Is it time?

Or time to say thanks? It is time to say thanks to my motivated partner to agree to travel to wonderful Turkey ...a place never to be forgotten. A well organised trip even and very safe then even if we did travel to Ankara where all sorts of incursions are now known to be happening. But it did allow me to take a few prize-winning pictures...even if they were taken in low light and from a moving bus.
But I can feel a yearning to repeat my steps! If only it were possible.

Writing, satire, Jewish humour and tango dancing...perhaps in that order.

These activities were a great part of Bel Kaufman's 103 years of life. Would you believe she enjoyed dancing the Tango at 100 years of life? What will you be doing when you reach your 100th birthday? Besides, that is, having your telegram from the Queen of England read to you? Yes perhaps some of us won't even reach the triple number. My genes tell me I probably won't. But that doesn't stop me from reading the death notices in the West Australian each day. So far I'm doing very well compared to many others I have known.
The writing of the late Bel Kaufman is there for everyone's benefit. For instance one of her favourite jokes:
A Frenchman, a German and a Jew walk into a bar. The Frenchman says 'I'm tired, I'm thirsty, I must have wine.' The German says 'I'm tired, I'm thirsty, I must have beer.' The Jew says, 'I'm tired, I'm thirsty, I must have diabetes.'
So laughter is the best medicine. Bel Kaufman taught a course on Jewish humour besides writing the now famous book, Up the Down Staircase which published in 1965 stayed on the best seller lists for 15 months including 5 months at no.1. The book was also made into a movie.
The cynic I can hear in the background...Yeah but they didn't have the internet then!!
No they didn't but Bel Kaufman lived most of her years in Manhattan though having been born in Berlin in 1911.
Back to the tennis in New York and the brave Australians.

Dale Neill's new tour to Budapest, Croatia and Dalmatian Coast 2015

Image: Andrea Boldizsar


Budapest-Croatia-Dalmatian Coast 2015

Photography and Cultural Tour

Information Evening: Wed 27 Aug 2014 6.30pm



ENQUIRIES 

'Talking Turkey' launched Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day seems just right to launch 'Talking Turkey - a Pilgrimage of Words and Pictures'.

We all fell in love with Turkey - the history, the country and the Turkish men and women. Many of us continue to feel passionate about our  photography or writing.

Finally, it was ca labour of love collecting all the images and the stories and arranging them into some sort of romantically illogical order!

You can order a copy of 'Talking Turkey' for just AU$25.00 or AU$29.50 posted.

'Talking Turkey' will be officially launched on Valentine's Day 14 Feb 2014 at the University of Western Australia. If you order and pay for your copy before 14 Feb you will receive an invite to the Champagne Launch at UWA. You'll also get to meet some of teh photographers and writers as well as author John Harman and master photographer, Dale Neill.

To order your copy or to enquire contact Margaret margaret.n@ozemail.com.au or telephone 09 9430 6422.

On a Bus bound for Istanbul

So Brenda looks at her little Lumix TZ camera and says 
'What does this button do Dale?'
'It gives you the 1950s washed out black and white look' (very hip, Mick Jagger stuff, bit like wrinkle vanishing cream in pixels)
On a big comfy bus I get to sit alongside everyone every day on tour for a bit of over-the-shoulder help.
'A journey is best measured in friends rather than miles' (Tim Cahill)
Damm amazing that Lumix TZ!!!









Of course, not everyone wants tuition! Its a sleeping bus as well.
Wendy, pictured right, a million miles away - possibly dreaming of her visit to a Turkish Bath. 

Just in Case

The jagged. serrated mountain tops swam in the clouds. Our bus wound around the numerous hairpin bends on the ten percent grade.  Although a good traveller, I had to force myself to look out of the window to offset the beginning waves of nausea.

The eery, gothic Benedictine monastery in the mountain peaks is home to a highly profitable commercial operation with restaurants, shops, funicular railways and audio-visuals. The sheer grandeur of the massive stone buildings and the opulence of the fittings reflects both the power and wealth of the Catholic Church.

Isolated and remote, Montserrat today houses eighty monks and fifty-five boys. The boys recieve a prestigious education and are trained to sing in Montserrat's famous choir. Our guide tells us that wealthy parents compete for entry into Montserrat. The educational standards are so prestigious that graduates can virtually walk into the high paid position of their choosing.

