Leaving the spectacular oasis/canyon of Wadi Disah last week, the landscape all the way to Umm Lajj ( on the Red Sea coast ) was probably as boring and monotonous as we have seen in Saudi – lots of sand, lots of camels, and a few small towns in between. More than anything it showed the chasm of difference between the larger cities ( modern, vibrant, generally cleaner ) and the more remote rural areas ( exactly the opposite ). These more remote parts of Saudi are still very quiet and conservative.
Now on the Red Sea coast. It will be a long drive south with stops in Madinah and Jeddah as we head to Abha ( near Jazan ). There will be no stop in Mecca – can’t even enter the city limits unless you are Muslim 🙁
Spent a couple of nights at the large seaside town of Umm Lajj just enjoying its different view ( the ocean at last, after many days of just desert ! ), doing a little shopping, and catching up on washing ( it always takes a day here – nowhere, so far anyway, can one find a self serve laundry and do it in just a couple of hours ). A bonus was that we managed to stumble on a nice restaurant, a real treat after several days of less than appetizing food choices.
This was a first – stayed in a hotel in Hail, where there appeared to be no towels. Turns out they have disposable towels, or “single use” towels ! Prefer normal ones!Here, parked on a beach in Umm Lajj, the first point at which we saw the Red Sea in Saudi.Beautiful warm day, long sandy beach, shallow warm water. Not a soul in sight 🤷♂️Date palms provide a nice backdrop for the beachParked at our hotel in Umm Lajj and came across a first – an Overlander from the UAE. These guys had been all over the world in this rig.From Abu Dhabi, UAE.Another first for us in Saudi- we crossed this street only to realize the traffic light was green for both the pedestrians AND vehicles ! Not sure how that’s possible ?
Mecca is definitely the holiest city in the Islamic world and non-Muslims are not even allowed to enter the city, much less to visit Al Kaaba itself. Medina, next up on our itinerary, is Islam’s second holiest place and non-believers are welcome there. It’s not only the resting place of the Prophet Mohammed, but the city also has other mosques that rank very highly among those that Muslims aspire to visit. There were two in particular that we wanted to see – one that permitted unrestricted access (Masjid Quba – thought to be the first mosque built in the world ) and the other ( Masjid-e-Nabawi – the second mosque built in the world ) that certainly did not ! I was nonchalantly walking through the ( seemingly open ) gates of the latter when suddenly a firm hand clasped my shoulder. The security guard simply asked “Muslim ?”. No, “Masihiun”, I replied ( “Christian” in Arabic ). A solemn and very firm “Not allowed”, followed. Disappointed, as its the Masjid-e-Nabawi (mosque) that contains Mohamed’s tomb, something we definitely would like to have seen. It was only possible to snap a few pictures from outside 😟.
En route to Madinah the landscape was volcanic in places Saw this on an Instagram feed – long road trips seem to be the way to go lol !!!
The city is very conservative and Lois had been advised that in this place a scarf would be required, certainly to access a mosque. One was arranged, but I’d point out that people had, up until now, been at pains to point out that the garment was generally NOT required anywhere else in the country. We’d seen some Saudi women without it and lots of foreign women not wearing one so the advice seemed accurate. Long sleeves, legs covered and generally conservative “wear” seems to be more than enough ( for both sexes ), though there is definitely more focus on the ladies’ coverings. We’ve been surprised just how popular the niqab/abaya still is in Saudi – very widely worn by Saudi women everywhere we’ve been so far. It looks awfully hot to wear right now, I can’t imagine what it’s like when the temperature gets into the 50’s ( and it does !).
Masjid ( mosque ) Quba – Islam’s very first mosque was built on this site and it holds a very special place for pilgrims, many of whom were here today.Lois, scarfed up for the visit.Saw this sign in the mosque – not sure if it meant physically lost or spiritually lost.The crowds were huge here.Inside Quba, non Muslims were permitted here.Madinah’s famous clock tower.Due to Madinah’s importance in the Islamic world pilgrims come from all corners of the Muslim world to visit, many on pilgrimage tours – here some Kyrgistani’s and Uzbeks.Masjid-e-Nabawi, home of the Prophet’s tomb, Madinah.The green dome, inside Nabawi, contains the tomb of the Prophet, Mohammed. This is as close as we could get.For our Aussie readers – never expected to see a classic Holden Commodore SSV in Madinah, Saudi Arabia !
Another 420km drive brought us to Jeddah, Saudi’s Red Sea gem and second largest city. By all accounts, more interesting than Riyadh so we were looking forward to it, the drive down enriched by the sighting of a troop of wild baboons beside the highway. We’d both thought baboons were known only in Southern Africa ( how wrong we were ), the first hint of them being the “Don’t Feed The Baboons” sign a few kilometres before we actually saw them. One immediately jumped on our car – with more beelining towards us we beat a quick retreat. They can, apparently, get very vicious.
We had no idea there were baboons in Saudi, but, minutes later……..….there they were. Admittedly very poor lighting/exposure here, but it was a hurriedly shot picture ( through our very dirty windscreen ) before we drove off as one jumped on our car, while others were coming. Kind of scary-looking up close, these baboons !
Jeddah’s old town ( Al Balad ) is one of its major attractions and was an easy walk from our hotel. Wandering its backstreets and imagining what life was like here back in the day was not difficult as much of the area retains the charm of yesteryear- old traditional buildings with beautiful latticed wooden verandahs. Very Arabic ! Seems the local tourist authority is pouring millions into this area since much of it is under reconstruction, though we had no problem finding many old original buildings, some now converted to boutique cafés and restaurants. It was in one of these cafés just off the main square that we bumped into a young Saudi lady named Sahar. She had travelled and studied abroad and in fluent English gave us some great insights into Saudi history and culture. She was typical of all the Saudi’s we’ve met – warm, chatty, helpful and genuinely interested in our experiences in the country – charming people. Unfortunately a badly stubbed big toe ( right in the aforementioned main square ! ) limited my mobility for a couple of days and hence any further “walking” exploration of the town. It’s long and pedestrian-friendly seaside Corniche, along with the King Fahd fountain ( the worlds tallest) are a couple of Jeddah’s other sites of note which we’d passed on the way in. Will have to do the walk next time we are here !
Jeddah, vintage art poster.Modern, but in the traditional style, architecture in Jeddah.More “original” Jeddah architecture, Al Balad ( old town ), Jeddah.More of the old town,Coffee with our Saudi friend, Sahar, in Jeddah’s old town. Bab Makkah ( Mecca Gate ), on the east side of Jeddah’s old town. It was through this gate that pilgrims walked, or rode, to nearby Makkah.Main square, old town.
Next blog we head to the far south of Saudi and explore Abha and historic Rijal Almaa before heading back east towards the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
The most logical and shortest route to Abha would have taken us right through Makkah ( Mecca ) but since we are not Muslim one can’t even enter the city, much less the Kaaba itself. Not the “red zone” around Mecca, beyond which it is Muslims only.
When planning our route around the Arabian Penisula, for a variety of reasons travelling “anticlockwise” made most sense – so from Jordan the next country on our itinerary was Saudi Arabia, by far the biggest of the Persian Gulf states and hence likely where we will spend the most time – if for no other reason than it simply takes a very long time to get anywhere ! That, and the fact the Kingdom actually has quite a list of world class attractions ( they’d just kept them hidden from us previously).
This will gives a sense of just how big Saudi Arabia actually is. Superimposed here over a map of the USA.
A little background first. Saudi has not always been easy to get to ( it was formerly not really “open” to mass tourism ), nor easy to travel in. That all changed in September 2019 when “the Kingdom” ( or simply KSA as it’s called here), did a full 180 – the doors opened wide, the visa process was relaxed, as were dress codes and driving rules for women. Word spread quickly and perhaps unsurprisingly it’s been an increasingly popular destination since – particularly so with overland travellers. Fortunately for us this time of the year ( Saudi “winter” ) is the perfect time to come.
We came to Saudi for a few reasons but the weather was definitely one. Best time of year to visit ( this is their “winter” ) ! These temps are in centigrade, of course.
First impressions were great, Riyadh has a stunning airport and the entry process was easy, right through till we picked up the car. We have 2 separate phone providers, both with global roaming, but neither “data” pack was connecting, so this left us navigating to the hotel ( at night ) with only map screen shots ( the “blue dot” just was not moving on Google Maps which it normally does even without a data connection ). We made it, but not without some drama, and wrong turns. Fist lessons in Saudi – people drive fast, lane markers are treated like road decorations ( essentially, ignored ! ), and they love big cars and trucks.
Literally, the first store we saw when we landed in Riyadh airport was a Canadian “Tim Hortons” !A little Saudi style vintage art. Riyadh may once have looked like this but no more !We’ve been in plenty of hotel rooms over the years – but never one where room “309” ( ours ) was actually on the 2nd floor !
With the weather looking great we were keen to head north-west right away leaving any exploration of Riyadh until we circled back later. The immediate destination was Al Ula, one of Saudi’s biggest attractions – so much so that this rather small oasis town actually has its own international airport now. People come from far and wide to see this place, obviously. It took two days of driving to get there, long days, yet still interesting as it was our first experience of the country. All was well until a police roadblock just 80kms from Al Ula forced us to do an additional 250km detour to get there. Not what we needed after having already driven 500kms.
