P-rose-bet (happy new year) in phonetic Kurdish

This blog is about family travel around the world without leaving the UK. Impossible? No. Here's how you can get a real taste of an Iranian (Turkish and Kurdish) new year. This post is by Nicola Baird (see www.nicolabaird.com for more info about books and blogs).   Duck pic explained below.

One of my students at the University of Arts, London College of Communication wrote a post about the Iranian new year - which is on 20 March this year (2012). The actual link to her Lucky Number 7 post (with photos) is here and I've added the bulk of her post below - thank you Elica for being a guest blogger for me.

A bit about Kurdish new year
On the way to college today I stopped off at the cafe where I always talk ducks to the owners as I buy a cup of coffee before classes (hence the pic, my Muscovy ducks are what this couple call Turkish ducks). They both speak Kurdish and told me if I wanted to join the New Year party with dancing and fireworks then I was to go to London's Finsbury Park today (here's a video link from a previous year). They also explained that Turkey celebrates the new year for a week "a big problem for the government," Kurdistan celebrates with three days (a political celebration) and Iran five days "a seasonal celebration".

This sad news item from Aljazeera shows how easy it is for these celebrations to get out of hand.

By the end of my chat with the coffee bar owners I was slightly confused, so I hope that I've managed to get this info correct. Whether I have or not, may I wish you the opportunity for another happy new year, enjoyed peacefully. As I think they say in Kurdish (very phonetically) "P-rose-bet".

."LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN

This is from Elica, who knows what she's talking about. Her blog is http://occasionalbrainbreakthrough.wordpress.com/ and offers an "occasional Iranian twist".

The first day of the Iranian Calendar ‘Norouz’ meaning new day is also the first day of Spring, usually on the 21^st of March, but as this year is a leap year it’ll be on the 20^th and at 5:14 am UK time exactly.

Once new year strikes the tradition is that you go round and visit all your friends and family starting with the elders, this is called ‘Eid-Didani’. In return the elders give the younger members of the family gifts. This all began in the 2^nd century when the kings of different countries under the rule of the Persian empire would take gifts to the King of Kings ‘Shahanshah’, and it stuck.

An important part of ‘Norouz’ Is the ‘Haftsin’, the seven S’s, a spread/display that has a variety of things which are symbolic of the new year and life. Sort of like the Iranian equivalent of a Christmas tree.
The seven Ss:
1-Sabzeh: Wheat, Barley or Lentils are grown and sprouted in a dish, symbolising rebirth.
2-Samanu: A sweet sticky pudding made from wheat, symbolising affluence.
3-Senjed: The fruit of an Oleaster tree, symbolising love.
4-Serkeh: Vinegar, symbolising patience and age.
5-Somagh: Sumak (a reddish spice) symbolising sunrise.
6-Sib: An Apple, symbolising beauty and health, hence the saying an apple a day keeps the doctor away.
7-Sir: Garlic, symbolising medicine.

But these aren’t the only things that are part of the display. Other items such as candles, a mirror, goldfish, coins to name a few. All representing something yet again.
Sabzeh: symbolising plants.
Rose water: symbolising water.
Eggs: symbolising fertility, one for each member of the family.
Goldfish: symbolising life and animals.
Candles: symbolising fire and energy.
Coins: symbolising wealth."

Well, what are you waiting for? There's still time to hunt out some of the items listed above so that you can  make your own Iranian new year table display.

Went to Cyprus by tube

This blog is about family travel around the world without leaving the UK. Impossible? No. Even travelling around the London tube you get hints of other places - this time Cyprus.  This post is by Nicola Baird (see www.nicolabaird.com for more info about books and blogs). 

I went to Cyprus - by tube - this weekend. And so can you, if you live in London - or are visiting - as a few stops from City Airport on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) you can make a detour to Cyprus. It's named after a nearby long-demolished Victorian estate, that was named after Britain's successful conquest of the third largest island in the Mediterranean, in 1848, see more here or here. It's all very modern: and quite hard to imagine being in Cyprus (no olive trees, no tourists) but there's an underground bar, a university campus (University of East London) which is absolutely empty on Sundays. But it does boast the best spot for sunbathing by the Thames - so long as you don't mind watching planes take off and land. Actually that may be what makes it just a little bit like Cyprus - watching the people come and go.

Lola, 13: "One of my friends is part Cypriot and talks about her papou (grandfather) and because I'd been reading on the tube it was really weird to look up and see a London station called Cyprus because I know it is a country. Then we went to a place opposite the airport which was really interesting - you could see how planes took off and landed. I wonder how many had come from the Mediterranean?"

Postcard summary
Quick summary about Cyprus - it's tourist heaven, but has been constantly fought over throughout history. There is still tension between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. Britain also has two airbases there. Lots to find out at wikipedia.

