Blogs from Middle East - page 879

It’s 7:15a now and I just got back from breakfast. As I approached my room I noticed that the carpet in front of my door was darker in that circular pattern that can only mean one thing - flooding. But wait - I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start with my arrival in Jordan 36 hours ago where I watched the carousel go ‘round and ‘round until it stopped without producing my cherished luggage. I filled out my “lost luggage” form like a good boy (along with 20 other people) and was assured that my bag would be on the next flight which occurs in **24 hours**. I had to work yesterday, and did so wearing what I flew in, REI hiking shorts and a silk button-down short-sleeved shirt. Could have been worse. My bags were ... read more

Shalom, y'all!! Hope everyone had a good holiday weekend. There was actually a July 4th celebration of sorts in Tel Aviv. I guess I'm not surprised since there are many expats and tourists from the States here. Anyway, closing in on the end of another week... my is the time flying! Have a great rest of the week... Monday, July 07, 2008 I imagine these writings will become fewer as my days become more routine. At least, they’ll be routine until this session ends and the next one begins. Most of the people I have met during this session are going home but more will take their place for the second session. Arlette is here for another week and then flies to the States to take care of business there before returning in late August. So, ... read more

Since this is my 3rd time being in Lebanon, I don't necessarily see all of the things that I might have observed the first time I was here. So I'm trying to see things as if it were my first time! *Half finished buildings; no matter where you are, in Beirut, one of the suburbs or the villages there are always half finished buildings. I'm assuming that the owner ran out of money but it could also be that they moved out of the country before it was completed. Its unfortunate because it can be such an eyesore on the countryside. When we were at Paul's villa on Sunday there was a half finished apartment building that had been sitting that way for 20 years! *Driving; even though there are lines on the roads they aren't ... read more

Today we went to see the ruins at Byblos (Jbeil). "Its considered one of the oldest cities in the world mainly due to the superposition of archaeological levels on one spot over 8000 years of history" (according to the entry sign) Here are some pictures from there... read more

A la sombra de la pared este de la Mezquita de los Omeyas ' la fuente ' es el café con más solera de de Damasco. Aquí es donde se puede escuchar a Abu Shadi, el último de los hakawati, cuentacuentos profesionales. Cada tarde a eso de las 19:00 h. Abu toma asiento para contar los cuentos de la época de los mamelucos. Umayad caminin bati duvarinin gölgesinde, “çesme” Samdaki en güzel ve geleneksel cafesi, orda Abu Shadi, son hikawati, yani hikaye anlatan, hikayelirini anlatiyor, saat 19:00’da, namazdan sonra. Nestled in the shadow of the Umayyad Mosque's eastern wall, 'The Fountain' is the most atmospheric of Damascus' traditional coffeehouses. This is where you can watch Abu Shady, the last of the hakawati (professional storytellers). Every evening around 19:00 (give or take an hour or two), Abu ... read more