1986-7 TURKEY-JORDAN a trip revisited by heart 37 years later

Lucky was that trip in May 1986 with the Avventure nel Mondo group because I met my daughter's mother and among other things, neither of us had signed up for that trip but for others that, however, were canceled due to poor registrations so we were conveyed on the trip in Turkey-Jordan, in short, a destiny! Another strange thing is that when we were in the Turkish capital my eye fell on the front page of a Turkish newspaper headlined NUKLEAR ALARM, in fact the nuclear accident of the Chernobyl plant had been discovered and we were not very far away! It was a great trip, with a nice group and Patrizio Rimassa as group leader, an expert historical group leader who made dozens of trips and for years was in charge of editing the association's magazine. We took turns driving the minibus and when it happened to me I broke two of them, not because of my fault but because they were old and run down, luckily they replaced them quickly. The first days we visited the fascinating metropolis of Istanbul with the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Galata bridge, Bazaar, Topkapi, the royal palace which disappointed me, I expected more We even went to see the brothel (just to see) which was mentioned among the tourist attractions and when we males went out we found our women surrounded by Turks who were convinced they were professionals waiting their turn! The second stop was Ephesus, the Turkish Pompei, truly impressive with its library and huge theatre, not far from the great city and port of Smyrna on the west coast facing Greece. We then visited Cappadocia with its pinnacles and fairy hands created by the erosion of the winds and rains and entire five-storey underground cities built to take refuge from the barbarian invaders, near Pamukkale with its stepped limestone baths and the archaeological site of Hierapolis. Then Konya and Kaiseri, the former famous for whirling dervishes, the latter for carpets and I ended up buying a beautiful old one that still adorns my living room today. the city Then the southern coast with the beautiful villages of Kas, Marmaris and the city of Antalya, a tourist seaside destination for its sandy and stony beaches with waterfalls and not far away the wonderful Greco-Roman archaeological sites of Perge, Side and Aspendos with almost intact and huge theaters, I would say that Turkey has richer and better preserved Greco-Roman sites than can be seen in Greece and Italy apart from Pompeii. Finally, a visit to the nearby city of Adana surrounded by walls and towers. We went to see belly dancing in a local whose dancer was paid homage by the Turkish spectators with baths of red rose petals brought on a tray and dropped on the artist. Turkish cuisine is excellent, both meat, cooked vegetables and honey-based desserts. The Turks are hospitable and friendly and I would say very clean and attentive in the care of their cities. The following year I returned to Turkey with my partner and we visited the east, the spectacular lake of Van, Mount Nemrut Dag a mountain pyramid, a natural mausoleum of the Seljuk kings with the heads of various kings fallen to the ground due to various earthquakes, suggestive place to visit at sunset or at sunrise. Another interesting place is the city of Djarbakir with its black volcanic walls and inhabited mainly by Kurds and then Erzurum which means land of the Romans, the castle of Ishak Sarra Pasayi with a view of Mount Ararat on the border with Iran. Jordan on the other hand didn't excite me, especially the much vaunted Wadi Rum the desert that I found rather ugly like Aqaba on the Red Sea, apart from the glass bottom boat trip to admire the corals and colorful fish, the Dead Sea whose bath made me suffer for half an hour for drops of very salty water that wet my eyes, the capital Amman apart from the Citadel, a hill with some ancient ruins, rather Jerasha an archaeological site outside the city with a linear and a circular colonnade Jordan's gem is Petra, the red stone city with palaces and tombs, rock-hewn theaters amidst oleanders and deep narrow gorges at the entrance, I had a nice ride hiring one of the right Arabian horses in short, the most beautiful part is central-southern Turkey apart from Istanbul and Ephesus

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