Through the doors of the main cathedral thirty of more fragile, twisted bodies in wheelchairs were guided into the courtyard. Many looked as though they would not last another week before leaving this earth. Their eyes told me Montserrat was their last chance, or at least their last voyage - seeking the indulgence of Montserrat's all powerful Black Madonna. To physically touch the Black Madonna would create an indulgence and  forgiveness for a  lifetime of wrongs. Perhaps I should have climbed the altar and touched her.

In the courtyard young men and women took turns to stand on a parquetry cross, gaze heavenwards  and spiral with eyes lifted towards heaven. Reminiscent of the sufi dancers in Turkey and Egypt, these young people were also attempting to get closer to God.

Through the distant cloud I caught a glimpse of a much smaller, less prestigious but still substantial building. This was the convent for the nuns. Our guide informed us that the convent was approximately two kilometres away, across deep ravines and hazardous breakaways. Our guide explained the location was strategic. She smiled 'Just in case' she said.

Pictures in my mind dissolved to the Benedictine Monastery at New Norcia in my home state of Western Australia. New Norcia is the only monastic town in Australia. It was also the home to St Ildephonsus Marist Brothers College and St Gertrude's staffed by Josephite Sisters. Both schools have now closed however I was fortunate to be privy to stories from the 1950s and 60s because I knew many of the students personally.

Ghost stories abound, with headless men seen cavorting with chains and crucifixes in the cemetery under a waxing moon. In 1961 there was the infamous school ball where the Head Monk ordered that boys and girls be kept on separate sides of the dance hall 'just in case'. At St Gertrude's the food was so sparse one girl stole altar breads and wine, topping up the bottle with water. She only avoided expulsion because her brother was a Marist Brother and her mother a wealthy widow.

Boys were required to shower in their underpants to reduce 'distractions'. And then, of course, the strategic placement of the haunted cemetery between St Ildephonsus and St Gertrude's 'just in case'

In 1962 I started at Graylands Teachers' College. At the first College Stomp at neighbouring Claremont Teachers College I noticed three quivering lambs, huddled anxiously in one dark corner. The trembling trio were girls from St Gertrude's. Six months later, two of the three lambs were pregnant. Even Claremont Teachers' College's 'castle ghost' couldn't prevent that. On reflection, perhaps the Josephite sisters should not have torn out the back thirty-six pages on Reproduction from the girls' Physiology and Hygeine textbook 'just in case'.

oOo

Dale Neill's next Wildheart tour is to Budapest, Croatia and the Dalmatian Coast in September 2014. Email Sandy Chaney  for itinerary.

Turkish Delight

Tea in Istanbul

Think of Turkey, think of coffee!

However, Turkish Tea is just as common as coffee and in some ways more a means of communication.

Wherever you go, people drink tea and will invite you to join them for tea and a chat.

Tea is cheap - often as little as 40c or 50c for a cup. Try finding that in Australia.

People of all ages drink tea - young, old, in between; as individuals, lovers, family groups.

Often, Turkish Tea is served with range of very sweet, delicious cakes including baclava, cezerye and pekmez.

So, if you want to get to know Turkish people and learn the language simply visit one of the thousands of outlets that serve tea on your own or with just one other person and very soon you will strike up a conversation.

Elixir for photographers, writers and travellers

Anzac Day is rapidly becoming more significant than Australia Day in Australian culture. Australia Day fireworks sparkle a little less but the crowds at Anzac dawn services increase each year. Flying the Aussie flag is more common and the Anzac football matches are just marginally less important than the AFL Grand Final.

Surely, the ultimate homage is to visit Anzac Cove in Turkey where the narrative was born. The Australian and Turkish Governments are already very concerned that they will be unable to handle the crowds.

When our group of photographers and writers visited Anzac Cove on a dreamy, overcast day in 2011 we were virtually the only living humans on the beach. I wandered alone reflecting on what had transpired 97 years beforehand.

Attaturk led Turkey to a bloody victory over teh Australian and allied troops. One of the greatest military leaders in modern times, Attaturk told his troops,

'I don't expect you to fight for your country. I expect you to die for your country'.

