Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
After lunch we continued on our way towards the coast. We had a few diversions. The first
was when we took a rough track to St. George's Greek Orthodox Monastery. It was an act-
ive church and monastery and had rooms where visitors could stay and study. It was quite
flashy with colourful icons, candles and bright chandeliers. It looked in good condition and
there was evidence of recent building. An old priest with a long gray beard and his hair
in a bun was preparing for mass. Three old ladies, dressed in black widows' robes, con-
stituted the entire congregation. The priest switched on a flashy and gaudy red neon cross
which completely spoiled the atmosphere of the church. It was cheap, crude and seemed
inappropriate and it detracted from the mystery and of the sacred setting. It reminded me
of similarly illuminated Buddhas, which I had seen in Thailand and Myanmar, which had
also detracted from the serenity and authenticity of the location.
Next, was a typical “Peter episode”. We saw some nomads and Peter insisted that we stop
and speak to them. We had done this in Iran, just outside Shiraz and it had been a nice and
different interlude, where we had managed to make contact with some armed but friendly
nomads, much to our guide's discomfort. Abdulla, newly awakened from his postprandial
slumbers, was not at all keen for this diversion or deviation from his minimalistic duties.
He said they were beggars and thieves and maybe even Gypsies and that we should be care-
ful with our possessions; but that just made it more interesting and nothing was to stop us
now, but we did, for once need Abdulla to do a bit of interpreting and earn his way at last.
