Traveling the Romantic Back Roads of Saint-Émilion and Bordeaux’s Premium Vineyards

 France, Travel  No Responses »
Jul 032011
 

Descending the medieval lanes of Saint-Emilion, France.

 

The brilliant sunshine of a southern France spring plays across vast, rolling fields of venerable grape vines. Row upon row march up and over the undulating landscape of the Dordogne Valley with military precision. Where the land is flat, their perfectly straight files disappear into distant trees or perhaps one of the many, age-old Châteaus dotting the horizon and hilltops. In the distance, an ancient steeple among a cluster of stone buildings rises out of the vineyards denoting a village.

A typical village in the Dordogne Valley near Saint-Emilion.

Driving the two lane, back roads of northeastern Bordeaux is a journey into 18th century France. The landscape has changed little over the centuries-a few, widely dispersed towns, tiny villages set among vast battalions of bright, green vines, here and there islands of trees, and of course, the ubiquitous, elegant Châteaus.Market day in the town of Libourne on the way to Saint-Emilion.

A baker in his mobile boulangerie selling scrumptious breads on market day in Libourne.

Blossoming rose bushes adorn the ends of many rows. Besides providing a contrasting touch of color, they act as sentinels for disease and fungus, an early warning system telling the farmer of possible problems in his vineyard.

Occasional signs along the road announce various Châteaus, inviting the traveler to taste their wines, have dinner or spend the night. It is impressive to see signs for some of the most famous wines in the world. Narrow lanes between the vines lead to the elegant facades of Château Ausone, Château Cheval Blanc, Château Figeac, Château Magdelaine, and Clos Fourtet, all members of the elite classification, Premiers Grands Crus Classés.

The ruins of an ancient church greets visitors as they approach Saint-Emilion.

The town of Saint-Émilion, the center of the world famous Appellation Saint-Émilion Controlee and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lies now only a few kilometers away. The Bell Tower of its ancient, monolithic church and the buildings surrounding it give no indication as to the scope and beauty of the town. For that, you must stop and explore it on foot.

Entering a church through its age-worn portal unknowingly gives entry to the town. The cool, dark interior is lit by tall, stained-glass windows in the rear apse surrounding the chancel. Gregorian chant plays softly through hidden speakers. The effect is so beautiful and appropriate that it is a wonder more historic churches don’t take advantage of this simple method for dramatically enhancing their atmosphere.

A delicately columned cloister is accessed through a side door. From there, another door leads to the Saint-Émilion tourism office and through it to a small plaza surrounding the bell tower. Umbrellas shade the tables of two cafes and beyond them is a low wall. Spread beneath the wall is a panorama of tile-roofed, stone houses and cobbled lanes, a wonderful surprise.

Saint-Émilion is set within an enormous, natural amphitheater. Rows of grape vines mark the edge of town, disappearing into the distant horizon. At the foot of the sheer cliff lies a small, cafe-lined plaza. From this limestone cliff, the underground, Monolithic Church, the largest of its kind in France, was carved by generations of devoted Benedictine monks. Over 15,000 cubic yards of rock were quarried to create the huge interior spaces.

Narrow lanes, one so steep and slick a handrail is necessary, wind around and down, past stylish wine shops, to the plaza below. It seems as if the only businesses are wine shops, restaurants or macaroon stores, crunchy, multi-colored macaroons being another Saint-Émilion specialty.Establishment Martin is one of Saint-Emilion's premier wine shops. It sells over 90 different wines and will happily provide tastings.

The portal to the Monolithic Church with its iconic bell tower.

The massive doors to the Monolithic Church lie at the bottom of the cliff just off the plaza. Frequent tours explore the vast interior. Past the church, more wine stores provide tastings of the local vintages. Cocktail tables with bottles and glasses sit just outside the doors of the shops, allowing casual tastings of the regions full-bodied reds as you stroll.

A leisurely 10-15 minute walk brings you to the vines of Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes abutting the town. From here, you can wander in all directions to your heart’s delight, toward wineries, châteaus and beyond.

The hills around Saint-Emilion.

A typical grave in the cemetery of village 1 km from Saint-Emilion.

Saint-Émilion is an architectural gem. Its timeless, medieval atmosphere transports you to a previous era. Here, you will find not only marvelous, southern French cuisine and exceptional wines, but also, a sense of quiet elegance and understated self-confidence that comes from centuries of culture and a world class reputation for excellence.

