Love my job!!


Dear Dream Team

I continue to be impressed and thankful for all of your hard-work and dedication as we approach the Games of your Life. To enable all of us to stay contactable in the lead-up to and delivery of the Games, I am very pleased to announce that from 1st October all staff members will receive a monthly mobile phone allowance paid with their salaries. This will enable us to use our existing mobile numbers as well. The monthly allowance for staff grades 1 to 7 is QAR500; and for grades 8 and below is QAR400 per month. The allowance will be payable for 3 months, 1st October to 31st December.

Roomies

Rebecca Amy Healey
Allais: Hummus Healey
Country of Origin: Australia
Kooky habit: cannot cook… much… I often wake to the smell of burning croissants in the oven and smoke pouring over the edge of the oven door. I think this darling girl might just be the first to burn water.


I met Bec working at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne earlier this year although we didn’t really spend much time together. We started talking on-line once we realised we had both landed jobs with DAGOC and decided to be roomies once we got here. I arrived in Doha a week after Bec and we have been buddies ever since.

Tahnee Hofman
Allais: Tahnee Punnaie
Country of Origin: Holland
Most annoying habit: Singing that Fu#k%$£ Madonna song!!!!

Tahnee started working with DAGOC in July. She also came on as a Resident Centre Supervisor. We took Tahnee in as our roomie as we didn’t want to end up with some goober who picks their nose and smells funny. We thought we’d be safe with Tahnee….. and we are of course. We love her so.

Us three chickies have an awesome time, keeping our floor awake with the continual finger clicking and the monotonous tunes of MADONNA!!!

Desert Trip

Shay’s Birthday!!! She organised a trip into the desert. We left after work on Thursday, about 160 of us. We were in groups of 5 in 34 4WD. It was an awesome precession of vehicles driving along the roads of Doha! When we got to the desert the drivers let some air out of their tires and then it was dune bashing. Soooooo cool, these huge powerful cars driving all over the dunes, sliding down the side of sandy hills and generally causing havoc. Have some amazing video footage backed by a chorus of screaming girls!!!
As the sun began setting we zoomed over the dunes towards our camp. A big sand dug out in the middle of nowhere, run on generators. There were about 10 tents around the outside and enough tables and chairs for the 160 strong party crowd. It didn’t take long for us to pick a spot to sleep on later, grab a drink and hit the dance floor which was lit by four fluro green lamps in each corner. There were coloured lights and a DJ who pumped out tunes from 6pm till the wee hours of 2am the next morning.



It was boiling when we first got there and most strolled around in their swim wear making regular trips out to the inland sea for a splash. Unfortunately the sea is littered with jellyfish and many unaware party goers had mean looking red marks to show for it the next day. Bec and I had invested in a 3 QR spray bottle and were constantly filling it up with iced water to provide a little relief from the heat. Around the edges of the party pit were large banks, people had sand boards out and were pummelling down the side of the dunes. We also hired 4WD buggies to drive all over the dunes like a pack of spoilt school kids. The dance floor was rocking from early on in the evening with most taking a short break to sample some of the food cooked for us in the middle of the desert. We continued drinking, racing around, talking, swimming, dune bashing, dancing, sand boarding, playing soccer and smoking shisha pipes all evening. At one stage they even thought it would be practical to light a fire. It was a huge bonfire which didn’t attract too much attention in 30 degree heat.


I didn’t get any sleep, opting to lie out under the night sky in my sleeping bag and watch the shooting starts. It was actually freezing and I was struggling even being wrapped up in a thick sleeping bag. It’s beautiful out in the desert, the night sky is so clear and the air crisp and cold. The dune buggies were still going into the wee hours of the morning and often the sound of their rumbling motor would penetrate the deadly quite black night. I was one of the only people still alive at that time and enjoyed the serenity of the middle of the desert. As it started to get lighter I climbed to the top of a sand dune and watched the sun rise. It was beautiful.



A large number of people did not end up sleeping in their tents and by morning the place looked like a war zone with bodies scattered all over the place, most not making it into any sort of shelter and some, having passed out, being covered with plastic chairs, heavy pillows and other interesting items. As the sun rose magically over the waters and the desert, the heat came with it and it was not long before there was movement once again in the camp in the general direction of breakfast. Also making movements out of the hot sun with our delicate heads. By 9am we were back in the 4WDs and heading towards the city of Doha.

