Memories of Greece

Posted on February 25, 2013 by jaynezak

“When you set out on your journey to Ithaca, pray that the road is long, full of adventure and full of knowledge.” — Constantine

Memories of Greece

Greece is the most special place for me. When I was eighteen, I did the Europe tour with my friends and Greece was the country I connected with. I went back any summer that I could afford to after that until I was married. I never carried a camera when I was I young. I thought it made me look like a tourist. I was there again recently as well. I’ve never written anything about it. I thought I would start off by listing a jumble of memories old and new and see what happens. Maybe it will jog your memory of your travels.

Athens Landing in Athens first time at three in the morning with nowhere to go , meeting some new friends and sleeping at their apt in Kolonaki, Acropolis – when you could still walk around everywhere., Olympic Airlines, baklava , private cars with handmade taxi signs, something is always on strike in Athens, cats, Thodorakis concert at the outdoor amphitheatre on Mt Lycabettus, getting lost on the way down, Delphi on the hottest day ever, amazing feta cheese, drachmas, Nine Muses in Glifada, the Archaological Museum, trying to get the soldiers guarding the tomb of the unknown soldier to talk to us or laugh (you have no idea how many years I did this), sleeping every afternoon because everything closes from 12-5, watching the tourists throw plates in the restaurants in the Plaka, lamburgers, Cat Stevens, bouzouki places , more cats, worry beads, Voulagmeni, Monastiraki Flea Market, Parko restaurant , best hair dry ever, Port of Piraeus – no better feeling than taking the hydrofoil (flying dolphin) or ferry to any Greek Island. Happy.

Santorini – sunset over a volcano, black sand beaches, red sand beach, tavernas on the beach, How many bikinis can I wear in a summer? Walking up and down a mountain every day and night from the house we were staying at in heels, fresh bread with butter and honey and kafe megalo , a few hours later having fresh-baked tiropita (fried buttered phylo dough stuffed with cheese and egg) , Akrotiri ( famous Minoan ruins) , throwing up in front of the tour buses (all my drinking stories end up like this), dancing all night at the two discos on the island, eating fried sardines with bones in them for lunch in Megalohori after wine tasting at the vineyards , motorbiking everywhere, fishing early in the morning and bringing the fish to a restaurant to cook for us in Oia, coffee in town watching the tourists come up to Thira from the cruise boats on the donkeys, tired of eating lamb every day, ( Greek islands had only Greek food back then. It was pre cell phones.) Amazing.

Mykonos – Every day in Mykonos with Eva and George, Nine Muses, Remezzo, , Pierros, more friends from Athens , staying out all night , Paradise Beach , Super Paradise Beach, sitting in the town with our new drag queen friends and entertaining the cruise boats, shopping in the cool boutiques, (I needed new clothes by then) , tube tops, retsina and ouzo –yasas, 2am (the summer of the curfew), Mykonos Harbor, Beatles “Don’t say goodnight”, Love.

Paros – White rocky beaches , peace after the craziness of Mykonos, fresh fish, Greek salad and tzaziki, planning our future., swimming in the clear blue sea, movie theatre (outside), how tan can I actually get? Romantic.

Thessaloniki – Riding horses on the beach at George’s beach house outside of Salonika, walking on the beach to get anywhere, (town, clubs restaurants), going to market and getting fresh food every day, playing house, Greek music festival (Opa!), sailing every day, boats are a lot of work, more new friends, Greek coffee or Nescafe, drinking retsina on the beach,(tastes like turpentine) ouzo shots, more Greek words, promises. Spectacular.

Helkidiki – Jewish holidays at temple with Mendy’s family, the women sit upstairs, the service is in Greek and Hebrew –I am completely lost, picking lemons off a tree and smelling them when I fainted from fasting, , watching a Greek funeral as they marched through the streets to transport the casket from the home to the church and then to the grave site. I see a friend and join wearing short shorts and wedges. One of the old women ( always in black) gives me her shawl to wrap around me.. She alternates between crying and pointing out where everyone in the procession lives. I am strangely moved by this old woman and this whole experience. My friends are stunned to see me walk by in a funeral procession. They join. Surprising.

Spetses – mosquitos –It is the green island, we kill them with perfume, Reading Nikos Kazantzakis on a beach , Avgolemono soup for a cold( egg lemon chicken soup), horse and carriages, boat races, , Greek and British tourists, Peaceful both times.

Hydra – First time in Hydra – no cars only donkeys, rocks instead of beaches, second time in Hydra – many bars and clubbing, third time in Hydra – I finally have the money to shop –cute stores!. Very Different.

Aegina – We fall asleep and our bicycle boat ends up in the open sea . We are rescued by a yacht. We dont attach the rope well (we are city girls) and we turn over. My friends lose all their money. I don’t because my sportsac bag turns out to be waterproof and floats and I hang on. (why do we have all our money on the beach? There are no atms then and we are young and apparently stupid) I drift close enough to the yacht to get on. My friends end up in a small fishing boat with several octopi. They look really angry at me – I am drinking water and they don’t have any. I am in shock. I almost drowned, For the rest of the summer Mendy tells the story in broken Greek and English to someone every day. ‘We did not know the sea,” she begins. second time in Aegina –I don’t go in the water. I know that sea. Scary.

Samos – Having fresh caught Calamari, that had hung on a clothes line, waking up to drunk Germans throwing up every night outside, playing with Eva’s family on the beach, ferry to Kusadasi Turkey , taken away by the police upon re-entering Samos because they thought I was smuggling drugs ( I was really seasick and nauseous and I needed a coke, I forgot to go through customs first and walked into the store which was before customs. –. Eva spends a long time telling them I am another stupid American and they let me go. Dumb.