Copyright 2011 Dennis Jones/Dreamcatcher Imaging

www.dreamcatcherimaging.com

 

 

 Posted by skidrmr at 9:05 am  Tagged with: , , , , ,

Portugal’s Beautiful Capitol Lisbon and the Incredible UNESCO World Heritage Site of Sintra

 Portugal, Travel  No Responses »
May 262011
 

Lisbon's Moorish inspired Campo Pequeno bullring,

Admittedly, six nights is dismally inadequate to explore Portugal. Here you have a country whose archeological history goes back some 30,000 years, a lush, varied, sun-drenched land settled by the Phoenicians, Romans, Visigoths, and Moors-long-ago ancestors of the current Portuguese people. A month, really, should be a minimum, but for various reasons, Yolanda and I were limited to this short time before traveling in southern France.

There is an entire western and southern Atlantic coastline to explore, replete with isolated beaches, magnificent cliffs and ancient, languid towns. There are mountain ranges rising to the east with the Spanish border only 175 miles from the western coast. More than anything though, there is the Portuguese cultural heritage, a unique and sometimes fantastic conglomeration of Roman, Moorish, Spanish, English and Catholic influences that has survived and at times, thrived since the expulsion of Islam in the 13th century.

The Alfama

Lisbon is a bustling, cosmopolitan, capitol city. From its broad, tree-lined avenues, punctuated by monumental monuments to Portugal’s heroes and history, to the tiny, twisting, cobbled lanes of hilly Alfama, Lisbon is a delight to explore. Buy a four Euro day pass for its metro, busses and anachronistically, iconic trams and explore to your heart’s content.

Riding Tram 28 along the narrow street of the Alfama.

Traditionally tiled building are common place in Lisbon. Here, an elderly couple keep an eye watch the comings and goings of their Alfama neighborhood.

Hop aboard Tram 28 for several hours of rattling up and down the hills of Alfama and the Barrio Alto. In the narrow street the tram misses by inches parked cars, people and the corners of houses. You can hop on and off to take in the magnificent viewpoints, eat at a street side café, experience the calm of exquisite centuries-old churches or explore the ancient castle sitting atop Alfama. Here, miradouros amidst a park-like setting of stone walls and parapets offer panoramic vistas of the city below.

 

The Tejos estuary from one of the miradouros in the Alfama.

From Lisbon’s vast Tejos River estuary, Portuguese 15th and 16th century explorers like Vasco de Gama embarked on their journeys of discovery. Facing what for them was the complete unknown, they opened the west and east coasts of Africa, the Straits of Hormuz, India, Ceylon, the spice islands of Indonesia and Malaysia as well as China and Japan. This brought European commerce and sometimes Portuguese domination to the regions.

The gateway to Lisbon's waterfront.

The plato do dia is an excellent value for dinner at the sidewalk cafes of Rossio.

At the same time, other Portuguese sailors happened upon the east coast of South America. They determined it was actually a vast continent rather than just islands as Columbus thought and established the huge holding that would eventually become Brazil.

The unique portal to the Rossio train station.

The ornate tower of Sintra's town hall.

For Yolanda and I though, the attraction of big cities pales to that of small towns, especially towns with an architectural heritage so interesting and fantastic as that of Sintra. Sintra is a short half-hour train ride from Lisbon’s centrally located Rossio train station. At less than 4 Euros round trip, the train is a bargain and makes an easy day trip. But with so much to experience an overnight, even two nights, is a must.

A sculpture exhibition adorns the road from the train station to the historic center of Sintra. The chimneys of the royal palace are in the background.

In the historic center of Sintra.

The small, historical center of Sintra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a romance of hills, narrow, cobbled lanes, lush vegetation and art. Tiny cafes serving the freshest seafood are tucked into its many corners. The ancient, stone, walls and towers of a Moorish castle and the fantastic palace of Portugal’s 19th century monarchs, Palacio de Pena, loom on hilltops high above the town. Parks, trails and roads rise into the verdant hills above the village. The forest reminds me very much of coastal Oregon.

The Quinta da Regaliera.

For centuries, Sintra has been a summer retreat for Royalty and the wealthy. Incredible palaces and mansions, some now hotels, peak through the dense foliage of the hillsides. Yolanda and I spend one amazing afternoon exploring perhaps the most fantastical, the Quinta da  Regaliera. Luigi Manini, a well-known Italian architect and opera set designer for his wealthy patron, Carvalho Monteiro, designed it around the turn of the 19th century. Manini devoted fourteen years to creating a mythical landscape out of the many acres of wooded hillside.

The Entry.

The entry to Leda's Cave.

Paths wander throughout forest. Surprises lurk around every; fountains, caves, waterfalls, and towered, stone fortresses. We descend the circular stair set into the wall of the Initiatic Well eighty-eight feet to a mosaic floor. Dark caverns lead in various directions that eventually open onto other incredible scenes. I can imagine the pseudo-mystical ceremonies played out by torchlight operatically staged for the guest’s benefit.