Typical scenery en route to Al Ula.This sign we saw often, and at time with a purpose built overpass so the camels could cross from one side of the highway to the other.
The roads in Saudi are generally very good, certainly the main roads at least, all multi lane and usually with 140km/h ( 85mph ) limits. Our first couple of days proved pretty much what we thought – lots of desert, monotonous at times, but periodically interspersed with unique red rock bluffs and always the ubiquitous camels. Have seen more camels so far in Saudi than anywhere else – far more than Jordan.
As for Jordan, all road signs are in Arabic and English in Saudi. Easy enough to learn the Arabic numbers, the written language – indecipherable ! Note the distances ( and we started in the middle of the country ) – Saudi is huge.
Pulling into Al Ula it was more of the aforementioned red rock bluff scenery, mixed with acres and acres of palm trees – Al Ula is the quintessential oasis town and it’s easy to see why it has been a travel crossroads for centuries ( and is now becoming an international hotspot as well ). Tellingly, while we were there an international bike race was held over 4 days ( the Al Ula Tour 2026 ) which attracts some of the worlds finest cyclists. While the cycling was not our bag, Al Ula’s other attractions kept us busy over the next few days.
The road closures caused by the cycling event caused us some grief getting around at times.
The “Old Town”, while slightly kitschy, portrays Al Ula as it used to be and was enjoyable to explore, the mud brick buildings in various states of repair. The heart of it all, ”The Oasis”, is a wonderfully cool and tropical-like area fun just to wander through – interesting to see how many things they grow out here in what is essentially the middle of the desert. The area has a lively cafe scene ( but no “bars” – alcohol is an absolute “no no” in Saudi – that was not relaxed back in 2019 ). Beyond the oasis and old town there are a few other big name attractions in the town, two of them we got to ( Maraya and Elephant Rock ) while we could not get to Hegra ( the Petra “lite” Nabatean rock formations ). Unfortunately, unlike Petra, Hegra has visitor caps and requires joining a “tour” to enter ( not something we like as a rule ) and the tourist volumes here for the international cycle race meant they were booked out long before we arrived. The Elephant Rock was impressive and the Maraya ( “mirror” ) building and setting was nothing short of stunning – I’ll let the pictures below tell the story.
Part of the “Old Town”Old Town.Rock formations around Al Ula, which reminded us of both the the “Hoodoos” at Bryce Canyon in the US and some of the rock formations around Karijini NP in Western Australia.One of the many boutique coffee shops around the oasis at Al Ula. Enjoyed a nice breakfast here.“Maraya” ( mirror, in Arabic ) is the world’s largest mirrored building. It’s stunning, and contains a restaurant and conference centre. That’s Lois beside it giving some sense of its size. While not an exceptionally hot day when we visited, walking past the sunny side and feeling the reflected heat made it feel like a furnace !It’s the setting, as much as the building itself , that makes this place so impressive.We’ve seen a few “Elephant Rock’s” in different places but this was the biggest and most realistic – the eye and mouth especially. One sits and watches as the sun sets on it providing a variety of colours. I had not been missing our van that much…..until I saw this at Elephant Rock ! 😟
Beyond Al Ula, there was one major attraction remaining in the northwest of the country that we were absolutely determined to see – Wadi Disah. Often called the “valley of palm trees”, Wadi Disah is a stunning lush mountain valley, known for its towering wind-carved sandstone cliffs and natural freshwater springs. Access is by 4WD vehicle only so we hired a local with an indestructible old Landcruiser who took us 7km into the wadi. Spectacular ride, amazing scenery and we were appreciative of doing it in an older vehicle – it’s pretty rough going, would not have taken the Sprinter in even if we had it with us. Another long drive to reach Wasi Disah but very glad we did.
On the way to Wadi Disah. Sometimes the camels get lazy, I I guess !First sight as we 4×4’d into Wadi Disah.Metabh, our driver. Skillfully navigated his trusty Landcruiser through some pretty serious “4×4 only” terrain.Picture time at one of the more scenic stops.Distant view of the formations at Wadi Disah..Seems every “tour” we go on it’s just us. Room for 6 or 8 but it was obviously a slow day and he agreed to take just the two of us.Lots of thick reeds, water and rocks.Ditto.Picturesque no matter which way one looked.
From Disa, we’ll travel over to the Red Sea coast and head south, but more on that in the coming blog.
Rather than head straight to nearby Wadi Rum from Petra, we first made a little detour to Aqaba, Jordan’s main ( and only ! ) port at the very south end of the country ( at the very north end of the Red Sea).
Road to the Red Sea ( Aqaba ).Lots of signs like this but not too many camels are just wandering around !
Were it not for a relatively short 12km sliver of Red Sea coast, Jordan would in fact be totally land-locked. Until 1965 it had even less coastline, when a friendly deal with Saudi Arabia gave Jordan a few more kms of coastline in exchange for Saudi getting more desert ( like Saudi Arabia needs any more desert – but that was the deal !). It’s a busy road down to Aqaba since everything that is shipped in comes via this road. Aqaba is an interesting spot – warmer, very tropical in appearance, and home of the original Arab Revolt in 1916 which was the beginning of the end of Ottoman rule in the area. There’s an interesting castle, a not too impressive beach, but with the option to snorkel in the Red Sea – sadly, at only 18 degrees it was a bit cool for us. Perhaps we’ll do that when it warms up as we head further south. We did uncover some great local restaurants and bakery/coffee shops ( a little hobby of ours ) while we waited a day for weather to improve in advance of driving on to Wadi Rum.
Map showing where Aqaba is at the bottom of Jordan, wedged between Israel to the left and Saudi Arabia just a few kms to the south.Street scene, Aqaba.Historic Aqaba Fort..Fort from the inside.There’s not much beachfront in Jordan but there were a lot of people out on a midweek day that was definitely too cold for swimming..! Everyone seemed kind of out of place.
If you remember “Lawrence of Arabia”, Wadi Rum will be a familiar name. A stunning section of UNESCO – listed Jordanian desert and now a Protected Area, we were keen to explore it. Once past the throng of touts (who descend on you as you exit your vehicle at Wadi Rum village) our hosts at the Wadi Rum Desert Camp collected us and took us out to the camp site where we would spend the next couple of days. A wonderful spot, relaxing, quiet, and a bit of a crossroads for traveller’s from all over, we shared our time with an interesting cast from Turkey, Poland, China and South Korea. The hospitality from our hosts was exceptional and their 4×4 Wadi Rum tour got us to places our own Sprinter probably could not have. Wadi Rum played a pivotal role in the 2016 Arab Revolt which saw the local Arab population (with a little help from T.E. Lawrence 😉) evict the occupying Ottomans from the region.
Wadi Rum has become a huge draw in Jordan.On the way in to Wadi Rum you pass a section of the old Hijaz railway. They recreate scenes of the Arabs attacking what was, at the time ( 1916 ), an Ottoman supply train running though Wadi Rum up to Damascus. Sadly, not running the days we were there.Our “bubble” glamping tent at Wadi Rum ( there are no hotels ). Very comfortable and well equipped just like a hotel – beautiful view to the east for desert sunrises…..….or just to sit back and chill out..!The glamping experience includes beautiful traditional Bedouin dinners- they were delicious!View out in the desert on the tour.Regular stops always included the offer to sit and drink tea in Bedouin tents. With every visit, “Welcome to Jordan” was the greeting we got. We were made to feel very welcome everywhere in this country.Camels kept by the Bedouins. Rides available for those so inclined. Had no inclination to do this again !You can make out a rock wall in this picture, the crumbling remains of what was T.E. Lawrence’s desert home.Lawrence’s image carved into rock nearby, with the date, 1917.There was just Lois and I on the 4×4 tour so our guide insisted on taking us up high onto a sand dune to show us how capable the vehicle was – lots of fun !“Bridge” Rock.“Face” rock.Wadi Rum is famous for its sheer canyon walls and rock bluffs. They were interesting to walk around and explore.
Working our way north back towards Amman, a brief stop was made at Karak Castle. This place was a little disappointing – the history of it ( a major Christian fort during the Crusades ) attracted us but the fort itself ( at least in its current state ) was less than impressive. Fortunately Karak was on our planned route to the Dead Sea so the detour was not material and the drive down a very winding desert road to a point 440m below sea level took us to a place that is the lowest elevation on earth. Famed for that, of course, but also for the fact that it is extremely salty ( 10 times normal ocean salt levels ), which means one can literally float “on” the surface rather than float “in” it – quite the surreal experience !
Sadly, the Jordanian vehicle rental did not permit us to travel into Saudi or Iraq 😟. Kept driving !Karak castle looked quite imposing from a distance….…but was not so impressive inside.The Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth and has some of the highest salt content anywhere. Here, approximately 440m below sea level. Sadly the Dead Sea is shrinking by almost a metre ( 3 feet ) a year due to irrigation demand on its on its inflows. One can easily see how high it used to be.One can float “on” it rather than “in” it due to high salt content.It’s now a bit of a walk down to the Dead Sea from the road, since levels have dropped considerably over the past decades.