School Party

For Michele Rowling’s birthday the newly founded 25th Birthday Organising Committee, organised a school disco. It was strictly by invite only and was a fantastic night. I went to Shays place to get ready and we collect Head Master Rowling’s before heading to the party. Alas we were too early and had to take the birthday boy back home. This meant we had some time to fill and by the time we got back to the party we were feeling very much in party mode! The night was full of boys in skirts, canes, pigtails and lots of dancing. Awesome fun.

Kate, Megan, Shay and me

Carissa and me

Dont know why i stuck the bloody green tape on my face, looks stupid and is in all the photos. it was suposed to be our school house colour and i just decided to stick it there??

In the taxi to Dalaman to fly back to Istanbul, think the sun got to me!






Boat to butterfly island. Just look at that beautiful water.




Ellen and i dressing up in the Grand Bazaar

The Madien tower. The picture on my bracelet.

Nanine and I out on our first night in
Istanbul

Turkey Pictures! Globble Gobble

The man and his fish! This guy was really nice, we spent an hour in his gallery drinking tay and talking about Turkey.

The Turkish bath experince! Yes we are wearing something, tiny little towel things they gave us. At this stage we were feeling clean and very exfoliated.

Sophia Mosque. The Empror entrance.

On the 12 island boat curise. Beautiful day!!

Making a carpet! Well one stitch, this one will take about 2 years.!!

Finally the Turkey blog is done!! Don’t worry you haven’t missed out on the shenanigans of the past 4 weeks they are still to come. I just wanted to get this out of the way. I have done it in order so you won’t need to go to the end of the blog to get Day 1. Have fun reading it, have not added photos throughout as it takes so much longer. I will add photos of turkey soon. Hope everyone is doing well and look forward to sharing more stories in the coming weeks!

Day 1 – Doha to Dubai to Istanbul

We were so excited to be leaving Doha!! We arrived at the airport and standing in the queue Matt, who had left his exit permit at the office, started to worry about the fact that his looked completely different t ours. Luckily Ellen had grabbed it for him and brought it to the airport, she was now intent on making him sweat. The poor guy was wrought with worry about the possibility of not being able to leave the country!!

We got on the flight in Dubai to find that although we had checked in together we were all sitting in different places. Ellen was sat next to Sophia and a huge guy. He had to be moved for take off and landing as he would not have got out of the emergency exit he was sitting next to. He created a huge amount of fuss about his having to be moved but come one if the plane went down and he tried to get out we would all be stuck!

Arrive in Istanbul at 1:30am. Took us such a long time to get through their customs!!! The queue was about 4 people deep and 30 people wide! The only good thing was that being a Kiwi, we are so great, I didn’t have to pay for a visa! The others, Aussies, English and Swedish paid varying amounts to get a little sticker in their passports. It was a very long wait however Ellen and I felt much better after purchasing a large bottle of Vodka as soon as we reached the other side.

As we came out from the Airport and tried to cross the road I was almost taken out by a local reversing at about 30km up the road over the pedestrian crossing. I had only just gotten used to checking in the other direction when crossing the street and one came from the other side. Luckily I managed to dive out of the way fast enough and was able to continue on with the holiday in one piece.

We were shown a bus that would take us to the area where we were staying. After loading all our bags in the bottom and sitting down we were told it would be at least another hour before they would be leaving. Being so early in the morning we canned the bus idea and walked to the Taxi rank. My god I thought the drivers in Qatar were crazy, this was a mere introduction to the Turkish taxi drivers. Quite a different experience going 170km along the freeway with no seatbelt!

We arrived unscathed at the Istanbul Hostel ready to settle in for the night. We had all made bookings for rooms in previous week. Alas on requesting that the kind gentleman show us our rooms we were told that they had been given away as we had arrived late. Even though we had specifically said in each of those emails that our plane arrived at 1:30am and that we would be checking in late, plus we had paid a deposit. After a little haggling, thoughts of just sleeping in the reception area, and a few desperate phone calls made by the somewhat flustered hostel employee, we were being ushered up the road to another hostel. Sophia, Nanine, Ellen and I bunked up in a 3 person room and had a lovely sleep, some of us even experiencing the wondrous but foreign experience of rain!

