Postcard 6 - Article - 'Istanbul'

www.timeout.com/travel/istanbul/intro


Questions

How is the city located?
It is spread over seven hills and surrounded on three sides by water.
Why does the city have a feeling of newness?
Only twenty queers have passed since the end of military rule.
What buildings are found on the peninsula called Sultanahmet?
The ‘Haghia Sophia’, Topkapi Palace and The Sultanahmet Mosque.
Give some information on the Grand Bazaar shopping centre.
The streets around it now host most of the real trading but the bazaar is still the centre for jewellery and the top place for fabrics.
Mention a new museum and why it is attractive.
‘Istanbul Modern’, because it has a good collection of modern local art.



Dear John,

How are you doing? Still dreaming about a career as a travel writer? If you really want to become one, it may be useful to buy lots of pencils and bloc notes. As you know, I am in Istanbul on holiday now and in three weeks I wasted four bloc notes! Can’t understand myself, but it’s the truth. When I was walking in the town centre, I jotted down some notes and I want to share them with you.

‘Big buildings, beautiful mosques and a shining sun. That seems to be Istanbul town centre. Especially the mosques make me shiver. Sometimes I hear the low voices of the Muslin men, praying inside, facing Mecca. The devotion is nearly touchable. Some women are waiting in front of the biggest mosque, looking after their playing children and bickering about the latest news. There seems to be an enormous difference between the world inside and outside the room of praying.’

When a man came outside the mosque, I stopped writing. Suddenly it seemed rude to play the innocent tourist at such a place of devotion and tradition. I walked my own way through the narrow streets and found my car parked on the same place as where I had left it. My car looked different and the place looked different, and I know for sure that was because of my emotional condition after visiting this impressive city centre.

My dear friend, as you already understand, I am really impressed by Istanbul. Maybe it’s worth to write a book about it…

All the best,
Neline

Postcard 5 - Presentation 'Once when I was in...' - 'France'

Dear John,

This time I have a very funny story for you. And maybe you can’t believe it, but again it has something to do with travelling… The reason why I’m writing it to you, is that you are still single. And as you know, I am very keen on wedding parties. The story in this letter can be a solution for your loneliness.

Last week Nina told me about her journey into France, which she made a few years ago. At that time, she was eighteen years old, had passed her MBO and wanted to spend a nice time abroad. She applied for Euro camp and in June 2003 she went to France to start a career as a receptionist at one of the campsites. During the outward journey, she really enjoyed the nature of Dordogne, with beautiful rocks and lots of rivers. It was this time, from the airport to her destination, that she heard some passengers talking about a Dutch racing cyclist. The boy had had a heavy fall a few days before, but Nina couldn’t understand more of the story because of the difficult accent the people had.

When she arrived at the campsite, she still thought she was going to be a receptionist. How disappointing when the next morning it turned out that she had to clean the houses and caravans after people had left their accommodation. But of course our Nina overcame this disappointment and started to do her work. And for a few days there was no more than mops, sponges and wash-leathers. But us usual, bad times were followed by better ones.

One day she met a boy with a smashed face, who turned out to be her colleague. After the normal forms of etiquette she got to know that he was the Dutch racing cyclist the people in the car had talked about! But that was not all. More dates followed and weeks later Nina called this boy her boyfriend. And the most striking part of this story came at the end: this boy is still Nina’s boyfriend!

So John, I think you already got the message. Call Euro camp for a job as a receptionist (read: cleaner), go to France and you will certainly fall in love with the most spectacular girl! And don’t forget me when you are going to send your wedding announcements…

All the best,
Neline

Postcard 4 - Article - 'Sydney'

http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/places/australia/sydney/profile.jsp


Questions

What can you do in Sydney?
You can do lots of things in Sydney, but most important are the Opera House, Bondi Beach and the Harbour Bridge.
What kind of climate does Sydney have?
Sea climate.
How many hours does it take to get there?
Twenty-four hours by plane and after that 15 minutes by train.
What is the most famous thing in Sydney?
The Opera House.



