For the first half of last week I felt sick, run-down and energyless. The month of poor-quality sleep, a reflection of the hot weather, had got to me.

On Wednesday afternoon I felt well-enough to check my emails. Thanks to someone else’s unsecure wireless internet I now have internet access at home 🙂 One of my emails was from James Button, an Australian newspaper journalist based in London and working for Fairfax.

James had discovered my blog after searching for “Australian Mersin” as he was about to come to Mersin to report on the Australian refugees fleeing from Lebanon to Mersin by boat. I did not know about this before.

After work Thursday I walk to the ferry terminal at Mersin Port. Next to the yacht harbour were parked 4 big fat American SUVs (sports utility vehicles), including 2 diplomatic-plated cars. This was the only indication I noticed that something out of the ordinary was happening in Mersin until I reached the port.

At the port entrance, many buses were lined up.

Buses outside the port entrance

Outside the ferry terminal were 6 or 7 ambulances, 3 television vans and various security, ports and media people.

Ambulance workers

People began exiting the terminal building and I asked one of the ambulance employees who they were. He said they were Canadians and Australians.

Ferry passengers exiting the terminal building

Later, one passenger was having trouble understanding a Turkish official so I help translate. This Brit, based in Jordan, wanted a longer visa than the 45 day free visa given at the ferry terminal as standard. It turns out he was on the regularly-scheduled Lattakia-Mersin ferry and had not heard of the evacuation from Lebanon so obviously the ambulance worker did not know what he was talking about!

The ‘Su’, the Mersin-Latakia ferry boat

Stay tuned for the next update…