Day 2 – Our first day in the magical city

We awoke full of life and the excitement of intrepid adventures in a new city. We packed and attempted to leave the hostel room, which would not unlock! The 4 of us spent 10 minutes banging on the door and trying every possible turning sequence to get it open. Finally it did and we bundled downstairs to the aroma of free breakfast and brewing coffee. It was a perfect little café on the bottom floor of the hostel overlooking cobbled streets. We met up with Matt, and Simon, who had discovered the wonderful world of hotel roofs and was very excited about the rain from the previous night.
We bimbled (Simon’s word) up the road in search of the Blue Mosque. This is the mosque that most visitors see first. In many cases it's the only mosque that they see. Built on the orders of Sultan Ahmet 1 and still bearing his name, the Blue Mosque of Sultanahmet dominates, in conjunction with Aya Sofya, the Hippodrome area which has always been the center of the city. Mehmet Aga was the architect and the Mosque took 7 years to build. The Sultan himself joined the builders on several occasions to lend a hand but died within 12 months of its completion at the age of 27.
While on our way to marvel at this great building we were stopped by some very brightly dressed men with large metal jugs on their backs. They offered us some cherry juice which they poured from these great jugs by bending over at the hip and letting the juice fall in a long stream into cups. I can’t say the warm sweet fruity drink was particularly refreshing or delicious but the experience was enjoyable none the less.
The mosque was amazing; we entered a large court yard from the gardens at the side of the building. Inside was a large open space surrounded by great walls and beautiful carvings, terraces and trellises.
From the mosque we walked down the hill to the Arasta Markets were we spent an hour looking in all the shops and book marking favorites for purchasing on our return to Istanbul. At the end of the long stretch of shops was the lovely Masele café with low lying tables and delicate sent of fruit flavored tobacco being smoked through large hooker pipes.
After lunch we walked back the square where the Blue Mosque sits and continued past it towards the gardens Topkapı Palace. As we walked though we had to stop and enjoy the cool grass and shady tress as we had been missing them living in the desert. We regained our senses after a grass intake and continued on to catch the ferry from Eminönoü to Üsküdar which is claimed by lonely Planet to be the shortest, cheapest, most romantic boat ride in the world. It was very cheap and very fast but romantic?? Not so sure about that.
After alighting we wandered around for about 30 minutes taking in the sites and buying orange juice. The 5 of us then piled into a taxi and headed up to Camlica Restaurant (Turistick Camlica Caddesi), which is the highest point in the city. The views were beautiful although unreasonably obstructed by trees which cut into pictures and the full view of the city fading in the sunset.
We sat in the warm sun as it disappeared over the city and enjoyed local food and drinks. As the sun sets about 6:30pm in Doha we were quite surprised to realize that it was already 7pm when we looked at our clocks. For once Matt was not the only one saying “really!” with straining neck muscles! After a quick consultation of the trusty Lonely Planet Guide we walked back down the hill to get a taxi to the ferry dock.

We caught the same boat as earlier in the day and sailed back over to Eminönoü where we found the tram line and headed back to the hostel to shower and change. As we moved closer to Eminönoü the sun began setting and it was a magical sight to see the golden orange sun setting over the thorny juts of Istanbul’s plentiful mosques.

For dinner we decided the destination was Taksim. The place was bursting with people and energy and it was great walking around and soaking up the atmosphere while we searched for a good place to do dinner. Most of the restaurants have terraces on the top, usually about the 6-7th floor, a definite selling point, and in most cases you get an uninterrupted view of the magnificent city or of some other wondrous site. We chose a place based on the number of hearty looking locals, and without much hesitation ordered some local beer. Large trays were brought around stacked with scrumptious looking delicacies and we chose a number of plates. The meal was divine, swordfish with dill, moussaka, salads, dips and breads it was sensational. The local beer Effis was very thirst quenching and a great accompaniment to the salty foods. We were nearing the end of the meal when 3 gentlemen came into the restaurant singing and playing instruments. They started off softly and gradually got louder, taking the fancy of a rather rowdy local guy who was sitting behind our table. It was not long before he (and most of his table) were up and dancing around to the beat in the small spaces between the tables.
He tried many times to get us all up and dancing and succeeded in the end. Matt was hoisted up onto a chair as was another of the girls from the his group. Nanine also made it to the chairs and not long after to the table and was dancing in-between the plates with a local Turkish guy while the music got even more rampant. There is some awesome footage of us all frolicking around!! The songs then dried up as did the noise as the musicians collected

money from the audience and continued on to there next location. Our restaurant returned to a quite hum, our tablecloth and plates returned to their original position and dinner resumed as if nothing had happened. Accept for the smirks we all had on our faces and the low chattering about the events that we had all just witnessed. More beer was ordered; we finished our dinner and moved on in high sprits to a quaint 4th floor bar a little further down the street.

