Prague Spring Holiday - Chateau Hluboka nad Vltava

Tanya and I arrived back from Prague early Tuesday morning.  We left the house at 5:00 pm Sunday 8th, arriving in Prague at 8:00 am on the 9th.  We left at 3:00 pm on the 16th and arrived home at 7:00 am Tuesday 17th. Getting to Kyiv and back took the time as the flight is only 2 hours.  Coming back on (Orthodox) Easter Monday meant the trains were full and we had to take an overnighter.

It was a computerless holiday, 9 days away from my link to the rest of the world. And a nice break it was for the rest of the world no doubt but I will not do it again.

We had six excursions as part of our package.  Bus and walk; bus and walk; bus and walk.  By Thursday my knees were so bad I could hardly keep up but by Saturday I was doing not bad for an old fat man.

Our first excursion was to Vienna and I will come back to that when I get pictures better sorted.  The second day we visited the Chateau Hluboka nad Vltava and Czesky Krumlov (which I will come back to later).

http://czech-castles.blogspot.com/2006/06/hluboka-chateau.html

Hlubolka started life as a Medieval castle on top of a hill over looking the town.  Over the centuries it was transformed several times by various owners into a huge luxurious chateau. It currently is owned by the Czech government.


Tanya got a few pictures of the outside of the castle (below) but for pictures of the inside you need to go to the official website (link above in Bold).  No pictures allowed inside the castle.  And the rooms were dark.  And our guide was in a hurry.  The schpiel was all in Russian but I imagined it went like this:

And this room is either Princess Gabriella's Bedchamber or the Knights' Dining Room; I'm not sure which...or maybe it was both.  If there was light in here you would see this and this and this and this and this...but since it isn't and you can't, we'll just move on to the next room which is either the kitchen or the library...

 

Day Tripping

Tanya and I are going to Prague for 8 days.  This is our first time in Europe (EU) so rather than try to organize, we are going with a package.  What a circus to try and get a package, you cannot believe.  Tanya was several days on the internet and talking to travel agents in Krivii Rih, Dnipropetrovs'k and Kyiv.  We had found what we thought was the perfect package.  It was affordable, and included two days in Vienna.  Regardless of the fact that the price on the internet site stated airfare was included, we were informed by the tour operator that it was NOT included.

Anyhow we finally found something close.  And started to close the deal.

Tanya needed a Schengen visa.  If we go west she needs a visa; if east, I need a visa;  Turkey lets us both in for a fee at the border.  One applies for a Schengen visa at the embassy of the country of first entry but the travel agent will look after the logistics once we have all the documentation.  Along with the usual suspects, we needed a notarized document stating that I was paying for the trip.

So yesterday we went to Dnipropetrovs'k.  Can't tell you how many months it had been since I was there.  It is spring so the road is full of chuck holes and driving is rather nerve racking.  In Ukraine if you see a driver weaving violently back and forth on the road, they are fine.  If they are driving in a straight line staying in their lane they are drunk.

The reason for the Dnipro trip was that we have no certified English translator in Zhovti Vody.  Our friend Natalia, head of the city foreign relations department, translated my little letter and sent it to her notary friend Oksana to have it notarized.  Cost us $30 at the lawyers and coffee, dessert and a visit with Natalie. 

I got my McDonald's fix for a few more months - they have a new Ukrainian burger - Pumpernickel bun.  And had a look at the winter crops and snow cover.  Less snow the farther east we drove.  Too early to confirm winter kill from the road but the reports are maybe 30+% will have to be reseeded into summer crops.  10 hour day, four hours driving and I was in bed by 8:30.  Driving is no thrill on these roads.

We would have gone to a travel agent in Dnipro but the one we use doesn't have ability to process credit cards.  Cash only. So today we drove into Krivii Rih, to see another Oksana at KiiAvia who had done our last two trips to Turkey.  This was the first time I drove through downtown KR myself with out someone familiar with the city to guide me. 20 minutes, outskirts of ZV to outskirts of KR and almost two hours to reach the travel agency some 60 km down the centre of the city.  New York is the city that never sleeps and Krivii Rih is the city that never ends.

Tomorrow I will sleep in and then do some real work.  I have a proposal to prepare.

The pictures are of a metal grapevine outside a restaurant in Dnipro.  The vines go up each side of the door than along the wall the length of the building.  No idea what they would cost in Canada or in Ukraine but the artwork is absolutely wonderful.  Tanya says she wants something like it. 