Naxos – taking a ferry in Greece after not being there for so long, Walking on the most beautiful soft sand beach in Naxos, grilled fresh caught calamari as much as possible., beautiful villas, beautiful sunsets, old friends. Wonderful.

Poros – Walking down to the town, back on a hydrofoil in Piraeus, No Americans, Having an amazing Greek salad with Eva on Poros 25 years later and realizing that it never tasted as good in the US, watching Greek families on the beach ( It was a Greek vacation area) Greek yogurt, boat to concert in outdoor theatre., dinners with Eva’s family, rocky beaches, clean water, gold bracelets, kids running all over, another summer and I am in Greece. Lesson learned.

Memories last longer than photographs.

Calo taxiti and fly safe,

JAZ

Locked Up Abroad

Posted on February 18, 2013 by jaynezak

Locked Up Abroad

“Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.”3RRKN5MDAMWC

Rita Mae Brown

One of my favorite guilty pleasures is watching “Locked up Abroad.” It airs on the National Geographic channel –a channel that usually has shows that promote travel, not paranoia. There are always marathons or at least back to back episodes. They are true stories of people who have been put into a prison in a foreign country. Most of the time they are smuggling drugs. You can smuggle drugs from many different countries.

The stories are narrated by the actual people. It is followed by a reenactment of their story played by actors. Once in a while they play themselves. Sometimes they are real actors, who have made bad life choices.

There is always that moment in the show when they are walking through the airport with pounds of cocaine strapped to their waist or hidden in their suitcase. Sometimes they make that one wrong phone call. I get a pit in my stomach and start saying “No, don’t do it, don’t do it. “ But they always do.

We go with them to prison and we get to see what life is like in the different prisons of the world. We experience the legal system in third world countries. I always feel sorry for them – even though what they did was wrong.

The worst stories are when it isn’t drugs. I can deal with the smugglers but it is hard watching the hostages and kidnapped victims. If you have the travel bug, these episodes can knock it out of you – immediately. The UN Peacekeepers come under fire in Sierra Leone from the brutal rebels.(that was a really difficult one to watch) . An Australian girl is in the wrong place at the wrong time. She is wrongfully accused of something and ends up in prison where no one speaks English for twenty years. Backpackers are hiking through the Darien rainforest between Panama and Colombia and get caught by guerillas.

There is the Hasidic King of Coke who ends up in a Brazilian prison, (you can’t make this stuff up), the smuggler who gets mistaken for a terrorist in El Salvador and the American girl in prison in Bangladesh for drug smuggling with no hope of parole. Life in a Nepalese prison is detailed by a professional magician who got caught trying to smuggle hashish out of the country. There are people smuggling heroin in Russia, who end up in in a Gulag in the seventies. A woman is set up by the drug cartels and goes to prison in Columbia. The life inside Venezuela’s notorious Los Teques Prison is told by an Irish man who was arrested at the Caracas airport for trying to smuggle cocaine back to Dublin.

I have learned many important facts about traveling from this show. . Never buy illegal drugs in Mexico using fake money. Don’t smuggle alcohol into Saudi Arabia. Don’t talk to any missionaries on the plane to Manila. If someone asks you to bring gold into Argentina, they really mean cocaine. Don’t travel to Pakistan and the Silk Road with your estranged father if he happens to be a drug smuggler. If your friend surprises you with an all expense paid vacation to Peru and has an extra suitcase when you get to the airport, run away. It seems that there are women who are willing to take incredible risks for a free vacation.

Fly Safe,

JAZ

In Ruins

Posted on February 13, 2013 by jaynezak

In Ruins In Turkey

(Pergamon, Assos, Sardis, Troy,)

“The ruins of himself! now worn away, with age, yet still majestic in decay.” Homer

Pergamon

The best way to see the Acropolis of Pergamon is to take the cable car up (they will try to sell you a return ticket but insist on one-way) and then walk down the ancient road via the Gymnasium.

The famous Library of Pergamon, which contained 200,000 books, was situated north of the square. Antonius gave all the books in the library to Cleopatra as a wedding gift. (beauty and brains?) Pergamon’s library on the Acropolis is the second best in the ancient Greek civilization. When the Ptolemies stopped exporting papyrus, partly because of competitors and partly because of shortages, the Pergamenes invented a new substance called pergaminus or pergamena (parchment) after the city.

The building that has been restored now is the Temple of Trajan. Trajan started it but after his death Emperor Hadrian (117-138) finished the temple in Corinthian order.

The Theatre of Pergamon, one of the steepest theatres in the world, has a capacity of 10,000 people and was constructed in the 3rd century BC.

The famous Altar of Zeus in Pergamon is on the south of the theater. The Altar which was taken away from Pergamon in 1871 by the German engineer Carl Humann, is exhibited at the Museum of Pergamum in Berlin, in a way conforming to its original. Today the Turkish government is trying to get it back from Germany bringing the issue to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Ascieplion

The Asclepion was an ancient medical center that was founded by Archias, a local who had been cured at the Asclepion of Epidaurus (Greece). Treatments included mud baths, the use of herbs and ointments, enemas and sunbathing. Diagnosis was often by dream analysis. (treatment rooms)

Galen (AD 131–210), was born here and studied in Alexandria, Greece and Asia Minor before becoming a physician to Pergamum’s gladiators. He is recognized as perhaps the greatest early physician. Galen added considerably knowledge of the circulatory and nervous systems, and also systematized medical theory. Under his influence, the medical school at Pergamum became renowned. His work was the basis for Western medicine well into the 16th century. (Galen and the symbol of the Asclepion, the snake)

,If you are walking from the town center (2km uphill) it passes through a large military base; be off it by dusk and don’t take photos.

