Blogs from Middle East - page 1085

Well when we woke up this morning the sun was shinning and beconning us to the beach, so we set off in Jodie's car to Dhubai and the famous Jameera Beach. Well almost anyway. Jodie decided that we should have a few detours and after driving into a couple of building sites and seeing a few 'Deep Excavation' signs and 'Caution! Road Surprises' signs we made it to the beach. What is a Road Surprise anyway? The road from Abu Dhabi to Dhubai couldn't be any straighter if the Romans had built it and yet every now and again we would see these signs dotted along the road. Dis the road hold surprises for unsuspecting drivers, was this a conspiracy by the government to keep you guessing or someone's idea of a joke? We never ... read more

So there we were in Istanbul, a strange country at the crossroads of the European and Asian continents, straddling two cultures, eating Mexican food. Yes, you read that right. Globalization has left its mark strongly on Istanbul, from the McDonalds' to the Starbucks to the Mexican-food chains that are visible throughout the city. FYI, the Mexican was DEFINITELY not up to Kennett Square standards, but it's interesting that you can get Latin-American food in Turkey so easily. All of the big music store, clothing, and other Western product chains are very prominent, most especially in the northern part of the European side of Istanbul, which is the more modern and "Europeanized" side called Beyoglu. In addition to the conveniences (or inconveniences) of these "modern amenities", increasing global interaction has negatively marked Turkish culture in significant ways. ... read more

Howdy all, (New pics to be added still when I get Carmels memory stick) Just returned from Oman late last night, it fact it was a miracle we returned at all as we got hopelessly lost trying to find Sharjah airport in our hire car and only checked in about 20 mins before take off.... Oman was a wicked holiday from start to finish. The first country I have seen in this region that hasn't over developed to the extent where it has lost it's original identity. It is a slow relaxed country that still relies on fishing as it's main industry - and whilst the signs are there that it will soon be 'Dubai-fied', at the moment it is a stunning country with beautiful scenary and approach to life. Anyhows, enough of the slightly pretentious ... read more

hello again! well after 4 days here we finaly made ıt to Aya Sophya, we weren't in a hurry to get there and as days passed and we trıed to avoıd going on a friday, we made it finally on Sunday. It is true that it is not really impressive from outside compared to the blue mosque, but what it doesn't have outside it makes up for on the inside! Wow! Huge doesn't describe its enourmosity, but if one thing that one can say is that it leaves one a bit, how can I say, maybe just with heavy mixed feelings... One understands that once Constantinople was taken by the Ottomans it became a Muslim place and that it is lucky they didn't just completely destroy it; but when one sees what little is left of ... read more

The Amman airport had a comfy Starbucks and a small Cinnabun stall, so we had an idea that Jordan would be better than we’d expected. Our first hostel was nice in a busy area of the city and we arrived mid morning with pleanty of time to explore the sights nearby. We ventured out to the Roman Theater which is situated right in the heart of the city. The ruins there are amazing and sitting way up in the nose bleed section we got a great view over the hustle and bustle below. The first thing that struck us about Jordan were the kind people. A lot of the shop owners we passed called out “Welcome to Jordan!” instead of hussling us to come into their shop. They seemed more interested in getting their sales ... read more