Globalwanderings is the personal photoblog of Richard Cain showcasing some of the amazing places I've lived and visited while working for the British Council. Since September 2007 me and my partner Jackie have been living in Jordan. Jackie is an author for Macmillan Publishers and also runs our podcasting site podcastsinenglish.com.

• Istanbul, Turkey (updated 8 June 2009)

  

  Turkey is rather a misnomer I'm afraid as it is only Istanbul and a trip up the Bosphorus. We had been on holiday to Portugal and having flown Turkish Airlines via Istanbul, we thought it only right that we spend a few days in this beguiling city. It's a place I've always wanted to go as I am fascinated by Islamic architecture and love wandering around local markets and Istanbul has both in spades. Combined with its magnificent situation straddling Asia and Europe how could anyone not be impressed? As expected we had a wonderful time. Having said that we knew it would be touristy but even so, I don't think I'd ever seen so many tourists in one place. No doubt because of that, the locals (including the government) were extremely accomplished in engineering methods to relieve those tourists of as much money as possible by fair means or foul. Even without the rip offs it was actually more expensive than we imagined with prices very similar to Western Europe.

   

• Porto, Portugal (updated 29 May 2009)

  

  We only spent a few days in Porto but it was enough to enjoy this beautiful city. Not as chic or as gentrified as Lisbon, Porto had a real old world charm. The down at heel suburbs by the river had an almost Dickensian feel to them. One of the highlights of the holiday was to sit on the waterfront sipping a cold white port enjoying the warm early evening sunshine.

   

• Central Portugal (updated 5 June 2009)

  

  We hired a car in Lisbon and then took off for Central Portugal. We had booked a holiday cottage in the village of Alvorge deep in untouristed central Portugal. Nearby is the pretty village of Penela.

   

• Lisbon, Portugal (updated 24 May 2009)

  

  We went to Portugal for three weeks in May 09. Our hols kicked off in Lisbon where we stayed with our friends Jo and Nigel. We enjoyed several days of warm spring sunshine and the highlights included a day at the beach and some tram rides up and down Lisbon's famous hills.

   

• Isle of Man (updated 24 May 2009)

  

  ...and not long after that I was back in the Isle of Man for a few days.

   

• Cairo (updated 15 April 2009)

  

  Not long after the Italy trip I was back in Cairo and managed to take a few photos with my mobile phone.

   

• Italy (updated 15 April 2009)

  

  Not much of Italy, I'm afraid, just some photos of Rome I took on a business trip in March 2009

   

• Cyprus videos (updated 21 Feb 2009)

  

  Flushed with the success of our podcasts and our videos from Syria, here are a few vids that we took in Cyprus. The first three were all originally made for podcastsinenglish.com our podcast site for learners and teachers of English.

   

• Kyrenia (updated 6 Feb 2009)

  

  Kyrenia, jewel of the North coast, is probably the most picturesque coastal town in Cyprus. The picture postcard harbour certainly is but the huge residential developments which are spreading like wildfire along the coast certainly aren't. The harbour itself is no longer used as such, except for tourist boats and the quay is lined with restaurants. Despite its 'falseness' it certainly is attractive and there is no better place to have a cold beer and enjoy some seafood while staring into the turquoise clear water. You can even contemplate an exploration of the huge Kyrenia castle which dominates the scene. Try to soak up the Mediterranean atmosphere and ignore the English retirees ensconced in the Daily Mail.

   

• Famagusta (updated 3 Feb 2009)

  

  The guidebooks gave me a very wrong impression of Famagusta. They make out like it is a ghost town with huge Venetian walls encircling a few crumbling buildings with everything overgrown and left to nature. The walls are there for sure as are the ruins but there are also plenty of people living there as well, in newish houses and with the usual infrastructure. In fact the central area around the cathedral has undergone a degree of rehabilitation and pedestrianisation with a few pleasant cafes and all round it had a very pleasant feel to it - despite the dark clouds which swirled around threatening to dump on us at any moment.

   

• Walks and the wild west (updated 31 Jan 2009)

  

  West and south of the cottage we ventured away from the mountains into the wide Guzelyurt plain and its burgeoning orchards of oranges. Nearby is the bay of the same name where we went on a few walks and then stretching around the bay we found the ancient cities of Soli and hilltop Palace of Vouni. We also spent an afternoon in the foothills of the Troodos mountains in the village of Lefke

   

• Old Nicosia (updated 29 Jan 2009)

  

  The day we explored Nicosia was the worst weatherwise of our holiday. Cold and dreary - just like a typical British weekend! It didn't dampen our spirits though as there were plenty of places to explore while wandering around the labyrinthine streets of the old city.

