I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the West Bank. Five days was not nearly enough; I would have liked to have seen more of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and gone a bit further afield to Jericho, Ramallah, and so on. But the cold reality of a plane to catch in Amman, Jordan in two days time couldn't be ignored. Farewell to the West Bank and Israel I checked out of my hotel in Jerusalem and inquired about taxis to the Allenby / King Hussein crossing. The receptionist made a call on her phone, spoke a bit in rapid Arabic, and I heard [View Full Entry]

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After my trip to Bethlehem, I spent a few days in Jerusalem before returning to Amman, Jordan. The word "Jerusalem" means "city of peace," a place where people of many faiths can coexist peacefully. Unfortunately, Jerusalem has often been anything but a city of peace throughout the ages, with Jews, Muslims, and Christians each claiming it as their own. The Old City Jerusalem is split into East and West: West Jerusalem is Israeli. East Jerusalem is Palestinian. Between the two is the Old City, a fascinating mix of cultures and religions. The Old City contains four quarters: Christi [View Full Entry]

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Going to Bethlehem for Christmas has been one of my goals for some time now. And after having made it to Jerusalem on December 23rd, that goal was now tantalizingly within reach... In search of a procession I had hoped to join an official procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem (according to my guidebook, one happened every year on December 24th). Due to the Israeli checkpoint and other problems though, the only kind of procession happening this year, according to the helpful and eminently patient Sister at the Christian Information Centre, was leaving at midnight from the Austrian [View Full Entry]

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Though Amman, Jordan is about 45 miles from Jerusalem as the crow flies, and would normally only be an hour-long bus ride on a highway, this ignores the fact that between the two cities lies one of the most disputed pieces of land in the world. Consequently, getting from Amman to Jerusalem can be a time-consuming and patience-testing process. Crossing Jordan The first step was to get out of Amman, and this was easily accomplished by catching a bus at Abdali station that went to the Jordanian side of the border. There were only four of us on the bus: a [View Full Entry]

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After five weeks in Egypt, on December 22 I flew from Cairo to Amman, Jordan with the hope of making it to Jerusalem and Bethlehem in time for Christmas. Goodbye, Egypt Cairo is a place you either love or hate, depending on the day. On some days, the chaos, hustle and bustle, and people-watching are great. You revel in the cars and donkey carts vying for position in the streets, haggling over prices and making sure you're not getting ripped off, and listening to heated arguments and discussions emanating from the coffeehouses. You find yourself thinking Where else could I exper [View Full Entry]

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Last weekend I took a quick two-day trip up to Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast. So much history, and yet... Alexandria has a lot of history behind it. Unfortunately most of it no longer exists. The great lighthouse (Pharos), one of the seven ancient wonders of the world? Gone, destroyed by an earthquake and replaced by a fort. (Supposedly some of the granite blocks in the fort were salvaged from the destroyed lighthouse). The great library, once the largest of its kind in the world, and a vast storehouse of human knowledge in ancient times? Gone, though there's a new [View Full Entry]

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Last weekend I visited "Islamic Cairo," a slight misnomer, as this area of Cairo isn't more "Islamic" than other parts, but it is the old historical district, packed with markets, mosques, and madrasas. How bazaar The most popular area with the tourists by far in Islamic Cairo is the Khan al-Khalili market. Part genuine marketplace and part tourist trap, anything you could ever want to buy is located here. Besides the usual stuffed camels, alabaster pyramids, and sheeshas (water pipes), there are spices, precious metals, fabrics, and so on. Like most souqs (markets), each area is [View Full Entry]

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After living in Cairo for any amount of time, you quickly learn the ropes for two fundamental skills: using taxis and crossing the street. Zen and the art of using taxis Cairo's underground metro system covers a relatively small area, and the city buses are invariably packed, so the best way of getting around town is to catch a taxi. Luckily every second or third car here is one of the thousands of battered black-and-white taxis that trawl Cairo's streets looking for passengers. Hailing a taxi is as simple as stretching out your arm with your hand palm-side down. Say the [View Full Entry]

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Last Saturday I visited the Egyptian Museum, essentially a warehouse for an amazing array of Pharaonic artifacts. On Sunday, I visited Coptic Cairo, a bastion of Christianity in an overwhelmingly Muslim country. Egyptian Museum The Egyptian Museum is the place to go to see all things Pharaonic -- statues, sarcophagi, daily utensils, and on and on. As one of my guidebooks says, looking at all of this stuff for several hours can bring on a serious case of "Pharaonic Phatigue" and I must admit that after about 5 or 6 hours in there, I was starting to go a bit crazy. [View Full Entry]

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So many people have written about the Pyramids that it seems highly unlikely a mere mortal like me can add anything noteworthy. But maa'lesh... "Good brice" The hassle and hustle at the Pyramids is the stuff of legend, so I was fully prepared to be hounded within an inch of my life. My British flatmate (yes, I'm picking up new English phrases) and I took a bus from downtown out to the Giza plateau, and as the Pyramids came into view, looming over the hazy horizon, a few touts got on the bus and tried to sell us camel and horse [View Full Entry]

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