In post wart Turkey Attaturk created a template which was to guide Turkey to be  a role model as a modern, secular Islamic state. He praised his foes and he honoured women

“Everything we see in the world is the creative work of women.” 

Turkey is an elixir for writers, photographers and travellers. Our 'Turkish Delight' Tour starts on September 29 2013.

To view the 2013 itinerary.

If you would like more information about Turkish Delight or to book for the information evening on Wed 30 January please contact Helen on 08 9386 5385 or email Turkish Delight 2013.

Getting high in Turkey

I was hooked as soon as I did my first balloon ride a decade ago. The feeling of weightlessness, experiencing the sun rise with no encumbrances from 500 feet. I felt at one with the clouds, the air, the amber hues and the isolation. It was pure exhilaration.

There's a huge bonus for photographers. There is an eagle-eye view of the drifting landscape. For the fine art photographer you can watch the play of light as the first streaks of light illuminate landforms with long streaks of warm colour.

A good balloon captain will rotate the balloon 360 degrees every five or ten minutes meaning you get to view every compass point. The experienced balloon photographer knows there are strategic advantages  in selecting a corner position, allowing a 270 degree angle of view. A side position allows you less than 180 degrees.

Prime lenses result in the sharpest images. A prime lens of about 50mm is close to perfect. Using aperture priority set to about f4 or f5.6 is about right. Remember, there is no depth of field to speak of because the land is all at the same distance.

If you are given a choice between the pre-dawn flight and post-dawn flight always opt for the pre-dawn flight. Capturing the sun breaking the horizon is a mystical experience. Modern digital cameras allow you to shoot using ISOs of 800, 1600 and 3200 with virtually no noise. Leave the late flights for the sleepy heads!

Our Turkish Delight Tour in 2013. led by author John harman and myself will see us spending three days in Cappadocia, exploring the valleys of cascading cliffs and photographing the Byzantine tunnels at Kaymakli and the underground cities at Derinkuyu.

If you would like more information about Turkish Delight or to book for the information evening on Wed 30 January please contact Helen on 08 9386 5385 or email Turkish Delight 2013.

Turkish Delight 2013

How's your pulse rate?

Maybe you're glued to your internet screen waiting to see if a second person will 'like' your photo (you liked it first!). Or maybe you're at work and the email trail and endless trivia have left you with a semi-permanent, pitiful pulse rate of 72 BPM.

Dream Aphrodias the Goddess of Love or  maybe Tengri, the God of the Skies!

Turkish Delight -  29 Sept - 15 Oct 2013

Ever thought about traveling through an exotic middle eastern country with two rollicking old pro's? Ghost writer-historian John Harman and  pro lensman Dale Neill have more wrinkles than an African elephant and more stories than the Empire State. Travelling with John and Dale will add more spice and fewer wrinkles to your life!

Together, they will make your heart beat faster.

Whether its wafting incense and cobblestones in Istanbul's Grand,  exotic belly dancers at  Galata Tower, or the spontaneous invite for Turkish apple tea with a new friend you'll have something to write home about ... and someone to photograph.

With John's guidance and coaching you'll be creatively inspired to put pen to paper. You will surprise everyone about what and how you write, not least of all, yourself!. On the photographic front not only will you get sharper, better-exposed shots but you'll learn about adding the 'wow' factor for your book editor.

After Turkish Delight 2013 you will be a published author! eText Press has offered to produce a coffee table book incorporating the best of everyone's images and words. 

As of right now 13 of the 23 places on Turkish Delight 2013 have been filled. Just 10 remain.

Wed Dec 5 is our last Information evening for 2012

Email TurkishDelight@wildheart.com.au  to register your interest

Fri Dec 8 is the cut-off date for the Earlybird Price

Bookings through Julie Watson Travelworld CME Dalkeith Lic 9TA 1263. Tel 08 9386 4477. 