The eighty-eight foot deep Initiatic Well.

One exit from the tunnels leading from the Initiatic Well.

Another exit from the Initiatic Well.

Ponds, aquariums and elegant fountains are set amidst an arboretum type landscape. Statued terraces and a lovely chapel are staged among the greenery. Labyrinthine grottos twist their way through the rocks.

The Quinta da Regaleira is a masterwork of fantastic landscape and architectural design.

Copyright 2010 Dennis Jones/Dreamcatcher Imaging

www.dreamcatcherimaging.com

 Posted by skidrmr at 6:30 pm  Tagged with: , ,

Turkey V-Rumi’s Konya and an Evening of Overwhelming Hospitality in Nigde

 Travel, Turkey  No Responses »
Oct 252010
 

The Mevlana in Konya


It’s a lovely evening. The air is comfortably warm, the hospitality warmer still. We arrive in Konya from Antalya after dark to find two host families waiting at an outdoor restaurant flanked by two, brightly lit, 900 year-old tombs. Three teenage girls, one wearing a headscarf, all shyly giggling, practice their English with us. Interesting conversations about life, education and religion passes between the hosts and ourselves.

Interfaith Mingling Amongst the Women

Feelie and one of our hosts

Alan and one of the teenage daughters intent in discussion

Konya is the spiritual center of the Sufism. Here, the great poet, theologian and mystic, Rumi, lived eight hundred years ago. Sufism is the most peaceful and spiritual of Muslim sects. The roots of the Whirling Dervishes are here.

The entrance to Rumi's Tomb

The Mevlani Way is an ascetic, spiritual life. Rumi believed passionately in utilizing music and dance as a path to God. This evolved into the whirling ritual, focusing the mind so intensely that the soul is both destroyed and resurrected. Apprenticeship entailed a final test; meditating in the communal kitchen for days without food as meals were prepared around you.

It is evident from the women’s dress that Konya is the most traditional of the places we’ve visited thus far. Many more women with headscarves are on the streets. Most wear the shapeless, full-length overcoat of the devout and there is a hint of ethnicity in their style of scarf and flowery skirts.

As we approach the Mevlana, Rumi’s tomb, its green dome sets it off as different from other mosques. The colorful gardens surrounding the complex are immaculately maintained. Sculpted rose bushes and topiary set amidst lush green lawns give color and style to the sanctuary.

I would love to have photographed inside the tomb. The marble walls are covered with flowing Arabic script and, like most mosques, the ceiling is a delight of design. On display are many elaborately illuminated Korans. The beauty of their calligraphy and wealth and creativity of their gilt illustrations captivate me. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed, something, as a professional, I always respect.

Rumi’s epitaph reads: “When we are dead, seek not our tomb in the earth, but find it in the hearts of men.”

Entrance to the school founded by Mehmet Ozdemir

Learning English as the students run up and down the stairs

Entrance to the kindergarten

Lunch is at a primary school built by a local businessman and follower of Fetullah Gülen. This is the first day of school. Garlands of balloons welcome the students. Lunch is with one of the teachers. Peppered by questions from our inquisitive group, we learn that English is taught from the primary level and that the success rate in the Gülen schools is exceptionally high. The vast majority of students pass the national college entrance test and graduate from university.

Music sounds in the hallway. It’s the end of a period and the corridors fill with happy voices. Our group wades out amongst the excited throngs, cameras in hand. We are met with many Hellos, What is your names and Where are you froms. For a quick five minutes the smiling faces of beautiful, happy children besiege us. They make the most of this strange group of visitors who enhance their first-day-of-school enthusiasm.

The evening promises a visit to another school though little do we know what we are in for. A few hours on the bus and we arrive, again after dark, in the small town of Nigde. Here, we are to be divided between the homes of the host families for the night.

A little impromptu performance on the bus by Cem and Serkan

Introductions all around between ourselves and our hosts

Our hosts greet us warmly, taking our bags to their respective cars. Climbing the steps to the school we are ushered into a large, comfortable office for the obligatory welcomings and to again, one by one, recount a bit who we are. The founder of the school, Mr. Celal, a spitting image of Sigmund Freund, leads us into an assembly room where the surprises begin.

Ten, beautiful, young girls in traditional, folk dress, bouquets in hand, flank the entry. Smiling and laughing, they hand each of us a bouquet while welcoming us in English. A mouth-watering aroma wafts through the room as we are shown to our tables surrounding the central floor space.

Suddenly, the girls are lined up in front of an imposing image of Ataturk. Music begins and they dance a well-rehearsed folk dance. We’re delighted!

More introductions follow along with an invitation to line up and be served. Following the dinner of too much delicious, regional food, a tray is wheeled out to the floor and the local master treats us to a demonstration of traditional, Turkish water painting.