Nanine and I tried the local brew which is Düz Raki, very similar to strong ozo. I had to have a can of coke to wash down every mouthful it was bloody strong stuff. From there we moved on to Blanco. We could see this nightclub from the street below. It was on the 5th floor and the party goes spilled out on to an upper and lower terrace which looked down the alleyway where all the restaurants were. A great place to party till the early hours and watch the world go by down on the street below. The moon was full and large that night and I wish I could have captured the feeling and the aura as it was incredible.

Ellen and I decided to go back to the Hostel at about 2:30pm as the next day we had a big day of adventures to accomplish, as well as a late night flight down to the coast. I grabbed a tasty kebab on the way home yummy!

Day 3 – Day two of exploration and a flight to the coast

Feeling the head a little, Ellen and I sauntered down to the basement of the hostel for breakfast. As we were quickly learning this would consists of the same ingredients for the remainder of our time in Turkey. Triangles of cheese, feta and cheddar, olives, bread, a boiled egg, fresh tomato and all the coffee or Tay we could drink.

On the way to start a day of adventures we were drawn into a local art shop. The man working there allowed me to feed his fish as I obviously looked very interested in his boggle eyed gold and black fish. We spent a good hour in his shop talking about Turkey and the amazing artwork and jewelry he had on display. Each with it’s own story. I ended up purchasing a beautiful hand painted wooden bracelet which tells of the following story:


Maiden Tower

The Sultan had a beautiful daughter. A Fortune teller told him that she would be bitten by a poisonous snake, so he built a tower on a small island in the middle of the sea to protect her. One day the servants brought her a basket of fruit. She reached inside to take a piece and was bitten by a snake hiding in the basket. And MORTO!!
The moral of the story is that you cannot hide from your fate.


From there we meandered over to Saint Sophia for a tour. While in the queue we met Barish who was a tour guide. He took us on a 45 minute tour of the beautiful mosque.


Haghia Sophia
“The Church presents a most glorious spectacle, extraordinary to those who behold and altogether incredible to those who are told of it. In height it rises to the very heavens and overtops the neighbouring houses like a ship anchored among them, appearing above a city it adorns and forms a part of… It is distinguished by indescribable beauty, excelling both in its size and in the harmony of its measures…”
Procopius – AD.537

It is a beautiful mosque. The marble that lines the doors of the entrance has been warn away from thousands of years of guards standing either side of the door, which only the Emperor can enter. There are 9 doors into the main building of the mosque, 1 in the middle for the Emperor 2 on each side of that one for the priests, 2 more outside those for the sinners, 4 for the general public and 2 for the officials and soldiers. There have been 3 churches built on the site where Sophia sits today. The first was a christen church, the largest in the world, built in 360 AD. This was burnt down by rebels. The 2nd was built in 400-415 AD and was burnt down by nephews of Emperor Justinous. The 3rd was built in 532-537 AD it took 5 years to build and was converted by the Turkish to a mosque in 1453. During its 5 year construction there were over 700 deaths. It is the only place in the world which had both Mohammed Mary and Jesus in the same place. It is amazing to see the both of these religions present in such a prestigious location. It is currently being re-constructed and will take 10-15 years to complete. Inside are the most beautiful mosaics and gold plated pictures of Mary and other christen images. Along side that you would find decorative Islamic passages from the Qur’an. It was awe inspiring. There is a golden plate in the wall with a hole in the centre. It is told that Mary cried a tear and caused the hole to appear in the gold. People place their thumb in this hole and turn it around while wishing and praying. It’s astounding to think of the number of people who have done this before me as the hole had been warn about an inch into the metal. It is supposed if you wish if going to come true that your thumb will be damp when you take it out.
From there we went to the city cisterns. This cistern is thought to have been built after the Nika revolt in 532 AD. It was known as the Basilica Cistern during the Roman period, as there was a Stoa Basilica above the pre-existing one at the time. After the conquest of the city by the Ottoman Turks, it was forgotten of and nobody knew that it existed. Re-discovered in 1545, it was used to water the gardens of Topkapi Palace. Today it has a rather eery and mystical ambiance. Clever spotlighting makes the water shimmer with coloured dancing lights and the water ripples from an occasional fish swishing its tail in exuberance.
We really should have done this first as it was no comparison to the awe-inspiring sites we witnessed at Sophia. It was still amazing however the gloomy dungeon-like building was damp and eerie and all together a little spooky. Ellen was wearing foamy flip flops and was having some trouble navigating the slippery walkways.

