Winter Solstice Swim, 21 December 2008

Swim at Salthill, 6 December 2008

I have a goal of swimming every month of the year, so on Saturday morning decided that it was a good chance to get the December swim out of the way. It was sunny but the wintery sunshine didnt have much warmth in it and the water was painfully cold. There were a few other regulars also going for a dip at Blackrock. A knowledgable-looking bloke reckoned the water temperature was 6 degrees Centigrade. I didn't doubt his assessment.

Cong, 2 November 2008

On Sunday 2 November we decided to drive to Cong for a walk and take in the Autumn colours. With winter rapidly approaching the leaves were not to last much longer. Here are some pics: If you want to you can compare these photos with those taken in June of this year.

Cong lies on the Border between Galway (l) and Mayo (r)

Ashford Castle

Istanbul, 20-23 October 2008

Mum and I arrived at Attaturk Airport, Istanbul, on Monday evening, to find a man at the arrivals hall holding a sign with my name on it. After a short wait, he showed us to our taxi and before long we were dropped off at our hotel, Sultanahment Suites. By this stage it was dark and Mum was a bit apprehensive as the hotel is in a local neighbourhood with no other hotels or tourists to be seen. But once we were inside, Joy, the owner, put us at ease. Our apartment was very comfortable.

Apartment Hallway

Living Room

Our hotel was in an interesting neighbourhood, which according to Asim, one of the hotel staff, was mainly Kurdish. The street below our window was buzzing with activity all day, and there was a restaurant down the road where we ate each night. The staff there got to know us and wouldn't let us pay for our cups of tea.

View from Living Room

Street Running Outside our Hotel

Another View of our Street (wooden sign is over our hotel front door )

Another View of our Street Looking Down Towards our Hotel

Ottoman-Style House (with overhanging upper floors)

On Tuesday morning we set off up the hill from our hotel and in 10 minutes we were right in the heart of the Sultanahmet area of Istanbul, where many of the main tourist attractions are located. First up was the famous Sultan Ahmed Mosque, built between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of Ahmed I. It is better known as the Blue Mosque, its name due to the more than 20,000 handmade blue ceramic tiles adorning the interior of the mosque.

Mum Outside the Blue Mosque

Courtyard, Blue Mosque


Inside the Blue Mosque

Next up was the Hagia Sophia, which stands directly opposite the Blue Mosque. The Hagia Sophia was built between A.D. 532 and 537 on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Junstinian. The Hagia Sophia was the largest cathedral in the world and the religious focal point of the Eastern Orthodox Church for nearly 1000 years. In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and the Cathedral was converted into a mosque.

Hagia Sophia

Interior, Hagia Sophia

The Hagia Sophia is famous for its richly decorated interior and many mosaics.

Mosaic showing Virgin and Child flanked by Emporers Justinian I and Constantine I

After lunch it was off to the Grand Bazaar, one of the largest covered markets in the world, for some retail therapy. On entering the bazaar we soon got lost in the labyrinth, and spent the next hour or so wandering down some of the 58 streets and browsing at a few of the 6,000 or so shops inside.

Grand Bazaar

After a busy day of sightseeing, what better way to relax than a genuine Turkish bath? As luck would have it, there was one just down the road from our hotel. We booked in and before I knew it I was being scrubbed, lathered and kneaded rather vigorously by a large and very hairy Turkish man wearing a tea-towel. After 45 minutes of intensive treatment I was toweled down, wrapped in fresh towels and deposited on a bed feeling very relaxed and slightly relieved.

Turkish Bath

The following morning, Wednesday, we decided to take a ferry trip up the Bosphorus, the strait that links the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. The Bosphorus also separates the European part of Turkey from the Asian part:

There was a bit of a mix up to start when the taxi dropped us at the wrong ferry terminal but we eventually made it to the Eminonu Terminal just in time. The ferry zig zagged its way up the Bosphorus, stopping at various ports on either side. It was relaxing to just sit and take in the scenery after the previous day's walking. Waiters constantly walked up and down carrying trays of tea and then yogurt.

View of Yeni Mosque from Eminonu Ferry Terminal before Departure


Looking Back towards Sultanahmet from Ferry

Ortaköy Mosque

Along the way we saw some very swanky waterfront homes:

After a 90 minute journey up the Bosphorus, we arrived at the final stop, Anadolu Kavagi, to discover there was a three hour wait for the departure ferry back to Istanbul. Lack of research on our part, however we linked up with some fellow stranded tourists and took a couple of buses back along the southern shore to Üsküdar, where we jumped on a ferry across the Bosphorus and back to Eminonu.

