Today I went to the Ayasofya Mosque which happens to be one of the most important buildings in Istanbul. Its been a church a mosque and then a church again and now it is once again a mosque and I’m sure that’s the way it will stay.

Building started in the 6th century and old Justinian had a hand in this place as well. It was known as Constantinople back then because the emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman empire here because he thought that this new religion called Christianity would be good for him at the polling booth. He is the reason why the Christian myth travelled so far and so wide.

The same hypocrisy and nuance in politics and in life is no different today, time does not seem to altered man’s greed for power or for money for that matter. Mind you the legacy that’s been left in stone is quite remarkable, and the legacy left in the psyche is still very troubling.

I would have liked to explore every nook and cranny but I guess for security and preservation us mere plebs only have access to the ground level. There are even Viking Runes inscribed on the upper level where one of them more or less wrote “Kilroy was here” They travelled far and wide those old Vikings.

So the Ayasofya was today’s goal, I am not going to go anywhere else today. I’ve been for lunch in between snow showers and my umbrella has survived a tree branch falling on it and also the wind trying to morph it into a piece of art and so I’m in the hotel foyer just now sitting under a very old fashioned and extremely non green heater that is suspended from the roof. I really don’t know where to go or what to do and I’d rather be a wee bit warmer sitting in a comfy chair which just happens to be very similar to the one that the Spanish Inquisition used in Monty Python.

Oh and the pictures don’t really do this place any justice, it’s an incredible space.

I got picked up from the airport in a very large van limo and it even had an electric door and very plush seats. It took around an hour or so to get to the hotel, good choice to get picked up.

The guy on the desk was very friendly and I was soon checked into my room. As it turned out it was a bit noisy so I swapped it for a smaller quieter room today.

Breakfast was great and watching the sun come up whilst looking at the Haigh Sophie is an experience indeed. On the balcony there were many big seagulls, I’d forgotten just how big these buggers are.

It’s cold, only 4C, I’m really glad I got me new coat which seemed to gain quite a bit of attention when I was oot and aboot. After a late start to the day I made my way to the Cistern Basilica which was built nearly 1500 years ago by Justinian. It’s a massive underground space and it’s so majestic.

It’s held up with 32, 9 metre columns in a space which is 138 metres x 65 metres. It’s a beautiful, stunning work of art where engineering and design have come together to create a functional piece of art. Oh and it took 38 years to complete.

The weather and my foot are making things a bit uncomfortable and so I will be staying close to home but most of the things I want to see are within a kilometre radius.

Such an excellent, stunning, dare I say unique creation and yet so many folk….. mostly young girls, stand posing and go though various poses and then move to the next vantage point and not one of them seemed to take in what was in front of their eyes. It’s such a sad indictment of the times we live in. The virtual is more important than reality……….

At the security check I saw a young girl in front of me, the security asked her to remove her shoes which she did with great difficulty. She too had a dodgy ankle.

When the plane landed at Amman I saw her and I asked her what had happened and it turns out that she also twisted her ankle at Little Petra whilst walking on the same track as I had attempted, mind you we were in different places and slightly different circumstances. I guess Little Petra is a place to be wary of if you ever decide to visit.

Do not underestimate Little Petra.

Last night in the hotel the noise was dreadful, the noise of the boats playing music, the car horns, the music from cars and the inconsiderate bastards that were talking till 5 am in the street. Even though my room was on the fifth floor the noise just carried as if they were outside the door, so not a good last night. Mind you my foot looked way better this morning.

The swelling is still going down and my ankle on the right side of my foot, which is still quite ugly looking, but I can see a big difference. As I put on the anti inflammatory cream it was easier to touch and I also noticed some definition coming back, I could see the veins on the top of my foot and it just felt better.

I wrapped my bandage around my ankle and kept it high on my calf so that it would be more cushioned against my boots. As I struggled to put on my big thick socks I suddenly got this strong feeling of Deja Vu, I was instantly transported to a point in time somewhere months ago where I had seen this moment before.

I’m happy to be leaving Jordan and moving on although the news this morning about Turkey not being happy because some European countries have been burning the Koran is a worry, so I hope I don’t encounter any problems in Istanbul. I should have taken my Scottish shirt with me.

I’ll get picked up at the airport again because the airport is quite far out and because of my ankle it seemed the sensible thing to do.