The Final Leg of the Journey

The last four days in Regina were a mad dash to finish business and see as many people as possible.  MayB had people for supper Thursday night and Friday night and when they left, more people came for coffee. Sunday was her church's annual Christmas program and dinner so I was able to see many old friends and eat another Turkey dinner.

She hauled me to the airport Monday morning on her way home from work (MayB works 10 pm to 8 am and The Guy from 4 am to 1 pm; they see each other occasionally) and the long trip home began.  AC left Regina on time (surprise); so far so good. Even the Toronto-Frankfurt leg was relatively uneventful.

When we got to Frankfurt, it was snowing heavily. Not good.  Four hours late leaving Frankfurt meant I missed my train connection in Kyiv.  Our long time taxi-driver, friend and all around fixer, Kostia, came to my rescue and helped me acquire a ticket for a later train.  Not an easy task at the last minute and beginning of holiday season but possible for Kostia.  Upper bunk in an open car but a ticket never-the-less. Instead of arriving home at 11 pm Tuesday, I would leave Kyiv at 11 pm and it would be 6:00 am Wednesday before I saw my Tanya.

An upper bunk is not impossible for me to climb into but having to do that every two hours becomes a bit difficult.  Lucky for me the Car Attendant sized me up as possibly having more money than energy and rented me her roomette for the trip for $12.50 (100 UAH - same price as the ticket).  A bottom bunk and a room to myself.  I slept a little, which I would not have done on the top bunk, in spite of being exhausted.

Andrei met me in P'yatikhatki.  The fog was thick as pea soup (or in Russian, casha - porridge) and even Andrei had to keep his speed down.  Tanya had borsch and roast chicken waiting for us.

A wonderful trip.  Spent time with my children, my siblings and Grandma - the primary reasons, in that order, for the visit.  Everyone else was a bonus and there were too many I didn't see. Not enough time but it was time to go home.  There is no place like home and no one like Tanya.

Aunt Pat aka Precious Pat

Last Wednesday Ky and I drove up to Comox to visit my Dad's cousin Pat and meet her new husband John.  I hadn't seen her for several years and figured it was a good opportunity especially if Ky would drive. Pat is a very lively 88 year old and John is a spry 81 year old.  Pat has outlived two husbands named William and I told her I was glad she married a man named John not another William or I would accuse her of being a Bill collector. She said she is not changing her name this time as it is too much trouble.

We had a great visit.  John is originally from England but lived many years in Australia, working at a series of jobs that took him almost around the entire country, prior to moving to Canada.  He and Pat were in a singing group that goes around entertaining at seniors homes.  He offered to carry her accordion one day and she turned him down, saying she could manage.  Then she felt guilty she had been rude, so next time she asked him to help her. Her grandkids teased her that the accordion got very heavy over one week.

My second cousin Marilyn and her husband Bill came in for supper.  They are retired and have a B&B on the ocean front. Marilyn had been to Saskatchewan only once, 1964 for my grandparents 50th anniversary.  I remember meeting her then and once since, the last time I visited Pat.

Cousins of my parents are getting thin on the ground, Pat 88, Muriel 95 and Nora 99 being the only three left of 23 on one side.  Pat said she was delighted the younger generations (meaning Ky and I) still remembered the older folks.  I said she is the only thing between me and the abyss so the longer we could keep her around, the safer I felt.

Pat and John (photo by Maryanne)

Ricky's Place

My sister Evelyn picked me up in Red Deer Friday and drove me to Calgary.  We stopped to visit my brother Stan's oldest and her two girls (five granddaughters, he has!) and then to Ev and Dan's home where Ev had invited her two kids and their spouses for dinner. Saturday morning she drove me to the airport and I arrived in Victoria at 1:00 pm.

Kylee-Anne picked me up and we went directly to the Christmas dinner put on by the church group she attends. I had never been to her assembly but knew several of the people so got a visit with them.  Then Saturday evening we drove to Duncan for coffee with my friends Robert and Jo, with whom I have done several business plan projects.  He was flying to Saskatchewan next day so it was Sunday night or never. Ky was sociable for a few minutes then retired to his office to mark final research essays from her English class.