Dear John,

In my sudden caprice of travelling I came across with some information about Sydney yesterday. Of course I already knew Sydney from the Opera House and I really thought that was the only interesting thing in Sydney. Surprise, surprise, when Sydney turned out to be a wide-ranged city with lots of activities and cultural sights. The Opera House was called ‘one of the classics’, like the harbour bridge climb, the Bondi beach and the ferry to Manly.

In Sydney, it is possible to come in contact with different cultures. There are lots of restaurants and pubs where people connect and where you can eat food of various cultures. I’ll quote the article: ‘The city's finest restaurants can be as snooty as anywhere but the gay-friendly city is still far chattier than most, with an old-fashioned straight-talking hospitality’. One of the best things to do for free can be a picnic to a harbour side spot. There is a good place under the harbour bridge at Kirribilli, right by the Australian prime minister’s residence.

I scrolled down the page and my surprise became bigger and bigger. Ever heard of old pubs in the centre, cultural highlights at the Art Gallery, love times in the Observatory Park or even the ‘secrets of Sydney’? It is not possible to summarize all the information in one single letter. Maybe it’s better to give you the Internet address so you can find out all the Sydney details.

I hope your surprise is as big as mine, or maybe bigger! Where do you go on holiday next year? Hotel in the middle of Sydney? See you there!

All the best,
Neline

Postcard 3 - Presentation 'Once when I was in...' - 'Indonesia'

Dear John,

Weeks ago I wrote you two letters about travelling. Because of your last letter, I know that you are still thinking about writing travel stories. And as you know, you are always in my mind. Maybe that’s the reason for my own constant travel thoughts. When, years ago, somebody told me an interesting story about one of his or her travels, I got bored and started to forget the travel before it was ended. Nowadays, when someone wants to tell me about his or her journey, I’m really interested. And I know for sure this is because of your odd travel writing dreams.

Last week, Donna (remember, one of my study mates) told us about her Indonesia journey. In 2002 she went to Irian Jaya for a few months and, as she told us, ‘every day was an adventure’. Days were spent in the jungle and in other beautiful parts of the country. The tour guides were members of the local population and they were able to tell Donna lots of things she didn’t know before. The most striking element of her story for me was the description of the local population. They don’t wear any clothes, practically. The women were dressed in a skirt, made of leafs or other material, and the men only wore a penis sheath. And those penis sheaths were a really special part of the story. Did you know that there are different sizes, colours, models, etc.? I didn’t, but Donna told us the truth about it.

The penis sheath can be bigger or smaller, and can have all the colours in the world. Each tribe in Irian Jaya has its own kind of sheath. In that way, the men are recognisable by looking at their penis sheath. Everybody in Irian knows from a distance if a friend or an enemy is coming. There are also differences in model: one tribe has oblong sheaths, others can have winding models. To conclude: penis sheaths in Irian Jaya are not only used for hiding the penis, but also have a symbolic function: people are recognisable by their sheaths.

Sounds queer, doesn’t it? When you really want to become a travel writer, I have an advice for you: don’t go to Indonesia. Years ago you told me you really hate it to see undressed people in everyday life, and in Irian only the tourists are dressed.

All the best,
Neline

Postcard 2 - Article - 'Mystic Mountain'

http://travel.guardian.co.uk:80/article/2004/oct/09/ireland.walkingholidays.guardiansaturdaytravelsection


Questions

What does 'thumbs its nose at' mean?
If you thumb your nose at someone, you behave in a way that shows that you do not care what they think.
What does the author mean by 'This vision was horizontal, not vertical'?
They thought there was a place of rest and happiness beyond the grey mists. Their God resided not in an ethereal heaven above, but in wind, sea, stone and air.
From whom takes Mount Brandon its name?
Some people say this name comes from Bran, the mythical Celtic voyager to the Island of Women in the Western Sea, but more likely the name recalls the more firmly historical Saint Brendan.
What does 'egress' mean?
Way out or exit.
What are 'promontory forts'?
Forts built on a cliff that stretches out into the sea.



