On the lighter side...

I recently came across this article that I am sure anyone who has flown can relate to. You know the dread of boarding a plane and realizing there is an infant on board and you just know they are going to start crying when their ears are adjusting to the pressure change, or they are tired of sitting still, etc. Here is a story about how parents of infant twins took proactive steps to make the flight a little better for their fellow passengers.

Parents of infant twins provide candy gift bags and a message to their fellow passengers.

More help needed for Syrian Refugees

Please see this update on the dire Syrian refugee situation in Jordan and the surrounding countries. Many of the refugees are being sheltered in schools, but the schools will be back in session soon and we don't know where the refugees are going to be able to go then.

Read more here at the Salaam Cultural Museum website. Salaam is collecting donations for the refugees, and 100% of what is collected (less credit card fees to the card processor) goes to help provide basic food and medical supplies.

UAE & Oman Tour Map

Below is the link for a map of where our UAE and Oman Tour will take you in October.

Nizwa Fort, Oman

UAE-Oman Tour Map

Also, you can get complete details on our website about this tour.

UAE-Oman Tour Itinerary and Details

Burj Khalifa, Dubai

New Airline Baggage Policy

New baggage policy – interline through baggage check discontinued

  

"Effective July 24, 2012 the DOT has mandated new baggage rules requiring airline passengers to pay the same published baggage fees[1] and have the same allowances for their entire itinerary. As a result of this new policy, effective August 1, 2012 US Airways will no longer be through checking passengers’ bags when they have been ticketed on separate tickets. For interline itineraries where the passenger has their entire journey on one ticket, we will continue our practice as it is done today, however when the tickets are split (e.g. ticket 1 on US Airways from Phoenix to Honolulu and ticket 2 on Hawaiian Air from Honolulu to Lihue) we will only check the bag to the destination on the US Airways ticket.

A ticketing and baggage agreement is required to ticket interline itineraries on one record (PNR). Published minimum connect times are only valid for interline itineraries; minimum connect time cannot be precisely calculated when bags are not through checked." 

-US Airways

So far this is a policy of US Airways, but undoubtedly the other airlines will follow. In order to minimize the problems this will cause (missed flights due to the extra time needed to claim bags, schlep them to the next ticket counter, and check in for the next flight), we will always try to get your flights on a single ticket. When this is not possible, we will do our best to make sure you have plenty of time to deal with your luggage and make your next flight. 

What this will eventually mean for travelers is that if you are going to Morocco, for example, and find a really great fare on Royal Air Moroc from New York, but you book a separate ticket to get to New York, you will not be able to check your luggage all the way to Morocco. You will have to collect it in New York, then recheck it on Royal Air Moroc, instead of just going to the gate for your next flight.

No doubt this regulation was imposed to try and make things more transparent for travelers, but the response from the airlines is just creating more difficulty for the passengers. Ask when booking a ticket if all legs will be on one ticket or not, so you will know what to expect. 

[1] Carriers are not required to recognize exemptions to other carriers’ baggage policies such as free first or second bags due to frequent flyer status or loyalty credit card membership. The carrier’s published baggage fees or US Airways’ baggage fees must be charged, depending on a variety of factors including first marketing carrier and/or most significant marketing carrier.

Syria Refugee Update

This is from an email sent out by Rita today to update people about the situation in the refugee camps in Jordan.  If you would like to contribute please go to this website: Salaam Cultural Museum

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I want to thank all the people that have made donations so far for the Syria Refugees in Jordan.  Attached to this email are the items that are most needed by the refugees and to date the organization I am working with has been able to supply 19,500 people with these goods in the last 10 days.

Food Items

• Canned foods
• Bread
• Milk
• Iftar meal
• Jams
• Oil
• Rice
• Pasta
• Groats
• Sugar
• Olives
• Tea
• Cheese

Non Food Items

• Hygiene Kits
• Water and sanitation supplies
• Mattress & Cover
• Diapers
• Napkins
• Clothing
• Underwear
• Medicines
• Medical Supplies

To give you an idea the people that are working on the ground in Jordan are all volunteers, to date we have 200 people helping with this crisis.  At the present time we are working on the new arrivals that are coming in, but also with the urgent cases of young kids of all ages, especially the kids that are 1-6 months, 6 months to one year and then one year to 3 years, and others. 

The new arrivals are temporarily housed in a school or other temporary shelter until either they can get back to their homes in Syria or we can find them more permanent places to stay.  We are giving them basic food items and non-food items, and we have the volunteers receiving them in 24/7.

 

The money that is being used to help these families is coming in from donations from people like you. With the recent fighting that is taking place in Aleppo we are not sure how long this will be lasting.  The reports that are out as of today say over 200,000 people have left Syria.  Very few flights are going in or out of the country and the roads are too dangerous to be traveling on.  We have heard that the airport might be closed soon in both Aleppo and Damascus.  Some of the border crossings are open, but it really depends on the day and what fighting is going on for the security of the neighboring countries, they are not able to leave them open regularly.

We still urgently need your help.  Please if you can find it in your heart to help with any amount of money it would be appreciated.

To help follow the news for people that have been with us on trips, below is a map of the areas that are being hit in the north.   

When we arrive into Aleppo on our tours you will usually go thru the area of New Aleppo Salaheddin areas.  The areas of our hotels is in the Old City and Fardous regions which has some fighting , but very little hope this helps when listening to the news and the areas the army and rebels are in.

#Syrian #Refugees in #Jordan

Please visit the Salaam Cultural Museum's website to learn how you can help them help the ever growing numbers of refugees in Jordan. The needs of the people are outstripping what Jordan is able to provide, and they need help desperately.

Follow this link to their website: Salaam Cultural Museum

Thank you!

Iran Tour Route

Another map has been created to show you where the Iran tour goes in October! Just follow the link to the Google Maps page and you can see the route day by day.

Iran Susa Tour Map

Relief carvings at Kermanshah

Iran Susa Tour
October 7-22, 2012
$4595 pp/do land only
Click here for full itinerary, pricing and other details.