A Roman bazaar street , once lined with shops, leads from the entrance to the centre, where you’ll see the base of a column carved with snakes, the symbol of Asclepios (Aesculapius), god of medicine. Just as the snake sheds its skin and gains a ‘new life’, so the patients at the Asclepion were supposed to ‘shed’ their illnesses. Signs mark a circular Temple of Asciepios, a library and, beyond it, a Roman theatre.

You can take a drink from the Sacred Well, although the plastic tube out of which the water flows doesn’t look particularly sanitary), and pass along the vaulted underground corridor to the Temple of Telesphorus, another god of medicine. Patients slept in the temple hoping that Telesphorus would send a cure or diagnosis in a dream.

Assos

After leaving the Platonic Academy in Athens, Aristotle went to Assos, where he was welcomed by King Hermias, and opened an Academy in this city. In the Academy of Assos, Aristotle became a chief to a group of philosophers and they made many innovative observations in zoölogy and biology.. Aristotle also married Pythias, the adopted daughter of Hermias.

On the acropolis 238 m above sea level are the remains of the Doric Temple of Athena, which date back to 530 BC. Six of the original 38 columns remain. It is possible to see spectacular views of much of the surrounding area from this ancient Temple of Athena built on top of a cliff.

Sardis.

Sardis was the capital of the kingdom of Lydia. In the seventh century BC, the Lydians invented the first coinage in history. Some of the highlights of Sardis are the temple of Artemis –one of the largest temples of Asia Minor and the Roman Gymnasium complex. Part of the gymnasium was converted into a synagogue in the third century BC. Sardis is one of the Seven Churches of the Revelation. (Gymnasium)

Roman Temple of Artemis

Troy

The city now believed to contain the ancient Troy of Homer’s Iliad was founded around 2920 BCE. Over its long and shaky history, Troy appears to have been destroyed at least nine times.

Henrik Schliemann, having heard claims from an English archaeologist that the hill called Hisarlik concealed the ruins of Homer’s Troy, got permission from the Ottoman government for an archaeological dig. While Schliemann did manage to uncover four ancient towns during his excavations, the amateur archaeologist also destroyed several others along the way.

Schliemann also found a cache of gold and other artifacts. He mistakenly believed them to be “The Treasure of Priam,” but it was later proven to be from an earlier civilization. The treasure was recently rediscovered in Russia, after having disappeared during WW2, and is at the centre of an ongoing ownership dispute. At the moment, the treasure sits in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow.

After Schliemann death, his assistant Wilhelm Doerpfeld worked at Troy for many years. It was he who identified the nine basic layers of the city, labeling them in the Roman numerical system still used today. An American archaeologist named Carl Blegen would find based on evidence of burning and siege, that Troy VII-a was the likeliest time for the Trojan War.

At Troy one can see mostly ruins or ruins of ruins. There are ruins of walls from a number of different periods scattered throughout the site, some include a gate or tower.

Compared to Ephesus, one of the best-preserved ancient cities on the Mediterranean, the ruins of Troy are a disappointment, but for any fan of Homer or lover of mythology, the trip is well worth your time. (even if does include a few fake Trojan horses.)

for more ancient ruins in Turkey go to All Roads Lead to Ephesus.

https://havefunflysafe.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/all-roads-lead-to-ephesus/

Errosthe ( Ancient Greek closing – be healthy, sound, vigorous, fare well) and Fly Safe,

JAZ

My Favorite Places

Posted on February 7, 2013 by jaynezak

My Favorite Places

“There was nowhere to go but everywhere, so we just keep on rolling under the stars.” Jack Kerouac (On the Road)

I was trying to make a list of my favorite places in the world. There were favorite places I went to when I was in college, favorite places I visited in my twenties, favorite places with beaches, favorite islands, favorite places where I fell in love, favorite places I met old friends and favorite places where I made new ones. There were favorite places because of food or shopping. There were favorite places because I had seen something that I had studied in school. There were places where I viewed one of the seven wonders of the worlds, or places I toured from other people’s list of favorite places. There were favorite places for theatre, art, architecture, sports, history, nature or spirituality. There were favorite places where I saw my daughter perform. There were favorite family vacations before that are different from now. There were favorite places that were so strange and favorite places that felt familiar. There were favorite places to be alone, with my family, friends or someone special. There were favorite places because I could check them off on my imaginary list of places I wanted to go to.

There are other lists: the places you are planning to visit, the places you’ve planned trips and cancelled and the places you want to go to in the summer, winter, spring or fall. There are the places that have the perfect hotel and the places that don’t but you go anyway to see something spectacular. There are places you have to go to before you go to other places. There are places you have to go to before you get too old. There are places you will take your kids when they are older. There are lists of places that are too expensive, too remote or too crowded. There are places too overrun by tourists. There are places that everyone you know has been to and places that no one you know has been to. There are places that seemed perfect but weren’t. There are places you never expected to love and you do. There are places you will always remember and places you would like to forget. There are places you want to go back to . There are places that you are afraid to go back to.