Only a stop in the old heavily Christian town of Madaba stood between us and Amman and this stop proved to be an entirely unexpected highlight ( made up for Karak ! ). In addition to stumbling on an excellent little boutique hotel, enjoying our best meal in Jordan at a nearby restaurant, the Greek Orthodox Church in Madaba contains an incredible, original 6th century floor mosaic showing a map of the Holy Land. Well worth a stopover as was the nearby Catholic Church which had been visited by two recent popes. Not a lot of Christians here but those that are go back a very long way !
Pretty night view of a mosque in Madaba.Madaba Greek Orthodox Church, home to the Dead Sea mosaic map from the 6th century AD.Much of the mosaic was destroyed in an earthquake centuries ago but what remains is in very good shape. Ditto.
Dropped off our rental car and bussed into Amman for our last couple of days (in the preceding 8 days we’d put 1,000 kms on it exploring this amazing country). Amman is an easy place to discover, with an excellent National Museum, two Roman era ruins ( the Citadel and Amphitheatre, the latter far more impressive than the former ) and a host of great markets – a thoroughly enjoyable way to wrap up our first couple of weeks in the Middle East.
Roman amphitheatre, downtown Amman. Very well preserved and still in use !Ruins of Amman’s Citadel. We found the Jerash ruins far more impressive ( much better preserved ).More Citadel.Jordanian sweets. If you have a “sweet tooth”, this is your town !
Till next week, as we continue exploring the Arabian Peninsula.
I think it was the poet Burns who first mused about the “best laid plans”, and how they often came undone. Perhaps even back then it was ‘travel’ plans he was talking about – certainly this past week threw us a couple of a curveballs, one fairly minor, the other, well, not !
Managed to squeeze in one more visit to downtown Athens ( we were camped a bit out of town ), here entertained by some excellent street performers. Shipping challenges, logistics planning, and then a vehicle battery issue used up much of our first few days in town.
So, we got back to our van in Athens and clicked the door opening fob….nothing. No reassuring “click” (as when all the doors would normally open in unison). Hopefully just a dead fob battery ( as has happened before ) so we opened the van manually, then tried to start it. Still nothing. No reassuring display of multi colored dash lights, not so much as a ‘click’ from the starter motor. No, this battery was probably dead, likely VERY dead ! Alas, hope springs eternal – tried a trickle changer over 24 hours ( nothing ), then a “jump” from a big diesel Landcruiser, still nothing. Seems there must have been some phantom “draw” on the battery over the past 5 weeks while it was stored. Fortunately our host, Thasos, connected us up with a nearby battery shop – the manager, born in Canada as luck would have it, took kindly to us and they delivered and installed a new unit the following day. Now all was good with the van ( I also learned a trick about how to avoid this problem during future long storage periods ). In the scheme of things this was a minor issue, easily fixed – the next ‘issue’ was far more impactful on us.
After much coercion and several attempts to bring it to life we accepted that this battery was VERY dead. Learning – vehicle AGM batteries do NOT like multiple extended periods of inactivity.Fortunately, a replacement was available at a nearby shop. Delivered, then installed and suddenly all was good. Most importantly they provided some excellent advice on how to prevent the issue in future.If only I had known sooner. The Sprinter actually has a battery setting that preserves the main starter battery during long periods of storage. This “standby mode” setting should ensure it stays strong for up to 22 weeks. Good to know.
Battery issue resolved we moved to the bigger of our two problems – renewed political tension in the Middle East, specifically Iran. And, of course, the Middle East was exactly where we had been planning to ship our vehicle next. The mass protests and killings in Iran were causing alarm all over the world but especially in the Middle East. The original plan after returning to Athens and collecting our van, was for us to send it on a Salamis Lines RoRo ship from Athens to Haifa, in Israel – Israel being a planned conduit for further travels through to the rest of the Arabian peninsula. Now the fact that just six months ago Israel and Iran fought an all out war gave us pause for thought in terms of how the current situation in Iran might affect our own van-based travel plans. We certainly don’t go looking for danger but with the United States pulling troops out of neighboring gulf states, one had to take the threat of expanded hostilities somewhat seriously. Even the shipping line, which had only a day before finally confirmed passage for our van on their ship, issued a warning ( see image below ). When these things go sideways in the Middle East, they can go seriously sideways very quickly – meaning shipping routes get canceled, borders get closed and even personal movement can be restricted. We also had to factor in our van likely leaving the region via the same route ( Haifa to Athens on the return journey ) and there was now no guarantee that would be possible. While we were still super keen to go to the Middle East ourselves, we now really had to reconsider taking the van. While we can always fly out ourselves if things heated up, matters become exponentially more complicated when you are cruising around in a 7m long ( non-containerable ) camper van, a vehicle for which where your exit options are already limited. We needed to think very carefully about proceeding with the original van-shipping plan, and if not, then decide how to proceed instead.
The warning provided to us by Salamis Lines, the shipping company that was to ship our vehicle to Haifa, Israel. It was not exactly confidence-inspiring. Not a cheap shipping route and we could not afford for it to go sideways, or to have our rig stuck in the Middle East with no other way out.While we waited in Athens for our shipping confirmation to the Middle East, the region was getting headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Following a very deep dive on all the pros and cons, putting our van on the ship to Israel just did not make good sense right now. The only practical option was flying to somewhere in the region, just renting a suitable vehicle(s) and hoteling it everywhere for the couple of months that we planned to travel around. Not the way we prefer to travel, and certainly not the way we would normally travel, but the best of the limited options that were available to us in the current climate.
Decision made, we then had to confirm that we could leave our rig for 2 or 3 more months in Athens ( got a quick green light there ), and so decided on a route. Amman, Jordan ( also an ideal gateway for onwards exploration ) had a convenient direct flight the very next day, so without further ado, we packed up, prepared our rig for more storage time, and hopped on the flight to Amman. In the end it all happened rather quickly…no looking back now !
One must stay “flexible” with one’s plans when overlanding. Literally overnight we decided to store the van and do our Middle East leg with rental vehicles. Too much drama going on in the region right now. The reunion with our van was sadly brief !We’ve seen some weird and wonderful overland rigs, but this no name ( we could not find one, anyway ) vehicle from Poland looked positively scary. Parked near us in Athens, looked like it was out of a Mad Max movie.
There are few ( if any ) countries we’ve been to where the hospitality and warm welcome we received has matched that which we experienced in Jordan, way back in 1990. We were keen to see how it had changed and specifically to make sure that this time we got to Jerash ( for its historic ruins ) and Wadi Rum ( for the spectacular desert area ), both of which we missed on the earlier visit. Having picked up our rental car on arrival in Amman we took off for Jerash right away, figuring we’d then work our way north to south exploring the country.
Conveniently all Jordan’s major attractions lie more or less in a straight line, running north to south.While Jordan requires a costly visa to enter, pay just a little bit more and they provide you a “Jordan Pass” where the visa fee is waived and access to ALL major tourist sites is included. Burned by some expensive admission costs to famous Turkish attractions we jumped at this offer.
Jerash did not disappoint, the ruins are expansive and in most places extremely well maintained. Remarkable to travel in the parts we have travelled over this past year and see just how far the Roman influence had reached – and this was all 2,000 years ago ! The images below show the extent of the ruins and how the modern day city of Jerash has just grown around the ancient site. As large as it is, as with so many such places not all of it has been excavated – probably a hundred or more years to get it all done.
As is typical of many Middle East sights, you run a gauntlet of tourist stalls and trinket sellers before getting to the main entrance. In Jerash we met up with “Shorty” ( yes, his actual nickname ) who was one of the friendliest, and quite likely the tallest Jordanian we had met. He stood 7 feet 2 inches tall. We’d never met anyone 7 feet tall before. Lois is 5’2”.Main gate into Jerash Ancient Ruins.Famous colonnaded street, Jerash.Oval plaza.Theatre, Jerash.Some trick photography, Temple of Artemis, Jerash.
Leaving Jerash our itinerary took us south, back past Amman, on the long Desert Highway to the town of Wadi Musa, home of Jordan’s most famous site, the rock-cut architecture of Petra, carved by the ancient Nabatean civilization over 2,000 years ago. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. Famous for all those reasons of course but given a further boost when Steven Spielberg chose it for a scene in “Raiders of the Last Ark – The Last Crusade” ( click on the link to watch the scene ). Of course, it’s on everyone’s bucket list now. Petra is a full day affair ( some spend 2 days ), involves long hikes and considerable climbing to see it all but it’s absolutely worth any and all effort expended. The place just leaves you breathless. How this was done over 2,000 years ago boggles the mind – right up there with Machu Picchu and the pyramids of Egypt as far as we are both concerned.
