Sunday, April 18, 2010
Egypt
What happens when you visit a country without any preparation whatsoever, but simply because the weather is better than where you are? In our case, while in Jordan we looked at the weather forecast for Syria and Egypt and very quickly decided for the latter (it was a decision between 15 degrees and rain or 30 degrees and sunshine). What a great decision this has been, because we loved the unexpected and the unexpected proved to be very exciting.
First, 2 weeks in Dahab on the Sinai peninsula which was pure relaxation. We've spent a lot of time reading, eating and most importantly exploring one of the nicest underwater worlds. As a matter of fact, the snorkeling trip to Ras Mohamed national park was the best snorkeling we ever had (and that means a lot after 5 years in Oz and a great beach holiday on Fiji, the Andamans, etc).
Then, after a brief culture shock in Hurgada (where we were surrounded by thousands of package tourists from Russia drinking vodka and displaying the lastest eastern european fashion), we embarked on a journey to the ancient pharaonic Egypt. From the Abu Simbel temple at Lake Nasser, to the Karnak temple and tombs in Luxor, ending at the pyramids in Cairo. In a nutshell, we've been amazed by the beauty, refinement and complexity of this ancient culture (and still are). Not only were most sites more than 3.5 thousand years old, but they also displayed a level of technological progress, ingeniouity and social structure which were mind boggling.
Before heading to Instanbul, we've spent our last Egypt week in Cairo and despite all negative stories from friends and family we really liked this chaotic, bustling and congested city (it felt a littel bit like India). I guess we just discovered once again that we are big city people. With this in mind we boarded a plane to Istanbul and so far, this metropolis hasn`t disappointed us...
First, 2 weeks in Dahab on the Sinai peninsula which was pure relaxation. We've spent a lot of time reading, eating and most importantly exploring one of the nicest underwater worlds. As a matter of fact, the snorkeling trip to Ras Mohamed national park was the best snorkeling we ever had (and that means a lot after 5 years in Oz and a great beach holiday on Fiji, the Andamans, etc).
Then, after a brief culture shock in Hurgada (where we were surrounded by thousands of package tourists from Russia drinking vodka and displaying the lastest eastern european fashion), we embarked on a journey to the ancient pharaonic Egypt. From the Abu Simbel temple at Lake Nasser, to the Karnak temple and tombs in Luxor, ending at the pyramids in Cairo. In a nutshell, we've been amazed by the beauty, refinement and complexity of this ancient culture (and still are). Not only were most sites more than 3.5 thousand years old, but they also displayed a level of technological progress, ingeniouity and social structure which were mind boggling.
Before heading to Instanbul, we've spent our last Egypt week in Cairo and despite all negative stories from friends and family we really liked this chaotic, bustling and congested city (it felt a littel bit like India). I guess we just discovered once again that we are big city people. With this in mind we boarded a plane to Istanbul and so far, this metropolis hasn`t disappointed us...
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Welcome to Jordan!
What a change! After India traveling in Jordan felt like being catapulted into civilization and cold weather (9 degrees and rain) at the same time. Everything worked so smoothly: our airport pick up held a massive sign with our name, the hotel had our reservation, was equipped with wifi, satellite TV and fridge.
On the streets we were greeted with a friendly "welcome to Jordan", not only from shop owners, but police, bakers, kids and moms. While driving through the frequent military checkpoints with our rental car, we were always stopped. But not because we looked suspicious, no, the guys at the checkpoints simply were interested in us: 'where do you come from, where are you going, welcome to Jordan'. Jordanians are just generously nice and curious and they are honest people who do not like to bargain or fool you, a rarity in the Middle East and another welcoming change from India.
In our 2,5 weeks in Jordan we were joined by G's mom, who was excited to be on her first independent trip. The team of three traveled very well together. We spent the days looking at old Roman ruins, crusader castles, mosaic floors, and nabataen tombs; relaxing at the Dead Sea and the Red Sea; hiking in the heat through deep canyons, to desert castles and around Petra.
Jordan is a great little country which is easily discovered by car, people are extremely friendly, and they have nice food with mezze and shish kebab the lot. All in all the 2.5 weeks went in a fly and after G's mom returned to Germany, we decided to extend summer again and crossed the Red Sea into Egypt.
On the streets we were greeted with a friendly "welcome to Jordan", not only from shop owners, but police, bakers, kids and moms. While driving through the frequent military checkpoints with our rental car, we were always stopped. But not because we looked suspicious, no, the guys at the checkpoints simply were interested in us: 'where do you come from, where are you going, welcome to Jordan'. Jordanians are just generously nice and curious and they are honest people who do not like to bargain or fool you, a rarity in the Middle East and another welcoming change from India.
In our 2,5 weeks in Jordan we were joined by G's mom, who was excited to be on her first independent trip. The team of three traveled very well together. We spent the days looking at old Roman ruins, crusader castles, mosaic floors, and nabataen tombs; relaxing at the Dead Sea and the Red Sea; hiking in the heat through deep canyons, to desert castles and around Petra.
Jordan is a great little country which is easily discovered by car, people are extremely friendly, and they have nice food with mezze and shish kebab the lot. All in all the 2.5 weeks went in a fly and after G's mom returned to Germany, we decided to extend summer again and crossed the Red Sea into Egypt.
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