Blogs from Middle East - page 1211

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

This is a quote from our Jewish tour guide. The struggle for the promised land makes life difficult for the people of Israel. An air of danger and insecurity is part of daily life. You need not look far to see checkpoints, barbwire, armed guards and security fences. Yet the people are willing to fight to the death to stay in the land they hold dear. On a deeper examination his quote can hold another meaning. Jesus also lived and died for Israel. After 4 months of travel this is the first escorted tour we have taken. We chose the Pilgrim tour company because we wanted to do more than sightsee. We wanted to see the bible come to life. We are being lead by “Mickey” (his nickname) a Christian Jew. His family immigrated from Russia ... read more

My Aiesec traineeship terminates in a few weeks and before my big departure, Waldo, Fatma, Umut and I have decided to go on a holiday together. Umut's got some friends living in Izmir, so we've decided that it's the perfect holiday destination to wrap up a great year :). And indeed Izmir is unbelievable, I love it to bits!!! We had a great time together, strolling along the beach, going swimming, getting a bit of a tan, meeting some of Umut's friends. I enjoyed going shopping to the local bazaar, soaking up the atmosphere, admiring the Aegean sea, so peaceful and calm and serene.... Good-bye Turkey, thank you for everything, my moments here are unforgettable, I will treasure them for the rest of my life! ... read more

Greetıngs from Istanbul. So I decıded to start one of these stupıd blogs for two reasons. 1. Richard, my faıthful travellıng companıon, has one and that guılted me ınto decıdıng to keep a better record of my journey. 2. I am pretty much out of money and I hope that verbal descrıptıons of my near poverty and destıtutıon will convınce my Mom to reload my ATM account from the 24 dollars that seem to be left, and I stıll have no ıdea how much thıs Turkısh lıra ıs worth. Untıl I fıgure that out I wıll be unable to wıthdraw any money, and wıll contınue to dıne lıke I dıd today. Breakfast: I was not gettıng up thıs early after the Muslım Call to Prayer woke me up at 4:30. Daylıght starts really early here, and ... read more