Cheapo tourism is changing?
It's just £234 per person for seven nights half board with flights from Stansted for a week in a Cyprus resort hotel. But the popularity of this type of holiday seems to be on the wane. However tempting a dose of hotter sun can be in February (or many other months in Britain!), being stuck in a resort is becoming less of a holiday fashion. This is anecdotal - but it seems that adventure and experience holidays are on the up - great news as this type of experience can be easily done in the UK.

News reports suggest that many of the eastern Mediterranean holiday providers, such as Turkey, are now more interested in paying attention to Arabic visitors from the Gulf states because they are more generous spenders than Europeans. The trend started after 2011 Arab spring, see the Guardian here. By January 2012 tourism in nearby Istanbul was changing, see story here, but the quote below shows that it's all about money:

Ramazan Bingöl, head of the Association of All Restaurants, Eateries and Suppliers and owner of the Ramazan Bingöl Et restaurant, said: "Ten Arab guests spend as much money as 40 guests from a western country. They don't come with tour buses, and do not want to eat fixed menus at a fixed price." 

According to numbers published by the Turkish tourism industry, Arab tourists spent approximately £1,700 per person in shops and restaurants, nearly four times as much as western tourists.

It is probably better for everyone that generous-spending Arab neighbours get to know their area better than us penny-pinching Brits take up the cheapo package deals involving a long flight from home.

The good news is that a quick Oyster-card funded trip down the Docklands Light Railway to take in Cyprus is going to be very light on your carbon footprint. Here's to a safe journey!

Over to you
What's your favourite train station name that reminds you of somewhere else? I've been through Wellington recently (just near Wolverhampton, not in New Zealand), and now Cyprus. What gives you a little frisson of travel pleasure without having to leave home?

World food

Pete, Nicola, Lola and Nell love to travel with as small a carbon footprint as they can. Here's how they will enjoy world food this September. Post by Nicola

It's nearly the end of Ramadan and some of the mums (many with connections to Bangladesh, Somalia, Tukey and Nigeria) at my younger daughter's school are clearly looking forward to their long month of fasting to finish. There should be a big party in many homes for Eid Marabuk sometime this week - maybe wednesday, or thursday - definitely Friday (it all depends on the moon, and no doubt other details). I just wish someone would ask me to one of these celebratory parties as this will be a brilliant celebration feast.



Harvest festivals - and this year Ramadan - show that religions are clever at using our love of food as a spritual in, and an opportunity to thank too. But the UK has genius (often secular) food traditions - not just our fried breakfasts - and despite all our supermarket addictions it is hard not to miss the best autumn seasonal treats. Right now I'm loving blackberries, Conference pears, damsons, greengages, plums, cobnuts and the few grapes my one-year old vine kindly produced.



Obviously you can enjoy these treats on your own, but another way is to go to a food festival like Brighton and Hove which promises a chance to "taste the world" between 1 September and 7 October, neatly including the nationally celebrated local food week with a celebratory picnic at Preston Park on 25 September, from 11am-4pm. There's even a Regency Banquet - with dresses as sumptuous as the dishes, perhaps with even a few Indian courses given the look-East outlook of the time.



A quick look at the fascinating website of Common Ground (art merged with local distincitiveness) shows that 3 September was the opening of the oyster fisheries in Colchester, a tradition dating back to the 13th century. As you probably know tradition decrees that oysters can only be fished/eaten when there is an R in the month. This year Colchester's Mayor - a confirmed landlubber - caused outcry by doing the gin and gingerbread ceremony (yes, I know it sounds strange...) on dry land rather than a boat. She seems to have done it well though and the oysters can now be served up again.



More worryingly all blackberries are meant to be picked by St Michaelmas Day which this year is 29 September - after that the Devil has either spat on them or done something unspeakably horrible - so you have been warned. I have an Italian friend who says blackberries are considered unlucky throughout Italy making it a brilliant place to pick these delectable fruits. (And if you've got kids they are also a brilliant non-toxic face paint!).



But cutting back on your jam and blackberry and apple crumble supplies (assuming you've stocked up the freezer) does give you time to enjoy apple day and all the picking, preserving and juicing that goes with it on 21 October.



I am sure every nation has moments of food glut - the season of mangoes in the Caribbean, sardines in the Mediterranean, rich cream from Swiss cows, tumeric wherever spices grow - which you learn to love as a child and anticipate as an adult. Enjoy your autumn tastebuds and if you can't make it to a festival like Brighton's (or somewhere more local to you) you can always create your own special nature's larder celebration at home. Cheers!

Do you speak another language?

Pete, Nicola, Lola, 10, and Nell, 7, like travelling around Britain on public transport (don’t laugh). We spent three happy months exploring during summer of 2007 but now we’re home, you can still join us for the occasional sightseeing - plus tips on how to shrink your carbon footprint. This post is from Nicola

At the school summer fair we had a storytelling tent for families to tell stories, or read stories or sing songs in their home language. A place to be proud of your mother tongue.