There are places you have been on a cruise and wish to go and spend time there. There are places you want to go because there are things you want to see and places that are completely unknown to you. There are places you never expected to be visiting alone. There are places you will go if you meet that perfect someone. There are the places you want to go to because you liked a similar country. There are countries you want to go back to because you have enjoyed what you’ve seen so far. There are the places you want to go to just because, places you have dreamed about for years, and the places that you never have to go to. There is the list of places that you will probably never get to because of all the places you want to go .

Fly Safe,

JAZ

Things I Have Learned In Peru

Posted on January 29, 2013 by jaynezak

“A man of knowledge chooses a path with a heart and follows it. He looks and rejoices and laughs and then he sees and knows. “ Carlos Casteneda (born in Peru)

Things I Have Learned In Peru

Don’t drop your camera.

According to a Stanford University study, seventy-five per cent of taxi drivers in Lima are psychotic.(view of Lima)

Beaches in Lima are not just for swimming but a good place to play soccer and park your car.

Millions of guinea pigs are eaten in Peru every year. No special occasion is complete without them. They are served whole with the head and feet intact. The word in Spanish is Cuya if you do or don’t want to eat it by mistake.

If you are with a Peruvian, you will get a better exchange rate for your money from the man standing on the corner outside the bank. Don’t try this alone.

Plaza de Armas or Plaza Mayor (“Main Square” in Spanish) is the place where Lima city was born in 1535, founded by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro. It is also the spot from where Jose San Martin announced Peru’s independence from Spain in 1821.

As in other countries if you want real silver or real alpaca, buy from a store with a door. Otherwise you will not be sure if you bought baby alpaca or maybe alpaca.

Taxis in Peru do not have meters and you must negotiate a rate before you get in. Anyone can put up a taxi sign in their car and often do to supplement their income. There are no regulations. Many people do it on their way to their regular jobs – if they are late for work, watch out.

If you happen to be in Lima on Palm Sunday, you can see the Archbishop.

Need stamps? Or anything else? Palm Sunday at the Post Office.

There are two seasons in Peru. There is summer when it rains and winter when it is foggy. The temperature is about the same but sometimes your pictures come out clearer.

We are a bit late with quinoa (the new it food in LA) . It predates the Incas and has been a staple in the Peruvian diet for years. They have many other grains that are high in protein since quinoa is getting so expensive for them. Check Whole Foods for kikucha.

Soccer is the first second and third sport in Peru. They are very enthusiastic and very bad at it.

Due to the bad state of the economy and the massive inflation in the 1980s , the government got rid of the inti and brought the new Peru currency “nuevo sol” as the country’s new money. The Peruvian nuevo sol is a stable and reliable currency, it is also the least affected by the weak dollar global tendency.

Peru’s geography yields diverse ingredients: abundant seafood from the coast, tropical fruits from the jungle, and unusual varieties of grains and potatoes from the Andes. Peruvian cuisine is recognized around the world as one of the best in South America. It was surprisingly delicious. The immigrant population throughout the years has strongly influenced the cuisine. African, Italian, Japanese , Chinese , Spanish, Inca, Quechua as well as surrounding South American has created the original fusion cuisine.

Peru was the last colony in South America.

Coca tea is helpful in preventing altitude sickness among other things.

The Andes is the world’s longest mountain chain. (the Himalayas are the highest -you know I had to look that up)

Llamas are pronounced yamas, unlike yams, sweet potatoes, yellow potatoes, white potatoes purple potatoes, large corn, small corn and plaintains which are often found at the same meal. No meal is complete without potato. There are 3000 varieties grown in the Andes. They will eat a different kind of potato for breakfast lunch and dinner. (potatoes at the food market, Cusco)

I only eat cooked vegetables and fruits and bottled water when I travel to third world countries but had no problem eating raw fish (ceviche) at every meal.

It was just another day in the Sacred Valley with quick stop for lunch.

For centuries Peruvians have turned to natural remedies to cure their ailments. Medicinal and hallucinogenic plants have been used since pre-Inca times for healing. A variety of healers (referred to as shamans in North America) exist throughout the country with a wide range of techniques. While healers from Northern Peru use San Pedro cactus in their ceremonies, healers from the Amazon work with ayahuasca, which in Quechua translates to ‘vine of the dead’. Ayahuasca is a hallucinogen that induces visions and helps to diagnose illness. Healing ceremonies take place late at night, when the energies are at their highest, especially during a full moon. Westerners have come to Peru specifically to visit with these healers about a variety of issues including cancer and depression. There are mystical Andes tours that include ayahuasca sessions. It is best to do these things in Peru with a real shaman and not in your living room with friends.

The one on the end is not me.

The first day of hiking at 9000 feet is hard. The first day of shopping at 12,000 feet is no problem.

Pisaq Market sells handicrafts, jewelry, minerals, herbs, spices and local foods and is the biggest market in Cusco. it’s a good way to learn about the local way of life, get a taste of how herbal medicine works, see how paints and dyes are made using natural minerals and sample the various local foods.

The Quechuas are the descendents of the Incas. You see them all over Cusco and the Sacred Valley in their native dress. I find the women’s outfits most unflattering. But what is beauty and who defines it?

In Cusco, never say maybe later to someone selling you something in the street, somehow they will always find you later. ( Cusco view)

Pisco ( pure grape brandy) is the national drink of Peru. There are Pisco Sours , Piscopolitans and Piscotinis.

Walking a short distance, from where the bus drops you in Ollytambo, to the train to Cuzco ( due to construction and flooding) is still shorter than changing gates at any major airport.

The potato, tomato, lima bean and avocado come from Peru. (Get it – lima-Lima?)

