tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54692721904148661Thu, 24 Oct 2024 12:07:20 +0000Overland from the UK to Iran, and beyond.http://travellingscientist.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (James)Blogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54692721904148661.post-8484480636787688102Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:44:00 +00002009-08-06T20:35:47.977+01:00Back in the UKWell, I'm back in the UK at the moment. First I was in Ankara for half a week, visiting a friend and a professor at the university there. Actually, I contacted this professor 3 years ago, towards the beginning of my PhD, asking for a paper of his, and I never expected I would have the nice opportunity to visit him one day.I also managed to have my one and only ill day of the trip, http://travellingscientist.blogspot.com/2009/08/end-of-stage-but-not-journey.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54692721904148661.post-350831787958596209Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:14:00 +00002009-07-18T16:56:00.757+01:00In the 2 weeks I have seen many things. The battlefields of Gallipoli, with ferocious fighting that left bullets fused with each other in mid-flight, and hundreds of thousands of people dying in trenches separated only by the width of a road. I've visited the great ruins of Ephesus, with the magnificent buildings carefully restored. Nearby is the church of the Virgin Mary, and I made a short hikehttp://travellingscientist.blogspot.com/2009/07/central-and-northern-turkey.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54692721904148661.post-1230442232457470355Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:54:00 +00002009-07-04T05:53:54.387+01:00The train to TurkeyThe train to Istanbul was new and comfortable, although the only way to get any food was to ask the Turkish conductor for a sandwich, whereby he'd go into an unused cabin, warm a piece of bread up on a stove, cut it open and put one slice of cheese in, and ask for 2 euro. My cabin-mate for the journey was a Turk; an editor of a political magazine; and between the cheese http://travellingscientist.blogspot.com/2009/07/istanbul.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54692721904148661.post-6112405617118491336Sun, 28 Jun 2009 05:10:00 +00002009-06-28T16:37:14.279+01:00The five days were originally intended to be six, but the train to Istanbul was fully booked for 3 nights in a row, so I decided to push on one day early, rather than wait 3 days - as nice as Athens is. And I do like Athens. It's certainly European, but has something of the chaos often associated with Asian cities; it's the beginning of a transition.I had 3 full days based in Athens. The first, http://travellingscientist.blogspot.com/2009/06/five-days-in-greece.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54692721904148661.post-233669803619548335Mon, 22 Jun 2009 05:44:00 +00002009-06-22T07:58:32.713+01:00The journeyIt is said that every journey begins with but a step. In my case, my journey began with a taxi to Nottingham train station. My route down to London was somewhat indirect, featuring a night at my university where I picked up and submitted my bound thesis, but the next day my journey could really begin.The first stage of the journey was non-stop from London to Brindisi in southern Italy;http://travellingscientist.blogspot.com/2009/06/london-to-athens-by-train-and-ferry.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54692721904148661.post-1459007282268044815Sun, 14 Jun 2009 08:22:00 +00002009-06-14T15:26:08.513+01:00The preparations are almost over, and the initial trains have been booked. My bag has been packed; taking essentials, but mindful to travel as lightly as possible. My plan has been prepared as far as Greece, and I'm ready to leave on Wednesday.Travelling lightTravelling light is important. If I'm lighter, then I'm more mobile, and I'm safer too. I can run for a train, or remove myself from a bad http://travellingscientist.blogspot.com/2009/06/preparations.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (James)0