   

• St. Hilarion (updated 24 Jan 2009)

  

  St. Hilarion is one of a number of fairytale castles nestled in the craggy hills of the Kyrenia range which lines the northern coast of Cyprus. We explored the ruins one clear, cold, windswept day and got some great views both on the way and while exploring the empty castle. A top day!

   

• Welcome to Carob Cottage (updated 23 Jan 09)

  

  Welcome to Cyprus! And more specifically Carob Cottage. Me and Jackie spent 10 days in post Christmas chill out mode staying here in the middle of the countryside in Northern Cyprus and had a great time. Lots of sightseeing, walking, eating and general mooching. This first page is just a few photos of around the cottage. Upcoming pages will feature trips to the orange growing areas of the far North West, a daytrip to old Nicosia, Lofty Castles in the Kyrenia Range, Famagusta and the far East, a trip to the charming old port of Kyrenia and a page of various walks we did in the countryside. I also hope to put up a few videos as well.

   

• Jordan blog (updated 12 Dec 08)

  

  Most of the pages on the site are arranged into places we’ve been in Jordan. This one is different in that it will be based on stuff that happens in and around the house, or things which would be better off here than in their own page. I'm using Wordpress, a popular blogging platform for the design so most of the early 'blogs' will be out of date but it should mean that I can get more photos out on the site each month. You also may notice that I've taken out some of the 'homey' pages off the main site and bunged them in here. Anyway, see what you think.

   

• Ajloun (updated 7 Dec 08)

  

  We went to Ajloun in November 2008, when we thought it would still be warm and sunny. We were mistaken. The weekend we went was unseasonably cold but fortunately the cabin where we stayed had a great little parafin stove which kept the place lovely and worm throughout the night. Ajloun reserve is a very small reserve - just a few square kilometres it seemed but was an important remnant eco system of what formerly covered a lot of northern Jordan. It was famous for the pygmy oak and pistaccio trees. It was also run by the RSCN and so had very comfortable (if expensive!) facilities. Anyway, it was a nice break from Amman and of course we took some photos

   

• Aqaba/Wadi Rum (updated 30 Sep 08)

  

  August in Amman is damned hot, so where do we go on holiday? To Aqaba where it's even hotter! Aqaba has one big advantage though. It's by the sea - the Red Sea which is fantastic for diving and that's why we went. We stayed three nights in Aqaba followed by a trip a few miles north and a night camping in the amazingly beautiful Wadi Rum, one of the most beautiful places in Jordan.

   

• Videos (updated 29 Aug 08)

  

  I've now collected all the videos to globalwanderings and a few from podcastsinenglish.com onto one youtube page. Catch them all here. This page has all or most of the videos from my main website at globalwanderings and also a few from podcastsinenglish.com a podcasting site for learners and teachers of English.

   

• Dana but not Dana (updated 20 Aug 08)

  

  We had friends visiting us in August 2008 so we took the opportunity of visiting one of the top natural attractions of Jordan, Dana Nature Reserve. Basically, millions of years ago the surface of the Earth ruptured round these parts creating a huge rift valley. The land on the west went down and the land on the east went up. On the west you’ve got the Dead Sea valley and the lowest place on Earth. On the East you’ve got the desert plateau stretching to Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Over millions of years, water flowed from the high plateau to the Dead Sea forming some huge gorges – or wadis. Wadi Mujib is one which is covered on other pages. Near Dana there a quite a few smaller ones. And where these Wadis are, there is an amazing diversity of life and beautiful landscapes and so in its wisdom, the Jordanian Government made the area around Dana a nature reserve.

  Except we didn’t go there. Just south of Dana the landscape is just as breathtaking and unspoiled but we were told that there was a little privately run campsite which had much more character than the official Dana one and so that is where we headed…

   

• Home a year on (updated 13 Aug 08)

  

  As of August '08 we've been living in and loving Amman. Here are a few photos of the expanding garden and cat family.

   

• Wadi Mujib (updated 26 Jul 08)

  

  Wadi Mujib is one of the undiscovered gems of Jordan. If you are travelling along the King's Highway you will need to cross this huge canyon. There are some pictures on the king's highway page, but for this trip we went to where the wadi reaches the Dead Sea. Here the canyon is sheer and narrow and there are some convenient cabins nearby, right on the Dead Sea, in which to spend the night. These photos are from a trip we took in June 2008.