After a quick internet stop to get the name of a good local Turkish bath, we were on the road again in search of Cagaloglu Hamam, one of the more famous hammams in the city. It is nearly 270 years old and considered one of the best for a real Turkish massage, steam bath and for tea at the old marble café-bar. When we reached it we were pleasantly surprised it was not only over 200 years old but was also on the list of 1,000 things to do before you die.

This was an interesting experience to say the least. We walked into the old building and up to the counter to select the type of ‘wash’ we wanted. We opted for the works and were handed a ticket and a cotton sheet and ushered off to the ladies section were we were shown to a little room and told to take it all off. Ellen and I wrapped ourselves in the sheet and gingerly headed out into the marbled area in our 6 inch clogs. We clip clopped into the bath house area where we were greeted by a large number of….. large numbers and it was a small shock to the eyes. There was a whole lot of nothing on and we suddenly realized that our friendship was to be taken to a whole new level!!! A wale-like Turkish lady, with her swim suit only on to her waist, eeeekkk, told us to sit in a little area and pour water on ourselves with a bowl. She then motioned for us to remove our sheets and hang them on a peg. We sat there in the sweltering bath house surrounded by naked ladies, tipping cold water on ourselves and trying hard no to ‘look!’ We got a little bashful and decided that total nakedness was not for us so went back to the changing rooms to apply a lower half. Not long after we had returned it was our turn on the stone. The room is large and circular it had bays around the outside with cool running water. Ladies wait here for their massage or use this area to wash themselves. In the center is a large stage area which is elevated about 2 feet off the floor and this is where the massage takes place. It fits about 6 people lying head to toe around the stage. The whole place is made of marble and it’s pretty slippery when the bubbles come out.
The massage started with exfoliation, which was a different experience noting that we didn’t have any tops on. I have never had those areas, exfoliated before, especially by a large, flabby Turkish lady with no teeth!! Ha!!
Then it was on to the oil. I felt rather like a fish slipping around and if I started to slip away she would grab me and pull me back next to her to continue. We were instructed to wash off the old then it was onto the foam massage in which they use this octopus shaped loofer thing to scrub you down. I’m surprised I had any skin left by the end of all that. She then took us over to the fountain and proceeded to wash our hair. I felt like I had been chucked into one of those old washing tubs and was being grated along the scrubbing board! Such a funny experience.

Feeling clean and de scaled we set off in search of the Grand Bazaar. I asked two lovely Turkish ladies to point us in the right direction and they ended up personally escorting us the whole way. During the walk we asked them many questions about their country and the way they live as they did to us. The Bazaar was fascinating. A huge collection of jewelry, antiques, spices, clothing, rugs, brightly coloured crockery and nick knacks assembled along rows and rows of alley ways filled with tourist and locals. We lost ourselves in the shops surrounded by amazing pieces of artwork and cultural artifacts. We mainly took notes for our return to Istanbul as we were not able to carry much shopping with us.

From the Bazaar we wondered along the cobbled streets looking for a nice place to have dinner. We chose one and walked up 5 flights of tiny stairs to the terrace roof. The restaurant had a beautiful view of the Blue Mosque in the setting sun. We didn’t have much time to enjoy it however as it was back to the hotel to collect our bags, on the bus, to the airport, where we managed to pretty much walk from the entrance of the airport onto the plane, very smooth sailing. We had been told to get a bus called Hava’s once we arrived at the Dalaman Airport. When we got to Fetiye we got onto a shuttle bus on the runway and then saw a minivan with Hava’s on the side, so we jumped out of the shuttle and headed toward the mini van. Then realized the shuttle also had Hava’s on the side, as did all the ground staff and most of the other airport vehicles. Ummmmmm what the!

