TURKEY 1999
A five-day package bus tour of Turkey, with the normal scheduled third day replaced by a diversion into the eclipse path.
Day one: We visit the ruins of a hilltop Hittite city. It is very hot in Turkey in 1999 AD, and it was no doubt hot around 4000 BC when this city was built. The effort that must have been involved is matched only by the tenacity of the local trinket sellers.
The Hittites had no fridge for their beers
Still their cities last six thousand years
But it wasn't much fun
Shoving rocks in the sun
So now they push cheap souvenirs
Day two: A huge stone theatre, built by the Romans, at Asbendos. Our group includes Steve Grant from California, a fine singer, and Dr Piloo Rustomjee from Melbourne, a fine mouth-organ player. Their impromptu concert receives generous applause from some hundreds of other tourists.
The Theatre of Rome at Asbendos
Saw many performances tremendous.
Ovid, or Cicero--
We would have loved to go.
But Danny Boy? Caesar, defend us!
The night before the eclipse, we are staying a couple of hundred kilometres from the path. There is much worry about bad roads, breakdowns, traffic jams, accidents, wrong turns. The penalty of breaking Rule One.
|
Let's have breakfast at five, not at eight Let's take bikes in case a prang makes us late Let's check the air in the spares Let's all say some prayers Let's go right now! Why should we wait? |
The drive is routine and we arrive with hours to spare at the government's official viewing site at Amasya, along with the national symphony orchestra, hundreds of soldiers and police, and thousands of other hopeful punters.
The sky is clear at first contact, but a dirty big cloud appears, and half an hour later the sun is covered. It becomes obvious that the cloud will not move away in time. Some cars drive off at high speed. Gloom descends on the multitude. But
minutes before totality, a gap appears in the cloud (to a mighty cheer). The eclipse is clearly visible from second to third contact. Some say an eclipse cools air in the path of totality, condensing vapour and providing a tunnel of vision.
I'm a believer.
The orchestra played The
Planets too soon
Perhaps they should've played Clair de lune
But Holst or Debussy
We sure won't be choosy
If something clears a path to the moon
We don't want the tension. We want clear skies for weeks leading up to an eclipse, not minutes or seconds. But how could clear skies compare with the joy of a perfect view when we thought, just minutes before, there was no chance? Under the cloud, many in our group were swearing they would never again waste money travelling around the world for the chance to see an eclipse. But the next day, they were arranging to meet in Africa in 2001.
Every international eclipse freak
Counted clouds for most of the week
Before the clouds parted
They were all broken hearted
Now it's "See you in north Mozambique"
