Blogs from Middle East - page 1236

To best way to describe the main bus terminal on the outskirts of Istanbul would be by picturing the scene outside of the bar at Mos Eisley on Tatooine as Luke and Obi Wan pull up on the Landspeeder, a mixture of dust,soldiers, peddlers and merchants visible amongst the throng of women and men dragging around dusty suitcases. The two level terminal stood surrounded by stalls with everything imaginable for your journey ahead, my ears blocked from the merchant calls I fixed my eyes on the central cashier office ahead and brought a oneway ticket to Gallipoli. What had left me in this situation was my missing the tour bus earlier that morning which had me booked on a 2 week Tour by Fez Buses and which had left for Gallipoli in the morning at 8.00am. ... read more

short trip to israel... read more

Coming to Istanbul was a very pleasant surprise. Straddling both Europe and Asia, we motored through rural landscapes to the Turkish border till we reached Turkey's small European foothold to Istanbul. Founded by the Greeks as Byzantium more than 2,500 years ago, renamed Constantinople in the year 330 when Constantine the Great made it the capital of the Roman Empire. After the Ottoman conquest, this Byzantine city along the Bosphorous was renamed Istanbul in the 15th century. Geographically, Istanbul remains the gateway between East and West, Orient and Occident, Christian and Islamic worlds, Black Sea and the Mediterranean. It was very cold and windy when we got here. Despite the chill, we were game enough to board a small boat and cruise the Bosphorous Canal. I still remember our Turkish guide, Ahmed. I remember some of ... read more

Hello my fellow travelers! This is the first and only post I'll do about a trip to Turkey in November 1995 that I did together with my parents and my uncle Anders. One of my fondest memories from this trip, which was my first time in the Middle East, is from when we were vising the Roman Forum that date from when Side was the capital of the Roman province Pamphylia. Not only did I get to witness the magnificence of the Roman Empire for the first time but right next to the ruins was two camels with their handlers. I was absolutely ecstatic and rushed over there only get thrown on top of a camel before the count of one. The rest of my family was far more reserved and started haggling about prices and ... read more

Nov 14, 1993 *City official name :Bethlehem *Founded date : *Location :West Bank Province *Elavation :? ft (? m) *Area :Approximately ? square miles (? km²). *Facts :Bethlehem (Arabic بيت لحم Bayt Laḥm (help·info) "house of meat"; Standard Hebrew בית לחם "house of bread", Bet léḥem / Bet láḥem; Tiberian Hebrew Bêṯ léḥem / Bêṯ lāḥem; Greek: Βηθλεέμ) is a city in the West Bank under Palestinian Authority considered a central hub of Palestinian cultural and tourism industries. The city has great significance for Christianity as it is the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth. The traditional site of Rachel's tomb, which is an important holy site in Judaism, lies at the city's outskirts. Bethlehem is also home to one of largest Palestinian Christian com... read more