Weddings, theft, and a hell of a lot of tourists!

It’s really quite hard to believe I’m in Turkey at the moment. This disbelief has stemmed simply from the fact that Marmaris, the port town in which I am currently located, is absolutely packed with tourists. In all honesty, I have found it hard to locate legitimate locals who appear to be hiding down back alleys, or sitting in coffee shops, seemingly sharing my bewilderment with the hordes of foreigners strolling past in tiny swimmers and displaying all types of bemusing attire. I have never seen anything like it. Only the distant echo of the call to prayer, barely heard over the blaring music coming from the myriad of bars along the waterfront, reminds me where I actually am.

Currently I am sitting on the balcony of my room listening to an English tourist murder Spice Girls in the Karaoke bar opposite the hostel. On the positive side, the packs of Pommes has meant that a number of local bars and restaurants have been screening The Ashes, which has occupied the majority of my day.

The coastline of Turkey as I came into Marmaris

Today I arrived in Turkey after a short ferry trip from Rhodes, one of the eastern-most Greek Islands. The fortified city, arguably the last inhabited medieval town in Europe, was just amazing! The fact that you share the experience with masses of tourists detracts little from the splendour of simply wandering around the old cobbled streets and taking in the vibe. Getting lost is inevitable in the 200 or so alleyways, and it became an experience I welcomed with open arms. Around every bend is another set of ruins, an old mosque, a quaint set of tavernas, or an old residence of the Knights of centuries past. Pretending to be a student of the EU ensured I was able to see, for free, the archaeological museum, grand masters palace, knight’s castle and many of the other fascinating attractions. That fact that these sightseeing excursions were free of charge was of vital importance to me considering I had, the night before, been subject to a robbery that cost me somewhere between 300 to 400 Euros.

Rhodes Old Town

This is what happened: At 6am, the morning after my first night in Rhodes, my lone dorm companion returned from a night out at one of the local discotheques, apparently completely drunk and angry, as evident from his loud conversation on the phone outside my window. Hearing all this commotion, I found my i-pod and started listening to music to drown out the noise outside. Soon after I heard the French/Algerian, and fairly large man come into the room, turn on the light and get into the bed next to mine. He turned the light off and seeing me lying still must have assumed I was asleep. Soon after, I heard the sound of rustling through a bag of some sort, which continued for 30 seconds or so. Hearing this, I turned to see the bag through which he was searching was in fact my bag! I questioned him immediately, and startled, he dropped the bag and lay flat down on the bed pretending to not hear me. I got up, turned the light on and searched through my bag to find the front zipper open, and my wallet completely devoid of cash. I yelled at him ‘get up’, which he did, and face to face I challenged him as to why he was looking through my bag, and where he had put my money. He acted dumb, pretending like he never touched my bag. After five minutes or so of arguing, and me frantically trying to work out where he had hid the cash (I made him empty his pockets but he wouldn’t comply any further), I decided to head down to the police station to get some help as there was no official present at the hostel until 10am. The police told me to come back at 8am (it was 6.30am at the time) as I had told them I didn’t want him arrested and simply wanted to get my money back through filling out forms for insurance purposes. Following this, I randomly bumped into the hostel owner waking the streets of the Old Town, where he told me to head back to my room, where his wife would meet me to sort out the problem. However, upon returning to the hostel I found my roommate gone. He had packed up all his stuff and done a runner, after being at the hostel for over two weeks (and still owing them money). There was no doubt from this point that he was guilty. The hostel owner, Peter, the proceeded to round up his friends in the police force and send out a warrant for his arrest (which was issued to every port on the island). Peter even called his friends in the police in Belgium, as the Algerian fellow had told him of his plans to go there after Rhodes. To top it all off, Jack, a hostel guest and former member of the French legion, went down to the local port to try and find him and set him straight! Crazy! Out of all this came nothing, and frustratingly I learnt that my insurance wouldn’t cover the loss.

Accepting this, I moved on from the event and enjoyed the rest of my time on the island, visiting the famous castle at Lindos, and partying with the other hostel guests, who were a heap of fun, and even bought me drinks in sympathy following the robbery. All in all it turned out to be a fantastic few days in Rhodes.

The crew from Rodos Youth Hostel

Preceding my time on Rhodes, and the 18 hour ferry ride that followed, was a memorable stay on the beautiful island of Santorini. The purpose of Gay and my time there was to attend the wedding of Rob and Jacqui, who planned to be married at sunset on a headland on the far side of the island. Before the wedding however, the wedding party had some catching up to do (I hadn’t seen them all in over 7 months), and we re-united over a few Coopers, VBs and Tooheys News in a nearby Australian Bar that was perched precariously on the cliff-face in the whitewashed town of Fira. From what I remember (not much) it was a very memorable night! Aside from the various nights out on the island, the wedding party (Rob’s entire family, and Jacqui’s two friends, sister and mother) did engage in some strenuous daily activities including lying by the pool, wading in the pool, eating by the pool… you get the picture. We did one day decide to climb the volcano in the centre of the massive caldera, which afforded spectacular views back across to the rugged cliff faces and small hilltop towns of the main island of Santorini. That night we indulged in a superb seafood dinner at a restaurant with a terrace that overlooked the caldera and enjoyed the magical sunset.

Sunset from our dinner table

The following day was the wedding, where at sunset Rob and Jacquie said ‘I do’ in the presence of the small gathering of family and friends (and a curios couple of happy snapping Japanese tourists of course). Despite the howling wind, the ceremony was flawless. It was a beautiful memory to take with me as I departed the party that evening for the 15 hour (which turned into 18 hour) crossing to Rhodes.

The wedding party

Now in Turkey, I plan to head west along the Mediterranean coast to a couple of isolated little beaches, stay in treehouses, and visit ancient hilltop ruins. Following this I will head north into Cappadocia to see the crazy rock formations and caves, then fly (I think) to Istanbul where I will spend a few days seeing the sights and visiting Gallipoli, before departing for the U.A.E. My current planning suggests I will be in Abu Dhabi by 15-20 August, then India sometime in the first week of September, and finally home in time for Graduation (September 23).

Cheers,

Matt.