The good news is that we are back from the our trip to Middle East. The bad news is that we are back from our trip to the Middle East. We had a long, but safe trip back to the USA. As usual, the guys were ready to return. I was trying to figure out how I could stay a few more weeks. We survived the 12 hour flight back to JFK despite the turbulance---not the the aircraft, the company. We had never been on a flight with so many kids and large families. There were probably more children than adults [View Full Entry]

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Politics and religion effect everything: We quickly realized the "correct" names or borders depend on your politics in this part of the world. If we called the bordering country "Israel" we were unapologetically corrected with "Palestine." We purchased a few maps while we were traveling and noticed the political slant or ethnicity of the map maker determined the names of countries (particularly Israel/Palestine) or the borders (specifically the Golan Heights). When we plan our trips, we consider some of our special interests or hobbies to help determine where we will travel. I want to see [View Full Entry]

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There are many random thoughts and observations that surfaced during our trip to the Middle East: By the time our trip ends, we will have driven over 2,300 miles. This includes covering ground in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. Stop lights in Damascus, Syria has timers so the drivers know when the lights will change. We spent some time at the Dead Sea, Red Sea, Mediterranean and Gulf of Aqaba, but still can't used to seeing women wearing Islamic swimsuits. The most conservative Muslim women wear lycra suits that cover them from the top of their heads to their ankles and [View Full Entry]

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Our first visit to Jordan was 10 years ago. It was also the first time the three of us traveled together. We created our itinerary and cultivated our list of places we had to see and things we had to do. Kyle was most excited about seeing these very old inscriptions in Wadi Rum. He kept discussing and discussing these inscriptions that were near Lawrence of Arabia's well. His excitement seemed to swell the morning we were scheduled to go to Wadi Rum on Dec. 30, 1999. We were in the back of the jeep driving to the infamous well and [View Full Entry]

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It has always been Valeri's dream to take camels across the desert for several days and camp under the stars...that dream came true in Wadi Rum, Jordan. Our hope was to learn everything we could about camels and riding techniques, but it turned out to be so much better than just Camel University. I know that there is no way to convey what we experienced, but we will try... We went to Wadi Rum to retrace Lawrence of Arabia's footsteps on the backs of camels and, at night we camped with a Bedouin family. When we first arrived, we met with [View Full Entry]

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We did more than just cover ourselves in mud, float, and pamper ourselves when we were at the Dead Sea! We all had visited the Dead Sea on the Israeli/Palestinian side, but we had never visited the Jordanian side. We were not disappointed. Our first visit to the lowest point on Earth was 10 years ago during our first Mid-East trip. We all said we hoped we would return without believing it would really happen. We were blown away by the bouyancy and our ability to float without effort. Floating in the Dead Sea is a one-of-a-kind experience that should be [View Full Entry]

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We know that many of you thought it would never last, but Kyle and I made it to our 10 year wedding anniversary (despite the multitude of border crossings!). When we got married and made the decision to forego a honeymoon (we used the money for a house), we joked about going somewhere "really cool" on our 10 year anniversary. Ten years seemed like such a long way in the future, but it looks like we got to do something extraordinary for this anniversary! We woke up in the Sea of Aqaba on July 31st and the three of us soaked [View Full Entry]

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When we were preparing for our Middle East adventure, we read, researched and studied the history, politics and basics of each country. We had meetings to develop our itinerary and discussions to finalize our list of things to do while we were in each region. During those heated moments we also discussed what we might shop for or bring home as gifts. One of the most exciting things we discussed was Kyle's plan to get a tailor-made suit in Damascus, Syria. Apparently, the Damascus silk and the Syrian tailors are known world-wide. (News to dad and me!) A fitted suit was [View Full Entry]

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When we are not eating or driving across the countryside, we find time to hit the markets and souqs. We fell in love with the Old Market in Damascus, Syria. It is extremely old, lively, crowded and vibrant. It is a market for locals and it sold everything you could imagine. The craziest thing we saw in the Damascus Market was two women shopping, dressed in all black with veils over their faces. They caught my eye because they were lifting their veils so that they could see the products in the kiosk. Naturally, I looked to what was worth lifting [View Full Entry]

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Wow what a day of travel! We started out in Beirut, drove across Syria and ended our day floating in the Dead Sea! It was a day of seeing the countryside and border crossings. It was amazing how each country handled their military and border police. Most of the time in Syria and Lebanon was spent greasing palms. The process in Jordan was expensive, but efficient. If you were to look at our pictures or over hear our conversations, you may think that we travel just to eat or that we spend our time between meals thinking about the next meal...so [View Full Entry]

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