Ky finished the essay marking but then had 32 final exams to mark and also had to work Monday, so Sunday night she drove me out to Mill Bay to my friends Wayne and Gifty Dunn.  Ky knew Gifty but had not met Wayne nor his son Kabore (an up and coming hockey player at age 10) before. She visited for a couple hours and said she would be back for supper Monday night.  Wayne and I have worked together in a number of countries on CSR projects, Turkey in particular, and he was in Ghana when I was last in Canada so it had been four years since I saw him.

Kabore got an early Christmas present, a Macaw named Ricky. Small vocabulary so far.  Hello and such like.  Screams "ERIC" when he is mad.  Not sure who Eric was but figure he was either a hen-pecked husband or a teenaged kid. Ricky and I were introduced and he rode around on my shoulder or arm for a while and seemed to hit it off.  I felt like Long John Silver.  He shakes hands by grabbing your finger in his beak and bobbing his head up and down.  Next morning I went to his cage and offered him my finger which he promptly bit.  Hard.  Drawing blood.  And said "Ouch". Parrot beaks have a very powerful bite. My fault - moved in too fast.  After that I moved a bit slower and finally got him to sit on my arm and shoulder again. He is quite friendly and we got on very well.

I leaned back on the couch and Ricky sat on my chest and "groomed" me, picking and nibbling gently at my eyelids, nose, lips and chin.  That took a great deal of trust on my part because that is one wicked beak and if he decided to bite, I would have lost pieces of face.

Parrots are very clever and can have the intelligence of a four-year-old according to the book.  Ricky learns quickly. He had been perched on the railing overlooking the entry stairs and didn't want to move.  He would not get on my arm and pushed me away with his beak.  When I persisted, he got angry and would have bitten me if I'd got near him.  Wayne went to get him and he bit Wayne hard enough to draw blood.  Wayne threw a towel over him and threw him in his cage.  Ricky knew he was being punished and sorted out his attitude real quick.

Next time he was on the railing and I went to get him, he tried to bite me again so I got the towel and showed it to him.  He wanted no part of that and held out his claw for me to put my arm down to get him.  We sat on the couch and he grabbed the towel from me and threw it on the floor.

Saying goodbye to Dunns was hard and poor Ricky didn't want me to go.  He kept lifting his claw for me to put my arm out to take him. I want a parrot.

Reminiscing

Since both Number ONE Son and DIL work during the day, I am left to my own devices.  Yesterday (Tuesday) I had coffee with school mate I had not seen for literally 46 years, since graduating from high school.

Dee was literally the girl next door.  Her folks farm was 3/4 mile west of our place and our folks used to visit back and forth.  When dad drove school bus, they were the second stop on the morning route.  Dee and her two sisters were more the age of my younger brother and sister, which is how I found her - she was friends with my sister on Facebook and noted her place of residence as Red Deer. Last I heard they were in Lloydminster.

We sat in a local coffee shop that roasted its own beans and served homemade desserts.  Gabbed for two hours until the money in the meter ran out.  Dee has kept closer contact with the old neighbourhood than I, as she and her husband helped run the farm after her dad passed away.  Until they figured they were both working to support their farming habit.  So we caught up on everyone we could think of from school days and all our neighbours, her mom and sisters, my siblings, kids, life in Ukraine and so forth.

Nice to catch up.  Sometimes I miss the community I grew up in but not often. The world changes and like they say, you can never go home again.

Travelling Man

Have a bit of time today to write something.  I am currently in Red Deer Alberta, visiting my son and his wife who are both at work during the day so am left to my own devices with the two dogs for company.

I arrived in Canada last Monday afternoon and called my daughter MayB on Skype from Toronto.  Where are you?  Toronto.  When do you get into Regina? 12:30 am.  I thought you were coming tomorrow.  12:30 am is tomorrow.  (Some of my family are chronologically challenged). She did come and get me, though.  And we did some visiting, shopping and appointments over the three days.  MayB and the Guy work odd shifts so was able to get visits in with them as both were off for two days I was there.  We are splitting my visit three days coming in and three days going out, as that way we don't get on each others nerves. Well, me mostly on hers, the way she tells it :) :) :)

Three days in Regina flew by and Friday morning I hitched a ride to Saskatoon with a friend Jen Evancio from Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership to meet with a business associate Al Scholz once we got there.  Stormed most of the way and roads were treacherous.  Several of us have formed a dba, CIBUS Management Group, under Al's consulting company to chase work in Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan. 

