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Welcome to August - the middle of the lazy days of summer. Hope you’re all enjoying the weather, keeping cool and having fun.
On the Road Again...
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We’ll be in Scotland for our special Scottish journey later this month before heading off on our Celtic Corners adventure but we can still be reached by email. If you want to call, we’ll be here until August 10, but Heather, our daughter will, as usual, be on the spot to answer phone queries. Oh, the picture? Eilean Donan Castle.
A "Sinister" Holiday...
Don’t forget to celebrate Left Hander’s Day on August 13. While one in ten of us are southpaws, we’re a pretty brilliant lot. Just have a look at famous lefties including Leonardo De Vinci, Albert Einstein, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Aristotle, Michelangelo, Mark Twaln, Hans Christian Anderson, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Bethoven, Joan of Arc, Napoleon, Julius Caesar and countless others including the 'sinister' (meaning left in Latin) Jack the Ripper.
Cheers to all of us who have to fight the vagaries of a right handed world!
Ephesus and Amazons...
As you know, we're off on our Turkish Delight in October including Istanbul, Cappadocia and Ephesus. Last month we gave you a bit of a look at the underground world of Cappadocia and this time around, we'll take a peek at the fascinating Ephesus.
Many of us are familiar with St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians and the other biblican references to the ancient City of Ephesus in Turkey, but we’re not too familiar with the fact that this was the second city of the Roman Empire.
 
One of the streets of the ancient city along with footprint which was a marketing plan of many footprints leading to the brothel
This was a city of 500,000 people, second only to Rome and being right on the sea at the time, it became one of the major centres of the known world. It had a famous library that held 12,000 scrolls as well as a 40,000 seat capacity theatre.
 
It was during the time of the Romans that the Christians first came to call. Trying to escape the heavy Roman prosecution in Rome, many headed for places like Cappadocia and Ephesus including Paul who lived and taught in the city for years.
It is believed that he wrote 1st Corinthians while living in Ephesus between 53 and 57 A.D. His letter to the Ephesians was writen while he was a prisoner in Rome.
Another pair of famous residents were the disciple John and Jesus' mother, Mary. Christ told John to take care of his mother and belief has it that he brought her to Ephesus and built her a home which today is a pilgrimage site for Christians and Muslims. The disciple wrote the Gospel According to John while in Ephesus and his tomb is also here.
 
Mary's Home (left) and John's Tomb
By the 15th century this city of so much history was completely abandoned and today is one of the greatest outdoor museums of the world.
This will be one of our most relaxed journeys we have ever undertaken with exquisite small hotels including a five star cave hotel in Cappadocia and our hotel right on the Aegean in the Ephesus area.
Check out the website or call us for more details.
Enjoy August.
Cheers,
Andy & Bev
Welcome to our July Newsletter. A big month for some big countries. Canada Day - July 1; Independence Day in the U.S. - July 4; Bastille Day in France - July 14. July 1 is also a special day for Scots. It’s on this date just 11 years ago in 1999 that the official reopening of the Scottish Parliament took place after a recess of close to 300 years.
A good month - for events and weather. Enjoy!
The Hole In The Wall Gang (or - how to live in a cave and like it)
Cappadocia is a landscape that could easily become the setting for a scary, adult fairy tale. Strange conical white, conical stone towers rising from the ground, many with stone caps sitting on top. All massed together in a bleak, hostile setting.
 