   

• Greece (updated 22 Jul 08)

  

  Not much of Greece I'm afraid, just Athens. I went on a business trip for a week in May 2008. Overall I was quite impressed by the place. As expected they had done a lot of work since the Olympics and so transport and pollution was much better than in previous times. The main tourist area in central Athens is La Plaka. It's a very old area of Athens and the narrow streets and lanes have been extensively pedestrianised. The old houses have been on the whole tastefully renovated and many have been converted into tourist shops and pavement cafes. The old squares are now almost completely filled with restaurants but the whole place has a really relaxed vibe looked down upon by the great mass of the Acropolis. While I was there the Parthenon was being renovated and so covered in scaffolding. However it was still very impressive as were the views from the top. Apart from La Plaka and the Acropolis there is nothing much else to see in Athens except perhaps over 200 museums and quite a pleasant central park

   

• Food (updated 15 Jul 08)

  

  In the last page of our trip to Spain, I highlight a few of the culinary delicacies which made our holiday so special.

   

• Granada (updated 10 Jul 08)

  

  The highlight of the whole trip had to be the amazing Moorish Palace of the Alhambra sitting at the base of the snow capped Sierra Nevada Mountains, and of course......the tapas.

   

• Cadiz (updated 8 Jul 08)

  

  Cadiz, undiscovered gem of the south coast. Here we wandered narrow lanes and also found time to visit the site of Nelson's triumph and a pretty 'white village'.

   

• Seville (updated 7 Jul 08)

  

  In Seville we saw a huge cathedral, joined in a local fiesta and of course sampled more excellent tapas

   

• Madrid & Cordoba (updated 10 Jun 08)

  

  In Madrid the weather is not great but we make the most of some excellent food and drink. Then we head south for the rest of our holiday. In Cordoba we visit the great mosque/cathedral and enjoy the flowers. Next up...Seville

   

• Spain (updated 5 Jun 08)

  

  Welcome to Spain! We took a two week holiday in May 2008 visiting Madrid, Cordoba, Seville, Cadiz and Granada. We took 1000 photos, so as of now (June) I'm going to be very busy sorting out the best and writing the photojournals for the pages. However, one of the highlights was definitely the food, so I will also devote a whole page to some of the most mouthwatering dishes we tried. Pages will be going up over the next few weeks so watch this space! As a taster, here is a map of all the places we visited along with a few photos.

   

• The King's Highway (updated 5 May 08)

  

  The King's Highway is the name given to the modern incarnation of the ancient route which travels almost the entire length of Jordan from Amman in the north to Petra in the south. Giants throughout history have trodden its path from Moses through the great Roman Emperors to Richard the Lionheart. Not surprisingly it is therefore the site of many historical monuments and also not just a few natural ones including Jordan's 'Grand Canyon'.

   

• Petra (updated 1 May 08)

  

  I first visited Petra when I was living in Cairo in 2000 and so some of the photos on this page are from that trip. Pre-digital camera days for me meant that the scanned photos lack the sharpness of the other photos taken on a more recent trip in April 2008.

  Petra. But what an amazing place. Emerging from the canyon almost too narrow for a horse and cart and then to be confronted by the ancient treasury chiselled out of the sandstone cliff has got to be one of the most amazing sights in the world.

   

• Oases and Desert Castles (updated 29 Mar 08)

  

  Jordan's deserts comprise 80% of the land area but only 5% of the population. the biggest desert starts as the suburbs of Amman peter out and continue East to the Iraqi, Syrian and Saudi borders. The area is mainly desolate as you'd expect but there are a few highlights, both natural and man-made. One of these is Azraq oasis which used to provide water for roaming herds of animals. Unfortunately since the 1960's it has had to supply water to Jordan's burgening population and has therefore become an environmental disaster to such an extent that the the wetlands dried up completely. Since 1994 water has been pumped back into the wetlands but into a tiny area compared to previous years. However, it is still an important stopover point for migrating birds which can still be seen, mainly in spring. And that is why we chose this time of year to visit.

  In addition to the Oasis we also wanted to see the nearby Shaumari reserve. Established in 1975 it was set up to reintroduce wildlife that had disappeared from the region most notably the Arabian Oryx.

  The man-made highlights of the region are the so-called 'desert castles', only one of which being a castle - Azraq - famous for sheltering Lawrence of Arabia during the arab revolt in 1917. Other so-called castles include Qasayr Amra, a former bath house complex built around 700AD and Qasr Kharana a building standing alone in the deep desert, its function and history almost completely unknown.

   

• Cairo revisited (updated 22 Feb 08)

  

  I lived for a year in Cairo in 2000. I returned on business for a week in January 2008. While I was stuck in meetings for most of the week, Jackie was out taking photos - here are a few highlights

   

• Thai videos (updated 13 Feb 08)

  

  It's winter in Jordan but it is forever summer in Thailand. I've put a page together that contains all our videos from Thailand. A few from the globalwanderings pages, a few from podcastsinenglish.com, our podcasting site for learners and teachers of English, and a few that have never even seen the light of day before! I hope you enjoy them.

