Caribbean Travels

Barbados - Boardwalk at dusk

Guyana

Southern Sudan

Juba, Southern Sudan

Here to work with the Government to establish a tax and Customs Service. After years of war the hotels had been mainly reduced to rubble and hence we stayed in tents pitched along the side of the Nile.

Welcome to Uzbekistan

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April 2006 saw me travel to Tashkent, Uzbekistan with a short side trip on the weekend to view Samarkand.

Tunisa - A great place to vacation

Shaun and Rayna get into shopping at the market


Easter 2006


Kairouan is defined as the holiest city of Tunisia, being the oldest Islamic settlement, having the oldest mosque in North Africa and the world’s oldest minaret. As the legend of the city goes:

In 670 AD, the general of the invading Arab forces, Oqba bin Nafi, found a golden cup in the sands here, a golden cup that he had lost in the holy well of Zamzam in Mecca a few years earlier. When picking the cup up, water sprang from the ground. This was considered a proof that there was a underground river between Mecca and Kairouan, making the water holy. Even today, the local religious traditions says that a Muslim drinking water from this well a number of times is exempted from performing the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Among the very first projects of the conquering Arabs was to built a great mosque. A city grew quickly up, and around 800 AD, Kairouan became the capital of the Aghlabid dynasty. Kairouan is a great tourist destination, being the best place in Tunisia to learn about the country's Islamic history. In addition to the Great Mosque there are a number of smaller, still very interesting and attractive, religious institutions open to non-Muslims too.






We’d heard about a coliseum that was supposed to be almost as big as the one in Rome and in better condition. It was inland from where we were staying & from the map looked close to the desert. I kept thinking what was a stadium doing here almost in the desert? When we visited it was Easter, the wind was blowing, it was hot at about 38C, and the blowing desert sand kept getting in your eyes and mouth.

There it was looming up as we approached the town center of El Jem. An ancient Roman amphitheatre that was used for gladiatorial fights. It is thought that it could hold 35 000 spectators. Under the arena there are the cellars where animals and prisoners were kept. It was impressive from even a distance. It is 148 meters long by 122 meters wide, with tiers up to 35 meters. The coliseum was constructed between 230 and 238 CE by the command of the Imperial official Gordian. Stones for its construction were hauled from the town of Salakta some 30 km away - this alone was an impressive feat.

One area of the walls is gone, and this was done in 1695 when a big hole was shot in the wall of the coliseum, in order to uncover the hiding places of dissidents against the Ottomans.

Why is it here – almost in the desert? El Jem was a large city situated at the crossroad of caravan ways. But still – why here – why not somewhere more hospitable?

Now the amphitheatre bleachers are well restored. From time to time the town hosts concerts in it because of the excellent acoustics. It is said that you can hear a coin dropped on the arena floor even from the highest lines of seats.

Any other sights in El Jem are still to be discovered, as they remain covered in sand. I heard there is another, but smaller amphitheatre, about a kilometer away. It is buried in the shifting sands of the encroaching desert and aerial photos indicate another and bigger one close to El Jem.

Norouz - Happy New year from Central Asia

Norouz (also spelled Noe-Rooz, Norouz, Norooz, Noruz, Novruz, Noh Ruz, Nauroz, Nav-roze, Navroz, Naw-Rúz, Nevruz or Nowrouz is the traditional new year holiday in Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, parts of India, and among the Kurds. It is also celebrated in Turkey and various countries of Central Asia including Tajikistan.

While Islam has a strong influence on Tajik people so do a number of older religious traditions including Zoroastrianism. Navruz has its origins in a festival celebrating the spring equinox, which Zoroaster rededicated to Asha Vahistra and fire. It is determined according to the Iranian calendar (also known as Persian calendar or the Jalaali Calendar) is a solar calendar currently used in Iran and Afghanistan. It is observation-based, rather than rule-based, beginning each year on the vernal equinox as precisely determined by astronomical observations from Tehran and Kabul.

Below are a few pictures taken while walking around Dushanbe during the holiday. Tajikistan is a VERY poor country. There were many on the streets begging.

Throw the Dead Goat Game - Buzkashi

Dushanbe, Tajikistan

To celebrate the New Year I went to see a game of BUZKASHI. This is an ancient game that is not like polo. The only similarity is you have riders on horses. We left Dushanbe early in the morning for the foothills of the mountains about 25 km away – not quite sure where the game was but my driver was confident that we’d find it. All we had to do was follow the traffic when we got closer. The road became a trail as we approached the foothills but there was a steady stream of cars, trucks, and men on horses on this potholed road. When we got to road’s end there were already about 100 vehicles stopped everywhere – no organized parking – just leave your car in the middle of the trail (not a road at this point). We then walked the remaining kilometer.

There we already probably about a thousand people there sitting on the hilltop overlooking what would become the playing field. There were many men on horses – both dressed in traditional costume. Buzkashi horsemen wear thick hats, quilted dresses, long boots and wind strong scarves around their waists. This was a big day as there were riders from Afghanistan here.

It is played with the body of a decapitated goat weighing about 70kg –that is the ball. Traditionally, a calf is beheaded, the legs are cut off at the knee and its entrails are removed. The carcass of the calf is then soaked in cold water for 24 hours before the game so that it may be tough enough to withstand the tugging that takes place. When there is no calf available, a goat is used instead.

