Tag: June 2002

Saturday 8^th June 2002 – London Meeting by
Padmassana

This Saturday we were treated to two splendid talks, about two different
areas of the world.

The first by Peter Eltringham entitled, “The Maya World” was
on Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. Peter showed us temples from the Maya
period (300-900 AD), many of which are being reclaimed by the jungle,
to the extent that some even have trees growing on the top of them. We
saw photos of huge Maya ceramic pots found in deep caves. We saw local
life such as women weaving the colourful local textiles and the costumes
being paraded during Holy Week fiestas. Peter showed us the kind of transport
you can expect to have to use on a visit to the area, such as small planes,
high wheeled 4WD's for negotiating the jungle and the “Chicken
busses” used by the locals. Peter finished with some landscapes,
turquoise coloured rivers, Fast flowing rivers that can only be negotiated
using inflatable kayaks and beautiful blue coral lagoons, which are a
divers delight! And once Peter had emerged from the jungles having avoided
the deadly snakes, his last picture was of a hammock slung between tow
trees on a beautiful tropical beach.

Our second speaker was Mary Russell, although her talk was entitled “Travelling
around Syria, digressing to Baghdad”, she started with a story from
the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. She told us that in order to get
an extension to your visa, you have to “fall ill” the day before
it runs out, but only a little bit ill! You then get a sick note from
a friendly doctor stating that you are too ill to travel and lo and behold
your visa gets a few more weeks added on!

Mary showed us the Syrian capital Damascus, from the plain doorways of
the closely constructed buildings, the bakery with its fresh flat bread
and the labyrinthine souks. She showed us one super photo of a popcorn
seller, whose equipment was mounted to his bicycle complete with an exhaust
pipe for the cooking gasses. On returning home from Syria Mary found on
her doormat an invitation to visit Iraq. It was just after the events
of September 11^th, but despite the uncertainty
of the time Mary flew back to Damascus and then took a taxi to the Iraqi
capital. Mary explained that to enter Iraq you have to have an AID's
certificate, if you don't as she didn't you have the choice of
paying US $60 to have the test or US $70 not to! Needless to say she chose
the latter. Mary's slides of Baghdad included Saddam Hussain's
Palace which he built next to the remains of what was once Babylon, Fountains,
the university which is reputedly fifty years older than England's
Oxford University, the hospitals full of smiling doctors and tragically
ill children. We saw one positive side to the sanctions imposed by the
west, Iraq now grows its own fruit and vegetables which in former years
it just bought using its oil wealth. Mary's talk was a fascinating
insight into two interesting and much misunderstood countries.

London meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind
the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each
month. There is no London meeting in August, but we will be back on Saturday
1^st September. For more information, you can
contact the Globetrotter Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the
website: www.globetrotters.co.uk

Anyone, anywhere in the world, who watched the news during the first
half of the 1990s must know about Sarajevo. Sarajevo is the capital of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, a small but green and mountainous country with
4 million people, bordered by Croatia to the south and west, and Yugoslavia
to the east. The recent war (1992 – 1995) and heavy siege brought unwanted
world attention to the city, not to mention approximately 10,500 dead
citizens and over 100,000 wounded.

The war is definitely over, and modern day Sarajevo
in 2002 has a lot to offer to a tourist. The city itself used to be a
“must-visit” destination in the decades before the war, especially
if you were visiting Bosnia. After the war, much money has been invested
in Sarajevo on improving its infrastructure etc, to encourage the return
of tourists, but so far, the visitor figures are disappointing.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a Western Christian Country
with experience of 4 centuries of Ottoman-Turk presence, which made Sarajevo
a point where west and east, and north and south meet. Some call the city
European Jerusalem, where in a circle of 100 meters one can see several
churches, mosques and synagogues together existing and co-existing in
peace for centuries. “Equal chances for all”
was the motto of the city for centuries, attracting some 10 different
religious communities to settle in the city.

There is something to do in Sarajevo all year round. Sarajevo is a big
open-air museum, with unique architecture and artefacts from 4000
years of European history. There's plenty to see and do:
drink a cold beer in one of the many street cafes, whilst watching the
world pass by, one can see: public buildings, squares, fortresses, famous
places such as where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, igniting
WW1, museums, churches, mosques, synagogues, old houses, and much, much
more! ATM's are all over the place, as are Internet cafes.

One of the highlights to visit in Sarajevo is the tunnel that was the
only supply line during the war for the city and the tunnel museum from
the last war. As well as reading and signing the visitor's book, which
is almost an historic document in itself, you can actually walk down a
small part of the 800 metre long tunnel. You can watch a 20 minute long
video, a documentary with real footage from the last war.

Sarajevo was a host to the 14th Olympic games 1984 and has a lot to offer
to a winter tourist. Our mountains Igman and Bjelasnica ( 45 minutes by
car or bus from city centre) offer skiing 6 months a year with all facilities
such as ski-lifts etc. The city is a serious contender for the
2010 Winter Olympics!

Citizens from all of the countries in Western Europe, the U.S.A. and
Canada do not need a visa to enter Bosnia and it is easy to get to Sarajevo:
7 international air carriers have routes to Sarajevo, including Austrian
Air, Lufthansa, Swiss Air, and Malev. There are also trains and long distance
buses connecting Sarajevo with the rest of Europe. These include a daily
train from Zagreb, Croatia (9 hrs), and long distance international buses,
e.g. from Split (6hrs) and Dubrovnik (5 ½ hrs).

