Blogs from Middle East - page 11

One of the things I started when I first moved to Dubai in 2012 was to try to do one new thing every week (usually the weekend). It could be something simple, like seeing a new mall or eating at a new restaurant, or a bit more planned like a tourist activity or visiting another emirate. I tried to do the same when I came back in 2018, but with more international travel, I don't always see those weekly new things as write worthy. Every now and then I'll do a hiking post or the Expo or I did one where I discussed life during Covid. So, I thought I would catch up on some of the things I have done and seen over the last year or so. In particular, I did a lot of ... read more

On June 19 we left our Glamping compound for the dreaded long day in a bus. There comes a day in every tour that no matter where you are going there is one terrible day spent traveling. If you recall, we started our tour in Amman in the north of Jordan and traveled ever south to Petra. We had many stops along the way so the travel was not bad...but the reverse was not so much. We were in Petra and our evening destination was the Dead Sea Resort hotel (Holiday Inn) for 7 of us; while the rest of the travelers were heading to Amman to board flights home, or to continue with another tour. Many continuing on were Aussies! Australians have a thing that their country is so far away, about 24 hours to ... read more

I apologize as I am a full day behind in the blog, but we traveled so long and saw so much that when I got to the hotel at 10:30 PM (we started at 8:30 AM) I was bushed and went right to sleep. Today we started out on the bus and headed towards Petra. Our first stop along the King's Highway was the city of Madaba. This is a very ancient city and boasts two major sites, The Greek Orthodox Church and Mt Nebo. The church is dedicated to St. George who slew the dragon. The current church is from the 18th century. The church was built on the site of a Byzantine Church from 560 AD. Although the church is relatively new, the builders uncovered a mosaic floor of profound importance. It was not ... read more

All good things must come to an end. The Israel portion is about to join the fond memory books. Today is the last day of our Israel portion of the tour. We got up a little later today, almost like we were on vacation, and prepared for our final 1/2 day of touring. We traveled around Tel Aviv and came to the site where Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was fatally shot by an assassin in the center of the city. Politicians in Israel, like politicians everywhere, have their lovers and haters. Rabin was loved by many but a radical few felt he had sold out Israel in favor of a peace accord and, for this reason, a radical hater ended his life during - of all things - a peace rally. It is a chilling experience ... read more

Before we get on with touring, let's discuss money. On many of our family trips, we have always found that using local currency was the best option for general purchases, especially in the local markets, small restaurants, and gift stores. Not so here in Israel. This country craves the US dollar and I found that US Dollars were the preferred currency for everything. The small and large shops, markets, and restaurants (basically everywhere), they priced everything in dollars. This presents a conundrum. Do I or don't I change dollars to shekels? My thoughts. Use a credit card. Visa and Mastercard are accepted everywhere, American Express in less than 1/2 the locations, and Discover in no place that I found. If you use a credit card, there are many advantages. You have a record of what you ... read more