Then dropped up to the U of S Animal Science Dept College of Agriculture and said hello to Dr. Bernard Laarveld, grabbed a 15 minute visit with my hero, role model and friend Dr Red Williams, Professor Emeritus, who is in his mid-80's and still goes into the office at Animal Science almost every day.  Dr. Dave Christensen, Ruminant Nutritionist, Professor Emeritous, mentor and long time friend, called his wife to put some water in the soup and slice the baloney thin as he was bringing me home for lunch.  We spent the afternoon discussing nutrition (I am still his student after over 40 years) and the world's problems.  Dave doesn't solve problems; that is what grad students are for. His job is to give them problems.  I know this.

My brother Stan (The English Cowpath) drove in from Rosetown to pick me up about 4:00 and I spent the night with him and his wife.  They have five granddaughters under age 6.  We stopped to see three of them, including the youngest Tatiana, who is 6 months old.  Pictures to follow (Stan, ask Shauna to email me the pictures she took, please).  Next day Donna drove me out to the farm at Wilkie where my brother Ross lives, having retired from Toronto about two years ago and moved back west. My son drove from Red Deer to pick me up and he and I spent the night at the farm and had a good visit with my brother whom I had not seen for several years.

Next morning we drove to Lloydminster to visit Grandma.  Grandma is Ella's mom and my kids' last remaining Grandparent.  She will be 92 in January and is now in an assisted living home as her memory is failing somewhat, though she is still very spry for an old girl.  Now that she is eating better she has gained weight and the pajamas I brought her didn't fit.  Awesome!  We went from Grandma's over to her youngest son's place and had a short visit with him and his wife and three of the kids before leaving for Red Deer.

Trying to see everyone in three weeks is impossible.  Some people will be angry that I didn't stop to visit and I am sorry as I would dearly love to see everyone of my friends and cousins.

Next year maybe Tanya and I will come over in summer and spend a couple months vacationing and visiting.  She didn't come this time as she has been battling a cold and besides she has been to Canada twice in winter...nuff said.

On the Road Again

Off to Canada to visit my kids for three weeks.  Haven't seen my son and his wife other than on Skype for over two years when we were last home for MayB's wedding.  LynnieC was here from London last Christmas and MayB and Ky were here in July 2010.  It is a long time between visits.

Tanya says she will go with me next summer and we will rent an RV and camp in the mountains for a month.  Sounds like a plan.

72 hours home is not long enough between 3 week long trips.  I love my kids but I also love my wife.

Train to Kyiv, Lufthansa to Frankfurt, Lufthansa/Air Canada to Toronto and Air Canada to Regina.  Makes for a long day.

Turkish Pizza

The Turks make a very nice thin crust pizza.  For teh first week we were on vacation, the resort would serve fresh pizza at the outside bar between 10:30 and 12:00 for those of us who were too lazy to go to breakfast or wanted a snack after swimming.

The pizza is baked in a wood fired oven.  The coals are pushed to the back and the surface dusted relatively free of ashes, then the pizzas placed in the oven using a traditional long handled paddle; turned once during baking and retrieved, cut up and served hot.

The second week there were too few people there and the practice was discontinued.  There is a reason for lower rates late in the season. But it was good while it lasted.

The Ancient Port City of Phaselis, Turkey

One of the stops on our boat cruise was at the ruins of the once major port city of Phaselis.  It is located a few km south of Kemer on a small peninsula with three harbours.  According to the information at the site and also on Wikipedia and TravelLinkTurkey, it was founded in the 7th century BC by people from Rhodes and finally abandoned in the early 13th century AD.  The Phaselitans were traders not politicians and the city prospered under a variety of rulers - Persian, Greek, Lycian, Roman, Byzantine and finally the Seljuk Turks.  Most of the ruins are of Roman and post Roman origin.

I am posting a few pictures but if you Google Phaselis, Turkey and click on images, you will see some wonderful photos.

With Google Earth, you can look down on the peninsula and see through the pines the main street and some of the ruins

The peninsula is covered with ruined stone buildings.  We had no real time to explore.

Certainly some of the city site has tumbled into the ocean over the centuries

 

The Romans were great for bath houses

More bath house

Ruins of a market place or Agora

We both saw this brave little flower blooming away in the middle of main street

Storm Sunday night

Good thing we took our boat trip on Saturday because it started raining hard Sunday and stormed all night.  It rained again yesterday and a bit today.  There is still no swimming around our beach except by one or two brave souls as the water is still very rough.  Reports are they have not had a rain storm like this for the past 37 years.  Several houses lost in mud slides and six people reported killed.