The wonderful weirdness of Cappadocia
As you pass, you suddenly become aware that you are being watched. From out of these stone towers and chimneys, people begin to emerge from all sides and the awareness strikes that all is not what it seems.
Despite the harsh landscape and environment, this is one of the richest historical corners in the world. For many strange and diverse reasons, people have lived in this troglodyte world since they discovered this volcanic left over that has been shaped by winds and erosion for millions of years.
Assyrians, Hittites, Seljuk and Ottoman Turks and Christians have called Cappadocia home. In fact, St. Paul help settle early Christians here while escaping Roman persecution. In fact, there are countless large churches and abbeys complete with stunning wall paintings and frescoes under the ground and within these bizarre rock formations.
Remember that St. Paul was born as Saul in nearby Tarsus on the south coast of Turkey. He was very familiar with Cappadocia and its strange, intricate underground world and he knew it would provide shelter for the early Christians. Much of his time was spent in this area. St. Luke was another who was a frequent visitor to this corner of Christianity.
Make no mistake, however; this was not - and is not - the inhospitable, harsh, dry landscape that appears from surface. Scattered through the area are many little communities and towns that thrive within the caves and the rocks.
 
Homes & interior of Church in Goreme, Cappadocia
Archaeologists and historians have discovered a labyrinth of caves and communities interlaced and connected by tunnels and passageways. Ventilation shafts abound along with chimneys, churches, meeting rooms, wine production facilities and of course, homes. There was also a detailed system of large stones which could be rolled into place across the passageways blocking any attempt by any invaders to move along the maze like paths.
While there are still communities who live in the caves, many areas now cater to the tourist. Hotels are built into the soft rock providing excellent accommodation with all the modern facilities including jacuzzis, wireless internet and some pretty special rooms. They range from B&Bs up to five stars such as the one we’ll be staying in for three nights while discovering this strange and exotic world.
  
Our Hotel in Cappadocia
You can join us on A Turkish Delight which takes in Istanbul, Cappadocia and Ephesus on the Aegean from October 20 to 31. Just check out the website or give us a call at 1 800 773 7093. (20 guests maximum).
Counting Castles in Wales
If you’re a Celt, have Celtic blood, or care about the Celts, then you’ll agree that Edward I of England was a nasty piece of work!
Talke Wales for example. This tiny nation that is about the size of Massachusetts, has hundreds of castles dotting the landscape. And all but a very few were built by the express command of said Edward in his attempt to subjugate the Welch people.
All English built; including the might Caernarfon castle and the impressive Conwy (there is no ‘a’ in Conwy) and Harlech - remember that great Welch marching song “Men of Harlech”? All built to try and conquer a people whose population at that time of the mid 13th century was about 300,000.
 
Conwy and Caernarfon Castles
Massive and brilliant examples of medieval castle building the ring of fortresses in Wales bring in tens of thousands of tourists each year but in the mid 13th century they brought in small bands of welch insurgents trying to reclaim their lands from the English thrones desire to dominate all within their grasp.
We all know the Prince of Wales but we all may not know how that title came to be part of the British crown. Again, it was Edward I. After he conquered Wales (or so he thought), he attempted damage control by telling the people that the next Prince of Wales, who was, of course, Welch, would be born in Wales and would not speak a word of English. The Welch were delighted.
Edward then brought his heavily pregnant wife to Caernarfon where she gave birth to a son, later to be Edward II. Of course the child did not speak a word of English. Welch born and non English. The Welch were no longer delighted.
 Snowdonia in North Wales
Good old Edward was also known as The Hammer of The Scots. He tried to destroy the Scots soon after his so-called conquest of Wales. While heading north on one of his invasions, he died. Even then he wanted conquest. He had demanded in his will that ‘the flesh be removed from his body’ and that his bones be carried at the head of his army into Scotland.
Edward was not filled with milk of human kindness when it came to his dealings with the Celts.
When we visit Wales as part of our Celtic Corners journey (August 31-September 11), we’ll be staying for three nights in the shadow of Conwy castle which, of course, we’ll visit as well as Caernarfon Castle.
Interestingly enough, all the Welch castles now fly the Red Dragon of Wales flag above their ramparts. The cross of St. George is nowhere to be found.
Facebook Fun
Check out some of our tour photo albums on our Fraser Connection Tours Facebook site.
That’s it for this month. Enjoy summer then join us.
Cheers,
Andy & Bev
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