Jordan has some famously stunning attractions, but also a lot of sparse desert in between. Wadi Rum and Aqaba are planned for next week.Breakfast provided by our hotel in Petra. All the Middle East/ Mediterranean favourites included here, including hummus, baba ganoush, tzatziki, yogurt, fruit and various cheeses. The fried egg done on request !We were very excited to revisit incredible Petra. It was a stunningly clear, sunny, day and we enjoyed the company of people we met from all over the world. Resting with a couple of young Greek ladies. Lots of tea breaks where we could soak in the views as we hiked in through the “back door” ( a more circuitous route, but involved more downhill walking than uphill – recommended. We saw some pretty exhausted people coming the other way).Bedouin “guides” were a constant presence, offering donkey rides for those who could not handle the walk. In 7 hours we estimated we’d walked well over 20kms. Thankfully it was not hot. Many of the Bedouin men wear a kind of mascara which gives them a very distinct appearance ( a kind of ‘Jack Sparrow’ look )Views from the hike in to Petra.Coming into Petra from the “back door”, it’s very famous Monastery is the first structure you see. Sculpted out of pure rock by the Nabateans around the time of Christ, it’s an incredibly impressive sight.They also constructed some free standing buildings which have not survived as well. Note the many caves in the background which are found all over the site. Here, Qasr Al Bint.Others appear to been started an not finished. Nonetheless an impressive testament to the craftsmen of the time working with what would be considered primitives tools today.A sneak peek of the most famous sight in Petra, the Treasury accessed through the “Siq”, a narrow chasm between the rock bluffs. A famous scene from “Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Last Crusade” was shot here.The Treasury. Absolutely impossible to get a shot with no people in it. Moments later there were hundreds in front of us !Treasury, close up.
Going to be hard to top Jerash and Petra but next week brings us to Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea and a few other highlights that Jordan has to offer. Stay tuned.
A short blog this week to welcome in the New Year and let folks know that we have just left Kelowna and have headed back to Europe to be reunited with our rig. We’ll have more to share re “what’s next” in the subsequent blog but here are some brief tidbits about our time spent back in Canada.
Wonderful to be home with family and friends over the Christmas holidays, the weather even cooperating ( eventually ! ) giving us fresh snow late on Christmas Day and thus a “white” Christmas of sorts. They don’t come every year of course so this was a nice treat. It’s the time of the year that can be extremely cold, but I don’t think in all the five weeks we were there that there was even one day that we could call really cold, certainly by Canadian standards..!
Not sure if this technically qualifies as a true “White” Christmas but we did get a light dusting of the fluffy white stuff by the end of Christmas Day !Nothing like having a toddler around at Christmas to add a few more gifts under the Christmas tree. Quite a few more it seemed !When in doubt this is always a safe gift for an Aussie abroad !Building a gingerbread house, a Christmas tradition, which the girls took care of (boys were busy watching the hockey 😉) There is a street in Kelowna known as “Candycane Lane”. Almost all the houses go seriously overboard with candycane-themed Christmas decorations, attracting visitors from all over. Quite the spectacle !
Five weeks back in Canada not only gave us lots of time with our own family but also the opportunity to meet up with many old friends and former colleagues – always good but especially enjoyable over the festive season. We were reminded by some that it is coming up to 7 years ( in May ) since we retired & began our overlanding travels – where did all that time go ? In addition to much time spent with friends and family, very unexpectedly – and quite delightfully – we managed to catch up with several fellow overlanders ( and some “upcoming” overlanders ) while we were home – pretty crazy how those connections were made and even crazier that they all happened to be in ( or near ) Kelowna while we were back. Lots of tales from the road were shared and tips reciprocated – nice to know there is a small “local” overlanding world out there. We’ve often marvelled at how few Canadian-based overland travellers there seem to be out there ( or Americans and Aussies for that matter – it just seems to be ALL Europeans wherever we go ) so it was really nice to connect with a number of like-minded souls on this return visit. See pics below for some background on the “catchups”.
Greg and Margot, ( Ikes Epic Adventures ) visiting in Kelowna. A couple of overlanding Aussies ( our second “Aussie” group through in the last 12 months, these guys with a Sprinter 4×4 like ours ). They took the same route up through Asia as us, but when we turned east, they turned west and drove across Russia and the ‘Stan’s’ to Europe. Had a wonderful time sharing tips and travel stories during our visit with them.Lois and I caught up with Ashley ( and later Richard ) Giordano ( Desk to Glory ) for a Christmas coffee. Richard and Ashley are from Nelson, British Columbia and are inveterate overlanders. Currently with family on a break back in Kelowna from a Central Asia expedition, they had bumped into our old friends Andy and Serena in Kazakhstan who connected us up once they realized we were both Kelowna-based ( small world ! ).While parking our van in Athens, the owner, Thasos, pointed out another Canadian vehicle that was stored there, and…..… it turns out that the folks at “Whereistheworld” are neighbours ( of sorts ) based in Grande Prairie, Alberta. We connected over the holidays and had a great catch up. Many similar experiences ( both joys and heartaches !) were shared. They are part way through what will be a substantially global expedition with their two teenage girls. Can’t think of a better education for them !In addition to catching up with several others already on the overland trail during the holidays we had the pleasure of a follow up meeting with Alex and Nadja, fellow Kelowna-ites ( Kelownians ? ), planning to set off in 2026 and currently working on van plans of their own. Always happy to share a few “what we love” and “what we might change” tips about our own rig, since they are planning something very similar for their own overland travels.
Our trip back to Athens had us once again transiting London. As before, we decided to break the journey there, and being the night of our 41st wedding anniversary felt something a little special was called for. Splashed out on a nice hotel and dinner, while a restful night made the long haul from Kelowna to Athens just that much easier. It was only while sitting there for dinner that we realized we’d also spent our very 1st anniversary ( way back in 1986 ! ) also right here in London. A coincidental touch of serendipity, as it were 😊.
Always curious to see the route a plane actually takes on these long flights. Hard not to notice Greenland’s rather strategic location in light of recent headlines about it !
Once back in Athens, it was an easy transfer to the camper storage facility where our rig was safely stored. Arriving back we were amazed to see then place literally overflowing with overland rigs; we thought it was kind of full when we left, we really had no idea !!! In the coming days we plan to get resettled and examine some options for our next moves, but more on that in the following blog.
With just 10 days remaining before our flights home we had to cross the rest of Turkey ( not far ), zip up to the Bulgarian border briefly to get Green Card insurance ( as we’d soon be back in Europe ), and then meander down through the major sights of northern and central Greece before flying out. Some of Greece’s very best sights lay ahead, most of which would be completely new to us.
On the Greece/Bulgaria border one can buy “Green Card” insurance giving you coverage all over Europe. Hedged our bets buying it here in case we head back to any European countries after Greece.
In contrast to the brutal experience when leaving Georgia and entering Turkey, departing Turkey and entering Bulgaria was an absolute breeze – 3 minutes to cross out of Turkey and 5 minutes to cross into Bulgaria, this time not one issue at all with our vehicle registration documents. Fast and friendly ! The Bulgarian border at Edirne is widely reported to be the best place to get Green Card insurance and as it was only 30 minutes or so out of our way we made the detour. All went smoothly and we were shortly afterwards in Greece.
This is what it looks like. Only provides third party coverage but is valid in all EU countries.
Every time we’ve come to Greece we’ve eagerly anticipated it and this was no exception. Noticeably cooler in this part of Greece ( being inland and further north ), our first impression was how remote it seemed and also how many police checks there were – turns out this is a major area for people smuggling in to the Schengen zone. We’d become used to these in Turkey, but had now experienced one in Bulgaria and two in Greece in the space of a morning drive.
Greece, in yellow. We entered this time from Turkey/Bulgaria in the northeast and swung around to the southwest to Athens with some great sights on the way.
Once down to highway 2 the route took us straight west across to Thessaloniki and on to Mount Olympus, the drive in equal parts scenic and also rather dull ( the latter part, weather related ). A couple of great beachside wild camps ( one, a revisit to the scene of the great toilet cap fiasco 😉) broke up the long stretches.
An excellent park-up in Makri, right by the beach. Some of our most peaceful nights have been by beaches, listening to the waves.
In Greek mythology, Olympus is home to the gods ( Zeus, Aphrodite, Hades and all that crowd 😊 ) and while likely very beautiful in the right conditions we unfortunately caught the leading edge of some rain and cloud so did not see it at its best. Some glimpses through the clouds were tantalizing, while the drive up the very narrow road called for constant attention and some degree of fearlessness. Sadly, not hikable in the conditions.
Mount Olympus National Park.Pretty as it was, after a long hard climb, but better weather would have helped.By the time. We started a short hike it was actually raining. No fun !
Heading south west took us to Kalabaka and the absolutely stunning monastery complex at Meteora. Actually 6 separate monasteries, all perched high up on rock bluffs, they are truly a sight to behold
. If they look at all familiar, you saw one of them in the James Bond classic, “For Your Eyes Only”. Click on the link to see the scene. Very impressed with Meteora – and to think we almost did not visit 😳! Highly, highly recommended.
The lighting was unusual in this shot but gave the first monastery we visited a sort of faded, surreal appearance. The whole site is absolutely stunning and easily accessible.View down from up high between some of the monasteries.A pretty steep walk up to this one ( featured in “For Your Eyes Only” ).From afar. The stairs up are tight and recessed into the rock walls.Pictures were not allowed inside the actual churches but we could get some of the artwork. Very well preserved.If you look closely you can see four monastery complexes in this distant shot.You could even get above them in places.To think these were started in the 11th century. A difficult build !
