Traces of War Suda Bay is around 5km south-east of Chania on the north coast of Crete. The Bay is the main port of Chania, and large ferries come and go from the protected waters, servicing the mainland and many of the Greek Islands. On the edge of the water is the Suda Bay War Cemetery, an expanse of green lawn and ordered headstones, where 1500 servicemen are buried or honoured. On the day I visited, the sun broke through…
Traces of War With the reinforced and well-supplied German forces closing in, the Allies waited to be evacuated from the small fishing village of Hora Sfakia on the south coast of Crete. On the nights of 28-30 May 1940, British and Australian navy ships from Alexandria picked up 11,000 Allied troops and returned with them to Egypt. When the Australian soldiers defending the ridge above Hora Sfaklia were outflanked by the Germans, the evacuation attempt was abandoned.1 With the remaining…
Traces of war Crete is characterised by miles of beautiful coastline, olive groves, and little villages set on the lower slopes of spectacular, rugged mountains. However, museums, memorials and cemeteries found across the island are testimony to the dark days of the Battle of Crete, and the determination of the Cretans to honour those that fought against the invaders during World War II. With German and Italian forces sweeping through mainland Greece, the Allies were forced to withdraw, with the…
Part II I walked for an hour through the busy city of Antalya to reach the dive centre. I was excited about the day ahead, as I was going to dive on the wreck of the Saint Didier. North of Antalya Harbour is all cliffs, and when I reached the spot where the dive centre was meant to be I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to get down the cliff to the small ‘beach’ below. Peering…
Part I Antalya, located on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, attracts tourists from all over Europe by the millions (literally) every year. Visitors flock to the city’s picturesque little harbour, with it’s Roman-era walls and flotilla of fishing vessels, tourist boats and yachts. Restaurants and cafes line the harbourside and hilltop, serving local seafood to those who have come to enjoy Turkey’s Turquoise Coast. Thousands of photographs are taken every day of the view south from the harbour entrance. Most who visit,…
After a short drive we arrived within sight of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and the massive steel shell built over reactor four to trap the remaining radioactive material. The bus pulled up at a permitted viewing area about half a kilometer from the Plant and we piled out for photos. Many of our Geiger counters began beeping to tell us the programmed upper limit of detected radiation had been reached. Although the counters default to a relatively moderate alarm…
‘Dark Tourism’ has become more than a catchphrase; it’s now a bona fide part of the broader tourism industry. There is no shortage of people who want to see first-hand the places where significant historic tragedies, crimes and disasters occcurred. I am one of them. A Dark Tourism destination may attract a general history buff, or perhaps an individual who believes a particular tragedy, its victims and its lessons should not be forgotten. Thrill seekers, drawn by macabre fascination, may…
TWO MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT, Part II In the midst of paddocks in south-central Ukraine, a tour guide and I were cramped inside an elevator at the Museum of Strategic Missile Forces, descending 30 metres into the earth to visit an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Unified Command Post (UCP). When at the 11th level down inside the UCP, we stepped out into the command room. In this small space were two desks with aircraft-style seats, and an array of panels, switches…
A GLIMPSE INTO BULGARIA’S COMMUNIST PAST Close to the centre of Sofia, in an ordinary, non-descript housing block, is a unique time capsule. The Red Flat is an apartment that has been set up to replicate a family residence typical of 1980s urban Bulgaria. I went along for a look, and found unique museum providing a fascinating insight into life in communist Bulgaria. After buying my ticket at a shop around the corner, I buzzed the Red Flat from the…
AIRSPACE AND THE SPACE RACE I’ve always been a bit partial to aviation history, and when I heard that Plovdiv was home to Bulgaria’s National Aviation Museum I was keen to have a look. After a few dramas trying to find the correct platform for my train, I rode to Mavrudovo Station and piled out. A short walk and I arrived at the gates of the Aviation Museum, which had a decidedly Eastern Bloc feel. When I arrived at the…