I do feel that I would like to pause my travel and have a break and come back to it in about a week. One week at home to recharge the mind and body. It’s exhausting being a tourist at times, especially and injured one.

Even if my foot was 100% and I was able to walk everywhere I don’t think Aquaba would have been much better. Its merely a gateway to Jordan unless you are keen on water sports of which I am not. Yes they have glass bottom boats and I have no idea how much they cost as the seem to be operated by complete nutters that play their music at 11, so I have no interest.

I’m not a beach lover but I do like sitting near the water. There are cafe’s all along this part of the coast but there is nothing appealing about them. They play loud music and coupled with the clowns operating the boats it is not relaxing and the coffee served is instant Nescafe. Finding a proper cafe here has not been easy and when I did it was not worth the effort.

Egypt broke my will to live and Jordan has just broken me, well badly sprained me. I would love to return to Jordan in the future and I would hire a car and go to the Dead Sea and the Dana biosphere and of course I would return to Wadi Rum, I may combine it with a second trip to Luxor and Abu Simbel just to make it worthwhile as its a long way to come from Australia. On my next European adventure I will pencil it in.

There’s part of me that would prefer to return home and get fit before continuing the journey but I think I’ll be able to do most of what I had planned, apart of course walking copious amounts. It’s just as well I picked the hotel in Istanbul because its literally 20 mins away from most of the places I wish to see and my ankle does look and feel better today. The flexibility is improving and the swelling is down, I really noticed this when I put on my sandals because I could nearly lock the clasp which has not been remotely possible.

Hopefully I can put this behind me and let it disappear into memory and oblivion and at the same time not forgetting of just how fragile our physical bodies can be.

When I reflect on life, of my sixty two years on this planet I have asked myself the question “Who is watching over me?”

Numerous times in my life, more than I will divulge in these ramblings, my life or wellbeing has been in danger and I have come through it relatively unscathed. Mind you there are times such as now I have been given a warning which I will heed, hopefully, and learn from this latest episode which happened due to my stupidity. If I were a cat I would have used a few lives but now.

I have never sprained my ankle like this before. The pain and the shock of what I have done has well and truly sunk in, although they did not materialise at the same time. The pain in my ankle was instant, well after I came to rest from the fall. I remember lying slightly on my left side trying to grab at the rocks because I was not sure where I was or how far I fell. I looked down and saw my right leg in front of me and I looked to the left and saw my phone and retrieved it and slowly sat up. Then the pain kicked in. I moved my leg and toes and thankfully they still worked, but the fire began to grow.

I checked the rest of me and everything seemed to be in order apart from a few cuts and grazes. I was shaking, in shock I guess. I moved a few metres away to a shady spot and ate and drank and to ponder what to do next.

I really thought I was fucked, I didn’t think I was going to find my way back because the route I took was out of the question and the pain in my ankle was getting worse.

Life can change in an instant for better or for worse as we all know, so easy to say the words but you really need to let that sink in. Before my fall I took a few paths that lead to nowhere and to some dangerous terrain and I backed up quick smart because I realised the danger, I think I thought I’d beat anything presented to me within reason, I over estimated my abilities.

I’ve had a few nightmares about this fall. I’ve also asked myself what the fuck was I thinking in my dreams. My subconscious is obviously pissed off with me too.

Five days after the fall my foot and leg are still swollen, although not as much. I went to the pharmacy this morning and got a proper ankle support, anti inflammatory tablets and some cream and if I follow the directions all going well by the time I get to Istanbul I’ll be able to walk slowly but surely.

This blog that I write is no more than ramblings at times, but I enjoy it and I think others do too. I don’t care if anyone reads it, I do it for me to reflect on when the mood takes me and I’m pleased at times because some things I have produced are no bad 😊

I’m not ready to leave this life, in fact I have many things I wish to do but I’ll always be curious as to whom my guardian angel is. I have my own thoughts on that but I’ll keep that to myself for now. Oh and I have thanked them for the outcome of my latest adventure.

I’ve known three Eva’s in my life, there’s Eva Airlines which I like, there was the evil Chinese child that used to bite me and every other child in the class and then there is Old Polish Eva who appeared in front of me as I came back to my cabin. This old withered creature was very animated and threw questions at me as if her life depended on them.

I answered her questions and I even asked a few myself. Apparently she has her own business , although after knowing her for a few days I feel that this is a figment of her imagination. She is like a leech but instead of blood its your of life force that you feel slowly disappearing into the desert night sky.