Dear John,

How about my last letter? Still thinking about it? The day after I posted it, I came across ‘Mystic Mountain’, a travel article about Ireland. And maybe now it’s your turn to be surprised, because of my sudden love for travel stories. The article was about ‘Catholic Ireland’ and when I was reading it, my thoughts went their own way and at once I was back in England. I saw huge, grey stones, upright standing on the grass… Stonehenge. I remembered the sound of the walking people, the smell of the fresh grass and most of all, the impressive stones. I wondered why they were still standing there, why there was nobody who could tell me their background and why I felt so impressed while looking at them. Thousands of people have looked at them before me and all have made their own Stonehenge story. I made one too.

I thought of monk Brendan, praying in the Middle Ages. Praying to his God for better times, for more food, less poverty. Praying in a temple, built of the Stonehenge stones. Praying for the people in his country, praying for the people in war. Monk Brandon dies and other monks start praying in the temple. One day, a fire destroys the temple and the last praying monk dies. When the fire is over, only the present ‘Stonehenge stones’ are left on the grass as a silent honour.

When I walked to my car, I heard some people telling each other their stories. One was about Stonehenge to be an enormous calendar or sundial. Somebody else claimed it to be an instrument for astronomers or superstitious people. I started to run: those people and their stories disturb my quiet thoughts about the peaceful monks. I stopped running when I reached my car and I looked backwards. Even from a distance the stones impress me and fortunately, the only story coming up in my mind was about a praying monk.

I don’t know why I am writing you all this, but I felt a sudden urge to do it. Perhaps Peter Moore’s article made me think of travelling myself, instead of you…

All the best,
Neline

Postcard 1 - Article - 'The Secrets of Travel Writing'

Dear John,

Last week you wrote me a very enthusiastic letter about your trip to Canada. It was a pleasure to read it, but I am still thinking about the last three sentences - ‘And now I know for sure that I want to be a travel writer …’ - you wrote me. Why do you want to write stories about travelling? Only because you have had a wonderful time in Canada? Sounds ridiculous to me. I think travel writing is more like a job than like a hobby: in that case you'll have to stop your career as a surgeon. And to show you that I know what I am talking about, I’ll give you a short summary of the article by Peter Moore, ‘The Secrets of Travel Writing’, I read a few weeks ago.

Peter Moore is a travel writer himself and the first thing I want to mention is that he calls it a JOB, not a hobby. Besides that, the article told me that every piece of writing must be aspirational. So it’s not possible to write about common things such as doing the washing up or buying lettuce at the greengrocer’s. These things can be spectacular, but travel writing deals with ‘things most people would love to do’. And of course a journey into Canada is amazing, but the only thing you can do at this moment is writing a very nice article about your trip in the local newspaper. If it is really good, you’ll find a regarding letter from the woman next door in your letter box, but then your career as a writer is over, as long as you are not going to travel any more.

To be more convincing I will go on with summarizing the article. Mr Moore’s second point is that you have to find your own voice. It will be useful to write as if you were telling your story to your friends in the pub or as if you were writing a letter to somebody. Well, I think your letters to me are readable and funny, but the only reason for those positive thoughts is that I always read your letters and I got used to it. When I gave one to my sister, she will be fast asleep before reading the second paragraph.

When I see the postman coming to my door, I always know if he is carrying one of your letters or not. When he is carrying one, I feel sorry for him because of his back. His face is red then, and he walks like an old man. When he has posted your letter, his face colour becomes normal and he runs like a hare. What I meant to say is that your letters are quite long and that’s not a good thing if you want to be a travel writer. Travel writers have to be masters in leaving out information that could be boring or irrelevant. Most of the times, small details make a story dreadful and less interesting.

For my final argument I am going to quote your last letter: ‘And then I went to the supermarket and then I bought two sunflowers at the florist’s and then I got home and then I found my cat…’ Did you mention the words ‘and then’ or are you even used to it like me (after years of frustration)? A travel writer uses dialogues in his stories to make it more vivid and less monotonous.

Well, my best friend, there is a lot of work to do for you. Please read Peter Moore’s article and take note of my comments. Maybe this letter will provoke you, but I think you need it.

All the best,
Neline