Blogs from Middle East - page 875

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Middle East » Syria » North » Aleppo July 19th 2008

There are two separate parts to this trip, both of equal amount of time of satisfaction. Border Crossing and City exploration. I will talk only about the border crossing here and Aleppo in another entry. On the way to Syria, Syrians asked all the Americans, and no one else, to go with them. Turned out they wanted nothing more than our parents' names. What surprised me at the border is that the Duty Free shop priced everything in US Dollars, but the exchange rate board did not list the exchange rate for the US Dollar. Also, I was advised by our tour guide that my being born in Russia is a problem and that I shouldn't tell anyone that information. Other than that, after we passed the border, all our passports were collected by the tour ... read more
Syrian duty free shop.
Showers in the public bathroom on the border.

Middle East » Israel July 18th 2008

Today's the day we went off to Israel. Chris' dad, John dropped us off at the Eilat border, and I got questioned at security because of my surname, as they thought it sounded a bit suspiscious or whatever! Was a bit scary at the time and I was really weirded out as to why they wanted to know the first names of my Nonno and Nonna!! But anyway, not long after we got through and got in a taxi that took us to the bus station where we were going to catch a 5 hour long bus to Jerusalem. The bus ride was full and wasn't too bad, apart from this random guy sitting diagonally across from Shona and myself, and stared at us practically the WHOLE time. Even if we looked at him or made ... read more
wwooooo
Sunset
Jerusalem

Middle East » United Arab Emirates » Dubai July 18th 2008

On my first night in Dubai, i kicked back with a bottle of Asahi beer on the terrace of the Bahri Bar, and regarded the Burj Al-Arab as it shifted colours from green to pink, and sent beams of light dancing across the sky from it's rooftop. I like this dhow-inspired, world famous building but i don't think i respect it very much. A glass bottomed swimming pool, restaurant in an aquarium, dancing fountains, extortionate suites and thirty quid cocktails? Let's face it, it's pretty silly. Not that silliness should be discouraged but as Abdullah the laughing taxi driver told me later, 'who is paying this much money just to sleep, habipti?' I spent a day trying to take in what are considered to be the city sights. As is often the case, the more interesting ... read more
Muggy Evenings, Dubai
Peregrine Falcon, Falcon Centre, Dubai
Spices, Spice Souk, Dubai

Middle East » Turkey » Mediterranean July 18th 2008

Status: Currently about to attend friend's wedding (in 4hrs). Very much looking forward to a Turkish (secular) wedding. -Extremely friendly humans here. Multiple times ended up having dinner with random Turks, last one the owner of the Scooter Rental place from which I rented the scooter. -Absolutely beautiful places in Turkey. If anyone is considering going, one must visit Cappadocia (region) Goreme (city). -Love scootering (word exists?). Rented one in Goreme for 8 hours. Drove from one city to another, then looked around or just stopped at abandoned houses or cave houses to take a peek/peak (which one?). Love driving without knowing the road signs. Also, had to call the rental facility because i didn't know how to start-up the scooter. -Got completely destroyed by bed bugs (over 100 bites). Never been bitten so thoroughly. Upper ... read more

Middle East » Oman » Muscat July 18th 2008

“ In a departure from usual reporting procedures, this last week-end’s diving is going to be a bit of an epic split into two blogs - one will be full of marine life and eloquence unbounded, the other will detail Dave’s dive trip which bore a remarkable similarity to “Coco the Clown gets on a boat” I was in Oman again for a meeting, so Dave drove over for the second time that week so we could go diving at the Daminiyat Islands - apparently a marine reserve because of the outstanding natural beauty of the place. It was certainly very nice but whether it stands out from other places on the coast to warrant such special status is, in my humble opinion, dubious. The dive operation was absolutely superb; slick, efficient, good quality gear, nice ... read more
Eels
Leopard Shark
Leopard Shark

Middle East » Turkey July 18th 2008

The original reason why I decided to go to Turkey was a friend's wedding in Antakya, Turkey (an Indian friend marrying a Turk). I'm quite glad to have attended it, having ended up taking over 500 photos. In fact, Sujata (bride & friend) has told me that some thought I was a hired photographer. Wedding Details Guests gathered in a large catering facility beginning at 8pm. At 9pm, Bride and Groom arrived and immediately began dancing. A variation of dances ensued for the next 3 hours. Most of the time a drummer beat-on in the middle of the dance floor. Camera operator recorded the event and streamed it live on the 2 TVs attached to the wall. I'm guessing the purpose of this is for everyone to see in case large # of guests showed up. ... read more
Table for the Non-Turks
Bride & Groom
Mother & Bride

Middle East » Israel » Jerusalem District » Jerusalem July 18th 2008

Well, I have finally arrived in South Africa after a long and circuitous journey. I ended up flying through Tel Aviv, and spending two days in Jerusalem! It was quite wonderful, and entirely too short. I got into New York early on the morning of the 16th of July, and flew out again around noon, headed to Israel. One side note to an otherwise uneventful flight - they confiscated my laptop because it apparently set off some sort of alarm and they had to run further security checks. They then sent it on to Tel Aviv on a later flight, but this was my first encounter with the world of Israeli airline security. I got into Tel Aviv at 4am on the morning of the 17th, and my flight for Johannesburg didn't leave till the next ... read more

Middle East » Jordan July 18th 2008

The day after the wedding, we checked out of the hotel around noon, and we all very tired and hungover, so we went to Books@Cafe for lunch/afternoon tea and sat there eating and resting for a while, before heading back to Hotel Liwan for a long long sleep! We were supposed to go out with Chris' friend Fadi that night, but we didn't hear back from him, so we just had dinner with John, Colleen and Eimear at Grenadier's, then went back to bed because we were all still tired and lazy. The next day we went to the Dead Sea for the day. This was SO exciting!! We got day pass thingo's at the Movenpick where we could use there beach/pool area and everything, so that was VERY cool, the place is MASSIVE!! So we ... read more
How do you spell Scotch?
Movenpick
Dead Sea

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul July 17th 2008

Grand Bazaar Day OK. All chics have to get in some shopping time! However, there is a great historical background in this shopping area. The Grand Bazaar dates back to 1453! It is literally a maze of THOUSANDS of shops, all under roof. I didn't take any photos but here is a good one. Grand Bazaar. It is another cultural experience, where it is expected for you to haggle over the price. According to my travel guide, you should plan to pay a little of 1/2 of what the asking price is. It worked. If you walk away, they will give you the price you offered usually. I didn't go to buy but just to see the recommended site. I couldn't find Dillards. After a couple hours in the Bazaar, we tried to find our way ... read more
Spirograph
Turkish Restaurant
Restaurant Bread Maker

Middle East » Syria » South » Damascus July 17th 2008

So, summer school 1 is over and today we begin the second of the three intensive English courses. We had some great students. Russ was invited to go out for the afternoon and smoke some hubbly-bubbly with some of the guys he taught. They took him to a local café, which seemed to be men only, where he was treated to a couple of hours of strong Arabic tea, fresh fruit salad and a long puff on the water pipe. There are many synonyms for the argileh (as the Arabs call it). In London they are called hookahs (nothing to do with rugby or prostitution!) or water pipes, in Egypt it’s sheesha, in Turkey it’s nargileh whilst around the world it’s affectionately known as hubble-bubble or hubbly-bubbly. Why? Well, it’s not like smoking a cigarette, cigar ... read more
Water Pipes
Music in the Citadel
Mummies on the drums!




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