests in Cairo, I was there a week ago. Then I heard about Turkey declaring war on Israel (or was it Syria, by this point I was in shock) I was there only the day before. I’m starting to feel like imp a bad omen and that war / civil unrests break out after each I’ve been too. Fingers crossed Georgia can survive after I leave without any problems occurring.

1 city 2 Continent, Lots of boats (and a few bridges)

Istanbul 20^th November

I write this as I’m sat waiting for my flight to Georgia. In a little over a week I’ll be in oz and this ‘journey’ will be over. I feel as though I am really going out of Europe now. In the past week, I’ve passed through Asia, Africa, Europe and Asia again, it’s fair to say I have very little idea about where I am at the moment.

I had 2 nights and almost 3 days in Istanbul and it has to be said, I love this city. Maybe it’s just after the chaos of Arabian/African Cairo but I really appreciated the 'Europeaness' of this bi-continental city. I arrived at Ataturk airport after a very good (albeit short) flight with Turkish airlines. Being one of the few opportunities to receive a meal and free drinks onboard on my trip I definitely made the most of it. I even ate the smoked salmon starter and cheese cake afters that had been included in the in-flight meal. The salmon was bad, the cheesecake was not. I can’t help feeling that I have been missing out on cheesecake for all these years.

Cutting out the boring stuff I got to my hostel, checked in, and discovered what the wifi password was. I then went out exploring the city. I had arranged to meet someone from couch surfing with whom I had been speaking with since I had arrived in Israel. His name was Sahad and was an engineering student at university. We walked to the golden horn and he told me a little about the history of the city. If you’re like me and have no idea what the city looks like I’ll try and explain. The city is located where the mouth of some river meets the sea. There are 3 (main) ‘bits’ that stick out and are so surrounded by water. One of the openings is called the Golden Horn and the other in the Bosporus. It’s the Bosporus that separates Europe from Asia. Anyhow we walked over the golden horn and he told me a story about when the Ottoman Empire controlled Istanbul and some European nation (he was unsure which) was trying to take control of the city (and all of its riches). The Ottomans not wanting to give their riches to the Europeans and so instead threw all their riches into the water. It seems a little short sited to me, surely they could have buried them or sent them someplace else, but what can you do. As we walked across the bridge that spans this stretch of water it was hard to miss all of the men stood there fishing. Apparently this is a constant occurrence; I was told that this fishing goes on for 24 hours a day 7 days a week. I can’t say it’s a pass time I’d be interested in pursuing but each to their own.  Sahad showed me Takzim Square and the Galata tower. The tower was pretty at night but as it was after 6 the tower was closed and we were unable to climb to the top.

Not deterred we wandered the streets and eventually decided on Turkish pizza for tea. Turkish pizza (or big Turkish pizza as the menu described it as) is strange. It’s almost like a very thin tortilla wraps with toppings on the top. Then once you have it served to you, you roll up each slice with tomatoes and lettuce and maybe some sauce then eat it like a wrap. It works though I really enjoyed it and wished I’d have order 3 instead of two. During our meal Sahad told me about how fast Istanbul is expanding and how, in his opinion, there is no thought going into how the city works together. After spending 1 hour and 30 minutes on a bus to get to the airport I’m starting to understand what he means.  City planning and food over we decided it was time to see what the nightlife of this city was like. Since it was a Sunday night I didn’t expect much, but there was enough people out to create an atmosphere. We went to one bar which was a shot bar. They had 4 pages of the menu full of different shots and one page devoted to ‘regular’ drinks. Apparently it’s a Turkish thing. We ordered 13 shots between us and didn’t even bother to look at the ‘long drinks’ section, who am I to argue with tradition. I have to say each shot had its own flavour and they were all awful. I did question my new found friend, part way through our thirteen about the reasons why we were putting ourselves through such misery, but neither of us could find a reason more than to get our money’s worth. I don’t think I’m cut out to be Turkish; I need my shots with a chaser. 