Buzkashi, which in Dari means goat-grabbing, is an ancient sport said to have started as an exercise to train Uzbek cavalrymen to pluck prisoners from a raging battle. Another theory about the origin of the game is that it dates back to Afghan antiquity and the name means "goat killing" as it was derived from hunting mountain goats by champions on horseback. Two ancient breeds of horses originating from Afghanistan are used in this game. The "qataghan" is a sturdy pony known for strength and endurance. The other is larger and is raised in the steppes of Faryab and Balkh. Only male stud horses are used in the game. Buzkashi horses require special training in order to be successful in the game. Should the rider be thrown or dismount, the horse waits. A trained horse will gallop with terrific speed as soon as the horseman snatches the goat carcass.

Rules? I couldn’t see any rules to this game. Two teams of 10 riders each charge up and down an uneven and irregular field grabbing and yelling at each other while they attempt to grab the body of the goat and race away with it. There appears to be a winner as one of the mounted riders claims a carpet from the “judges” perched on top of a truck at the far end of the field.

This is not a game for the weak. Younger boys are not allowed to participate in such races because race horses are not saddled. Some ride their mounts bare-back and others use a thin saddle blanket. Horsemen are frequently carried away and in their excitement they will bump, hit and jar opponents. When they return, they are usually bruised or have a broken limb. The game is often played for very high stakes and it is taken very seriously. It is not uncommon for riders to continue in the game with cracked ribs, broken limbs and various head injuries.

Water (and not a drop fit to drink)

Dushanbe, Tajikistan - Water seems to be always a problem in this city. It still flows freely from the taps but it is not fit to drink, or on some days it is not even fit to wash in. There are rumours this week of an outbreak of typhoid in the city as the weather is warming. The infrastructure of the city is decaying from neglect and poor design. The sewer pipes in many areas leak badly and as part of that poor design they were often laid in the same trenches as the water pipes - above them in some areas. The water pipes have decayed through old age and untreated corrosive water being pumped through and thus raw sewage is leaking into the water. To compound this there is no primary treatment and the silt, sticks, stones, leaves and other debris is sucked into the system from the river that supplies the city. When the snows melt high up in the mountains or there is a heavy rain the water coming out the taps becomes thick with mud. This picture was taken the other day in the bathroom of my apartment. On this particular day I couldn't bring myself to have a shower - instead it was a sponge bath with bottled water. This reminded me of what I wrote last year when I was here during a time when the water was shut down to the whole city for a week. I rumaged around in my files and found it:

You gotta love the water here – If it’s not muddy water coming out the tap then it’s even thicker mud. It is disgusting. In most countries a mud bath is a luxury that you pay big bucks for. Guess I’ve had a lifetime supply.

I’m probably going to wear this picture out but here it is again – trying to run a bath. I was without water for almost 1 week last month. Seems when the city water was finally restored on the 5th day all the mud & assorted other goodies that was in the water supply lines plugged the smaller diameter pipes to many buildings including our apartment building - - so here’s a building with 54 apartments and the pipes are plugged. A private work crew finally arrived on the evening of the 6th day without water & that’s only because one of the tenants in the building is very important (not me – that’s for sure). They had a large water truck with a compressor. The theory is that you hook this rig up to the pipes in the building and create more pressure on our side of the obstruction than the city water side has and you blow all the crap back into the larger diameter city mains. (It gets back into the system and plugs another pipe somewhere else) That’s the theory anyway. The risk is that they will blowup the pipes on our side before the obstruction clears.

We now have water and the landlord is running around trying to get all the crap out of the taps in my apartment so they will work. He has to disassemble each tap and clean it, plus disassemble the water line to the toilet.

In anticipation of another day without water I went on a hunt for bottled water earlier that day to flush the toilet and have a sponge bath. Guess what I discovered. All the local water is sold out – it’s the cheapest. The imported water – it’s from Georgia!! Is more expensive than a bottle of locally made vodka!!!! 1.5 L Water is equal to $1.45 USD while the 1.5L Vodka is $1.38 USD. So for a laugh - - Guess what I bought to flush the toilet with??

Now the water is restored and I have all this vodka to get rid of - - - - . Trust me drinking the stuff is not an option, as rocket fuel would probably taste better.

Well now that I had all this vodka I found a use for it on laundry day. I came back to the apartment to see the woman who does the laundry washing my white shirts in what you see in the famous picture. The shirts had distinct reddish – mud tint to them. Once again we couldn’t communicate as my Tajik is non-existent, and my Russian only rudimentary enough to ask where the washroom is and a few other basics (believe me you have to know how to ask for the washroom) we couldn’t connect. So I showed her by example.

I dumped the rinse water from the tub & grabbed a couple of vodka bottles. I dumped them in and rinsed. Once again – wow - did the vodka ever get dirty. Pulled the shirts out & used some expensive drinking water as a final rinse to lessen the alcohol smell. I handed them to her and she hung them up to dry. When I came home that evening my jeans and socks were also washed. There was another bottle of vodka empty and the apartment stunk of alcohol. This has to be the whitest my shirts have been in a long time.