The Peruvian national Anthem ”El Condor Pasa” sounds a lot like Paul Simon’s “Id Rather Be A Hammer Than a Nail. “ At first I thought, these Peruvians must love Paul Simon. Hopefully, he gave them some money. Guess what song he is playing?

Peru is the world’s second-largest producer of cocaine. (yes, Columbia has retained its number one status)

Peruvian corn has the biggest kernels in the world.

Llamas have the right of way at Machu Picchu, should you be on a narrow road and meet one. From far away, it is hard to tell the difference between an alpaca, a vicuna and a llama. It is easier to tell by the feel of the sweaters.

The Peruvian root Magra is what they make Viagra from.

Like their grandmothers, the Quechua women of Chinchero weave textiles. They have formed the Chinchero Textile Center. Dressed in their native clothes, they spin, thread, weave and dye with natural dyes. They are prepared using wild plants, to color the wool. The red is from cochineal and the green is chilca or ragwort, with drops of lemon for a more intense color.

The Cuzco School Of Art is a series of religious paintings. The Spaniards taught the Inca artists how to paint their icons in the style of Flemish and Gothic masters. There are no names on the paintings and though the subject is Christianity, the Indians have managed to put in many hidden symbols from their own culture. They moved from the traditional style and added their own interpretation. The best pieces are in the Cuzco Cathedral.

The magic of the Andes is that every time you turn around, the colors are different. (yes its the picture at the top of my page)

If you want to learn about the Incas, it is another blog.

https://havefunflysafe.wordpress.com/2012/09/15/things-i-have-learned-from-the-incas-in-peru/

Things i have Learned from the Incas In Peru

Viajen con cuidado,

JAZ

Ten People Who Can Not Help You Put Your Blog Out There

Posted on January 23, 2013 by jaynezak

TEN PEOPLE WHO CAN NOT HELP YOU PUT YOUR BLOG OUT THERE

“For us there is only trying. The rest is not our business.”

TS Eliot

1. THE PEOPLE AT THE APPLE STORE. Apple techs are very accommodating with all things Apple. Blogs are not Apple…yet.

2. YOUR COMPUTER GUY. He is very helpful with all computer related issues, such as how your computer works, how it is connected, servers, printers, keyboards, etc . Blogs are not that.

3. FRIENDS. They have trouble signing up for my blog. My friends are very supportive if they can figure it out. They are annoyed when I beg, plead, whine, cry or ask them to tell their friends to sign up.

4. KIDS. My kids have assured me that they are not computer literate. They are not like other people’s kids who help them do all things technical. They would love to help if they could. It is so weird because they seem so technically savvy with their own stuff. My daughter calls me the “the blog bully” because I ask people to read my blog all the time.

5.WORDPRESS. They could be helpful if I knew what a widget was.

6. SIGNIFICANT OTHER OR SOMEONE YOU ARE DATING – “I don’t read blogs” –like it is some strange secret religion that only members know to use.

7.PARENTS – If you are young, your parents have no idea what this is. I’m sorry to blow this for the rest of you, but there is no internet in the afterlife. If there was, my mom would help me.

YOUR KIDS’ FRIENDS OR FRIENDS’ KIDS. “We don’t blog.” Like “We don’t eat red meat”.

YOUR NEIGHBORS “You would be great at writing a travel blog – no – I don’t know anything about how to go about doing it.”

ANYONE YOU KNOW PERSONALLY. Humans that I know personally, do not blog or know anything about it. My virtual cyber friends do.

So for those of you who do read this blog, thanks very much. I am having so much fun writing it and I have no idea how you find it.

Fly safe,

JAZ

All Roads Lead to Ephesus

Posted on January 16, 2013 by jaynezak

All Roads Lead to Ephesus

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” Heraclitus

Ephesus is considered to be one of the great outdoor museums of Turkey.

Heraclitus was born in Ephesus.

The Odeon doubled as a concert hall and a meeting place ( the Senate). It was built by a wealthy couple in 2 AD. It seats 1500 and probably had a roof since there is no drainage.

Toilets in Ephesus were side by side with no partition. Slaves sat on them first to warm them up for their masters.

The Celsius Library in Ephesus with 12,000 scrolls, was the third largest library in the ancient world, after Alexandria and Pergamon.

The first church dedicated to the Virgin Mary was in Ephesus. The Virgin Mary lived her last years in a cottage near Ephesus. Many Popes have visited her house. It is one of the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse.

Before it was a Roman city, Ephesus was an ancient Greek city of Asia Minor, near the mouth of the Menderes River, in what is today Western Turkey, south of Smyrna (now Izmir). One of the greatest of the Ionian cities, it became the leading seaport of the region. Its wealth was proverbial. The Greek city was near an old center of worship of a native nature goddess, who was equated with the Greek Artemis. In 550 B.C., a large temple was built.

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (Artemis (Diana) is very popular and has many temples) is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It covers an area as big as a soccer field but today has turned into a swamp. There is one remaining column and you can only see the ruins of the foundations of this marvelous construction of the Hellenistic Age. It was made of marble and full of sculptured columns, capitals and shafts. It was twice the size of the Parthenon in Athens. The most beautiful ruins that remain of this temple are exhibited today in the British Museum in London. You can find it in the Hall Of The Stolen Goods.

The statue of many-breasted Artemis was the symbol of the temple but also of abundance, hunting and wild life. The genuine statue of Artemis, removed during the fire, is exhibited in the Selcuk Museum in Turkey. Many copies of this statue found during the latest excavations date back from the Roman period.