 This photo was taken Monday morning.  Sunday night at supper the waves were breaking against the 6' seawall and up and over the shade cloth on the sun deck, eventually breaking it down in the night.  You can see the size of the rocks the waves were hurling up onto the deck.  Lots of fist size and several the size of the big one in this picture.

 This picture was also taken Monday morning.  Sunday night at supper the waves were coming in level with the concrete deck.  The wooden slated "covers" have been torn off by the waves.  The holes in the concrete are to absorb some of the force of the waves and keep them from lifting the entire platform or walkway.  There are twenty-five such openings on the deck. 

 I took this photo this afternoon.  There was a large concrete step at the bottom of these stairs from the sun deck through the sea wall down to the water's edge.  It has been totally ripped off the rebar and demolished

Another picture from today.  There are several cubic yards/meters of gravel and rock that were washed up over the 6' sea wall and onto the sundeck by the force of the waves Sunday night.

The water is still very rough close to shore but for a good swimmer it was nice and smooth, as in rolling waves farther out.  Getting there and back was the problem.  I hope the weather is good tomorrow morning when we fly out of here.

Yacht Cruise

Yesterday we went on a yacht cruise down the coast.  Very interesting to see the line of resorts wherever there was room between the mountains and the sea. Long trip for Tanya and I as we didn't swim (Tanya is fighting her cold again) or sun but did enjoy the old city of Phaselis (more on that another day).

The Armada of Cruise Boats sets out at 10:00 am

Resort hotels along the shore

The coast is either rock or resort

Pretty fancy looking place

Thump...thump...thump... Ramming Speed!!! Thumpthumpthumpthump

Beautiful little cove

Quiet harbour

Pirates' Cave.  Most of the Mediterranean swarmed with pirates at one point in history or another

Sumela Hotel Resort Pictures

Front gate

Front entrance

Walk from beach to hotel

Back view of hotel and Cafeteria

Mountains crowd the coast to a narrow strip

Wall to wall resorts

Tanya says that is me out swimming

Sumela* Hotel is a three star all inclusive.  Rooms and meals being the main differential between star ratings but there are other differences.  We have stayed at a 5-star in July with intermittent air conditioning and 40+ temps .  Cost us $2000 for a week.  Never again to that hotel nor in summer.  Last year we stayed at a four star just down the road a pace from here and it was OK.  We liked the looks and price of this place however the internet site was less than truthful in some regards.  The rooms really need redoing and the meals picked up a bit to make it a four star as outside it is lovely and well looked after. 

*Sumela is the name of an old monastery near Trabzon on the Black Sea coast.

The Mediterranean Coast - GiST # 10

1. We arrived at the Sumela Hotel about 45 minutes south of Antalia on the southern Turkey Coast for a two week stay at this 3 star hotel.  The water is wonderful.  Even I can 'swim" way out over my head and not panic.
2. The first room they showed us to was a disaster,  Very small but with a nice bathroom.  For $30 Tanya got us moved to a larger room at the opposite end of the hotel from the entertainment stage which plays thump thump music to about midnight.
3. The website said Wi-Fi.  There is a trick to that.  For no cost you hook up to the cable at the front desk and check email.  It is painfully slow.  BUT if you ask the right questions, one of the young men who works there signs you onto the hotel Wi-Fi network which does exist but cost $5 per day for the first 8 days (the next 6 are free).  Only in the lobby but who cares.
4. Our luggage arrived with us.  This morning in Boryspol Airport for 5:00 am take off, they were loading 4 planes for Antalia and one for Sharem el Sheik.  We figured our luggage would end up there.  (Murphy was an optimist).
5. We won't starve.  The salad bar is loaded with fresh vegetables (and hot banana peppers) and the four hot dishes are adequate and tasty.

Pictures tomorrow.

Domodedevo Airport

We arrived in Moscow at 9:00 am and by 12:30 we had grabbed a bite of breakfast and navigated the Metro and electric train from Kursk railway station to Domodedevo Airport.  It is a modern new airport terminal that would be at home in any big city in the world.  Found a wifi spot, downloaded emails and my old computer ran out of battery.  So we found a bench and slept.  Had supper at 5:00 and just now (6:00) we found a great little coffee shop that has plug ins for laptops as one of their sales features so I am having coffee and Tanya is wandering.  We don't have enough rubles for her to shop in an airport.  I did find a nice watch I really liked in on of those shops that doesn't post prices...I guess not.