It was 12am and there was nothing open at the tiny airport. We collected our bags and luckily found a bus that was heading to Fetiye. It took about an hour to get there and we were dropped off at the end of the line at an intersection and told to go that way. The bus left us in a puff of exhaust fumes and we were not really sure which way ‘that’ way was… I thought asking a near buy security guard would help. Alas, 30 minutes later they had handed our one and only map between 4 different guards and walked off with it. Finally we got it back but with little help as to the direction of our travels.

Lugging our bags and starting to get very tied, we trudged up a reasonably steep hill. A dog started following us and I freaked out as it kept growling. Ellen got all mummy and was like oh my god come on then and took me behind a gate in someone’s garden to hide from it. It was the funniest thing ever. The two of us with all our gear hiding from a dog in some random garden in the dark at 2 in the morning in the middle of somewhere in turkey. Needless to say I was wetting my self and couldn’t stop laughing!!!! Thankfully the fearsome dog soon wondered off and we could come out from behind the gate and continue towards our hostel.

Day 4 – Oludeniz

The gallant travelers were up at the crack of dawn, well ok 9am. Up to the terrace for the usual turkey breakfast of cheese and bread set against a magnificent river back drop.
We caught the shuttle bus into town in search of another one bound for Oludeniz. The scenery was breathtaking especially when we came over the hill and spotted the turquoise, crystal waters of the Mediterranean. The shuttle took us down to the beach front and we clambered of the bus with our bags. We were planning to meet up with Nanine and 2 of her friends who had flown in from the US and would be arriving later that day. Luckily we knew the name of the travel agent they booked their cottage though so went of in search of the office. We asked them for some directions and were told we could leave our bags in their office which was great. We donned our bathers, hats and sun cream and headed out to the beach chairs for some serious sun. Ellen and I lapped up the cool water and the lounge side service of slushies and ice coffees.
At about 5pm we went back to the office to check on the arrival of the girls. They had taken our bags up to the cottage already so we were left with little more than beach attire. We had something to eat and hung around until about 8pm and decided we should go up and get some clothes. Felt so bad about crashing the house before the others had got there as we didn’t book it but didn’t have much choice.
We got changed and called the free shuttle to Buzz bar. Managed to squeeze onto a table and got chatting to Nick and Rosie who were traveling from England and had already been in Oludeniz for 12 days!! We got back to the villa about 3am to some empty wine bottles and a couple of ravaged Turkish delight boxes.

Day 5 – Butterfly Valley

In the morning after introducing ourselves to the Nanine’s friends and apologizing for crashing the villa we headed down to the beach. The 5 of us strolled up and down the walkway of restaurants looking for a breakfast destination. We chose a place that turned out to be the worst pick of the lot with oily omelets that took two attempts to get right, soggy muesli and a greasy waiter who was insistent on showing us his latest magic tricks to our many protests.

We walked along the beach to enquire about the boat to Butterfly Valley. It was to leave at 2pm so we relaxed on the beach for a while. Ellen and I purchased a snorkel set and lilo each.

The boat came up to the shore and a crew of very brown and beachy guys passed our thing between them to load up the boat. It was an art to get onto the ladder as the waves made it rock all over the place. There were some very reggae tunes on the way over from which Ellen and I set the ‘song’ of the trip, Bob Marley!!

Getting off the boat was just as hard and getting on it but we all managed to reach the shore without hazard in some kind awkward fashion. Ellen and I went straight for the lilos but we ended up heading for the beach as we were getting sea sick as they bobbed in the waves.

The 5 of us went for a walk to find the waterfall. We saw about 2 butterflies on the way there. Very disappointing as butterfly valley sort of puts pictures in your mind of thousands! The landscape looked like that on the movie The Beach and we walked along thinking at anytime we would come across a field of marijuana. The place was full of lots of hippies and tree houses. The waterfall left much to the imagination as you couldn’t stand completely under it.