The first advertisement of the antiquity, which shows the way to the brothel, is on the Marbel Street in Ephesus.

The Grand Theatre in Ephesus has seating capacity of 24,000 people.

Ephesus is the best preserved classical city of the Eastern Mediterranean, and among the best places in the world enabling one to genuinely soak in the atmosphere of Roman times.

Ephesus was once a seaport and is now located 6 miles away from the sea.

Ephesus was discovered in Selcuk, Izmir in Western Turkey.

Some scholars estimate the number of people living at Ephesus to have exceeded 250,000 inhabitants during Ephesus III. This would make it perhaps the fourth largest of its day behind:  1) Rome;  2) Alexandria; and  3) Antioch.

Got columns?

Ephesus was the world capital of the slave trade from 100 B.C. to 100 A.D.

Sign at Ephesus – Personally, I think all children need attention.

Ephesus terrace houses are located on the hill, opposite the Hadrian temple. They are also called “the houses of rich“. They tell a lot about family life during the Roman period.

There are six residential units on three terraces at the lower end of the slope of the Bulbul Mountain. The oldest building dates back to 1 BC and continued in use as a residence until 7 AD. The excavations of the terrace houses started in 1960.

Ephesus Terrace Houses are covered with protective roofing which resembles Roman houses. The mosaics on the floor and the frescos have been consolidated and two houses have been opened to the public as a museum.

They had interior courtyards (peristyle) in the center, with the ceiling open.. On the ground floor there were living and dining rooms opening to the hall, and upstairs there were bedrooms and guest rooms.

The heating system of the terrace houses were the same as that in the baths. Clay pipes beneath the floors and behind the walls carried hot air through the houses. The houses also had cold and hot water. The rooms had no windows, only illuminated with light coming from the open hall, so that most of the rooms were dim.

An ancient Roman cat is guarding the ruins.

Heraclitus is right. it is my second time in Ephesus. I was there in my early twenties. They have done a lot more excavation. i am a lot more interested in it now. I have changed also.

‘All is flux” and fly safe,

JAZ

Things I Have Left In Hotel Rooms

Posted on January 11, 2013 by jaynezak

Things I have Left in Hotel Rooms

“But at times I wondered if I had not come a long way to find what I had really sought was something I had left behind.” Thomas West

iPod Nano – Panama City, Panama (It was replaced with the largest iPod available)

Shoe – Canal Zone, Panama (I got it back on the last day)

Hairbrush – Lima Peru (yes its true, no hair brushing for me in Peru)

Toothbrush – Prague , Czech Republic ( I bought one)

Toothbrush – Vilnius, Lithuania

Razor – Riga, Latvia (got one)

Passport – St Petersburg, Russia (I had to go back)

Phone – Cappadocia, Turkey (They found it but it was the biggest holiday in Turkey and no one was working to bring it to Istanbul)

Phone charger (most recent) – Edinburgh, Scotland and many other places throughout the years ( a hotel manager once showed me a box of the phone chargers they had collected that week)

Plug of country – I leave them in the outlet in every country.

New unworn silk scarf from Thailand – Washington, DC. (An expensive one – I have all the cheap stuff)

Favorite Blue Sweater – Las Vegas, Nevada (What you leave in Vegas stays in Vegas – sorry I couldn’t help myself)

Sweatpants, two shirts ,evil eye necklaces – Istanbul, Turkey

Apparently, the most common thing left behind after phone chargers is jewelry. This is followed by money, false teeth, retainers , clothing, medicine, books, laptops, iPads and wigs. Sex toys are another popular item which no one ever calls to claim. Grand Hotel Principe Piemonte hotel near Pisa once found a dog in one of their rooms, with little explanation or requests to return it to their owners. The Gran Hotel Bahia del Duque hotel in Tenerife found a caged cockatoo in a room. The owners asked for it to be flown back to them in a private jet. Travel Lodge (the UK budget chain) found 75,000 teddy bears in their five hundred hotels in a year. In Australia, a woman checked out leaving her boyfriend handcuffed to the bed post. At the Novotel in Fiji, a couple left their baby. Neither the parents nor the baby seemed agitated or surprised when they were reunited.

What have you lost when traveling?

Fly Safe,

JAZ

Things I Have Learned In Panama

Posted on January 3, 2013 by jaynezak

.Things I’ve Learned in Panama

“I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.”
John Masefield

When entering Panama the sign reads “Welcome to Panama. We are committed to fighting drugs, crime and terrorism. I left my purse at customs, my shoe at one hotel and my ipod at another. I got the first two back so I guess this is partially true.

Panama hats come from Ecuador . They are called Panama hats because they ship from Panama. The company was owned by the Alfaro family. One of the sons financed his revolution with the sale of the hats. Al Capone loved his Panama hats as did Clark Gable , Humprey Bogart, Charlie Chan and Greta Garbo. (Panama hat on the Panama Canal)

A falling coconut can seriously ruin your day.

Buses ship from the US to Panama. Our yellow school buses are painted white with flashing lights and sirens and used by the police. You also see brightly painted buses with flashing disco lights, a bar and the seats taken out. These are “Rumba Buses”. They rent them out for parties and you see them driving around town at night with everyone dancing. I guess the seat belt rule and no open liquor in a car doesn’t apply here.

The city buses are called the “Diablo Rojos” ( Red Devils). The drivers paint them when they receive them from the states. Some are more artistic and some are more enthusiastic. The drivers are crazy, dangerous and very fast. They get paid by the amount of adult passengers they have in a day. The buses are jam packed and don’t often stop for school kids who pay less money. It is best, as a tourist, not to take public transportation or cross the street near them.