I unfortunately agreed to her coming on the jeep tour with me, but I least she paid half. All the way through the journey she wanted to record where we stopped, the only app available was Google Maps which I find easy to use, but the creature Eva was one of those folk that are proud of their ignorance and yet they want you to do the work for them. I showed her twice how to do it and that was that. She was also quite rude to the young driver because he could not understand her broken English and his was limited. I translated and then told the young driver that she was fuckin’ nuts and just ignore her, he laughed and gave me a high five.

When we got back to the camp she was talking to herself about the fact she could not find the map points, I didn’t help and when she did finally come ask me I made her work for it.. Fuck her!

Thankfully I was saved by some new Polish lambs that walked into the camp and she befriended them quick smart and so I could once more sit and have dinner with out being pestered.

I went to sit and watch the sunset a few hundred metres from the camp and after 20 minutes or so I shifted to the other side of the canyon and it was just as well because here she came the psychopath muttering to herself about god knows what. She was only metres away from me but she walked right passed because she was focused on???? , if she had stopped I was ready to tell her to fuck off as I wanted to watch the sunset in peace and quiet.

She had asked me why I was limping and I told her and she recommended some form of green smelly clay which cures everything and if that isn’t available just piss on your leg. I was also informed that she will drink her own urine at least twice between slugs of water. Too much information.

She is travelling in Jordan using the couch surfing option and she is hitch hiking too. Before I realised she was a complete and utter nutter I had offered that she could share the taxi as we were both heading the same direction, however if I had seen her this morning I would have driven straight on.

Her backpack for five weeks is smaller than my backpack that I would use for a day walk.

She told me that one time when she arrived at the Homestay she had to share the bed with someone, if feel sorry for the poor bastard that would have to share with her. There are many weird folk out there, the joys of travelling.

After last night’s amazing dinner and entertainment I slept like a log. I thought it might be cold but the blanket that was on the bed made it rather toasty.

I got up just after 7:30 and went over for breakfast, looks like I was the first one there. Breakfast had many veg dishes and one curry looking thing along with bread and plenty of tea so it was not bad, not as good as dinner last night mind you.

An old Polish woman arrived at the camp yesterday and took a shine to me and she had stuck to me like glue ever since and so when I told her that I was doing the desert tour today she asked if she could tag along….. I said “sure” because that way we can share the cost. She is weird and I will dedicate a whole chapter to her.

The desert landscape of Wadi Rum is spectacular and there are so many photo moment. And I was also surprised to see just how many other tours were out and about. It was busier than the M8 in places.

We stop at a variety of places, however one place will be recognisable to those that have watched the movie The Martian. Well maybe you won’t. But there is one scene where the “Martian” is standing on a crop of rocks and in the distance you can see the mountain range that was in the movie.

We stopped at many locations and the last place we went to we could see the writings of the Nabateans high up on the rocks. Of course there always seems to be someone selling souvenirs at some of the better stops.

Great day out after spending the morning reading my book and sunning my injured foot.

Oh I nearly forgot, we went to the cave of Lawrence of Arabia.

My foot didn’t look as swollen this morning when I woke up but it was still a challenge to walk down for breakfast, I made the mistake of wearing sandals as I thought this would be a good choice but it was not.

I had to make a trip to the currency exchange which is only a five minute walk away, however when one of your feet is not working to capacity it takes quite a lot longer. I put on my boots again, the ones I had on yesterday when I fell and I really tightened them up to give my ankle maximum support and it felt not too bad. Walking down the hill was a bit more difficult than coming up. I passed one shop and the young shop owner said to me “you’ve dropped something” I turned round and he said “you’ve dropped your smile” I had to laugh. He asked me why all foreigners never smile? I said “I’m not sure, but for me it’s because I’m in a little bit of pain”

On the way back I stopped for coffee and grabbed a snack for later and then settled in for a quiet evening. I had a hot shower which was a wee bit challenging but I made it safely back to bed in front of the TV. I strapped up my ankle after I put on some smelly anti inflammatory cream and it feels OK. I can wiggle my toes which must be a good sign although my foot has a few different shades appearing.

Tomorrow I’m going to Wadi Rum, to the desert where I will go out on a desert trip in a jeep on the second day. I guess I’ll have to see how the healing process continues because I think walking in sand might be a bit of a problem.