Hello all, After a very long day (and night) of flying, I am back home, and in one piece. Although, getting through US passport control proved once again to be the most difficult part of the trip. That Syrian Visa gets them every time, and this particular agent made me state again and again that my travels to 'that part of the world' (meaning, I presume, the Middle East) had nothing to do with my work (as if they know what I do...). In the end, they let me through, although I think it was largely due to the fact that [View Full Entry]

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On my last day in Cairo, I spent most of the afternoon at the Egyptian Museum, admiring the looted contents of King Tut's tomb and wishing I were Queen Nefertiti, if only for her jewelry. When the thought of seeing one more mummy, sarcophogi, or statue of Ramses was going to make me scream. I headed to the Mall. Really. I wasn't thinking of doing any clothes shopping for myself- OBVIOUSLY, mumus not being my thing- but I thought I might find something interesting for one of you. I took the photo to on the main shopping street downtown. I have [View Full Entry]

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Tonight is my last night in Dahab, and one of my last in Egypt, so I am marking the occasion with banana pancakes on the beach (they are the local breakfast specialty, but I have been getting up so dang early I have never made it to breakfast). I have gone ‘local’ too- dining in flip flops, swimsuit, and cover-up. It is probably a good thing I am leaving tomorrow or, next thing you know, I will be sporting cornrow braids and a henna tattoo. At any rate, I did figure out how to leave Dahab (Egypt Air flight to Cairo [View Full Entry]

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Greetings from Dahab, beach colony on the Red Sea but technically located in the Sinai. Frankly, I still can't believe that I made it. The Sinai isn't the easiest place to access, especially from Luxor and especially if you are not aiming for Sharm-el-Sheikh or are not going as part of a package tour. Therefore, my only real option was (gasp!) public transportation. Being no stranger to long, long bus journeys (22 hours in Syria, as I recall...), I thought I could handle a mere fourteen hours from Luxor to Dahab. And, in all honestly, I probably could have handled it. [View Full Entry]

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Sorry for the delay in updates, but I have been wandering for the last few days and haven’t been able to log in. After two heavenly days at the Dead Sea, Amil and I parted ways at the airport in Amman (actually, at the Starbucks in the airport at Amman), and I flew back to Cairo. Saturday night I took the so-called ‘Sleeping Train’ from Cairo to Luxor. Like everything else in Egypt, the sleeping train inevitably runs late yet at the same time requires one to get up at an ungodly early hour in the morning (it arrives in Luxor [View Full Entry]

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Up at the crack of dawn (again!!!) today for a massive sightseeing venture to the Valley of Kings (or the Vallée des Rois, as the French tourists say), et al. From the outside, the 63 tombs (including King Tut’s) look like little more than hobbit holes. However, it is truly amazing to descend, by means of a graduated ramp, into the tomb and see the innumerable hieroglyphics and drawings adorning the passageways and antechambers. Ongoing excavation, restoration, and safety issues mean that the tombs are rotated in terms of being open to visitors, with the standard admission ticket all [View Full Entry]

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Check the entry on the Bedouin camp for additional photos of the interior of the camp. Also, I have posted some additional photos of Jordan here. [View Full Entry]

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If only they had a Starbuck's here, I would never leave the Dead Sea Marriot! Pictures can’t do justice to the beauty and opulence of this place. Anything that I would attempt to capture would be insufficient, so for those who are interested, I refer you to the website (http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/qmdjv-jordan-valley-marriott-resort-and-spa/). In addition to the beaches and spa, the hotel has two movie theatres, seven restaurants and bars, a real gym with weights and aerobic machines, a games room, three swimming pools, and the mineral pool. Once you finish bathing in the s [View Full Entry]

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Happily, we made it to the Dead Sea with enough daylight left to have a quick soak. Security is incredibly tight here, so much so that we had to prove that we had a reservation and then they checked under our car for explosives before we were allowed to pass the gate (just like the airport in Nairobi!). And, at the door to the hotel our bags were scanned and any beverages we were carrying were confiscated. Once in the door we made a beeline for the sea. The Marriot has a private beach, so women are legally permitted (and [View Full Entry]

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Okay, so admittedly I promised not to get arrested illegally crossing the border into Iran. However, I didn't make any promise, pledge, or pact, regarding illegally crossing the border into Saudi Arabia, or at least getting close enough that wearing trousers and driving a car (for me) would be considered felony offences. And, since the peak of the highest mountain in Jordan happens to be within spitting distance of the Saudi kingdom, how could I resist a peek at the forbidden land of Mecca and money? (even if they have considerably less of the latter now, as I have it from [View Full Entry]

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