The morning after the night before I felt awful, nothing alcohol induced (no more alcohol passed our lips after our tray of 13 shots) but because every hour in my hostel dorm someone made some kind of noise which was enough to wake me up. I’ve never wanted my own room so much in my life. The next morning presented new opportunities and I had arranged to meet Onur another member of couch surfing who again was a student but this time in tourism management. Onur, his friend and I visited the Blue mosque (where we all had to take our shoes off, although they give us a little bag to carry them in). It was an amazing site inside, the mosaic was so intricate and the design so symmetrical you wonder how it was ever designed and built. I was also very impressed at the standard of the carpeting; it is definitely a shining example of why you should not wear shoes indoors. Next time I have carpet, I’m enforcing the same rule.

After the Blue mosque we visited the Grand Palace of the Sultan. This was in the Ottoman Empire where the Sultan would have lived. The palace differs from European palaces as each person who lived in the palace would have a building of their own, and gardens would separate them. It’s amazing how weather can influence designs, even royal ones. The palace holds some incredible jewellery which has been restored and displayed; my favourite being a diamond pendant that had once been stolen so now had an extra barrier in front of it. I couldn’t get any pictures as this was forbidden, and guards were present enforcing this rule. 

 

Other items here didn’t quite evoke the response I feel as though they should. There was what looked like a plastic wooden stick which was displayed as THE stick Moses used to part to Red Sea. I was also lucky enough to see Mohamed’s beard in a bizarre container which reminded me of an old fashioned egg timer (you know the type with sand in) and a foot print made by Abraham in the sand which had presumably fossilised the instant he lifted his foot from the sand (sorry, pardon my sarcasm, I’m just a little sceptical). Being rushed through the palace as closing time was approaching us; we enjoyed the gardens and a whistle stop tour of the other rooms. The evening was drawing nearer and food was on our minds. Onur introduced me to a type of ‘Turkish meat’ which was served as part of a wrap. I’d like to tell you what it was called but I have no idea. It looked like a paste and it merged quite well with the salad also wrapped up in my kebab. It tasted amazing, in fact it was the first real Turkish meal I had had since my plane meal and I was very impressed (oh except my Turkish pizza the night before). I also had a local drink which again I have forgotten the name of, but it was a concoction of natural yoghurt, water and a little salt. As I was drinking it I couldn’t help think it might be a good addition to a hangover.

That was the thought I discussed with Sahad later that evening after he had offered to show me the Bosporus and the area under the bridge. We watched the light display that illuminated the bridge that spans the two continents and I couldn’t help but think what a poetic this location could be viewed as, at the edge of two worlds. Watching the ships pass and the eventual ripple effect on the water proved quite comical. My favourite moment being when the water hit the banks on which we were sitting and flew high into the air, landing on a group of defiant men who clearly believed they had more rights to be there than the water did. Anyway hunger had started on us and I was about to try another traditional Turkish dish from one of the street vendors which litter the side of the Bosporus. This dish was similar to an English jacket potato with cheese except instead of leaving the cheese to melt, it was all mashed together in the skin and then you could add your selection of vegetables and or meats. I decided to play veggie for the night and had only sweet corn and red cabbage but it was good. 

After a restless night I was ready for bed and so we walked back to Sultanahmet (the area of town which I was staying in) and I was determined to get a good few hours sleep before my dorm mates woke me up again. It shows that determination works as I slept until 7 am and didn’t wake once during the night. I remained in bed past 7 though; there was no need to rise so early on my holidays.

This last day seemed a little of a waste as I had a last walk around the city and then returned to my hostel to prepare for the next part of my trip. Boring things like book accommodation and make notes of the addresses. I passed the time away with a few conversations. Also discovered that Georgia has had snow recently which just happens to be my next destination. I am looking forward to arriving there as it is totally alien to anywhere else that I have ever been, but I wish it could be a little warmer.

Interesting Turkish Phrases i have learnt

Iyi – Good (to me it’s pronunciation is similar to ear but I’m told otherwise

The rest of my phrases are all spent phonetically, why don’t you try and say them ;)

Aberza – An isult we don’t have in the UK

Aberzulik – The Act an Aberza does, to make them an Aberza

Cudge – Chuck

Cher-rrref-errrr   - Cheers

Hajjr – Mate

Tashak mai yiow - another insult, it can be matched with Aberza to make a full sentence :)

And finaly the very British phrase to know

Tesekkiur  Ederum – Thank You