Download itinerary: www.wildheart.com.au

Friendships made in Turkey

Today is our reunion and it is appropriate to write a few words. Of course we not only visited Coppadoccia to fly in the balloons but had an extensive road trip to most ancient places and points of interest. No doubt there are many photos in albums everywhere to remind us. I've included just a few...more in my blogspot...http://conniemacwords and pictures.blogspot.com.au... The .com.au is something some people found necessary to put in...I never do but... As you can see this area is one of romance and to me is almost a fairytale experience. Of course if one thinks of the poor people who had to make these caves and hillsides a home in order to escape religious prosecution then the idea of romance is immediately deleted.
 But it is all up to the individual. A personal recommendation is...try it but with an expert photographer accredited and full of good ideas as well as a travel writer who may open a new vista in writing for you. Thanks Dale and John.xxxooo 23/09/12 

Dream Time in Turkey

 Who wouldn't want to be a part of this wonderful country when a decoration such as this sits on the wall above the double bed of the room we occupied in one of our tourist hotels. Someone in this country not only has exquisite artistic skills but a great sense of humor. And if one can take one's eyes off the lower half of the painting one can spy the original wedding celebration framed above the classic Turkish membership.
This brings me to the fact that an equally enchanting couple from our 2011 tour, Anne and Steven, are about to tie the knot next weekend (23/09/12). I am surprised that she is slowing down long enough to say 'I Do!!!' But we wish them both the very best and will raise a glass to their happiness at our reunion on the 23rd. "To Absent friends!" I have it on good authority that they are looking towards America and the Caribbean for their honeymoon.
PPS. I knew I would find an appropriate occasion for this photograph! Cheers, Connie, http://conniemacwordsandpictures.blogspot.com.au

Turkey 2013 - Writing and Photography Tour

Turkish Delight
17 day Travel Writing and Travel Photography Tour through Turkey
with author and travel writer John Harman 
and master photographer Dale Neill

27 Sept - 13 Oct  2013

Twin share $6495   Single Supp +$650   Early Bird $6295* +SS        Group size: max 18
Following the successful 2011 Turkish Delight Tour, John Harman and Dale Neill are set to return to Turkey in September 2013.

The combination of words and images are often a powerful and irresistable mix. So often its a case of one plus one equals three.
The words add emotional texture to the image, or the photograph acts as a catalyst with the words.
In Turkey, not only will you be travelling through one of the most historically significant countries in the world but you will have  the benefit of John Harman and Dale Neill virtually as personal writing and photography mentors as we travel along the silk road.
As experienced lecturers and tour leaders. John and Dale have meticulously planned and personalised the itinerary to optimise time for writing and photography.

Free Information evenings Tuesday 13 Nov 2012
Wednesday 13 March 2013

For further information and a full itinerary please contact : h.newnham@optusnet.com.au 
*Early Bird discount of $200 applies if booking made and deposit paid by 8 Dec 2012.
Bookings: Julie Watson, Travelworld CME Lic. No: 9TA 1263, 122A Dalkeith Road, Nedlands WA 6009.
Tel: 08 9386 4477  email: cme@travelworld.com.au

Gallipoli

So many Australian visit Gallipoli on 25 April each year. Its the official day of remembrance and recognition. There's speeches, the laying of wreaths and The Last Post.

We had no such fanfare.

There was a leaden sky; a cool wind carried voices. The beaches were deserted; so was Anzac Cove. Lone Pine was truly alone. I wanted to be on my own, with my own personal thoughts and connections.

There’s a lonely stretch of hillocks:
There’s a beach asleep and drear:
There’s a battered broken fort beside the sea.
There are sunken trampled graves:
And a little rotting pier:
And winding paths that wind unceasingly.
There’s a torn and silent valley:
There’s a tiny rivulet
With some blood upon the stones beside its mouth.
There are lines of buried bones:
There’s an unpaid waiting debt :
There’s a sound of gentle sobbing in the South.

Leon Gellert 1892-1977

Hieropolous

           
               This jug was in the excellent small museum at Hieropolous, entry 3 lire.

Balloon Etiquette

'You may be small, but your always in the way', Connie said.

Now a tour leader with a thinner skin than mine might have taken offence and stepped on Connie's 200mm lens or if I was really offended leapt overboard with my parachute (except they didn't supply one.)