In a tray of water, oil paints are dripped onto the surface. The artist uses special implements to shape the drops, adding more, shaping those, until, within five minutes, a lovely image of carnations floats upon the water. Placing a piece of watercolor paper on the surface transfers the painting to the paper and the artist smoothly draws the paper from the tray revealing an amazing painting of life-like carnations.

We are asked to take seats in a row beneath an imposing image of Atatürk, and then are called upon in turn to receive a framed water painting and say a few words.

Terre Sanitate offers some appreciative comments

With the last gift given, music swells, fireworks in front of us gush twin fountains of sparks while cannons on either side engulf us in confetti. I am beyond words.

It took me until the next day to get all the confetti off

A late night ensues as we each go to our respective host’s home. Yolanda, Serkan and I go with a doctor and his wife along with another couple; Turks living in London. We talk about everything, learning about each other’s cultures and religions. For the first time this entire trip, Serkan is fading.

Breakfast is late for a change. We gather, along with our hosts, at the home of a family with a large, abundantly productive garden. Long tables are arranged beneath a grape arbor planted by the host’s grandfather’s.

Casey makes a point

Once again, we are treated to incredibly warm hospitality as we partake of the bounty of the garden. Conversation ranges over a myriad of topics, always penetrating and pertinent to today’s world. It is difficult to express how fortunate I feel to be able to meet people of the Muslim faith on this level. We experience nothing but respect, warm hospitality, dialog, interest and polite acceptance of our differences.

Mr. Celal, the founder of the school, gracious host and Sigmund Freud lookalike.

As we reluctantly take our leave, handshakes, hugs and traditional kisses on both cheeks abound. I feel a glimmer of understanding, not through words but through direct experience, of the philosophy and teachings of the Fetullah Gülen. If our experience reflects some basic principles of Islam, then the world is a less dangerous place and the future brighter still.

Copyright 2010 Dennis Jones/Dreamcatcher Imaging

www.dreamcatcherimaging.com

 Posted by skidrmr at 9:25 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

Turkey IV-From the Ruins of Ephesus to the Mediterranean Beauty of Antalya

 Travel, Turkey  3 Responses »
Oct 132010
 

The ancient Roman Library at Ephesus

While grape vines and plump clusters of fruit shade us from the morning sun and orchards of figs and almonds stretch to the steep mountains a mile away, our group sits at one long table, sharing breakfast as an ages-old fortress stands sentinel from a high ridge. In this idyllic setting, exhaustion from prior intense days disappears with cups of thick, Turkish coffee.

A fortress overlooks the valley from the right-hand peak of the mountain

Olives, cheese, tasty, ripe tomatoes and bread slathered with local honey, complete the meal. Upon arriving in Izmir, Biblical Smyrna, Turkey’s third largest city, we were whisked from the airport to this lovely setting on our way to tour the ruins of an ancient city.

A cornucopia of produce for sale at the restaurant's roadside stand

Efes, its Turkish name, was a major crossroads of the Roman Empire. Formerly a port city, silting over the centuries has pushed the Aegean Sea over three miles away. The apostle Paul walked these streets, preaching his gospel to the Ephesians two millennia ago.

It must have been an impressively, beautiful city with broad streets, tall, elaborately carved, marble buildings, numerous statues, gushing fountains, two large amphitheaters, one holding 25,000, and one of the greatest libraries of the ancient world.

The smaller of the two amphitheaters

The facade of the library

We spend hours wandering the ruins, peering through broken doorways and climbing ancient steps. Ephesus was a diamond in the emperor’s diadem, a city of wealth, power and knowledge.  Excavations are still underway.  The city is much older than the Romans and there is much left to unearth.

This mosaic gives a taste of how the houses and buildings were decorated

The larger of the two amphitheaters

We return to the shade of the orchard restaurant for lunch. Afterwards, I snag an empty, pillowed platform used for traditional family meals, and doze off. All to quickly, we’re off again, this time to a small, ceramics manufacturer specializing in exceptional, definitely not cheap, hand-made pottery.

I watch the demonstrations, photographing the women painting the vases and plates while Bruria Finkel, the artist of our group, puts on a demonstration of her own, turning a bowl. The showroom displays thousands of dishes in numerous styles but Yolanda and I pass while others buy. We loaded up on ceramics while in Mexico last year.

Hand-painting the ceramics at Art Ceramics

Bruria turning a bowl

From the heat of the coastal plain, we drive into the cool mountains immediately to the south of Efes where, according to legend, Jesus’ mother lived out her days. As we climb, I catch occasional glimpses of the dramatic Aegean coast, a deep, blue sea colliding with rocky cliffs.

