After missing our 0430 flight to Athens, which we were one hour early for (don't ask, I'm still furious and awaiting a refund) we arrived in Athens in the late afternoon. We quickly got our rental car and were off to drive northwest into the mountains to visit Delphi and Thermopylae. Dennis wanted to visit Greece during this trip to see some historical sites, mainly Sparta and Thermopylae. I think the only reason he agreed to this trip was that I humored him for a 3 day Greek tour to see what he wanted to see. I had briefly visited Athens 20 years ago on Mediterranean cruise with my Mom and grandparents, and looked forward to returning both here and Istanbul. We drove for about 3 hours and arrived in the town of Delfoi after dark ... read more

We drove to Wadi Musa, the town outside of Petra, after leaving Wadi Rum taking the Kings Highway. The Kings Highway was built over the ancient Nabataean trade route that connected Egypt with Damascus, Syria and the Euphrates River in Iraq. It has been used by the Romans for military conquests, for the medieval crusaders , and for Christian pilgrims still to this day. There are several desert crusader castles that dot the winding route through the Jordanian desert that we planned on visiting during our trip north. After checking into our hotel, the Al Rashid ($50), we decided to check out some of the local sites around Petra. Wadi Musa "Valley of Moses" is the biblical site where it is said that Moses struck water from a rock for his followers and now is a ... read more

We departed Sharm El Sheik at 0900 and took the East Delta bus to the Egyptian border crossing at Taba ($6) via Dahab and Nuweiba. I had initially planned to buy plane tickets to fly directly to Jordan, but the cost was so high and I heard to do the trip overland was scenic, 1/5 the cost, fairly easy and relatively safe. We traveled through the Sinai peninsula north up through the mountains along the coast, past Mt. Sinai and other biblical locales. Our bus had several other tourists on it, including two Icelanders and a very loud and obnoxious native Greek NY'er Greg who we befriended along the way. Greg talked non stop about how great Israel was and how he couldn't wait to return after his horrific trip to Egypt where it seemed like ... read more

We left the Keylany Hotel after another delicious rooftop terrace breakfast and departed Aswan on the local train ($6) to Luxor at 1000. The trip takes about 3 1/2 hrs, paralleling the beautiful shores of the Nile River and stopping at small charming villages along the way. We bought a pack of tissues from the cutest little girl about 6 years old wearing a hajab, who boarded the train by herself on one stop and departed on another. She went row by row somberly selling tissues until she came to us, and then she just beamed the most gorgeous smile. We insisted on her keeping the change left from our purchase, and she later showed up giving us a package of nutella filled croissants. She took a seat close by and watched us and smiled and ... read more

"Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all of one's lifetime." -Mark Twain So here we go for another life trip. This trip, as I have said about a few others, is one in which I have been dreaming of and planning in my mind for years and years. The Middle East is a region where there is never really a "good time" to visit as it is a place that is wrought with perpetual political and social turmoil to a greater or lesser extent. I had purchased our plane tickets in May arriving in Egypt and 3 weeks later departing Turkey, with plans to visit Greece and Jordan in between. At the time of purchase the region was somewhat stable, but since ... read more