For those of you unfamiliar with balloon flight etiquette here are a few tips:

(Bear in mind there is VERY little room on board)

1. Restrict fluid intake before flight
2. Empty bladder before flight (or bring suitable receptacle)
3. Freshen breath - everyone is VERY close
4. Choose a section with attractive people
5. When you practice landing position refrain from saying 'Oh Boy this feels good!'
6. Board your balloon in as dignified a manner as age permits
7. Disembark your balloon same way but wear tight fitting clothing
8. Refrain from toasting marshmallows on gas flame
9. Avoid dropping anything on basket floor as finding it may lead to unavoidable anatomical discoveries.
10. Avoid saying 'You are only small but always in the way'
11. Try 'Can I use your head as a tripod its just the right height and shape' instead.

Mountain Hunger

In the bus I realise I have been suffering from mountain hunger for a long time. Our tour around Turkey reveals a constant, changing panoply of wild harsh craggy mountains, gently sloping hills and steep falling cliffs. Even on the flat, we know we are high up.

In 1970 at the age of eighteen, I migrated with my parents and two brothers from the north-eastern part of North America to Perth Western Australia. My father had been based in Australia during WWII, heading out in submarines as a torpedo gunner to battles in the Coral Sea. My parents married three weeks before Pearl Harbour. From the moment my father returned home in 1946, he tried to persuade my mother to move to Australia.

Connecticut has its mountains. They are not high, but they are all around. Coming to Perth was like landing on the moon, a flat, flat plain. Drive in any direction, a pancake. But I grew accustomed to this and many other differences which were buried under the benevolent weight of friendship, study, and work.

Sublimated were the mountains until two days ago when our group went for a balloon flight over the incredible terrain of Cappadocia. Mountains dropped away beneath us, real, tough, unforgiving, dark, high, brooding, Biblical mountains; weird formations shaped by tuff (pronounced too-fah), volcanic ash which has settled in deep furrows over the ground, and mixed with rain to form a soft stone. We float, rarely flaring the gas fire once we are up. A dazzle of balloons fill the sky and seems to touch the mountain tops.

From high above I see how everything relates. I am in the semi with the wide view, not a squat VW. The re-cognition of mountains jars something in my psyche, provides a sudden abundance of meat and drink for my hungry soul. I am completely seduced, once again in a place were I can climb a mountain. Perhaps it is time for a change.

Shutterbugs

Magic land at Cappodocia

Soft air, soft light, early morning, floating, rising to greet the day.

Soft pastel pinks, yellows, mauves and greens, unfurling folds of ancient rock at peace against the rising sunlight.

A new day began with excited anticipation driving through the still dark streets of Goreme to pick up four extra passengers. Reunited we shared hot coffee and pastries with other travel groups all talking loudly.

It was still dark as we drove out to the take off point.  The balloon was still being inflated.  All around other balloons were starting to ascend with the dawn light.

It was our turn and once on board lift off was more subtle that going up in an elevator.

The only sound to indicate human intervention in our flight was the rush and hiss of the gas flame.

We floated above and through a magic fairyland.  This ancient land was formed by mighty volcanoes spewing and blanketing ash 30 million years ago.  Continuing erosion over time by water and changes in temperature has shaped the landscape we see on this day from our balloon.

Rock formations appear to rise from the ground like cones. However the opposite is true: the land has been weathered from above.  The process is harsh and yet the result seems to be soft, unfolding, yielding, casting shadows.

Our pilot lowers the balloon.  We can see the ground crew ready to catch the ropes. Then oh so smoothly our basket is landed onto the back of a tray top truck.  Only then are we able to climb out. 

 In the basket my feet and body felt light and free.

On the ground following our celebratory drinks I wandered  a little way from my group.  The pilot had landed in a tiny field between grapevines.  In this field I felt so alive to the stillness and the beauty of this landscape.  I could have stayed longer.

Troy

I stood on the walls of Troy, alone for a moment with no other tourists, not even the sound of tourists, only the rustle of the soft wind over the stones. Beyond the walls and fallen columns lay the plain; fields and vineyards, green and gold in the September light. The sea has long since receded from the walls and the beach is distant, but it doesn’t take much imagination to hear the clash of bronze on bronze; the cries of men in battle; see the tall towers, their battlements glittering with spears. Then, suddenly, a group of French tourists appeared and my moment was gone; a small respite from the chatter of people and the clicking of a billion shutters.

It’s good to be here, but it’s people like me who make it hard for people like me to get a sense of history.