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The Narin Hotel as seen from my camera. The hotel declares itself as 4-Star. The symbol of 4-Star is even printed on its front door. However, even before the trip we had been briefed back in KK that the grading system of hotels in Turkey is one grade lower than Malaysia. Meaning if it says 4-Star, you can expect it to be equivalent to 3-Star in Malaysia. Even then, most 4-Star and below hotels in Turkey do not have coffee/tea making facilities in their rooms, unlike Malaysia. It's not that we want free coffee/tea that badly, but Malaysians in general and Sabahans in particular, need the boiled water in the rooms for for their Maggie Mee or quick noddles. Amen?
The Narin Hotel at Antakya (Antioch on the Orentes in Biblical Times) in Hatay Province where we spent our first night in Turkey. This photo is taken from the hotel's web site when it was still new.Our First Night in Turkey.
After lunch at Tarsus, we drove to Antakya (Antioch on the Orentes in Biblical times) on the south eastern part of Turkey bordering Syria. It was a long drive and we had to have a brief stopover on the way at Alexandretta along the coast. Alexandretta was named after Alexander the Great after he conquered the important port city.
We stopped at a petrol station for our 10-minute break. One thing I notice, by the time we are about to go home, is that most if not all petrol stations, especially those along the highways, have convenience store and even cafe incorporated into them. This is so that apart from using the toilets, passers-by especially tourists can gave a cup of Turkish coffee or tea while the ladies, as usual, do their 'shopping' at the 'market' (souvenir shop) next door.
After lunch at Tarsus, we drove to Antakya (Antioch on the Orentes in Biblical times) on the south eastern part of Turkey bordering Syria. It was a long drive and we had to have a brief stopover on the way at Alexandretta along the coast. Alexandretta was named after Alexander the Great after he conquered the important port city.
We stopped at a petrol station for our 10-minute break. One thing I notice, by the time we are about to go home, is that most if not all petrol stations, especially those along the highways, have convenience store and even cafe incorporated into them. This is so that apart from using the toilets, passers-by especially tourists can gave a cup of Turkish coffee or tea while the ladies, as usual, do their 'shopping' at the 'market' (souvenir shop) next door.
4 comments:
My mum is one of the pilgrims in your group, Mary Georginah Koroh. Just want to say that your blog has been very useful especially to the families of the pilgrims. Thank you for constantly updating your blog. I hope that everyone there is in good health and pray that you all will reach home safely. What time will your flight reach kk from singapore on friday? Thank you again & God Bless.
I would like share with your readers the following:
Paul the persecutor is transformed
The apostle Paul is another remarkable example. As a devout Jewish rabbi and strict Pharisee, he was resolutely convinced that Jesus' resurrection had not taken place. Paul persecuted members of the early Church for believing in such nonsense. He staked his whole mission in life on his conviction that the resurrection was a fabrication and the movement was a threat to every tradition he held sacred.
This new movement, he was convinced, deserved to be stamped out by any means, including imprisonment and execution (Acts 22:4)—and this would be his personal crusade. Then something happened. Jesus Christ appeared to Paul and spoke to him.
Paul was not a man given to the vivid imaginations of superstitious people. He was a levelheaded intellectual. Yet he later was prepared to defend his zeal for Christ before hostile mobs as well as governors, kings and other rulers. In the end Paul was prepared to die for what he knew was true: Jesus was indeed the Messiah and was alive and well at the right hand of God.
Thanks, Una. Yes, your mum certainly wasted no time. Even while we were still at the Singapore airport on May 29th, she already asked for blog address when she noticed me blogging from there. I'm just doing a service to my fellow pilgrims and my readers; thereby making my pilgrimage more meaningful. I noticed that I'm the only one who bothered to bring along a computer. Anyway, it's a Netbook which is compact size and lightweight.
We're now in Istanbul. It's now 7.30pm Turkey time on Wednesday. We're flying to Singapore tomorrow evening, reaching there only on Friday afternoon (due to the difference in time). Leaving Singapore at 8.50pm by Air Asia. Should reach KK Airport Terminal 2 (Tg Aru) by 11pm if there's no flight delay. Please pray for us. The news of a Air France aircraft crash from Brazil on our first day in Turkey was certainly not a welcome news for us.
Since you did not give me your e-mail address I've to reply to you openly like this. I'll try to blog from Singapore airport on Friday afternoon/evening since we'll have a few hours there.
Amen! Later you can turn you blog into a book and sell it like Tun Dr M did :-)
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