Continuing on ( eventually ! ) down towards Athens, the next sight on our route was the archeological complex at Delphi ( famed for its links to Apollo and considered by the ancient Greeks to be the centre of the world ). Not just a great ruin complex but also an incredibly comprehensive museum of artifacts from the period ranging from well “BC” to several centuries “AC”. Initially we were a little underwhelmed, but that feeling soon changed when we reached the top and looked back over the complex from above – just a completely different perspective and easier to realize what an incredible place it was back at its historic peak. An added bonus was a wonderful night of camping at the nearby port/beach community of Itea, with an excellent little bar nearby – we’d forgotten how good Ouzo was !
An absolutely spectacular day was the backdrop for our Delphi visit.Treasury building, Delphi.Temple of Apollo, Delphi.The massive amphitheater.The ouzo was great ( had not had any for years ). Camped by this scenic little bar/cafe in Itea, near Delphi.
Regular readers will know that a huge part of our overlanding experience ( the main part ? ) is the chance to drive some of the world’s great roads. While Greece does not have a Carretera Austral, a Route 66, or a Birdsville Track ( that we know of anyway ), it’s Langada-Taygetos Pass offers up a dramatic, twisty, narrow, scenic, rock cut overhung “road” that we were ( ok, ok…..”I was” ) determined to challenge. Two things attracted us – a 4.9 Google score based on hundreds of reviews, as well as a ranking on the Worlds Most Dangerous Roads site. Described by Tripadvisor as “not for the faint- hearted”, it was somewhat distant from where we were and still a long drive from Athens, but we nonetheless made the trip. Coastal Kalamata is the start of the road, from which it winds 56 torturous kilometres from there to the legendary Greek city of Sparta, the end of the road. It’s definitely a detour road trip we’re glad we did, more so because it was off-season with very little traffic giving us the time and room ( it’s not very wide in places ) to fully enjoy it. While I would not rank it with any of the aforementioned, it was a great road to drive – the unexpected pleasure being the abundance of autumn/fall leaves that were still on the trees – in December !
One of the prettiest spots we camped at, just north of Kalamata. Alone, up in the mountains, quiet, safe and with a beautiful sunrise before starting the Langada-Taygetos Pass road.Fall colours just made the trip.One of the rock cuts, near the Sparta end.A ton of tight hairpins need to be navigated to reach the top.Another “tunnel”.
With this, only the historic Corinth canal lay between us and Athens, a journey we completed easily in the one day. Corinth was started back in 67AD but only finished in 1893. While no longer used by today’s much larger ships it still functions and is quite a marvel of engineering. Not what I would call a “must do” destination, but we had to drive right through it anyway en route to Athens. Sometimes the sights just conveniently fall in your lap.
The Corinth canal.Shot taken driving over the canal en route to Athens.
It’s always a good idea to manage one’s expectations when returning to a city after a long absence ( 35 years for us ) – we recalled Athens then as being polluted, smog ridden, and traffic snarled ( all of which it once was ). Happy to report that, however, they did it, they’ve certainly cleaned up the pollution, (we saw no smog at all), the days were beautiful and sunny and the traffic was absolutely manageable both going in, coming out and while driving right through the heart of the city.
Having seen most of Athens’ famous sights the first time we’d reconciled ourselves this time to just exploring some bits we’d missed, making shipping inquiries, cleaning up our van and then getting it safely stored while we went home for Christmas. Alas, the allure of the Acropolis/Parthenon complex was too great so we did venture there – thinking surely this time all that scaffolding from 1990 would be gone ( it had been 35 years after all ). Sadly not !
Widely considered one of the greatest ancient structures of the Western world, the complex is still under a degree of renovation ( and will be for some time ). Stunning it definitely is, but disappointing that you still can’t get a clear shot of it all 😟.
Acropolis, Athens.Ditto.The “big” attraction, Parthenon. Sadly still covered in some scaffolding ( and will be for some time yet ).AcropolisAcropolis Many well-preserved ruins exist outside the Acropolis complex.Hadrian’s Gate, also outside the Acropolis complex.Athens was right into the Christmas spirit, here a backstreet heavily decorated that we stumbled upon.
With our Athens sights done, a little shopping completed and our van safely stored, we trekked off to Athens airport for the flights home to Kelowna. An overnight in London ( always a great stopover ) broke an otherwise lengthy journey, the excitement of seeing our kids and granddaughter tempered only by the knowledge that we were swapping rather balmy Mediterranean weather for a cold blast of Canadian winter. Brrrr !!!
Due to Athens strategic location as a great port, the gateway to Europe and a jumping off point for Egypt and the Middle East, it’s also become a place where Overlanders store their vehicles . Interesting to walk around the place and see where people were from and where they had been.Check the plate – Alberta, Canada. Yes, there ARE other Canadians out there roaming around ! First we’ve met in many years.Someone was VERY excited to be heading home to see our kids and grand daughter. Lois in the airport lounge, London.
If you’ve been following along we hope you’ve enjoyed the ride and look forward to restarting the blog in mid – January. At this point I’ve exhausted all the “In Case You Wondered” questions we’ve been asked ( all I could remember in any case ! ) but if you are curious about any aspects of overland travel just pop in a comment or send us an email and I’ll address it – we do love hearing from people ! Meanwhile both Lois and I want to wish all our readers a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !
Back from Cyprus, the weather was still holding nicely in the mid 20’s and with generally sunny days. This bode well for our planned travels west along Turkey‘s Mediterranean coast where we hoped to revisit a couple of our old haunts and explore some new places. The week ahead would take us through Aydincik, Fethiye/Oludeniz, Bodrum, Kusadasi, Pergamon and Canakkale before heading out to Greece ( actually, 10 days, but I’ve squeezed it all into this “week”s blog 😊 ).
Sunset from our camp site, Aydincik beach.Aydincik beach.
Aydincik was one of those diamonds in the rough that you just occasionally stumble across when on the road. A cuter town than most, fronted by a large bay with a huge beach and a big flat area for picnicking and camping right behind. Provided gratuitously by the municipality, it has toilets, a freshwater supply, lots of garbage cans and is kept in very good shape – a nice boulevard provides for an easy walk into town for any and all supplies Such “finds” not being too common, needless to say it attracts a big crowd of both local and foreign tourists with campervans. We had one beautiful day there while the sun shone brightly and got some swimming in, but then the wind picked up to levels that were too high to be comfortable. We left, but it’s the kind of place people stay for days and even weeks. Some had.
Typical Turkish coastal road, near Antalya
The next section of the Turkish coast was very developed, sort of a playground for Turkey’s well to do ( and there are lots of them !) but it was a pretty drive and nice break from the long miles of flat nothing further to the east. One of those places we were keen to revisit was Fethiye/Oludeniz, a real favourite from our first visit in 1989. Of course, we knew it would look nothing like it did back then, and indeed while it has exploded in size, the town, marina, beach, and lagoon remain as pretty as they ever were. In Fethiye, the marina provided a wonderful, safe, flat and convenient location to park up for a couple of nights. Like Bodrum just further along, Fethiye is an extremely popular place for the yachting crowd, and lots of tour operators here offer boat charters out to the nearby islands. It’s an extremely pretty part of the Turkish coast with several Greek islands just a few kilometres away.
Waterfront on the Mediterranean, Alanya..Harbourfront, beautiful Fethiye.Nice evening view over the harbour from our camp spot at Fethiye marina.Busy by day….…just a few campers at night.Oludeniz beach, to ourself !Amyntas stone temples, Fethiye.
Continuing west, popular Bodrum was our next stop – in addition to revisiting the town we had some service work to be done on the van ( transmission oil/filter/gasket change ) so kind of killed two birds with one stone. Bodrum, too, has changed beyond recognition, and grown enormously but its downtown waterfront area remains lovely, and is delightful just to explore.
Entering Bodrum – it was not this big last time we visited !Main tourist street, Bodrum.Statue of Herodotus.Beautifully lit mosque at night, Bodrum.Early morning walk – the Turks stay up late but don’t get started very early.Bodrum Castle.Father of the nation, Mustafa Kemal – his image is everywhere in Turkey.Typical Turkish sailing yacht.The woodwork is beautiful.Bodrum backstreets – no one was up early ( except us ! ).Finally found a Turkish Mercedes dealer who had the parts for our V6 diesel. Had the transmission oil/filter/gasket changed. Booked it Monday had it all done Tuesday – great service !Fortunately this dealer had a commercial duty hoist and high doors for entry ( some others did not ).
Kusadasi is a hugely popular pit stop for all tourists, even the cruise ships stop here, given its proximity to Selcuk and its stunning Ephesus ruins. Tempting as it was to revisit Ephesus ( yes, it’s that impressive ), time was working against us and rather than do a repeat visit we opted instead to visit the Ancient City of Pergamum, just a bit further north, with an en-route stop at the historical Ottoman village of Sirince. Details of each under their respective links but suffice it to say we really enjoyed both – a real joy to have Pergamum almost to ourselves due to a very early start.
Kusadasi has a beautiful waterfront and vibrant tourist scene.No question about what kind of watch you are getting in this Kusadasi store !!!!Waterfront sculpture, Kusadasi.Now being on the western side of Turkey, the sunsets were impressive – here at a beach where we stayed just north of Kusadasi.Autumn/Fall was a great time to visit the historic village of Sirince, near Kusadasi.Sirince is famed for its Ottoman era architecture, and great wine/cafe/restaurant scene. A cute little town which we enjoyed and where we overnighted.Bought some of their wine – we liked the coffee better 😉.Stunning Pergamum. Pergamum.Roman bust, Pergamum.While not all Pergamum is well preserved, the amphitheatre is. It’s massive, with a view over the nearby town ( modern day Bergama ).