Panamanians believe that if you don’t have a job , it is because you don’t want one. You can always grow fruit and sell it from window boxes or take one of the many construction jobs around the city.

The neighbors have stopped the construction of the Trump Hotel Casino. How much will Mr Trump pay?

Iguana and crocodile tail ( the other white meat) taste like chicken.

Nature has been good to Panama. No hurricanes or earthquakes so far.

Watching Las Kardashians on Eonline Latino is just as annoying in Spanish.

Translation -Lock your car and watch your stuff.

At one point of time, the shares of the Panama Railroad were the highest priced stock on the New York Stock Exchange, at $295 per share.

The Panama Railroad was the most expensive railroad ever built, as it cost 8 million dollars and took 5 years to build. Twelve thousand people died building the railroad.

Panama is the only place in the world, where you can see the sun rise in the Pacific and set in the Atlantic.

“A man a plan a canal panama” is a palindrome.

The cargo ship Ancon was the first vessel to transit the Canal on August 15, 1914

Seven out of ten Panamanians haven’t heard of the song “Panama” by Van Halen.

Panama City is the only capital city that has a rain forest within the city limits.

You know you are in the rain forest, when you take a walk and run into him.

The El Chorillo neighborhood is a good place in Panama City to go for fish and plantains. Unfortunately, it is not a good place to get out of your car.

Laws in Panama for the rich and the poor are very easy to break.

Eighty per cent of the water in third world countries is used for agriculture. Sixty per cent of Panama’s fresh water is use for the canals. In LA, it is used for swimming pools.

Outside the Panama Canal are the largest concentration of sharks because the ships dump their waste before entering the canal.

It is a 48 hour queue to enter the Panama Canal from both the Atlantic (Carribean Sea) and the Pacific side. If you miss your turn it takes a week. It is what I will remember most about Panama, looking out at the horizon day or night and seeing these big ships lined up. (Atlantic, Pacific)

It cost 465,000 for a large cargo ship to enter the canal. Cruise ships pay by the person. There are Panama Canal tour boats as well. It sounds like a lot of money but it takes ten hours to go through the three locks on the canal and 22 days to go around South America.

When the Panama Canal was completed in 1914, it cost 352 million dollars. At the time, it was the most costly enterprise ever conceived. There is a project to enlarge the canal going on right now in the hopes to be ready in 2014 to celebrate 100 years of the canal.( going through the first lock of the Canal)

2o,ooo people died during the French attempt to build the canal in the 1870,s and five thousand more died when US built it.( cargo boat entering the canal)

The Panama Canal reverted back to Panama in 1999. If they attempt to sell it, they must give it back to the US. (Boat coming through the canal)

People who live in the Canal Zone are called Zonians. These are not Zonians. (Miraflores Lock Lookout Point, Canal Zone)

Some say bananas attract mosquitos. We don’t know if that is true. I do know that eating a banana on a boat near an island in the rainforest on Gatun Lake, will attract white faced capucine monkees. They will not only jump on the boat and take it out of your hand, they will check everyone’s hands to make sure they aren’t missing anything.

The Jesus Christ Lizard in the rainforest is called that because he “walks on water.”

It is best to shake your clothes and shoes out in the morning before you put them on so the scorpion can fall out.

You know you are in the rainforest, when you take a walk and run into this. Iguanas have the right of way in Panama. (at least they do when I am walking)

The most deadly creature in Panama is the poison dart frog No bigger than a thumbnail and found in the jungle, it can kill you on contact and possess a poison 200 times more deadly than strychnine. This is important info because it is really cute.

Mangrove trees ( which look like the forest in the wizard of Oz) are a natural barrier in the rainforest that protects against tsunamis and heavy rains. The Darien rainforest serves as a natural barrier against disease coming in from South America.

Lying on a hammock in the rainforest listening to the birds and the rain is so relaxing until the kids next door come home from the Embera Indian village with Tom Tom drums.

You know you are in the rainforest when you walk outside your hotel and see this. It is much larger than a squirrel. (Central American Agouti)

When hiking on Barro Colorado Island, you are not supposed to step on the ants. The carnivorous army ants are marching into the forest and the other insects are fleeing which makes it hard to find a place to put your feet and keep up with the three hour hike, while covered from head to toe in mosquito repellent clothing in 100 degree temperature and 100 per cent humidity. Surprisingly, I loved it. (the ants are carrying the leaves)

Be careful in restrooms in Galeta, the wasps don’t like the wind so they build their nets there and they don’t like to be disturbed. So while you checking if you can use it, look up.

Im not sure what a staple of the Panamanian diet is but perhaps it is rice. The staple of my diet in Panama was bananas. I had fried plantains at breakfast lunch and dinner and carried bananas around all day. There was no lack of potassium for me in Panama.

Under 80 degrees is cold to Panamanians.

My favorite meal in Panama was Sancocho soup which consisted of large pieces of chicken, potato, yucca and nami served with a bowl of rice. and flavored with culantro. It tastes just like cilantro but they insist it is not.

The Frank Gehry Museum of Biodiversity is finally finished. The guide on the Panama Canal called it a building from someone who has done too much partying in Panama. I guess he hadn’t been to the Walt Disney Concert Hall.(view from the Panama Canal)

There are seven native tribes in Panama. There are the one dollar take a photo tribes and the two dollar take a photo tribes. ( this was free)

You know that you are in the rainforest near the Embera tribe when you take a boat down the river and run into them.