   

• Snow! (updated 6 Feb 08)

  

  Think of Jordan and you generally think of desert. And you'd be right 90% of the time. However, in January 2008 we had a couple of days of quite heavy snow. Locals said they hadn't seen it like this for over 20 years and everything came to a complete standstill. If you are from colder climes you may think the following pictures are nothing special, except perhaps for photos of palm trees covered in snow, but for Jordanians it was a very strange sight. All the more strange for me was the fact that the streets were absolutely deserted. The government had told everyone to stay indoors because it was dangerous. This was a few inches of snow we were talking about.

   

• Aleppo (updated 27 jan 08)

  

  If anything the souk in Aleppo is even more fascinating (and labyrinthine) than its counterpart in Damascus. Like Damascus, it is in the heart of the old city, surrounding the great mosque and consisting of a seemingly infinite number of small covered passageways down which travel people, donkeys and increasingly, small suzuki pickups often no wider than the alley itself. The only major difference is that the whole city both new and old is overlooked by the magnificant citadel. We took a couple of days to explore both.

   

• Hama, Krak des Chevaliers and Apamea (updated 18 jan 08)

  

  Hama is a medium sized town midway between Damascus and Aleppo and so an ideal place to stop for a few days to explore the hinterland. There are plenty of things to see including two of the highlights of Syria, the crusader castle of Krak des Chevaliers and the Roman ruins at Apamea.

  Hama is also a worthy stop in itself. It is situated on the banks of the Orontes River in one of the few fertile areas of Syria. It has a pleasant central market area and a small, attractive and partially reconstructed old town. However, it is most famous for its water wheels which have been in place here for over 1500 years. In the middle of town there are a couple which form the centrpiece of an attractive park (were it not for all the litter that is a blight on most of Syria).

   

• Palmyra (updated 10 jan 08)

  

  Palmyra is probably the most well-known of Syria's attractions. It is certainly also one of the most impressive historical sites of the region. Its position, in the middle of the Syrian desert, only adds to its aura and even if you are bored with yet another ancient pile of rocks and stones you can't fail to be impressed by the desert surroundings. This whole scene dominated by a magnificent arab castle. The Palmyra page also exhibits some fine desert scenery from the trip there and back. And a video of the site itself. Enjoy...

   

• Damascus (updated 10 jan 08)

  

  Damascus lays claim to the title of the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world dating from 3000BC, preceding the Egyptians who actually captured it in 1500BC. However, most of the present day city is definitely Arabic in nature including Great Mosque and the surrounding souks and old city. This is where we concentrated our time in this intriguing, colourful and bustling of cities.

   

• Introduction to syria (updated 3 jan 08)

  

  We went to Syria for two weeks over the Christmas period 2007. Not long, but long enough to glimpse the major attractions and convince us that we needed to go back again - at a warmer time of the year. We stayed in Damascus a couple of nights before heading off to the desert and the legendary site of Palmyra. We then headed back towards the coast to Hama which we used as a base to explore the famous crusader castle of Crac des Chevaliers and the 'dead cities' and then on to Aleppo with its famous souk and citadel. Then we headed back to Damascus for a final few nights - to explore the old town further and stock up on souvenirs. Overall it was everything and more than we expected. But in addition to the major sights our memories will be of the overwhelming friendliness of the Syrians and the fantastic food.

   

• northern ruins (updated 2 Nov 07)

  

  Once settled in, it was time to explore the countryside. Here are photos from two trips we did in October. For the first, we headed off past Madaba to Herod's temple overlooking the Dead Sea and site of John the Baptist's beheading, for the second we explored the Roman ruins of Jerash and Umm Qais. Both trips were actually more memorable for the stupendous views rather than the sites themselves.

 

• Home sweet home (updated 16 Oct 07)

  

  Six weeks in Jordan and still not totally settled into our new home. The phone is now connected but we are still waiting on our internet connection. 'It's Ramadan' being the ready made explantation for things not being done on time. Still, the house is taking shape and this page features a few pics from the day we moved in and a month later. It also features the newest resident (pictured left), Gerrard, who was rescued off the street and has quickly made the place his home as well.

 

• First impressions (updated 16 Sep 07)

  

  Welcome to Jordan! We arrived in this land of contrasts at the end of August 2007. Some people told us it was boring and quiet, yet others told us it was dangerous – how could it not be nestled between Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Despite these contradictory warnings, in our first week we only find positives - the people are friendly and welcoming, the weather is great, the food is delicious, apparently crime is almost non existent and despite Amman not being one of the prettiest capitals in the world it is a fine place to live. This page has a few opening photos from our first couple of weeks.