Blogs from Middle East - page 1183

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the West Bank. Five days was not nearly enough; I would have liked to have seen more of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and gone a bit further afield to Jericho, Ramallah, and so on. But the cold reality of a plane to catch in Amman, Jordan in two days time couldn't be ignored. Farewell to the West Bank and Israel I checked out of my hotel in Jerusalem and inquired about taxis to the Allenby / King Hussein crossing. The receptionist made a call on her phone, spoke a bit in rapid Arabic, and I heard the number "85." I assumed this was the price in Israeli shekels (about $18 US). Imagine my surprise when she hung up and said, "A taxi to Allenby is eighty-five dollars." I just about keeled ... read more

not a lot to really update on today as i have been spending most of the last couple of days trying to get over the jetlag. yesterday i laid down for a short nap around 130 and woke up some 7-8 hours later. i really enjoyed that. i found the mall today and it was something else. it would make our malls in okc look like flea markets. we are talking four floors of designer shops with security and doormen. i really felt like someone was going to come up to me and tell me i didn't belong because i wasn't wearing gucci or diesel. i also toured around the campus a bit, trying to get a feel for the place and see what it had to offer. some parts of it are really quite pretty ... read more

A police station in Zabid. Around 10am. The steady stream of people asking me where I'm from and why I'm here finally culminated in me sitting next to The Man Himself, patiently explaining myself. It's February, but I have a respectable tan from the past week or so spent in the lowlands here by the Red Sea, mostly outdoors and in the backs of pickup trucks. It's hot and humid, and I could use a hot shower. I'm 'going native', wearing a turban on my head (they're remarkably useful) and a sarung/skirt for pants. Compounded with a healthy beard, it normally earns me big points with people I meet, but this time it has bought me a free night's accommodation in a Zabid jail. A number of Al-Qaida boys have escaped from prison, digging a 70m ... read more

I’m sure you were all anxiously waiting for my next blog to hear all about the desert safari, right? Well, I’m happy to report that not only did I survive a night in the desert, but also a crazy SUV drive that would rival the Mindbender! The tour started off at 2 p.m. and consisted of a 3 hour ride through the sand dunes about 45 minutes outside of Doha. I was very confused when the SUVs stopped to let air out of their tires. It was at that point I discovered that the SUVs would be our rollercoaster cars! It was nuts. I was in the car with four of the boys (Sliver, Chris, Simon, and Don) and Joanna, who goes by Asia, which is pronounced Asha (I don’t get it either). Anyway, the boys ... read more

Well, although I'm living in one of the more progressive Middle Eastern countries, censorship is alive and well. First, I was banned from buying books from amazon.com and then I received this message when I tried to visit a web site. I'm willing to bet this is one of the country's biggest government departments...the Ministry of Agriculture building I parked at today--not so much. What, pray tell, can you farm in a desert!? Speaking of deserts, just for clarification for those who are "so pretty", a desert safari is quite different than the African safari I'm going on in June. The desert safari we're going on tomorrow involves a quest to find sand, sand and more sand. We're going dune buggy bashing and sandskiing, and then we're sleeping in a traditional tent with cushions and shisha ... read more