Swinging further west there was really only one major attraction on our radar before crossing back to Greece – Canakkale, on the eastern shore of the Dardanelles and its connection to Troy. While the ruins of Troy are visible, most reviews were less than glowing, complaining that there just isn’t enough left to make it a compelling stop – we’d been badly burned a couple of weeks earlier visiting the much over-hyped Gobeklitepe ruins ( “another hundred years of digging needed”, said one critic, and I think he was underestimating 😊) so did not want to make the same mistake again. Hollywood has come to the rescue of Canakkale in this case – the very Trojan horse featured in the 2004 Brad Pitt epic, “Troy” is now on display right downtown for all to see, probably the city’s biggest attraction along with its majestic waterfront promenade and proximity to the historical Gelibolu peninsula just across the Dardanelles.
Star of the movie, “Troy”, the Trojan horse, Canakkale.Ferrying across the Dardanelles and officially back in Europe from Asia. A beautiful day as we shifted from one continent to another !Some charming Turkish military lads on the ferry – very curious about, and interested in, our van and our travels. As with everyone we met in Turkey they extended a very warm welcome to their country – so incredibly friendly, it’s what we will miss when we leave😟.
Given our plans were now fixed for a trip home over Christmas, all that remained was the drive across to Greece, making our way ultimately down to Athens for our flights home. Still some more of Greece to explore before leaving, stay tuned for that.
Cyprus represented a significant change up from our usual travel routine. Typically heavy on sightseeing, or activities, with significant driving in between, we anticipated doing almost none of the above in Cyprus. While the country does have its share of worthy sights ( and is loaded with history given its central Mediterranean location ), our purpose while here was pretty much to relax, enjoy time in a few hotels or AirBnb’s, and let someone else do the cooking and cleaning ( I’d still be driving, but not nearly so much ). We’d promised something like this to ourselves, had been remiss in not actually doing it, so with Lois’s birthday falling in the middle of this week it seemed like the perfect excuse – and Cyprus was close, just a short ferry ride away from Mersin where we had just arrived.
It felt really weird to be ( temporarily ) parting company with our van. We were assured Tasucu port was safe ( and it was ).
Having secured our van in the gated and manned Tasucu port parking lot, we boarded the ferry for Girne ( Kyrenia ) the main ferry port in Northern Cyprus. Here some explanation is required for those readers not familiar with the politics and geography of Cyprus. Ostensibly an independent country since 1960, in 1974 a conflict arose between the predominantly ethnically Turkish citizens in the northern part of the island and the majority ethnic Greek population in the south. It morphed into a full blown war when Turkey invaded to “protect” ethnic Turks The country has since been divided ( a UN supervised “Green Line” exists to this day ) into the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus in the south and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus ( TRNC )- a kind of quasi state recognized only by Turkey. Oddly, one gets stamped “out” of Turkey upon departure from the mainland and stamped “in” to the TRNC upon arrival in Northern Cyprus- almost like another country……only it’s not. Fortunately, movement between northern and southern Cyprus is easy, a quick passport presentation, and one is waived through ( both ways ). Curiously, all driving is on the left, a legacy of decades of British control leading up to 1960. Enough with geo-politics, now to exploring Cyprus.
A North Cyprus flag looms large on the hillside north of Nicosia. One of many reminders that this is a very divided island.Quaint boutique hotel where we stayed in Nicosia.A long period of British rule left architectural reminders of the era. There are still parts of Cyprus that remain British sovereign territory ( part of the independence deal ).Cypriot history runs deep and is intertwined with Romans, Venetians, Ottomans and others. Artifacts have been recovered from centuries before Christ, all on display at the Cyprus Museum in Nicosia.Mythological “Aphrodite” has a long connection to Cyprus. Legend has it she was born near Paphos.
Coming from Turkey ( to the North of Cyprus ) , and due to ferry schedules, our first and last nights were spent in the TRNC. Apart from driving on the left, the TRNC seemed pretty much like Turkey. Nicosia ( capital of the Republic of Cyprus ) is split between the north and south as mentioned above. Very Turkish in the north , very Greek in the south. We found it interesting that some of the tourism marketing literature even plays into the division, citing the fact that “Nicosia is Europe’s only remaining divided city” ( admittedly it is quite fascinating to wander around and see just exactly how the division operates ). Life goes on, on both sides, and everything seems calm these days but it is really weird to look down streets and see them completely barricaded off and blue UN insignias everywhere.
We are standing on the “south” side here. Just feet away behind the wall is the “north”, or Turkish side.UN “Green Line” post, atop a barricaded building.Residential street in the south. Barricaded half way along to make way for the dividing Green Line.Military post on the south side.
The dedicated pedestrian crossings ensured traffic between the two sides only moves where it can be controlled – while photography is supposedly prohibited at the checkpoints, practically every tourist can be seen snapping away ( us included ). The whole process was easy to navigate, just hard to believe such a division still exists. We asked an elderly Cypriot who lived through the war if he saw the possibility of unification, “Not in my lifetime !” he replied. Indeed both sides seem dug in and the status quo, which kind of works, seems likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
Packing away passports after crossing the checkpoint dividing north and south. Here at Ledra crossing. Crossings were trouble free.This “mosque” on the north side was once a church ( evident until you see the minarets ).
Beyond our time in and around Nicosia it was mostly spent relaxing by pools, swimming in the ( still incredibly warm ) Mediterranean wherever we came across nice beaches, and sampling Greek, Turkish and Cypriot food at the myriad restaurants and food stalls that dot the island. It’s hugely popular with British and European tourists, as one would expect, and while November is typically out of season there were still tourists around. The days ranged between 24 and 26 degrees and were mostly sunny – warmer and sunnier than is typical we were informed ( happy with that ! ).
Popular Governor’s beach – almost deserted despite divine weather and warm water. A great week to be in Cyprus.Lois prefers the pools, myself the beaches. Here, our hotel pool in Paphos.
Paphos, ( popular with the Brits ) in the western extremity, occupied our first couple of days and Ayia Napa, at the eastern end filled the remainder of the time we spent outside Nicosia. We enjoyed both, possibly preferring Paphos just a bit ( a little less touristy, perhaps because it was a bit more remote). We’d splashed out just a bit on the Ayia Napa accommodation though, and were delighted with the property- almost devoid of tourists, had a huge pool to ourselves and the owners upgraded us to a huge one bedroom unit with a massive deck. We felt very spoilt ( but loved it ! ).
A beautiful sunset in Paphos.Civic building at night in Paphos.Ditto.Paphos seaside promenade Reputed birthplace of Aphrodite.A nice viewpoint we passed while exploring western Cyprus.Paphos seafront.Our condo in Ayia Napa, at the eastern end of Cyprus. The pool was enormous !Relaxing, poolside 😎.The unit was huge, as was the deck – or perhaps it just seemed that way having come from our van !Trendy Nissi beach, Ayia Napa.The crystal clear waters of Cape Cavo Greco on the eastern end of Cyprus.
One of our other project’s on Cyprus was to firm up some plans for future travel given we’d backed out of crossing Iraq by land and then hit some roadblocks with our shipping options out of Turkey. Killing a few birds with one stone we decided to store our van in Athens ( Greece ) over Christmas and fly home for a break with our kids and granddaughter. We’d left time to get from Turkey to Athens, and purchased a couple of return tickets home via London from there. This effectively pushed the onwards shipping decision down the road a bit and placed us in Athens when we returned – a popular port with great connections, hopefully something suitable will arise between now and then. Fingers crossed !
In Case You Wondered:
Q: Are there any “hassles” in particular in owning/driving a North American campervan in Europe ( or elsewhere ) ?
A: It is crowded in places. Roads can also be congested in some parts ( and narrow in others – Holland ! ). Many countries have tolls on their main roads which can get costly ( and they charge more for campers ), though these can usually be avoided if one stays off the toll roads. Laundromats can be hard to find in some countries, or if you can find them they are of the “we’ll do it for you” variety ( costly, and slow – we prefer self serve ). Mind-boggling ( to us anyway ) is the number of places that have a washing machine only, no dryer ! Not convenient when you don’t want to hang around and waste time watching your clothes dry. Oh, and diesel is expensive in Europe ( as is gasoline ). That’s a pretty short list of ( fairly minor ) grievances and overall it’s been a wonderful place to travel with a van ( hardly surprising then, that many Europeans also have motorhomes/campervans ). As a result the whole continent is generally well set up with RV infrastructure. It’s been critically important to have a cassette style toilet for easy dumping of waste – many times we use a simple toilet to empty it ( the biggest benefit of a cassette ) as North American style “black water” stations are almost unheard of in many places here. It’s also been helpful to be able to charge our batteries on the European 240v electrical system ( we have a dedicated 240v input charger in addition to our base 120v system ). Used rarely, but good to have. What’s also been critically important to making life manageable so far is our ability to be “off grid” for extended periods – big solar capacity (1,000w), big Lithium battery capacity (500a/h), good DCDC charger, and big water tank ( 165litre in total ). Not “scrambling” for power or water is key! Induction cooking has been wonderful – no searching for propane and struggling with all the different European fittings.