Going to the bathroom in the Embera native village in the rainforest made me remember why I never joined the Peace Corps.

Watching the Embera children come home from school walking across the shallow end of the Chagres River holding their books over their heads is something I will try to remember when I am sitting in traffic in the rain. (the Chagres River)

The Kuna tribe in Panama are the shortest people second only to the pygmies in Africa. They are all under five feet tall and have the largest percentage of albinos in the world . Albinos are considered to be children of the moon and possess powers so they often become shamans. They are said to be born that way because the pregnant woman was naked and exposed to a full moon, They also make molas and beautiful jewelry.

Panama is small and you do a lot of backtracking. We passed Noriega in the club med of prisons in the rainforest so many times, I was thinking about dropping off cookies.

Shuffle your feet in the sand in the ocean to scare away the stingrays – apparently their slashing tales can cause serious wounds,

Watching out of shape people do water aerobics at the Playa Bonita resort is one of those universal giggles.

Finding pink shells on the beach in Playa Bonita (and of course bringing them home) feels so much more productive than finding white ones.

I had seen the Panama Canal for a few days before I went through it. I rode the Panama Canal Railroad alongside it, went to two PC museums ( the English and the Spanish one), stood on the lookout point at Miraflores Lock(one of the three locks) and watched the film . I was completely unprepared for the sense of awe I felt as the third gate opened and we entered the canal. There were people from all over the world on the boat and for that moment we all felt the same way.

Viajen con cuidado,

JAZ

The Proust Questions

Posted on December 30, 2012 by jaynezak

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”

― Marcel Proust

The Proust Questions

At the end of the nineteenth century, when Marcel Proust was still in his teens, he answered a questionnaire in an English-language album belonging to his friend Antoinette, entitled “An Album to Record Thoughts, Feelings, etc.” At that time, it was popular among English families to answer such a list of questions that revealed the tastes and aspirations of the taker.

Proust answered always with enthusiasm. The original manuscript of his answers of 1890, at the time of his volunteer internship or some little time afterwards, titled “by Marcel Proust himself,” was found in 1924. It was auctioned on May 27, 2003 for the sum of €102,000.

It seems like a good thing to do for the new year. Here are my answers. Try it and see how you do.

Your favorite virtue

my favorite virtue is integrity – whether in myself or in a place. I want it to be real and I want it to be honorable – not some overrun tourist spot.

Your favorite qualities in a man

He should be strong enough to be able to lift my suitcase and wise enough not to complain about it.

Your favorite qualities in a woman

Kindness is my favorite quality in human beings. You learn a lot about kindness as a traveler.

Your chief characteristic

My chief characteristic is honesty. What you see is what you get. (except when im going through customs – sometimes im a little over the allotted amount that you can bring in)

What you appreciate the most in your friends

Loyalty is what I appreciate most in my friends.- also that they listen to my travel stories and read my blog.

Your main fault

Fear. I am always fighting it and going on trips to places like Myanmar and Cuba.

Your favorite occupation

My favorite occupation is traveling.

Your idea of happiness

My idea of happiness is to be traveling with my family.

Your idea of misery

Twenty four hours in coach with crying babies, loud drunk adults, air sick and bored kids, plane bathrooms after 12 hours, and then waiting on the runway for a gate.

Favorite painters and composers

(Im going with Marcel Proust on these and adding some) composers Beethovem Mozart, Gershwin, Morricone, Rabin.

Painters, Davinci, Rembrandt, Titian the Impressionists, Monet Manet Van Gogh, Renoir, Seurat, Picasso, all the pop and graffiti artists, like Basquiat ( I named my dog after him), new fave Osman Hamedi Bey- just because.

If not yourself who would you be?

I would like to be my best self – the one I aspire to be, with a lot of mileage and platinum status. I have way too much anxiety to want to be anyone else. I understand my stuff. Who knows what they have?

Where would you like to live?

I would love to live in a different country every year. Every year I could spend my birthday somewhere else.

Your favorite color and flower

My favorite color is black. It says so on a picture of me that my son drew when he was six . My favorite flower is an orchid. There were so many beautiful ones in Thailand.

Your favorite prose author

Marquez, Kundera, Camus, Rand,

Your favorite poets

Frost, Neruda, Silverstein.

Favorite heroes of fiction

Don Quixote de la Mancha, Howard Roarke, Atticus Finch, Jean Valjean.

Favorite heroines of fiction

Of course.

Your heroes in real life

The CNN Heroes.

Favorite heroines in real life

My mom.

What characters in history do you dislike?

The same ones everyone else does.

Your favorite heroines of world history.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Queen Esther, Leymah Gbowee , Rosa Parks, , Anne Frank.

Your favorite food and drink

Turkish and Japanese food, margaritas with extra salt, sake.

Your favorite names

Kyly, Landon, Basquiat.

What I hate the most

Rushing to make a plane, lines for security, the superiority of the French, the inferiority of everyone else.

World history characters I hate the most

same ones you do.

The military event you admire

The Military Tattoo in Edinburgh.

The reform you most admire

Compulsory education.

For what fault do you have no tolerance for?

Betrayal

The natural talent I would like to gifted with

The right words for every occasion and perfect packing skills.

How I wish to die

In a conflict in a foreign country.

What is your present state of mind?

A work in progress.

Your favorite motto

“Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting an uphill battle.”

“I haven’t been everywhere but its on my list.”.

Happy New Year and Fly Safe,

JAZ