Upon return from our stroll we were brutally confronted with the realization that the boat about to leave was the last one of the day! They had told us the last one was at 6pm, it was only 5pm. They did not add however that 6pm was the last boat BACK to butterfly island. Needless to say we rounded our stuff up in a flurry and sprinted over the stones to the boat. They held the boat for us practically threw us on to it and left. There were 60 others all piled in and with almost nowhere to sit we huddled in a corner feeling like naughty school children.

On the way back to the villa we did some research for the next day’s activity and collected some snacks for a pool side evening. We decided on and then booked a 12 island boat cruise.

Day 6 – 12 Island Boat Cruise

Up at 8:00am and out to the main road to be picked up by the bus. Once we reached the boat we chose our spots and sunbathed for about an hour waiting for the rest of the passengers. Ellen and I had brought snorkel masks the day before so had them at the ready as we set sail… or rather motored out into the beautiful Mediterranean… along with 50 other boats.

The sun was shining beautifully and we sun bathed and chatted the whole day it was so relaxing! We had a beautiful lunch in a quaint bay, the only noise was a gentle breeze and people splashing in the crisp blue water. We made about 5 stops at different places for about 45 minutes. Nick and Rosie also had snorkel equipment and we all went in search of something interesting at the bottom of the sea. Unfortunately there wasn’t much to look at, most likely because of the number of boats that move along that route for the cruise.

One of the places we stopped at was surrounded by cliffs with tombs in the side. We decided to swim over and investigate. The swim alone took a bit out of us as it was a fair way across the ocean. Nick, Rosie and I had the smart idea… as it seemed at the time… to climb up the side of the cliff to take a closer look. The bottom part was fine as it was in the shade but as we got up higher we reached the stones that had been sitting in the hot sun all day and they were very hot. There were also a number of trees with prickly leaves which had carelessly dropped them all over the place where we were trying to walk. This made for a rather painful ascent. The tomb was very interesting and it was amazing to look and think about the time when it had been built. There was a spooky body looking shape which had been worn into a large stone block, rather like a casket in shape. Freaky.


The walk back down was worse than up as we had to stand in one place longer, envisaging our next steps. By the time we got to the bottom the cool water was a welcomed relief for our burnt and prickled feet.

Back on the boat we continued sunbathing until it was time to head back to the dock. We went out for dinner to a lovely restaurant and then stopped to stuff some boxes with Turkish delight to nibble on at home.

Day 7 – Saklikent

Today we drove out to Saklikent the world’s largest gorge. We hired some plastic slip-on shoes as we had seen about 20 float down the river as we crossed the bridge. We paid, entered the gorge and walked along a bridge with about 100 people and came out in a large area with lots of little platforms built out over the water where people were sitting having food and drinks.
Following the crowd we came to an opening where there was a large part of the river to cross. The water comes down from the mountains and is freezing cold. The water was waist deep and moving quite steadily. It was funny to watch everyone walking across holding hands and trying to cope with the cold water. People coming in the other direction had their faces and bodies covered in mud.

We walked up the gorge for about 11/2 hours, having to climb up lots of slippery rocks. The way back was even better as it was sloping downhill so we were able to slide down the large rocks. We were all soaking wet by the time we got back.

We had some food on the platforms, brought some pictures and then had to get back in the car and return to Fetiye as Ellen and I had to fly back to Istanbul.

We ended up catching a taxi to Dalaman with two Korean girls. We were both very tied on the plane. Got to Istanbul about 11:30pm organized a car and hotel and off we went. The driver had a massive fight with a dude in a big car as we were leaving the car park and we feared for our lives. When we go to the hotel we were told they were full!!!!! Oh god again!!! and so we had to wait about 30mins while they found us another one. Lucky for them they did, not far away and it was a lovely one.

Day 8 – Last day in Istanbul

We thought it was going to rain as we went for breakfast. The norm with cheese and bread… and lots of cats roaming around.

Tired to call and book a car for Dubai but there were none. Went to Saint Sophia to try and find Baris. He took us for coffee and then spice market and then we went over to Pera Palas Hotel. This was the place where Agatha Cristie wrote “Murder on the Orient Express.” The legendary Ataturk founder of the Turkish Republic and its first President, often stayed here, and left his slippers and silk pajamas in Room 101.