We still have much more of Europe and beyond to explore but that’s a quick overview so far. Hopefully we’ll continue to feel the same way as we explore further…😊.
Getting to Georgia had provided a couple of nice opportunities for us – first, the chance to explore a former Soviet republic, rapidly modernising ( and now even flirting with admission to the EU ). The political aspect of life there was definitely intriguing. The second benefit was that it now positioned us nicely in the very far east of Turkey, where we’d never been, and provided us the chance ( albeit with considerable driving – lucky I enjoy it ) to conveniently explore many of Turkey’s less visited eastern treasures; man made, in some cases, natural in others !
Stunning view greeted us a few kilometres into Turkey.
Definitely rattled by the rather unfriendly re-entry,we at least had considerable drive time to hash it to death and then put it behind us. We love Turkey and can’t judge it by one overzealous unfriendly border official. Such things happen. The planned route over the coming week had us swinging down the eastern edge of Turkey, beside Armenia and Iran, to take in that most biblical of sights, Mount Ararat ( of Noah and the Ark fame ), then on to Diyarbakir, quaint Mardin, foodie haven Gaziantep, and finally legendary Mt Nemrud National Park. Admittedly this took somewhat longer than a week but I’ll wrap them all into this edition ( sorry, it’s rather a long one ) 😊.
All over Turkey we noticed these public water fountains . Unlimited potable water – using our hose we filled the van’s 150 litre tank.
Apart from a rather rough stretch near the Georgian border, Turkish roads in the east were fantastic ( as they are in most of the country – highway development is proceeding at a frantic pace here ). It made driving the very long distances in this part of the county easy and not at all tiring. Snow capped Mt Ararat can be seen from many miles away and just steadily grows in size as you approach it. It has an almost Fuji-like conical shape, standing distinctly separate from anything else nearby. It can be hiked ( easily, actually ) but not when we passed – way too much snow.
Mt. Ararat ( yes, it of biblical fame ) comes into view just near the Armenian border. At over 5,000m, Turkey’s highest mountain.Another view, as we approached Dogubeyazit, near Iran.
From a generally southerly direction to Dogubeyazit ( indisputably Turkey’s ugliest city ), our travels now swung west, first stop Diyarbakir, an interesting mid size city full of history that laid claim to a role in the Silk Road. This was a place we really enjoyed – a great, very central, camp spot had us in the thick of the action and allowed a full day of exploration ( including the best kebabs in Turkey so far ! ). My sister had visited a month or so ahead of us and gave us the tip ( along with Mardin ) – good call, Kaz !
I pointed this sign out to Lois. “So, shall I turn left ?”, I asked. “Not with me in the van, you won’t !” came the reply 😉. Camped in Dogubeyazit at the aptly named “Ark Pension and Campground”. Awesome views of Ararat.Way out in Turkey’s eastern extremities we expected poor roads. Au contraire – they were fabulous !Passed Lake Van on the way to Diyarbakir, which enhanced the scenery for quite a few hours ( it’s big ! ).Lois was amazed by the size of the cabbages we saw in the east – Police road checks are common in Turkey but out east, bordering Armenia, Iran and Iraq, we saw military ones as well. Invariably we were quickly waved through.Fortress walls, on the approach to Diyarbakir.Market, Diyarbakir. Always so much colour !Inside historic Hasan Pasha market.Historic Diyarbakir Grand Mosque.There you have it – Islam simplified !Diyarbakir is a crossroads in Turkey; heavily Kurdish, but ethnic Arabs and Turks are here as well. Here an Arabic man.
Mardin, just to the south of Diyarbakir and only a few kms from Syria, was another recommendation we enjoyed. To our surprise it’s also become a bit of a meeting point for Iraq-bound overlanders and we caught up with 3 while we were there. Incredibly tempting to tag along with the “convoy” which would get us to Jordan most directly ( if not necessarily the most safely ), but in a moment of “discretion being the better part of valour”, we opted to continue west in the hopes of finding a more secure ( though considerably more costly ) shipping route to the Middle East.
St. Hirmiz Chaldean church, Mardin
Beyond Diyarbakir lay a couple of big and fairly uneventful drives – on to Gaziantep and then again to famous Mt Nemrud. The drives were grinding but the destinations well worth the effort- I’ll let the pictures below tell the story of Gaziantep and also Mt Nemrud, a bonus in the former being that we once again reunited with our young Aussie friends ( from back in Georgia ) over a couple of days and nights. Always a pleasure to share stories and trade tips with those who are out on the road.
Hyped by the Turkish tourism people like the second coming of Christ, we found Gobeklitepe very overpriced and extremely underwhelming. We should have read the reviews first Gobeklitepe entry fees were extortionate. €21 for foreigners but just €2.1 for Turks. Huge complaints about this all over the reviews. State sanctioned discrimination ! Worse, it was incredibly underwhelming.While Gobeklitepe left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth, the Mosaic Museum in Gaziantep was awesome. Truly impressive.This mosaic, known as “The Gypsy” was a Mona Lisa-like ability to follow your eyes no matter where you stand.Sampled the tea and baclava at Tahmis Kahvesi, continuously serving coffee and food since 1635 !The copper market at Gaziantep is amazing. The selection is huge and you can watch tradesmen actually making it.Our third ( and what would likely be our final ) park-up with Andy and Serena. Downtown Gaziantep.Mt Nemrud, site of the ancient Kindlgdom of Commagene, famous for the large stone sculptures. Best seen at sunset and sunrise !Mt. Nemrud at sunset.Close up of a sculpture.Our last kick at finding a deal to ship to the Middle East. Med Star would take us ( and the van ) to Tripoli, Lebanon, but the cost was outrageous. Lois also not enthusiastic about crossing Lebanon ( and part of Syria ) to get to Jordan.
From the top of Mount Nemrud it was a long descent back down to the plains, passing the occasional Roman ruins ( the Romans certainly roamed all over Turkey back in the day ) but otherwise non-descript scenery on the way back to Mersin and the warm waters of the Mediterranean. Just amazing how much difference there is in terms of landscape in the different parts of this enormous country. Mersin put us back to the coast and, in a sense, at decision time with regard to our next moves from Turkey. Despite his best efforts, our shipping agent, Mohamed, was not able to get us any kind of competitive pricing on a RoRo passage onwards from Turkey. We knew that was a possibility and had prepared for it so we promptly made a decision. We’d take a week off from our van travels, ferry over to Cyprus for a well deserved rest ( having logged some long driving days through Turkey and Georgia ), celebrate Lois’s birthday and decide, there and then, what to do and where to go next.
When leaving Turkey your licence plates are scanned to see if you have outstanding tickets or unpaid rolls. Can’t leave until you pay! Here, the line up to pay before boarding the Cyprus ferry.On our way to Cyprus !
Stay tuned for a full update on that in the upcoming edition.
Till next week…
In Case You Wondered:
Q: How much time do you spend doing the blog/video clips?
A: It varies, typically 2-3 hours, but sometimes more. Hard to keep track because I write and add photos as we go along. Once we are parked for the evening, there is often quite a lot of time to sit and browse the Internet, watch movies or, in my case, bit by bit build a blog for the coming week. We don’t watch TV so that frees up a lot of time in the evenings. One could spend far more time seriously editing photos, but I limit my editing to simple cropping, which is fast and easy. If we are busy, it’s a shorter blog and there are fewer pics. While relaxing at home this past summer I had much more time so decided to compile the many questions we get asked into this extra weekly Q/A 😊. Hope you’ve enjoyed it and it has shed some light on the ins and outs of longer term international van travel.
For much of the 20th century Georgia was part of the Soviet Union, but like all its other former component parts, Georgia broke free ( or should I say, “ free again” – it had a short lived period of independence after the Ottomans and before the Soviets ). Since 1991 it’s been ( trying to ) chart its own course but the Russian influence is still evident- lots of Russian business here, Russian tourists and Russian language ( still widely spoken by older Georgians ).
Gonio Fortess, one of the first sights you see coming from Turkey. Roman Emperor, Hadrian, once came this way !
Our entry point was the Black Sea coastal city of Batumi ( scene of much foreign meddling in Georgian affairs ) which has just exploded in size – an almost Las Vegas feel in parts with gambling a very big business here. Beyond that, some other more historic sights, as well as a fascinating old town, great restaurant scene, long coastal boulevard and the most interesting contemporary sculpture we’ve seen anywhere ( see below ).
Downtown Batumi. Interesting name for a hotel !We were able to park just 200 metres from here, right by the beach, making for easy exploration of the old town area.Batumi has a great walking boulevard right by the Black Sea coast. Batumi Japanese garden.One of the man boulevards.The old town has some eclectic architecture.Batumi back streets.A city of many cafe’s and bars. Georgia is famous for its wine, claiming to be one of the oldest wine producing countries in the world.Batumi’s famous Ali and Nino statue. They slowly rotate and appear to kiss each other every few minutes.
