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Written by Keith Rhoades
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Monday, 06 November 2006 |
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Hi all....i finally made it. It is 7 pm here in Istanbul....10 hours ahead of \los angeles. i am absolutely exhausted...23 hours 30 minutes of travel. I just love it when I arrive in a new city...it's scary, overwhelming, exciting, and gets my adrenaline going. After leaving Rome...we flew over Italy, adriatic sea, croatia, and bulgaria...the scenery was dotted with dozens of little villages and i couldn't help but think that in each home is a family, a story, hopes, sadness, etc. it's such a big world..and at the same time so small! i arrived in istanbul and had to get my visa...i didn't realize that i needed one. i then went through customs and my luggage was one of the first one off the carosel. i then had to find a phone card and call Oktay...he is one of my contacts in istanbul. i called him and he is getting off work and he told me to take a shuttle to Taksim Square and would meet me in an hour. I will stay with him for the next three nights. Once the shuttle got to Taksim I bought went on overload trying to cross the street...it's crazy...there are no rules...you just step out and hope for the best. it was neat driving through the city at night with all the mosques lit up. very beautiful...and the men are beautiful too! we were driving through istanbul...which is very crowded and i couldn't help but think "my God...I'm in a country that borders iraq"...it all seems so far and foreign to me. i do wish i spoke a little of the language as that is my biggest problem...i have no clue what is going on. but in someways that is good..it teaches me that when put into a situation you just adapt and go into survival mode. Well, take care. Tomorrow i will start hitting the streets with my camera. I know tomorrow i will see Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque. It is so wonderful to stay connected to all of you back home. |
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Written by Keith Rhoades
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Sunday, 05 November 2006 |
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Well my friends and family...we are about to embark on our next journey! Welcome to the new people in this email group! It is 3 am and I am about to leave and catch the bus for LAX! I'm filled with excitement and a little bit of fear. This trip has been a bit overwhelming for me at times. I saw that I purchased my ticket last April. And with the war in Israel/Lebanon, ongoing sinus/dental infection, and other issues that happened this summer I was not sure I was even going to go on this journey. This is truly a new adventure...new language, religions, cultures, etc and will prove to be very interesting. As well as this will be a 3 week adventure (longer than my usual 2) As nerve wracking and overwhelming as it feels...I am so grateful to be going on this trip. There is always so much to learn and see, new people to meet, peoples paths that you cross never to see again, and of course all of the spiritual lessons I learn on these trips...like one day at a time, seeing the bigger picture of life, trusting in the universe, feelings of gratefulness and thanksgiving and feeling the interconnectedness of all people. This trip is especially meaningful, as I will be celebrating 10 years of sobriety on November 15th..What a way to celebrate. I am all packed (28 pounds in my backpack) and ready to live out of a backpack for 3 weeks. As most of you know I am a member of hospitality club http://hospitalityclub.org and will hopefully be relying on some of those people for accommodations and to meet for dinner or coffee. But it is all very tentative which adds to the thrill of it. As most of you know, I try to send out updates along the road with antidotes, historical notes, places I've visited and people I've encountered. This journey will go from LAX to New York to Rome and finally to Istanbul. After 2 days in Istanbul I will take a bus to Cannakale to see Gallipoli and Troy. From there I will push further down the Mediterranean coast to Izmir and Ephesus. I will then fly from Izmir to Amman, Jordan. The highlights of Jordan will be Petra and the Wadi Rum Desert/Bedouin experience. I will then head toward Israel (yes, by bus) stopping at Mt. Nebo where Moses is supposedly buried, Bethany where Jesus was baptized, and cross over the River Jordan and Dead Sea to Jerusalem. I will spend most of my last week in Jerusalem visiting the biblical sites before heading to Tel Aviv where I will begin my journey home. via Milan and Atlanta and finally back to LAX. So...until I get to Istanbul..take care.Peace,Keith |
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