There was still time for one last stint of sightseeing, and we walked the short distance from the ferry terminal to the Spice Bazaar. This is not as large as the Grand Bazaar, but more colourful, with many shops selling various spices, sweets, and other bits and pieces.

We were fairly wrecked after wandering around the spice bazaar, so decided to get a taxi home. The taxi drivers wiating at the taxi rank weren't convinced that taking a taxi was a good idea, and seemed to think that walking back to our hotel was the way to go. Eventually we found someone to drive us, and he gave us the most exciting taxi ride I have had. He did get us across town in rush hour very efficiently though - largely by ignoring all one-way signs along the way.

After a last meal at our local restaurant, we called it a night. The holiday was over, and all that remained was the journey home.

Sarajevo, 18 - 20 October 2008

On Saturday 18 October our alarms went off in the unforgiving pre-dawn darkness. We had an early bus to catch back to Dubrovnik and our Croatian holiday was at an end. We were sad to leave Korcula, it had been a relaxing place to stay, and, as with all holidays, it was over too quickly. When we arrived back at the bus station in Dubrovnik Mum and I said goodbye to Marian who had a plane to catch back to Dublin.

The bus journey was a long one, we arrived at Sarajevo at around 9:30 pm and were pretty tired. Our accommodation in Sarajevo was the Halvat Guest House which was very comfortable, and only a short walk to the old market (Baščaršija) The owners Mumo and Valida were very friendly and helpful. Breakfasts were included, and the pancakes were excellent.

Baščaršija (Old Town)

We enjoyed our two days exploring Sarajevo, and the fact that we didn’t know much about the place or what to expect added to the excitement. The weather was fine, although the chill in the air signalled the altitude and the coming winter. A thin mist hung in the sky above the city and its enclosing hills, softening the autumnal sunshine which slanted onto the streets and parks.

Sarajevo has a bustling, cosmopolitan atmosphere, and wandering around the old town, with its markets and minarets, cobbled streets and coffee shops, the visitor is struck by the feeling of being at the crossroads of east and west. Which Sarajevo always has been. Having being part of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires, then communist Yugoslavia, it now is the capital of the independant state of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

While wandering in the Baščaršija neighborhood we came across the Gazi Husrev-Beg Mosque, often referred to as the Beg's Mosque. Built in 1531, it is considered one of the world's finest examples of Ottoman architecture.

Washing fountain, Gazi Husrev-Beg Mosque

The Miljacka River runs through the middle of the city. The grand 19th century buildings lining the river are a reminder of Sarajevo’s former place in the world as an outpost of the Austrian empire. Further out, the brutalist architecture of the communist era provides a stark contrast.

It was here on 1914 that an act of nationalist-inspired rebellion occurred that was to have massive and catastrophic consequences for the world. In the event that triggered World War I, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the Hapsburg throne, and his wife Sophie, were assassinated on 28 June 1914 by a Serb, Gavrilo Princip. The building outside of which Princip fired the shots is now a museum of Sarajevo during the Austro-Hungarian period, including information on the assassination.

Latin Bridge. Assassination Site is in front of corner building with the arched ground floor windows (now a museum)

As well as learning about Sarajevo's hisotry, we also got to sample some Bosnian delicacies, such as Bosnian Coffee:

And Ćevapi - A Bosnian specialty consisting of small dumplings of minced meat, mixed with garlic, onion and spices, grilled and served in pita bread with chopped onion on the side. I was impressed with my effort of eating one about the size of the one below (12 Ćevapi).

The city appears to have largely recovered from the devastating siege of 1992 to 1996, although many buildings still bear the scars of mortar and tank bombardment. The siege was fought between the defending forces of the Bosnian Government, who had declared independence from Yugoslavia, and the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and Bosnian Serb forces located in the surrounding hills. It is estimated that more than 12,000 people were killed and 50,000 were wounded during the siege. The residents endured harsh living conditions during the 4 year siege, having no electricity or running water and living from rations flown in by the UN.

Map Showing the Serbian Positions Surrounding Sarajevo During the Siege

We took a tour to visit the tunnel dug by the Bosnians during the siege to ferry people and supplies in and out of the surrounded city. The tunnel went underneath the airport to the free Bosnian territory on the other side. The tunnel was one of the major ways of bypassing the international arms embargo (which was applied to all parties to the Bosnian conflict, including the defenders of Sarajevo) and providing the city defenders with weaponry.

Sarajevo Airport, from the Tunnel Entrance

Building Housing the Tunnel EntranceTunnel

On our last morning in Sarajevo we visited Svrzina kuca (Svrzo house), a beautiful old Ottoman house built in the 18th century that shows how wealthy families would have lived in that time.