Three Point Five New Countries, Two Old Favorites
Or eating the great foods of Istanbul, and exploring the Turquoise Coast, North to South this time?
Or seeing new sights: one of the oldest, most destroyed cities in the world, hiking into a "lost civilization" deep in a slot canyon in the desert, or seeing the one remaining wonder, of the original "Seven Wonders Of The World."
ESATTAMENTE !
(Sorry. That's Italian for EXACTLY!)
So, for our tenth year of travel, we have set up a trip that includes two old and three-point-five new countries, seeing if our recollections are true and our expectations are realistic.
While you are reading, enjoy a very entertaining video:
Play and Enjoy
The 3.5 New Countries
A little adjustment to the budget and lifestyle, and *POOF!* here we are, ten years later, still exploring.
There is so much to see, so many places to go, and some places we want to revisit. It is hard to choose what's next.
So, I was thinking...
...thinking about, for example, the Pyramids.
We have never been in the Mid-East before. And, if we are going to see the Pyramids, well we might as well go along the Nile to see the temples, right?
And if we are going all the way to Egypt, it seems a shame to not stop in Israel... and if we are in Israel then Jordan is right next door.
And that's how it starts.
Some new adventures and ideas this year:
We will be taking a night train through Egypt. This will be our second overnight train trip in a sleeper car. I wonder how the Egyptian train will compare to the Eastern European train?
We want to see the famous temples, so that means a four day cruise down the Nile, south to north. Sounds weird to say "down" when you are moving geographically up the map. I am really interested to see how this goes, because I like to be free to come and go, I don't really like the idea of being confined on a small boat, and we are at the mercy of one chef for four days. This part of the trip makes me the most nervous.
I anticipate that Cairo will be a lot like the cities in Morocco, so thinking it through I decided to do something different. I did a little research and have hired a taxi and driver for two full days, at a cost of $40 a day. Here is my thinking. First, he will take us exactly where we want to go. Second, we can eat local instead of tourist. And the biggest thing is third: If he can keep the touts from hassling us, we can relax and look around. Yup. That number three thing alone will be worth every Egyptian Pound and then some! We did something similar in Fez, Morocco for a couple hours and it really worked.
If this works out I will post the guy's name and contact details for you.
Jordan.
We are going to do the overland crossing in the south of Israel. I had to read a lot to figure it out, so if it goes well I will post explicit instructions on how we did it. If not, well...
Interesting note: I got a call from my local bank, letting me know my ATM card will NOT work in Jordan or Turkey. This ATM card is a backup for emergency use only; my regular Capital One card and Schwab card do work in every country (except Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Syria). So you might check before you go.
We wanted to camp a night or two in Wadi Rum, but we enter Jordan the day after Ramadan ends. The camp is not back up and running for a few days, and I didn't want to wait around. So we head straight to Petra from the border.
I learned from our trip to Morocco, and paid attention to the Ramadan dates this year. We enter Jordan the day it ends. PHEW*
But, speaking of cultural faux pas...
We arrive in Israel on Friday afternoon.
No big deal.
The direct bus from the airport to downtown Tel Aviv costs like 16₪ (shekel) which is about $4.50 USD. The train is the same.
But... Shabbat.
Damn that Shabbat.
Sabbath for the Jews is Friday sunset until Saturday sunset which means that public transportation is shut down.
So we have to take a taxi or private shuttle.
This mistake alone cost me lots of shekels. About $30-40 worth of shekels.
Ah yes.
Such a religious place, for Jews, Muslims and Christians.
As a non-believer, I think it will be interesting to see what all the god fuss is about.
And I am not a huge believer in the "Israel is always right no mater what" doctrine. I want to see Palestine. I want to visit historical sights, many of which are in the Palestinian Territory. Thus, our "point five" new country, since the Palestinian Territory is not officially recognized as a "real" country.
Bethlehem?
That's Palestine, not Israel.
How about the Old City of Jerusalem?
Jericho? Hebron, Ramallah, Mount of Olives? Nablas? All in Palestine.
Hell, the border runs just 1 KM east of our guest house.
So these are the "new" 3.5 countries for us.
We have some very concerned friends.
As in, they are worried about our trip and what will happen to us.
Me?
Not worried at all.
Terrorists?
This is the big worry among our friends.
Nope.
Get this: An American is ~175x more likely to die from a gun homicide in the US than a European is from a terrorist in Europe. Then this article covers the risk across the entire world, Americans killed by terrorists.
Then, when you read the statistics about automobile deaths...
And, taking into account that I now work in a "high risk" field (teaching), I think I will take my chances in the Middle East, thank you.
War?
Another big worry for everyone. "I wouldn't go right now when things are so unsettled..." they say.
To me, this seems like as good a time to go as any. With Pendejo Trump fanning the flames of war as Bolton throws on the gasoline, I don't see it getting more peaceful in the near future. Do you?
And I can't think of any time in my lifetime that things were exactly peaceful over there, can you?
I figure we better go now while the going is good.
Climate Change?
Mosquito borne illnesses like West Nile Virus, and extreme heat (as of now it is hitting between 111-114°F this week in Aswan, Egypt). So maybe summer is not the best time to go, but it is the time we have. Will it get cooler next year? Or the year after?
Muslims?
Other strange people?
Well, people are people. That has been our experience. Different foods and customs, mainly because it is a different area of the world and people adapt to where they live. And that is the point, after all, to learn what is going on in different parts of the world. I mean, realistically, there are some really strange people about two miles from us, over near WalMart, yet I don't freak out about that.
So, I just can't live my life being afraid of things or people. I guess I am old-fashioned that way: I remember back when America was the home of the brave.
And so here we go, to three point five new places to explore.
Just For Laughs... Because No Blog Post About Egypt WOuld Be Complete Without...
Turkey.
We spent a fantastic two weeks in Turkey the summer of 2012. I was devastated when Trump imposed the travel ban in late 2017; when it lifted I immediately booked tickets, got our visas and planned this portion of the trip. Who knows if we will be able to return?
What is so great about Turkey? Oh... the food. The people. The experiences. The culture.
Shall I continue?
I am glad to return, and I already wish that we had more time there (but I kind of slipped it into the established itinerary when the ban lifted).
Greece.
We were in Greece in 2012. Read about it here. At the time I said something like, "I wished we had skipped Greece and spent more time in Croatia." Since then we have A. spent much more time in Croatia, and B. I have re-read my blog posts about Greece and decided it deserved a second chance.
I have to tell you, Croatia is at the top of my list (with Portugal) as the best places to be. I am hoping Greece will redeem itself.
So there you have it.
Looking at a map, it is a pretty concentrated trip in a hot spot of the world.
COOL FACT:
We are going to be on three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa.
Jordan, Israel and the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, plus 95% of Turkey is Asia.
Egypt proper is Africa.
Half of Istanbul and Greece are in Europe.
I would have liked to throw in a few other places: Macedonia, Tunisia, perhaps Saudi Arabia. But I don't like "skipping around" too much.
I'd rather spend time getting to know a place.
With 3.5 weeks in Israel, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey, then 3.5 weeks in Greece on six islands, that is plenty of moving around for me.
We are flying primarily on Turkish Airlines this time, connecting through Istanbul. It is 13 hours from San Francisco. I did not score a "deal" this year, but I am not disappointed in the price either.
As we travel, I will fill you in on the specifics: places to stay, transportation, good and bad things.
Above all, however, I am looking for good adventure, great memories, meeting friendly people and seeing things I read about as a kid.