Batumi was, of course, our first introduction to Georgian driving, something we had heard much about and been warned of. It’s true, they are absolutely shocking drivers and we would spend much of our time here watching out for our own safety. We were not surprised at all during our stay in Batumi to witness a pedestrian get hit ( and likely killled ) – the sound of the impact was just nauseating. They drive extraordinarily fast and very recklessly.
From Batumi we headed east towards the capital, Tbilisi, but made several very interesting stops along the way; Kutaisi ( reportedly one of the longest continuously inhabited cities in the world ), Tsukaltubo ( an old Soviet spa town favoured by none other than Stalin himself), Gori ( Stalin’s birthplace and site of the impressive Stalin museum ), and Mshteke, one of the more interesting small towns in Georgia. We enjoyed the wild camping options along the way, bumped into several other overlanders and, most notably, crossed paths again with Andy and Serena ( #rightfoottravel ) who we had camped with in Hachinoe in Japan way back in May, 2024. They had since driven west across Russia and the Stan’s, on to Georgia, while we of course had continued east across the US and Europe. Small world !
We connected with Andy and Serena who we had earlier met while overlanding in Japan- they since drove to Europe across Russia and the ‘Stan’s, we came the other way !Historic Kutaisi. Wikipedia claims it to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.The “old lady” mural, Kutaisi.Traditional Georgia bread. Tasty, but such an unusual shape !Tskaltubo, just outside Kutaisi, was a famous spa town in the Soviet era. Its healing waters drew 125,000 visitors a year and even Stalin visited. It’s now in ruins but was fascinating to explore.Inner corridors of what was once one of the Soviet Union’s most desirable spa’s. At one time a direct train came here from Moscow, Joseph Stalin among its more regular guests.More Stalin. En route to Tsiblisi we stopped off in Gori, Stalin’s home town, which features the very comprehensive Stalin Museum. Fascinating for history buffs !One of Joe’s military uniforms.Churchill loved his cigars, Stalin his pipes. A couple of his on display here. Stalin had a well known preference for rail travel versus air travel. His personal carriage pictured here. Took him to Yalta, Potsdam and most of the way to Tehran for his war-time conferences.Inside the train – nice, but not decadent.Mtskheta, a pretty town where we overnighted on route to Tbilisi.Mtskheta, Svetitskhoveli cathedral.
Many travellers had talked up Tbilisi as a great spot for a few days and after the visit we’d absolutely agree – really enjoyed the history, the vibe, the contrast of historic and modern and just taking in its very many sights ! Managing to camp right downtown made for great accessibility ( if perhaps a bit more noise at night than was ideal 😳).
Not visible in the image but the black car ahead of us failed to stop for this fellow on the pedestrian crossing. The driver actually “beeped” the pedestrian who turned and abused him for a good 3 minutes holding us all up. Hands down Georgians are THE worst, most dangerous, most impatient drivers we have ever encountered !!!Chronicles of Georgia monument on the way into Tbilisi. They are huge – note the man seated at the bottom of the 2nd pillar.The fall/autumn colours were in full bloom at the Tbilisi botanical gardens.Mother of Georgia monument- note the size compared to the car below.Holy Trinity cathedral, Tbilisi.Tbilisi is set on the picturesque, tree lined Kura River. Here with the Bridge of Peace as a backdrop.The days were beautiful while we visited , and the trees were all just changing colour.Neighbourhood where we stayed.Freedom Square.The highlight of our stay was enjoying Tbilisi’s famous hot sulphur baths, in the ornate building visible in the picture. Bonus was a dance performance just as we arrived !Private bath. Very relaxing !Quite decadent inside.Tbilisi is famous for its bar and cafe scene – we enjoyed a few of them !Some very eclectic architecture!“Amber” wine is a Georgian specialty, here we sampled it at one of the many Tbilisi wine cellars. Lois found it quite enjoyable.Managed to get “in” to this very popular car park in Tbilisi where we camped for two nights- had no idea how we would get out !!! Jammed in.Traffic, and Georgian driving habits were so bad coming in to Tbilisi that we left at sunrise to avoid a repetition of it !
Considered briefly visiting Armenia ( just an hour away ) but passed in the end deciding to take in more of Georgia- a route which took us back west towards Turkey, allowing visits to the famous rock monastery of Vardzia and finally the impressive fortress at Akhaltsikhe.
In some parts of Georgia we were at higher elevations and the trees were changing colour – made for beautiful scenery.Sadly, like Albania and Turkey, there is a huge litter problem in Georgia, especially in the countryside. Plastic bottles and paper are everywhere 😟. And we’ve seen it much worse than this.Khertvisi fortress, near Vardzia.Famous Vardzia, a cave monastery site, mostly excavated in the 12th century.One of the colder places we visited, but an impressive sight.Rabati castle, Akhaltsikhe, at night. We actually explored it the next day but liked the night shot best.Rabati castle.
From Akhaltsikhe we’d expected a very smooth crossing back into Turkey – were we in for a shock, one of the most frightening border crossings we’d experienced, anywhere. On leaving Georgia they separated us ( driver with car, passenger through another area, during which time we lost contact with each other ). The Georgians decided they did not like my vehicle registration docs ( in their defence they do look incredibly hokey ) and delayed me while Googling “British Columbia Vehicle Registration image” just to confirm that what I had was actually legit ! Friendly, but nervewracking. Then, the Turk’s followed suit ( the fact that they already had images of my registration on file from our previous visit did not seem to matter ). The Customs lady spoke practically no English and I found myself separated from Lois again, with no Georgian data left to drive my translation app and this remote border post being well out of range of Turkish cell towers. Exasperating! Oh, that, and the Customs officer repeating over and over that I had a “Problem……problem…..( stares into my eyes now )…..BIG problem !”. Ultimately she allowed me to speak into her personal phone translation app whereupon I ultimately managed to convince her to Google “British Columbia vehicle registration image” at which point she finally relented and passed me through. Absolute mental torture – all because of the flimsy documents we get in BC ( unlike any of the more official looking European documents these folks are familiar with ). We are beginning to dread crossing borders it has happened now so often. A little more on our ongoing vehicle registration challenges, below in this week’s “In Case You Wondered” segment.
So, while Georgia ( save for the crazy drivers ) was great, the “farewell” experience was no fun at all, taking some of the gloss of what was otherwise a very interesting place. With the exception of the road to Ushguli we did manage to see all the attractions in Georgia that we’d planned to ( the advantage of it being a very small country ) . Sadly, there were landslide risks and heavy snowfall forecast on the Ushguli route and, as appealing as it was to drive that famous road it wasn’t a place we wanted to get stuck. On our list should we return.
Till next week….
In Case You Wondered:
Q: Any unusual surprises that come up which you did not anticipate or plan for while overlanding ?
A: There have been a few little ones but by the far the biggest, and certainly most unanticipated one relates to our vehicle ownership documents – and it’s VERY specific to our province ( British Columbia ) in Canada.
Vehicle registration in BC is indefinite ( once registered a vehicle remains legally registered to that owner until sold, when ownership is transferred – there is no annual ‘renewal’ common in many other jurisdictions). Because BC vehicle registration and insurance details BOTH appear on the same document, when you take your vehicle abroad one allows the insurance component to lapse since in BC the insurance only covers North America. Here’s where it gets tricky – to the uninitiated it can appear that the all important REGISTRATION has lapsed, when in fact it has not. It never does. Customs officials invariably go looking for a registration expiry date, (sometimes pointing to the expired insurance ) – it’s this lack of an “expiry” date has caused consternation in some places and always requires an explanation. Making matters worse, the provincial vehicle registration authority in BC is known as “ICBC”, short for the “Insurance Corporation of British Columbia” (they offer insurance services as well as registration). In many countries, prospective insurers (seeking to confirm firstly that our vehicle is currently registered in our home country ) hand our vehicle documents back saying “This is insurance, I need your registration”. It’s become a standing joke. Only it’s not at all funny. It’s become so ridiculous that, before we left Canada this time, I actually paid over $300 to insure the vehicle ( minimum liability only ) JUST TO GET ( what looks like to foreign customs people ) A “VALID” REGISTRATION DATE !!!! Insurance, which, in Europe, is totally useless. It’s truly the theatre of the absurd. More than once we have wished our provincial government could have just chosen a more logical name like Motor Transport Authority, or Department of Motor Transport, or Department of Motor Vehicles (common elsewhere) and clearly separated registration from insurance ( as the most nations do ) to make our life easier !
These two recurring issues, compounded by the fact that our BC ownership documents do not look particularly “official” compared to many other nations, forced me to ask ICBC for something more “official looking” on their letterhead to back up my claims that I am indeed the rightful owner, it is currently registered, and that in BC registrations really do not expire ( see document below ). It helps, but we still get some wary looks ! Of all the things we planned for when we started overlanding, this was NOT one of them !
Confirmation of ownership of a vehicle registered in BC. We’ve needed this document more than once but it’s as unofficial looking as the registration documents it purports to certify as being legit !
The PanAm completed in April, 2022 and with the truck camper sold, we shipped our new Sprinter van to Australia in late 2022. We travelled there through all of 2023 and into 2024 before shipping it up to North East Asia where we travelled for 4 months between Korea and Japan, before shipping it back to North America. It’s our plan to continue exploring the world in 2025.