First time I was in Domodedevo airport was 20 years ago this month.  My first international trip.  It was still the Soviet Union in those days.  I will blog about that trip sometime.  Domodedevo was a hellhole in those days.  Domestic traffic only.   Sort of like a really old very busy bus depot in a poor section of a big city.  No seats, no service, no nothing. You needed high rubber boots to go into the toilets.  Tanya was through it many times with her kids in those days and remembers it well.  In summer people sat out on the grass.  It was cold when we were there and our plane was 5 or 6 hours late.  We sat inside on our luggage in the tea shop with hundreds of other people.

At 4:00 our plane left for Almaty Kazhakstan. In those times all flights were scheduled for night so passengers couldn't look out the window and learn anything they shouldn't.  Like the presence of large cities that weren't marked on any maps.  I don't know what they thought the U2 flights and then the satellites were doing all that time but anyhow...In Uralsk, I got busted for taking a picture of a bridge.

So you know where we are going

Click to expand so you can actually read it.

From the left - first red arrow is Dnipropetrovsk, next red arrow is Moscow.  Then look waaaay over.  Top red arrow is Krasnoyarsk (city of 1 million).  Middle red arrow is Abakan where we are headed.  The bottom red arrow is the city, Kyzyl, we visited in 2006 where Tanya's cousin Kolya lives.  We will not likely go there this time though the drive through the mountains is lovely.

We leave tomorrow morning (April 27) from the house at 9:00 by taxi to the bus station in Zhovti Vody and catch a minibus at 9:40 to Dnipropetrovsk, arriving a bit before 11:00.  Our train leaves at 2:15 and we get into Moscow at 10:00 next morning (April 28th).  Our plane doesn't leave for Krasnoyarsk until about 11:00 at night, arriving at 7:30 am the next morning.  Four and a half hour flight and three hour time difference. 

Then we catch a bus for Abakan which will take 5 or 6 hours, not sure.  it is just over 400 km so depending on how many stops.  The road is actually good as it was new five years ago. We should be in Abakan some time on the afternoon of April 29th.  A few hours over two days. 

We could fly direct to Abakan from Moscow but it is double the price so we fly to Krasnoyarsk.  We could take the train the whole way but it is four days instead of two. It is a long way.

You CAN get there from here

This post is one of those things that happens when I am supposed to be working and get carried away by something interesting instead. My friend Wayne on Vancouver Island has a Nayadic aerator as part of the septic system on his acreage.  I was learning more about it and came across this site for Vegetative Tertiary Filters for waste water from Type 2 Septic systems. Great pictures of awesome flower gardens, cattail beds and lush green riparian areas around ponds. 

Which reminded me of a few years back when my friend, Hubert, and I were in west-central Turkey looking for projects we hoped someone would be interested enough to fund. Water pollution in rivers from a couple of towns in the area were a big problem. One city was a leather tanning centre and the other had a packing plant and a few other delightful contributors to black river water.  We proposed building a wet-land or marsh filtration system (cattails and such) down river from the cities, which would rather inexpensivly take out the majority of pollutants. I think they opted for an expensive bricks and mortar system instead - which may or may not be built yet.  We need to go back.

The black water flowed through a beautiful canyon that they hoped to make into a tourist attraction.  Now it isn't the Grand Canyon of the Colorado but it isn't Frey's coulee where we went tobogganing as kids either.  We also looked at agriculture in a couple of valleys with potential for organic food production (hence the interest in CLEAN river water).  While we were there we did a little sightseeing too.  So today's blog is brought to you round about by Wayne's septic tank.

Ulubey Canyon

Kazanci River flows through Ulubey Canyon.  Black water!

Banaz Valley

Grapes drying in the sun

Cilandiras Bridge over the Banaz River

Built by the Lydians several centuries BC (railing not included)

Hubert and Murat.  Notice the "road" is more of a donkey track

Looking downriver in the Banaz Canyon

One of the last of the Lydians' kings was Croesus whose name is associated with great wealth. I could spent the rest of my life in turkey and never begin to see all the history and beauty associated with Asia Minor.