Blogs from Middle East - page 1084

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Middle East » Israel March 4th 2007

i know, i know. I am lame. I havent updated this thing in probably over a month. I dont even know where to begin. We have been on probably three or four different trips since i last wrote. I guess that i will just post some highlights since i am so behind. It has been over a month since i have been here and the time is going so fast. I look forward to and yet fear the day that i will have to leave Israel. I know that i will look back on this experience with jealousy, wanting to always come back and repeat my semester spent here. But i am throughouly enjoying myself while i am here as well. lets see. We had our bejamin feild trip on the 7th of Feburary, which was ... read more

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul March 4th 2007

Det svært hyggelige og hjelpsomme personalet på BA på Gardermoen måtte dessverre opplyse oss om at vi ikke slapp inn i Tyrkia uten enten å ha forhåndskjøpt visum eller å ha forhåndskjøpt returbillett. Vi hadde bare lest oss til at vi kunne få kjøpt visum på flyplassen i Istanbul, og var lykkelig uvitende om at de trengte dokumentasjon på at de kom til å bli kvitt oss igjen. Enden på visa var at vi brukte hver vår VISA og kjøpte oss to business-class billetter (business-class var det eneste som var refunderbart ved avbestilling) fra Istanbul til Oslo 2.april. Tilsammen kostet dette oss 18.018 NOK. Kredittkort er fine greier!! Til vår begges overraskelse gikk bagasjen gjennom innsjekkinga uten et eneste skeivt blikk eller gram i overvekt. Vi trodde selv vi hadde innsjekka bagasje på ca 20 kg ... read more

Middle East » Turkey March 4th 2007

Middle East » Turkey » Central Anatolia » Cappadocia March 3rd 2007

for 2 days now we have been ın central Turkey ın an area called Cappadocıa. Its volcanic origns have created a dry landscape vaguely reminiscent of Montana's open sagebrush spaces and Utah's multicolored cliffs and bluffs. Added bonus feature: pillars, outcroppings, towers and caves in the volcanic tuffa which is light enough to be eroded or carved easily. Early Christians lived in these caves, to escape persecution, and local folk created underground villages to escape violence and war over the centuries.... read more
Byzantine church entrance
early terracotta painting
cliff houses

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul March 3rd 2007

Well we're back at home and inspired for new things and other travels, but not for a while we need to earn money now to be able to leave again, still the memories of cold Istanbul will keep us going for a while. First coming to mind are the birds and the cats, the sky of Istanbul was full of birds, from storks in the Gulhane Park that belongs to the Topkapi Palace to the flight of seaguls lit at night over the spires of the blue mosque! to sparrows, asian doves, comorans and ibyses all part of the scenario. At dusk the sky would fill with the flight of birds, not exagerating, in their thousands over the hills, mosques and waterways of the city, what an amazing image that was! The mosques, city filled with ... read more
another mosque
On the ferry to the Asian side
a last toast in our hotel

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul March 2nd 2007

Well I have been planning parts of this trip for two years so it is thrilling and stressful to have it now finally here! I have borrowed the necessary power adaptors since I loaned mine to Aaron never to be seen again ;-) I think I have the appropriate clothing all set and good luggage and walking shoes. I am starting to stress a little about my itinerary in Istanbul. The more I read, the more I want to see! I really hope to see most of the old city and take the river cruise of the Bosphorous...that way I will get to see some of the Asia side as well as the European side. Whirling Dervishes are on my list and we HAVE been invited to synagogue at the largest synagogue in Instanbul for Saturday ... read more

Middle East » Israel » North District » Safed March 2nd 2007

Part 2... Day 3- Today we drove to Zfat, in the Galilee. Zfat is one of the holiest cities in Judaism, after Jerusalem and Hebron. It is a beautiful little town on the top of a mountain, and is home to the Jewish mystics of Kabbalah. It also happens to be my most favorite place in all of Israel. You can just feel these special, spiritual, mystical powers flowing all around you. As a very religious city, where Kabbalah was developed in the 16th century, there are dozens of small synagogues, mostly after specific rabbis. We went to a few of the more important ones. First was the Abuhav Synagogue, named for Rabbi Yitzhak Abuhav, a famous rabbi from Spain who lived in the 15th century. Abuhav wanted to make it to Israel before he ... read more
ark at the Abuhav synagogue
ark at the Ari Askenazi Synagogue
at the grave of The Ari

Middle East March 2nd 2007

What Day is Today? Ok, I have no excuse for the huge gap between this post and my last. We have been busy, true; but not so busy that I couldn’t keep you all informed. Probably, the biggest thing that has kept me from writing is the monotonous nature of this war. Everyday is just like the last. There are no weekends here. No holidays. Everyday is the same. I have a really bad habit of missing chapel on Sunday because I don’t even realize that it IS Sunday. I’m not complaining. There’s not much to write about. I Miss the Scouts - Boo Hoo! I was pretty bummed when I first got to C Company. I didn’t know the guys, and I really missed the scouts. I felt like I had failed. I felt thrown ... read more
Iraq Through Bulletproof Glass #2
Iraq Through Bullet Proof Glass #5
Iraq Through Bullet Proof Glass #6

Middle East » United Arab Emirates » Dubai March 2nd 2007

Our final destination before returning to the UK was Dubai where we spent just a couple of nights. It was a long flight from Auckland to Dubai, especially when our entertainment units packed up - a 13.5 hour flight with no TV - nightmare! We were given a glass of champagne, 2 bottles of wine and a pack of playing cards as consolation - how generous! Dubai was the only location where we had pre-booked accommodation. We tried a 'Top Secret' deal on the Internet. Fortunately we ended up staying at the Crowne Plaza, which was very comfortable. We took heed of lots of advice we'd been given about Dubai and avoided the beach or 'building site' locations as well as the busy city centre. Dubai really is one big building site - so much development ... read more
Phil & Laura - Desert bashing
Mosque - Dubai
Dubai Cityscape

Middle East » Israel » Center District » Ra'anana March 2nd 2007

Prelude: I just posted 2 entries at once, so read the other one as well...sorry been quite busy and no internet in the room kinda kills it. I'm having a bit of a dilemma. The problem is this. I've only been here a week and I'm already feeling bogged down by what I have to do as far as ulpan and work. It's not necessarily the fact that I can't handle it, but I keep having to take days off to do the basic oleh chadasha (new immigrant) stuff, such as opening up a bank account, going to misrad haklita (Office of Immigrant Absorption) and such things like that. I still have to make my way to Tel Aviv and meet up with the people in Misrad HaStudentim (Office of Student Affairs to get set up ... read more
Maayan
Mega Event in Jerusalem
Tel Aviv Beaches




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