The shrine is near the top of the mountain shaded within a thick wood. Pilgrims from around the world make their way here. The surface of a long, high, rock wall, is blanketed with prayers in the form of millions of slips of paper; dazzling white against the forest in the late afternoon gloom.

A nun exits the purported House of the Virgin Mary

A tiny section of the high wall covered with prayers

Returning to Izmir with the setting sun, we meet our sponsors at a local restaurant. We are beginning to understand the reason for the cultural exchange: it is not simply to meet local leaders and learn about Turkish culture, but also to gain an understanding of the Gülen Movement, an Islamic group seeking interfaith dialog and understanding between peoples.

Two year-old Mehmet with his mother

Me, taking a turn a carving kebap, man was it hot!!

Fethullah Gülen is a Turkish intellectual now living in Pennsylvania. His writings have inspired a movement, said to have the sympathies of 75% of Turks. One of its primary goals is education. Later, we are to visit several schools and a university built by the movement.

Following another evening of interesting conversation and too much good food, we reach our hotel and crash, Yolanda and I sleeping through breakfast. Little is planned for the next day; lunch, a stroll through the bazaar, dinner with local families.

Streets of the modern, port city of Izmir

Izmir's bazaar

An antique shop in the bazaar

Along the waterfront in Izmir

An ancient urn at Izmir's archaelogical museum

An ancient urn in Izmir's Archaeological Museum

A bronze life-size athlete from the late Hellenistic period-Izmir Archaeological Museum

The following day, we fly to Antalya, a resort city on Turkey’s southern Mediterranean coast. As the plane approaches, a large, sapphire bay appears with an immense, mountain range thrust steeply from the sea; a western barrier disappearing into the haze. The Taurus Mountains are one of Turkey’s important ranges. Around Antalya, its tree-less peaks rise abruptly to over 11,000 feet. This is something I find over most of the country: Turkey is very mountainous but from the base to the peaks they are mostly bare. Strange.

The Taurus Mountains from Antalya

Along the coast, Antalya is a postcard of Mediterranean beauty. Red tile-roofed, stone houses beneath a clear, blue sky tumble down the hillsides to an azure sea. Small harbors dot the coast along with broad beaches. The covered terraces of restaurants provide welcome relief from the heat along with awesome coastal views.

We stop for lunch at one of Antalya’s wonders, Duden Waterfalls. Spring-fed waterfalls cascade through a narrow defile amidst a series of rock grottos. Copious trees shade outdoor restaurants along the river while the rushing water furnishes natural air conditioning.

At one of the restaurants at Duden Falls

Selling ice cream is a performance in Turkey, sometimes a way too expensive performance

A leisurely lunch ensues; delicious, grilled fish, fresh from the Mediterranean. To our regret, we must forego exploring Antalya’s Mediterranean beauty and ancient wonders. Local leaders await us for dinner in Konya, a mountainous, four-hour drive north and the former home of Rumi, Islam’s most revered poet.

Despite the valuable insights Turkey’s historical sights provide into its history and culture, the privileged meetings with the people of today’s Turkey round out our experience in ways not accessible to the average tourist. We leave Antalya anticipating another fascinating evening.

Copyright 2010 Dennis Jones/Dreamcatcher Imaging

www.dreamcatcherimaging.com

 Posted by skidrmr at 10:42 am  Tagged with: , , , ,

Turkey III-A Taste of Istanbul’s Deep, Rich History

 Travel, Turkey  No Responses »
Oct 062010
 

The entry to the European style Dolmabahche

I’m near exhaustion. Serkan, though, shows no signs of slacking. It’s been two days of intense touristing and after rising at 4:30 am, our group is on a plane bound for Izmir. Serkan, our guide, is the energizer bunny. His shiny pate matches his disposition. He exudes hospitality.

Serkan Yildirim

Yolanda and I are touring with eight others; Allan Grinnell and his wife Feelie Lee, both professors at UCLA: Frank Sanitate, a speaker on time management and his wife Terre, who works with interfaith groups: David Finkel, a retired judge and constitutional law professor and his wife Israeli-born, Bruria, an accomplished artist www.bruriafinkel.com:  Cem Eruyan, born in Turkey and now living in LA: and Casey Crosbie, the youngest of the group who grew up herding cattle on a ranch in South Dakota, now traveling the world. We are on a cultural exchange sponsored by California’s Pacifica Institute; a group of Turkish Americans seeking to build bridges of understanding between peoples. During an introductory dinner we learned that our proposed itinerary, along with our preconceptions about Turkish customs, could be thrown out the window.

