Blogs from Middle East - page 8

Grand Halic Hotel, Istanbul, Turkey--Sunday, May 5, 2013 Woke up and dressed to have breakfast by 9:00. As I dressed I realized that the heat and standing on my feet at the airports gave me the same rash around my ankles that I had in Moscow. It wasn’t as big a surface area nor as bright red, but I needed to keep my legs elevated. This condition is called golfer’s leg and is a circulation issue with the “rash” being tiny broken blood vessels. We went downstairs for a breakfast buffet in a large dining room. Olives (4 kinds--2 black & 2 green) for breakfast is strange along with lentil soup, cucumbers, and tomatoes. The buffet had some of the usual European breakfast items like sliced cheeses and lunch meats, but instead of ham or bacon ... read more

OK, so it’s my own fault. When I was reading up on Tel Aviv before my trip I read about a large, open air fresh market. In my haste, I misread the name of the market as the Camel Market. Looking for it on the map, I also found the Camel Market south of Dizengoff Center. When I got here, I found that it is actually the Carmel Market on HaCarmel Street. Damn that tiny print on the map! Whatever its name, the Carmel Market is a treat. Stretching for about a quarter of a mile along a street closed to traffic, Carmel Market is crammed with small stalls selling all manner of fruits and vegetables, and cheese, and household goods, and fish, and souvenirs, and prepared foods, and underwear, and more. It’s crowded and noisy ... read more

After leaving the imposing site of Petra, we got back on our bus and traveled to Wadi-Rum. It is a journey to another world. A desert of breathtaking scenery with uniquely shaped massive mountains. It is a silent, empty place, timeless and starkly beautiful…albeit quite a dusty trip. After entering the visitor’s center, we climbed onto 4x4’s to explore Wadi-Rum. Our first glimpse of the Wadi (the Arabic word for valley), we saw the towering “Seven Pillars of Wisdom”. It is a mountain at the entrance to the Wadi which was the inspiration for T.E. Lawrence’s book of the same name. During WWI, Wadi-Rum was the headquarters for Prince Feisal bin Al-Hussein and T.E. Lawrence in their fight for the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire. It was this setting that inspired the film, “Lawrence of ... read more

My main reason for visiting Jordan - other than living out my “Lawrence of Arabia” fantasy – was to visit Petra. Petra is an incredible Nabatean city carved out of the cliffs, dating back to the first century BCE. There are still Bedouin who live in the caves of Petra, making this a city that has been inhabited for at least 2,500 years. To that end, I had arranged with my hotel to hire a taxi for the day to take me the 128 kilometers from Aqaba to Petra. The hotel manager assured me that this was a driver he trusted; the driver would wait for me while I explored Petra and drive me back. The fee was JD85 (about US $120) which was steep, but it was certain, unlike the buses. My driver, Naef, spoke ... read more

Resumo: Queria muito trabalhar!; Aqui, não me sinto em 'casa'; Vou seguir o meu 'feeling'. Estou bem. Estava com a sensação de "viajar" por quase 2 meses, mas não. Na verdade estou sem voluntariar há 1 mês e meio. Desde que descobri que Namíbia não era o meu lugar, o vento me trouxe aqui, Oriente Médio. No Egito senti que eu poderia fazer algo por lá, mas fiquei meio obcecada em trabalhar em um projeto de Permacultura na Jordânia. Assim cruzei rapidamente o Egito e Petra (Jordânia) para chegar aqui em Mazraa, do ladinho do Mar Morto. Logo no primeiro dia descobri que na verdade aqui não era exatamente o lugar que eu procurava, mas Ok. O projeto era bacana. Trabalhar com 'GreyWater' (água que sai do banho, da máquina de lavar, da pia do banheiro, ... read more