It would have been a runaway success if it had been too hot or too wet.

As it was the tent was host to nine different languages – Arabic, French, Hebrew, Nigerian (Hausa and Yaruba), Solomon Islands Pijin , Spanish (Castilian and Latin American) and Turkish - all enjoyed by children who wanted to chill out or simply listen. Watching the faces of the children hearing a home language in a public place was amazing. One little girl's grin was wider than the Cheshire cat's.

This pic is of our Yaruba reader sharing Heads, shoulders, knees and toes with her audience.

China's green tea eggs

Pete, Nicola, Lola, 9, and Nell, 6, spent three happy months during summer of 2007 travelling around Britain. Now we’re home, but the travel bug is still there. Join us for the occasional sightseeing plus tips on how to shrink your carbon footprint. This post is from Nicola

Four of my MA students at Middlesex University – who have also done a short internship with the publications team at Friends of the Earth – came round to dinner recently. We had a lot of fun trying to guess what age each person was – and how many people lived in China (1.25 billion), Egypt (80 million) and Turkey (71 million).

The world total is now more than 6 billion which is why these are numbers are so huge.

The only people who were shocked that the UK is so tiddly, with just 60 million people (!) were Lola, Nell and me. It is astonishing how much impact our little home has had on the world, and how many people still want to spend a long time in cities like London.

Perhaps because the Olympics are in Beijing this year, and because one out of every five people in the world live in China the girls are enjoying a special China Week at school. There’s even noodles and dim sum planned one lunch time for the kids – so it was very good that Xu-Song (who prefers to call herself Emily in the UK as we are so rubbish at pronouncing her Chinese name) brought around green tea eggs (see pic above). I liked them – tea and eggs can’t be a bad mix – but Lola and Nell were very nervous. I do wonder how they’ve ended up with such unadventurous tastes despite the many food choices they see, or are even offered, every single day.

It also made me puzzle over the dish I'd take if I was doing international food - I suspect a tooth-rotting, super sweet batch of flapjacks.

Travel hub

Pete, Nicola, Lola, 9, and Nell, 6, spent three happy months during summer of 2007 travelling around Britain. Now we’re home, but the travel bug is still there. Join us for the occasional sightseeing plus tips on how to shrink your carbon footprint. This post is from Nicola

Here’s a pic of some of my MA students from the University of Middlesex who have also worked on internships at Friends of the Earth – Papatya, Muge, Emily and Alia pose with Lola and Nell. They are respectively from Turkey x 2, China and Egypt.

I know getting on planes is bad for climate change (though better if you stay for months like these students) but I do love meeting people from other countries and the genuine surprises one gets from finding more out about them.

Here's an example: in Turkey you call sleepyheads chicken, because hens go to bed so early...

Recently we’ve started video conferencing at my Friends of the Earth job for our Monday team meetings (so London staff can see the boss in Leeds) and it works really well. Now if someone could just organise video conferencing parties I think we could crack our restless need to travel the world and tick off all those places that must be seen...

Get me Florence Nightingale

Pete, Nicola, Lola, 9, and Nell, 6, spent three happy months during summer of 2007 travelling around Britain. Now we’re home, but the travel bug is still there. Join us for the occasional sightseeing plus tips on how to shrink your carbon footprint. This post is from Nicola

Izzy is too ill to go to school, but that means her mum can’t go to work. So she’s ended up staying the day at our house – with classmate Lola who is also ill. Izzy arrived in the sort of red PJs that reminded me of George Macdonald-Fraser’s invented anti-hero, Flashman, who joined the Light Brigade entirely for outfits. Though I’m not sure he would have stooped to balaclavas.

The PJs made me want to turn the girls’ bedroom into a Crimean field hospital – before the lady with the lamp got there.

“Mum, please don’t make me a bed of straw or feed my friend raw horse meat,” rasped Lola who clearly knows me too well. Izzy, with an equally sore throat, stayed quiet, hoping I’d go back to my office.

In the end I had to be satisfied with digging out books about the Eastern Question and provide updates about Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole. I think I've also convinced the sick children to learn Alfred, Lord Tennyson's 1854 poem, The Charge of the Light Brigade, and get them to measure the distance from bed to bathroom in half leagues...

We also had a quick debate about where the Crimea happened – Russia or Turkey. As I remember, that was the crux of the problem, everyone else thought that bit of land around the Black Sea ought to belong to them.

Exhausted by this surprise educational attack Izzy clearly thought she'd blundered into a house of crazies and thus took the only possible exit strategy - flopping weakly back on to the pillows to wait for her mum to come and pick her up.