We rise early the first morning for a typical Turkish breakfast of tea, bread, honey, olives, cheeses, tomatoes and cucumbers, and are to tour the Dolmabache Palace before the hoards of tourists arrive.

This is our first taste of Ottoman opulence. Built in the mid 1800′s it is an entirely European edifice: think Paris Opera. The palace is an enormous complex of lavishly decorated state and private rooms, 285 of them, set majestically along the Bosphorus. The Ceremonial Hall is an eye-boggling work of decadence. Its vast dome supports the largest crystal chandelier ever made, weighing 4.5 tons and containing 750 lights. Three thousand artists spent 3-4 years completing the gilt, faux marble and elaborate flourishes of this gigantic room alone. And yes, the Sultan mortgaged his empire to build this architectural masterpiece.

The small part of the south facade outside the Ceremonial Hall, facing the Bosphorus

In front of one of the opulent gates, the first of many group photos. Serkan, I and Yolanda, Alan and Feelie, Casey, Terre and Frank, Bruria and David. Cem's taking the picture.

The Jewish Museum is next on the itinerary. 700 years ago, when the Spanish were driving out or forcibly converting Jews, the Ottoman Sultan welcomed them to his empire. Jews from around Europe and Russia found refuge over the centuries. A thriving community exists today. The museum, in a lovely, old synagogue, documents Jewish life in Ottoman and contemporary Istanbul. It is an eye-opening look at religious tolerance under Islam.

The interior of the old synagogue now the Karakoy Jewish Museum

Jews from around Europe sought refuge in Ottoman Turkey. The 1492 decree of Bayezed II in the upper right reads: "...the Jews of Spain should not be refused but rather be welcomed with warm feelings, and those who move against this decree and treat the immigrant bad or case any damage, however small it may be, shall be punished with death sentence...". Referring to the king of Spain, the Sultan also stated: "You venture to call Ferdinand a wise ruler; he who has impoverished his own country and enriched mine!"

An afternoon of perfect weather calls for a tour on the Bosphorus. For several hours we cruise between Europe and Asia. High hills, covered with dense forests of trees and apartments, rise on both sides. Tiny, quaint harbors dot the coast.

We pass beneath the impressive Bosphorus and Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridges like San Francisco’s Golden Gate but for the elegant mosques, high, labyrinthine, stone walls of Byzantine fortresses and the fact that they connect the continents of Europe and Asia.

The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge

The Bosphorus Bridge

Afterwards, we want rest, but are to join a local family in their home for dinner. We also need to gather the gifts we’ve brought for them. But no, we’re late and traffic is terrible. Arriving around 8 pm, the family of four; father, an engineer, mother, a German teacher and their two beautiful daughters, fifteen and ten, show us true Turkish hospitality. Though they speak little English, we smile, laugh and share as Cem and Serkan translate. Loving-kindness abounds. Following Turkish custom, everyone in turn tells a little about themselves.

Vuslat and Hatice Aygun with daughters Zeynep and Zehra

Dinner then begins with a delicious, spicy, lentil soup and ends with sweet, sticky baklava and copious amounts of tea. It’s now 10:30. I’m very tired, others seriously jetlagged. Presents though, are a must before we leave. Each of us receives a heavy bag of five, beautiful books about Turkey and Turkish arts and crafts. We’re overwhelmed and feeling badly that we hadn’t the time to pick up flowers let alone our presents for them. As we leave, they load us even more with boxes of Lokum, Turkish Delight.

The next day begins early as well. We have to beat the hordes to the Topkapi Palace, for hundreds of years the traditional home, harem and administrative center of the Ottoman emperors.

A five or six hundred year-old fountain outside the Topkapi Palace

The Imperial Gate and main entrance to the Topkapi Palace

Entering the second courtyard of the palace through the Gate of Salutation

The Divanhane, where the Imperial Council met

Inside the Divanhane

A multitude of magnificent marble buildings, each beautifully decorated with elaborate carvings and elegant, Arabic calligraphy, are spread along a hill overlooking the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. The kitchens prepared as many as 6,000 meals a day!

The hordes lining up to get into the rooms displaying the crown jewels

A map showing the extent of the Ottoman Empire at its peak

Here lie the crown jewels of Turkey. Displays of magnificent, emerald, ruby and diamond-encrusted golden chalices, swords, jewelry, dinnerware, and toiletry sets line hall after hall. A highlight, the Spoonmaker’s Diamond, is an eighty-six carat monster the size of a small egg set in silver and surrounded by forty-nine multi-carat diamonds.

Grilled kebap served on a plank with a view of the Sea of Marmara

A vendor makes me a candy on a stick

Weaving a rug in a Sultanahmet store window

The immense interior of the 1,700 year-old Aya Sophia

For over 1,000 years, the Aya Sophia was a church. Converted into a mosque after conquest by the Ottomans in 1453, the beautiful mosaics were covered over. Islam does not permit humans or animals to be depicted in a mosque. These have recently been uncovered.

