Blogs from Middle East - page 915

So here we are. Our lives in London have well and trully been left behind and we are now at the point of nooooo return. How do I feel? well. actually its a strange mixture. I feel scared, excited, aprehensive, expectant, nervous, lost.... and strangely.... at home. Our contact in Kuwait had arranged an apartment for us. He also bought a few essencials like bed for us, bed for Laila and a cot for Adam. A tv, fridge freezer, cooker, microwave and 2 plastic garden chairs. There were a few bits put into the fridge to tide us over for the morning also. First things first was trying to get the children settled in and try at least to get some clothes unpacked and make this new "home" some what like a home. A little bit ... read more

Welcome to my life. Firstly let me introduce myself. My name is Lucy. Im 28 years old. I have been married for 9 happy years and now have 2 little ones. Laila is nearly 6, and Adam who has just turned 2. I was born in the United Kingdom in London. I met my Husband 10 years ago. My Husband was born in Egypt, in Alexandria. And thats us so far :) a very quick introduction. On 17th April, we Emigrated to Kuwait. My husband was offered a Job working with the UN, and then later with the ministery of education, so it looks like we will be here for at least 6 years. It wasn't a huge decision to move here. Life in the UK was mainly work eat sleep work eat sleep. No social ... read more

After 4 months of independent travel we weren’t sure if we would like being on an organized tour…it was a golden opportunity. An opportunity to cover more ground in a shorter time, to learn more history from our guide and to meet wonderful fellow travelers we now call friends. WARNING…WARNING … THIS IS THE LONGEST TRAVELBLOG WE HAVE WRITTEN! We have seen so much in the last 10 days that we can’t do it justice in words. This is our attempt… but our advice is to try to see Israel for yourself. The pilgrim tour offers the opportunity to be baptized in the Jordan River. Twelve of our group decided to take part in the touching ceremony. "j" wanted to be re-baptized since she was so young the first time. She felt that she would always ... read more

Not to be outdone by the boys. While making a visit to the ladies room we met two young, beautiful Israeli soldiers. They were very friendly and happy to let us take a picture of them. We found they spoke perfect English (with American accents) and explained they had once spent almost a year in the United States. It’s such a foreign concept to go into the ladies restroom and have a conversation with young girls WHO JUST HAPPEN TO BE CARRYING BIG GUNS. We have learned that in Israel everyone including the girls are required to serve time in the Military. As an (already established) over- protective Mom is very glad that "a" and "j" won’t be “carrying” when we come back to the states! Our tour of the Holy Land is drawing to an ... read more

Once back in New Delhi, I went to another dentist to get my tooth looked at. This time, I went to the dentist that the US Embassy uses (or so I was told). By this time my tooth felt much better, and the swelling had completely gone down. Much to my relief, the dentist said that everything looks fine, and that there was no need for me to go through surgery. As you can imagine I was pretty happy, I went back to my hotel room, bought a ticket for Istanbul, Turkey, and packed my bags. I was on a flight by that same night! I'stanbul: "Straddling the Bosphorus, its skyline studded with domes and minarets, Istanbul is one of the truly great romantic cities. Its history tracks back from Byzantium to Constantinople to its place ... read more