There are hotels to stay, including a phenomenally expensive Holiday
Inn. Generally speaking, a room in a modern hotel will cost 45 euros+
(US $45) per person. Staying in a hotel is more or less the same as in
any country of the world and is to be recommended only for people that
suffer from surplus of money and like being bored. Private accommodation
is cheaper, but if your host doesn't speak English
too well, and is not officially registered, (proved by ID card
with photo + official seal of his/her firm), you'll
probably be taken to rooms in some suburb of Sarajevo in a middle of nowhere,
apart from being involved in illegal activity. Good hostels or private
accommodation in the two main municipalities cost from 15 euros per person.

SARTOUR has a hostel which is situated 10 minutes walk
from the historic centre of the city, and offers single, double and triple
rooms for 15 euros per person with one of the best views of the city,
quiet original Bosnian style atmosphere, and a courtyard and garden for
night time schnapps drinking! They can provide services such as English
speaking tourist guides for city tours etc. They also offer a big breakfast
for 3 euros per person, bike rental, laundry facilities, self-catering,
family and group facilities and give our best to make your stay secure
and pleasant for fair and reasonable prices. Enjoy a glass or two of our
famous Schnapps (plum brandy – 41% alc.), a warm welcome and hospitality.

If you would like to contact Sead to ask him about Bosnia, its history,
staying in Bosnia, or touring the area, please e-mail him at: sartour@lsinter.net

Incidentally, all readers of the Globetrotter's E-Newsletter are
eligible for a 10 % discount on accommodation in the Sartour hostel, and
on tours around the city until 01.01.2003. Next month, the Beetle will
be writing about her time in Bosnia.

Jason Florio gave us some fabulous insights into life in Afghanistan
and entertained us with some amazing stories of his time there.

We will NOT have a July meeting due to all of our summer travel plans
and the July 4th holiday. Hope to see you August 3rd.

New York meetings are held at The Wings Theater, 154 Christopher Street
(btw Greenwich St and Washington St), to the right of Crunch Fitness,
in the Archive on the first Saturday of each month at 4 pm.

The International HUMANA People to People movement is currently running
over 150 humanitarian projects in Africa, Asia & Central America,
working in fields such as: basic health care, pre-school and primary school
education, child care, vocational training, teacher training, environment
and community development, AIDS, etc. So far, more than 6000 Development
Instructors (our word for volunteer) have participated in starting up
and running these projects.

For the successful continuation of our work we are always looking for
people, who would like to participate in the program.

The program is open to everybody, regardless of educational background,
experiences and nationality. Minimum age is 18 years. It consists of 3
periods – training & preparation period in one of our Travelling Folk
High Schools, the working period in a Humana project, a follow up period
(evaluation & information work in Europe / USA). Through out the whole
program, the Development Instructors are part of an international team.

TCE (Total Control of the Epidemic) is a Humana People to People award
winning program to fight AIDS in Southern Africa. In its conception it
is based on the experiences of more than 20 years of development work
in and with the communities of the region.

HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa is out of control. 26 million people in this
area are HIV positive, 10 million children have already lost one or both
parents to AIDS. A situation that can only be managed in a great act of
international solidarity. In Botswana between 35 and 40 percent of people
in the sexually active age group are infected, the highest rate in the
world today. TCE (TCM) has been adopted by the government of the country
to fight against the epidemic. The results so far are promising, and more
and more countries in the region have become interested.

On the subject of costs, we rely on contributions from the volunteers
– for food, accommodation, etc. during the preparation period. Visas,
flights and vaccinations are paid half by Humana, half by the participants.
Scholarship programs are available. Whilst in Africa, Humana pays food,
accommodation and pocket money.

We need volunteers, people with good will, hearts, souls and a lot of
energy to take part in the fight against AIDS in Africa. If you think
you can help, please contact Henner Rödiger on henner@volunteerwork.org or call on 0045
24 42 41 32.

The annual Toronto & Ontario GT picnic on Georgian Bay (in Meaford)
is upon us, and will be held on Saturday, July 13th, 2002. As usual, our
host will be Vera Blowers, and the address is:

228 Eliza Street, Meaford, Ontario tel. 519-538-5729 Program: Arrive
on Saturday around noon, bring some barbecuables/munchies/salads/deserts
of your choice to share with others. There will be BBQ in the afternoon,
a game of croquet or horseshoes (if that's your thing), a swim in
Georgian Bay or you can just sit around and talk travel. The hardy types
can pitch a tent and stay overnight, watch the sun rise from the lake,
go for another swim, walk through Meaford or do whatever else you might
wish to. If you would like to bring and show some new and interesting
slides we'll have a slide projector & a carousel available. Directions:
From Collingwood: Go West along Hwy 26 to Meaford. On the first lights
turn right/north/towards the lake and down the hill to a school that is
at the corner of Eliza Street. West on Eliza to #228. From Orangeville
: North along Hwy10 to Flesherton (there is a little “jog” West
on #10 between Primrose to Shelburne), in “downtown” Flesherton
turn right on Hwy 4 and after about 4-5km left/North on #13 to Kimberley
and from there on #7 all the way to Meaford. In Meaford on the lights
(Hwy 26 & #7) go straight down the hill towards the lake etc. If you
can give a ride to someone or you need a ride to get there, please contact
me (Svatka Hermanek) by email by Friday, June 28 (I will be away from
my computer from that date on) or by phone before July 3 (416-503-2933).
I will try to arrange car pools. After this date call Vera Blowers at
the above number. Hope to see you there.

For information on Ontario meetings, please contact: Svatka Hermanek:

shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca or
Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259

.

Meetings are held on the third Friday of January, March, May, September
and November. Usually at the Woodsworth Co-op, Penthouse, 133, Wilton
Street in downtown Toronto at 8.00 p.m.