Blogs from Middle East - page 876

So I have had no time for the past several weeks to update my blog and add the photos from the trip. The rest of Italy is up on facebook. Israel was wonderful. Saw a lot of friends, and relaxed quite a bit as well. Writting this from the train station in Berlin. Quick rundown of what I did in Israel: July 8- Haggai picked me up at the airport on Tuseday night. Met a lot of his family. Went out for a little and spent the night at his home. July 9- Spent the after noon at Haggais house. Watched cartoons with his nephew. Eat lunch with his folks. Around 3pm got on the bus to Ashkalon. Arrived in the earlz evening. Went out with Galia. July 10- Spent the day and night in Ashkalon ... read more

Into the arrivals gate she stepped, looking a bit confused perhaps, but with a big smile on her face. Welcome to Turkey, mom! We hopped a Havaş shuttle to Taksim and her adventures began. After lunch on İstiklal Caddesi, we headed to İstinye to take it easy for the rest of the day... until the party, that is. Lütfiye kept me up into the wee hours the night before, rolling grape leaves and cleaning the apartment - which was already spotless enough, in my opinion. Mountains of food were prepared and good friends came in from as far as İzmit to welcome my mother on her very first day. Exhausting, overwhelming, and splendid! My mother weathered her first full day in the country like a champ. After a large Turkish breakfast, we hopped a bus from ... read more

Pazar (Sunday), the 29th of June Otel Famýly; located ýn one of the ýnnumerable suburbs of Istanbul 5:05 AM Watchýng the sun rýse. It's turnýng the eastern part of the sky a mýx of purple, peach, and teal. The moon ýs stýll out, a thýn, sýlver, crescent, and I can just see the twýnkýlýng lýght of what may be Istanbul-proper from the balcony of my room. I woke up at 2:00 AM today, and stared at the wall for two and a half hours. Lýstened to the muzzenýns call to prayer at 4:30, and came outsýde at 4:45. A man walked by blowýng a whýstle: I can hear others lýke hým, father away. I want to say ýt was the call to prayer that woke me up today, but really ýt was my roomates snorýng. I´m ... read more

I’ll be writing a book soon - something like, “Travel Smarter by not making the same mistakes I did.” I have travel rules. Maybe the book should just be, “Sean’s Rules for Travel.” I’ll keep working on that title. One of my early rules was “Don’t make a connection between two different airlines, especially on an international flight.” As there are many problems that can arise from the airlines being in different terminals. It seems like a simple rule, but schedule and frequent flyer miles, and the reputation of an airline can cause one’s convictions to wane. This “waning” has caused me no end of trouble on my present itinerary. First, when I connected between American Air and Royal Jordanian to get from Dallas to Amman, my luggage was lost and items stolen from it. Knowing ... read more

After walking at least 100 miles today, it feels great to sit and review photos. Brother Doug has gone to eat dinner with his Scottish friend Paul who got in last night; I said my day had been long enough! Day 1 photos with explanations. Matt, I just can't do what you do with the camera, but you should see some evidence of the hints you've given me. You should have been here to take them for me. ... read more