The afternoon and evening become a blur of too much good food, impressive ancient sights like the Sultan Ahmet (Blue) Mosque,  the 1,500 year-0ld Aya Sophia, and exhaustion. Getting to bed too late again, I don’t fancy the 4:30 wake up call. Ephesus though, south of Izmir, where St. Paul preached, beckons.

Copyright 2010 Dennis Jones/Dreamcatcher Imaging

www.dreamcatcherimaging.com

 Posted by skidrmr at 7:09 am  Tagged with: , ,

Making Trails at New Mexico’s 20,000 Acre Rincon Ranch

 New Mexico, Travel  1 Response »
May 232010
 

We were fortunate to be invited to hike Ed Wagner’s Rincon Ranch along with the Arizona Trailblazers, a Phoenix based hiking club, www.azhikers.org. Kay Lyons, Ed’s significant other, is a friend and knew we’d enjoy the outing. We had heard about Ed’s ranch for a while now. This was the opportunity we had been waiting for.Rincon Ranch evolved over many years when Bert Cox, the original rancher, began acquiring land in the early 1900s. He accumulated and consolidated a number of ranches in eastern New Mexico. Ed bought it in 2000 primarily as a retreat; thirty-two square miles of retreat. Ed spent his career in factory management, principally for Intel. Upon retirement, he began looking for land in the west and through a friend, happened upon this vast stretch of canyons and mesas just east of the Arizona border.The view from the lodge.

The land is dry; no year round or seasonal creeks, but it contains abundant flora and fauna. Piñons, Junipers, Ponderosas and Cypress grow profusely in the canyons and on the mesas. Fox, Badger, Bobcat, Bear, Coyote, Deer, and Mountain Lions, even Mexican Wolves, call it home. Herds of Elk roam freely, allowing Ed to bag a huge, six point bull last fall.

Ed is working to return the flatlands of the ranch from over-grazed ranch land into a wildlife preserve. He’s adding dirt tanks, wells, and access roads. Ed’s dream is to develop the ranch as a destination for hiking, mountain biking and trail riding as well as a hunting destination during the fall hunting seasons.

Rincon Ranch Lodge

At night, not a single light can be seen from the spacious lodge Ed built to host groups. The night sky at 7,000 feet is as black and star-filled as anywhere in the west. As well, silence is profound. Not a sound can be heard save that of the occasional breeze moving among the trees or the distant calls of a pack of coyotes.

Matate, Mano and Pottery Shards atop Porter's Knob

For centuries, Indians from the Membres and Zuni tribes lived on and migrated across this land of abundant wildlife, berries and roots. Their footpaths enabled trading between villages.

Rincon Ranch lies on the Colorado Plateau, once sea floor millennia ago. It is now uplifted over a mile above sea level. Hikers have come across pieces of petrified wood from the ancient forests that covered the area when it was not covered by oceans.

Erosion has created vertical cliffs of red and golden sandstone and exposed deposits of coal and pure white limestone. Relatively recent volcanic activity can be found in volcanic pipes that spewed lava and pyroclastic flows across the landscape millennia ago.

Zuni Canyon

Looking into Zuni Canyon with Porter's Knob in the distance

A six-hour drive finishing with eight miles of good gravel road brought us to the lodge. Having car pooled, a group already was ensconced in the kitchen preparing dinner or going over topo maps, planning tomorrow’s hike. From the first, everybody was convivial. Kay showed Yolanda and I our room whose windows took in a dramatic panorama looking down into a canyon and far out to distant mountains toward the southeast.

Everyone shared food as well as the cooking and cleaning. Kay had come up with a bit of a schedule as people offered to bring their favorite dishes. With dinner over and we turned in early in anticipation of tomorrows hike.

Breakfast was at seven but not realizing the time change, Yolanda and I made it down at eight. No worries. No one was upset and we quickly ate and prepared for our first day of scouting trails. The goal today was to hike Perry Canyon to where a wash came off the mesa; find a good way back up onto the mesa and then back to the lodge.

The beginning of the hike into Perry Canyon

Wendy checking her GPS and setting a waypoint.

Several of the group had GPS’s. They set waypoints as we hiked allowing our track to be saved and a map of the trail made. As we gradually descended, the richness and diversity of the land was evident. Large Ponderosa Pines towered over the wash, dense stands of Piñon Pines grew in wild profusion; a Bobcat’s delicate step left imprints in the sand.

Gary and Ed checking the map, trying to figure out where we turn to go up the correct wash.