From there Baris took us to his uncles carpet shop and Ellen spent some time waking around the room with her shoes off trying to decide which one she wanted. Then to the Grand Bazaar to spend some money. Was surprised at the price of stuff didn’t think much of it was that cheap. Ellen and I spent about 30 minutes in one shop being very well waited on. The gentleman brought us a number of glasses of yummy apple tay and talked at length about the belly dancing costumes we were trying on. The pictures look great! We spent most of the afternoon in the Bazaar collecting many items. We also spent time trying to find the shops we had seen the fist time we went there as it’s like a maze. I had seen a bag I loved and hadn’t found it in the 50 other bag shops we looked in. We happened to spot it just as we were leaving and the Bazaar was starting to clear out and close. Lucky!

When back to the hotel to drop off our purchases and then went to dinner in Taksim with Baris and a friend of his. They took us up to a lovely little terrace to have some drinks. It was fabulous, high up looking over Istanbul it was one of the best views. It was a perfect night and the atmosphere of drinking a cool beer on the roof of the world is spectacular!


We were meant to have a private car pick us up at 10:30pm to go to the airport. Ended up being a bus and we went around and collected 10 other people from the area. On the way to the airport he drove about 150km so told him to slow down. When we go to the airport he was like, what is your job, driving instructor! Heehee
Ellen snatched 50 lira out of his hands as they had lied to us about the drive, so funny he was not happy at all. Thought at one point that we were going to be arrested but he gave up arguing in the end. Sux to him!
Again at an airport, took as long to get out of the country as to get into it. My legs were so tied I could hardly stand. The fat guy was on our flight again.

Day 9 – Istanbul to the Desert to the Snow!

We arrived in Dubai at 7:30am and it was a Friday so had to wait till 10am for the car hire places to open. Went around there about 10am and they told us we would have to wait till 12 for a car! In the end they took us to their depot about 11:30am and we were able to get a car. Arrived at Ramee about 1pm, very tied, and fell in a heap. Slept till 3pm and then it was out to our favorite place, Emirates Mall. Shopped till 10pm when we went to investigate skiing the next day. There were no lessons scheduled for adults the following day before 3pm and we would miss them as we had to be at the airport by 4pm. Ellen had never skied before and they recommend that you have to have a lesson first. The guy behind th counter could see our enthusiasm for getting onto the snow and suggested that we go anyway and I teach her. So we paid colleted all our ski gear and went up the escalator to the ski field. Soooooo funny. It was freezing inside and as it was so late at night there were only 5 or so people still skiing, perfect. We began with a simple snow plough exercise that had Ellen pummeling down the slope on her butt and filling her pants with snow. I went up the chair lift a couple of times and even tried a jump!
It was awesome fun and we couldn’t stop laughing. We made snow angels and by the end Ellen had mastered the snow plough concept.

Back home to sleep.

Day 10

Bec came in at 7:00am and we slept till 12, back to the Emirates Mall for a look around and lunch. Drove out to the airport, much easier to find this time.

Flight to Doha 5:50pm YAY


Other Memories

Getting trapped in the elevator when we had to fly out that night. We got to the bottom of the rickety thing and tried to push the door open, it wouldn’t open. Then the lights went off and we were standing in the dark wondering if we would ever get out!! Upon trying the door again it swung open and we stepped out thankfully!

The huge man blocking the emergency exit on the plane! He was massive. You could have fit one of me in each trouser leg. The pockets of his pants were like pillow cases. He was sitting next to the emergency exit and we all feared that if there was an acceded he would block us in. The air hostess had to polity ask him to be re positioned for take off and landing.

“So the church was built in 250 BC right??” Woops!! As it was fiercely to me in a bout of hysterical laughter by my true friend Ellen, churches were only built after the introduction of Christianity.

Ellen saying “I like porn!” Actually referring to bling on sunglasses, like porn style, but very funny when that came out of her mouth.

Me taking the baggage trolley through the x-ray machine at the airport and wondering why I was going off. I didn’t see the little opening to the side.

Ellen saying “oh look an empty plane” when we were the first two people to walk onto it.

Dalaman – when we got off the shuttle from the departure hall and the run way we had to identify our baggage to the ground staff.

Ellen getting shitty at the airhostess. Her ticket stub had 9C and mine had 12B so we had to sit in different places, then a family came to the seat she was in and were like, that’s our seat. She got up and fumed at the thought of her ticket being double booked. The she realized she had pulled out an old ticket from a pervious flight we had taken on the 23rd July, it was August!