2011

Turkey  Tunisia  Algeria  Iran  Transnistria

Both Tim and I were scheduled to fly out of Istanbul this afternoon, though in different directions.  Sadly, the time for our travels together was about to come to an end, and we were each to spend the last few days of our time away pursuing different objectives.  Tim was flying to London to catch up with friends, while I was travelling to Odessa with a very different objective.

More about that later.

With just one morning remaining before we parted ways, we decided that it would be well spent taking in the views of Istanbul from the top of the Galata Tower.  Originally constructed in 1348 as a lighthouse, the Galata Tower was the highest point in the Genoese fortifications of the Galata district, and it has been rebuilt many times.  Today in addition to a restaurant and nightclub, it houses a panorama balcony that provides spectacular 360-degree views of Istanbul.

In order to get to the Tower, we took one of Istanbul’s fast, quiet and smooth trams to the northern end of the Galata Bridge, and then climbed one of the narrow cobble-stoned laneways that leads to to the top of the hill - a very steep but fairly short climb (400 metres or so).

And it was most certainly worth the effort!  Once again today, Istanbul had a clear, sunny day with blue skies and temperatures in the high twenties (warm, but a very welcome relief after the heat of inland Iran).  And so the views were probably as good as they ever get from the tower, up the Bosphorus and across the Golden Horn to the Old City with its mosque-studded skyline.  It was a worthy end to our travels across North Africa, Turkey and Iran over the past few weeks.

Having taken in - and appreciated - the stunning views, we returned to our hotel, packed, cleared e-mails, and set off for the airport in a little yellow Fiat taxi.  My flight to Odessa was due to take off at 4:15 pm, and Tim’s flight to London was scheduled a little later, departing at 7:00 pm.  Nonetheless, we were hoping to be able to check-in together and spend some quality time airside.  Unfortunately, because of increased security measures affecting flights to the UK, they could not accept Tim’s luggage for London until after 4 pm, and so we had to say our farewells much earlier than we had anticipated.

In some ways, it may have been a good thing that we did so.  The line for immigration took me a frustrating 45 minutes to get through, by which time my plane (a Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 - and for the extreme trivia devotees, with registration TC-JFP) was already boarding.

My short flight of 624 kilometres across the Black Sea to Odessa took just over an hour.  Although there were spectacular views of Istanbul on take-off, and of Odessa on the approach to landing, for the most of the flight there was nothing to see but the bright blue waters of the Black Sea.

So - why have I come to Ukraine, which seems so different in character to all the other places I have visited over the past few weeks?

The real destination that I am interested in is Transnistria, or as it is sometimes known, Transdnestr.  Transnistria is an unreformed Soviet breakaway country located on a thin strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine.  It declared its independence from Moldova in 1990, but its status as an independent nation is not recognised by any member of the United Nations, and it has no diplomatic relations.  Nonetheless, the Transnistrian Government is in full control of the territory (and similarly, the Moldovan authorities have none), so it is in effect a separate nation-state (depending on how one defines a nation-state).  It is this confused status and identity that attracts me as a geographer to explore.

If you are interested, a little more information about Transnistria can be found HERE.

Having arrived in Odessa, my immediate challenge is finding a driver who will be prepared to take me into Transnistria - and bring me back again of course.  It is relatively easy to gain entry to Transnistria from Moldova, because the Moldovans do not regard Transnistria as foreign territory.  However, as an Australian passport holder, getting a visa to enter Moldova would have been painfully cumbersome and time-consuming for me.  My solution was to get a multiple entry visa for Ukraine instead - I had to travel to Ukraine for work a few months ago, so I had the foresight to obtain a multiple entry visa at that time.

I have allowed two days in Odessa.  My hope is that one of those days will be spent going to Transnistria and the other will be spent relaxing by exploring Odessa.  If I can’t find a driver and I therefore have to spend two days in Odessa instead, that will be a pretty good second-best.

Day 27 - Istanbul, Turkey to Odessa, Ukraine

Saturday

9 July 2011