Michael helping Carlton place a flag as Bill ties another at the entrance to the wash.

Turning up a small wash, not the one we were looking for as it turns out, we eventually climbed our way up to the expansive views provided by one of the mesas. It being lunchtime, we stopped, ate, and christened the spot Trailblazer Point.

Trailblazer Point

We made rock cairns and flagged the path along the mesa top through the maze of widely spaced trees. Tiring of the flats, we found a way down into another wash where we spotted a four-foot snake, not a rattler thank goodness. As the wash narrowed and got choked with fallen trees, we found our way out and onto one of the access roads Ed had built. This being the Windmill Road, leading to a site planned for a wind energy farm.

Michael, Wendy, Carlton Yolanda, Kay, Wendy, Bill and Linda at a dramatic overlook to the southeast as we connected to the Windmill Road.

A short mile walk took us back to the lodge. After our slow five miles and about five hours of hiking, many took naps or simply relaxed and read until dinner.

Soup is the planned meal. One woman brought a wonderful lentil and bean soup and I brought split pea soup. Along with salad, cornbread, wine and the wonderful company, we had a great meal. Especially when it was followed by Yolanda’s deliciously tart lemon chess pie. With the table cleared and dishes done, it was time for games before bed.

The next morning saw another beautiful, blue-sky day. Today’s hike was to be along the cliffs of the penisula above Zuni Canyon to a knob with panoramic views and Native American artifacts. From there we were to then find a way down into the canyon and end up in the small box canyon Kay calls the Swimming Pool.

Kay and Michael along the edge of Zuni Canyon at the beginning of the hike.

The weather was lovely, perfect temperature for hiking. We quickly found our way to the cliff edge, following its zigs and zags while watching the other side of the wide canyon for wildlife. Making cairns and tying trail markers on trees as we hiked led us to an interesting wave formation where the rocks had eroded in sweeping curves.Kay and Ed entering The Wave.

Gary, Carlton, Kay, Linda and Bill taking a snack break atop The Wave.

Looking to the northeast and The Hermitage (lower left), a cabin built for retreats, from the knob.

Lunchtime again brought us to Porter’s Knob, a spot with sweeping views. The Indians had obviously used this knob in the past. Several matates, grinding stones, lay about as did numerous pottery shards, some with intricate black and white designs and obvious very old. It is easy to imagine hunting parties coming to this spot over the centuries. With its panoramic views to the south, west and north, it would’ve been easy to spot game, while an abundance of nuts and berries provided sustenance.

Following lunch, we had to find a way off the knob and into the canyon. Again, marking trail as we went, I found a slight depression that led to a part of the cliff from which rock falls had filled in a way down. After only the smallest drop of 3-4 feet, we were able to pick our way among the rockfall eventually leading us to a nose of soft dirt and shale, allowing a relatively easy access to the canyon bottom.

Kay making the drop on the route down into Zuni Canyon.

Gary, with Wendy and Bill behing, negotiating the rockfall after the drop.

The nose of soft shales and the route into the canyon above.

From here, it was an easy, flat hike as the canyon gradually narrowed into a winding, sandy wash that took us to the swimming pool in no time. This is a true box canyon and the steep canyon end, though not very high, stopped our progress. Water from the previous week’s snowfall filled a small tank carved into the cliffs and forlorn pools beneath overhangs provided water for the animals.

Kay, as the canyon narrows, leading the way toward the Swimming Pool.

Bill, at the deep end of the Swimming Pool, trying to figure a way out.

Backtracking a hundred yards or so, led us to an easy route out of the Swimming Pool and onto the road above, where our vehicles waited, returning us to the lodge.

Michael and Bill looking into The Deep End. Rocks that Bill and Carlton carried and set up as a possible step are below the small tank of water.

Dinner that night was from Ed’s 6-point bull. Elk meat is so very lean. Not one bit of fat. Having been prepared properly immediately after it had been killed, there was not a hint of gaminess; just rich, flavorful protein.

The final morning, everyone gathered his or her things. Some were leaving later in the day staying to do another hike. We left after breakfast, making the long drive back to Scottsdale.

From left to right bottom to top: Debbie, me, Kay, Linda Gary, Ed, Bill, Wendy, Michael, Wendy, Yolanda and Carlton.

It was a truly rewarding few days. Not only did we experience a part of the west few people, other than the ancients, ever get to see, but we made good friends as well. Yolanda and I are looking forward to our next sojourn in Scottsdale and hooking up again with the Arizona Trailblazers. There are many new places to explore and new areas, reachable only by foot, to experience.

Ed and Kay along the rim of Zuni Canyon.

Copyright 2010 Dennis Jones/Dreamcatcher Imaging

www.dreamcatcherimaging.com
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