Arm Chair Travel

arm chair travel

So I am finally experiencing the real thrill of arm chair traveling. Reading "Bad Lands" by Tony Wheeler of Lonely planet, my breath stopped for a moment when he described, in the chapter on Iraq, how he decided to enter it. Take a plane to Istanbul, hang out at Kadikoy harbour, then take a plane from Sabina Gokcen airport (was there myself this September) to Diyarbakir (this is when I stopped breathing) and as soon as he left the airport, he was surrounded by taxi drivers who kept asking him:"Want to go to Iraq? Want to go to Iraq?"
Wow!
So, experiencing the delicious chill of sitting safely in my chair, I followed him in the description of his adventures starting from there. He had decided, in 2006 (4 months or so before I landed in Turkey for the first time) that the "safe" part of Iraq for traveling was- Kurdistan! And took the taxi from Diyarbakir to Kirkuk...and I share his feeling of doing crazy things like visiting museums and buying kebab while sort of wondering what on earth one is doing here, other than satisfying some mad urge to enter the unknown, just breaking out of the normal, usual everyday world into the thrillof something brandnew and therefore, much more interesting...Something one must see sooner or later while there is still time.
The other book I am reading is "Lonely planet guide to Lebanon and Syria". So far, I understand that Lebanon sounds a lot more pleasant and easier on lone women than Syria. No hijab, no jellabas, no off-limit all men coffeeshops...women in Beirut wearing skimpy sun dresses and lots of make up, tehre are plenty of night clubs in Beirut to go dancing etc., it seems...on the other hand, Lebanon is just as expensive as North America, it says, and this is a real bummer. So, Lebanon sounds like fun, adn you just have to keep checking on the political situation because tehre is always a chance that you will be surprised by dropping bombs...But transport sounds really iffy, outside the major cities...Uhuh...And then there are all these chapters on trekking and hiking and mountain climbing and advice which mountain boots to pack...
Syria, on the other hand, seems very safe crime-wise. It says, people do not steal there. Wow! Now that is a new one in the Middle East. the only Mediterranean country I know where people don't steal is Greece, I never knew about Syria. It also says, Syria has good transport, people are really nice and friendly (apart from the heavy restrictions for women bit), and it is rather cheap, apparently. And Damascus seems to be the oldest city on earth... I have a feeling, I will got there sooner or later. Last but not least I am running the tribe for a Damascene poet who also lived in Beirut, Nizar Qabbani.
I have already finished "In Arabian nights" and Lonely Planet Morocco is sitting in my shelf too...
But as far as Babylon, Kirkuk and Tabriz are concerned, I think I will stick to arm chair traveling for now. And this is real hair raising fun, I have just discovered!

Wed, October 21, 2009