Rita sent this post from her trip to India, which she is checking out to see about adding to our list of destinations.
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I arrived in Delhi after a 13.5 hours flight from JFK - it wasn’t bad since the flight was half empty so I was able to stretch out and sleep most of the way.
India was not a place that I had ever thought of coming, but for some reason I needed to get out of Seattle and thought maybe this might be a destination for our clients, similar to the Middle East in so many ways.
I was met at the airport by a very nice young man and was taken to my hotel - the Rama Palace. This is an old palace that was purchased for a new bride back in the early 1900’s and has been restored - it is ok, nothing great. The only problem is that it’s too far out of town, I found out. I have to take a car for the one hour drive into the center of Delhi. After being in Delhi (at temperatures of 98 degrees), it’s very crowded but I have not seen any poverty, which is one of the reasons I had not wanted to travel here before.
Had a full day of sightseeing today from visiting their White House, beautiful green gardens and wide streets reminded me of Argentina. No beggars but so many motorcycles. It seems that it only cost $1000 to get one so everyone has one, or these bicycles carriages or little carts that are moving fast throughout the streets. Horns, horns and more horns- they honk for no reason at all.
I took a bicycle carriage through the old city. Felt so sorry for the young man peddling in between the cars and motorcycles and in the heat, we seemed to hit every pot hold there was. I think in the movies they make it look so glamorous and fun, but honestly it is not. I finally got back to the hotel, exhausted from being out the full day in the heat and just hit the bed.
Today I had a long drive to Jaipur, the Pink City. It is 5 hours from Delhi and the only way to get there is by bus or train, no airline flight. Read in the paper today that Air India is on strike, wondering how long it will last and how I will get out of here.
Jaipur reminded me of the Middle East with the building structures, palaces, and the Islamic art work and tiles. Also the names are in Arabic Diwan. Still no beggars, but the hawkers trying to sell their stuff. I was told do not talk to them, do not say NO because if you do it means Yes. Well I was trying to do it like the Middle East and said No - wrong thing to do! I got surrounded by so many and they would start at a price of 3,000 rupees for drawings and then go down to 200 . A rupee is running 44 to the US dollar.
Today is my birthday and I wanted to ride an elephant - which I did to the Amber Fort! The Amber Fort is a huge fort that is walled and has this long narrow walk way up to the top - it took about 25 minutes riding the elephant up. Way different than a camel - the elephant rocks side to side and the camel rocks from back to front. Elephants are more comfortable! It was a great day but the temp got up to 104-109 today, but it was a dry heat.
Went to the Taj Hotel for drinks –a beautiful place with incredible green gardens. Surprised at how much green there is with all the heat. People are so nice and humble, when you come into a building they put their hands together and bow their heads and say Namaste. The men at the entrance to most of the places, hotels, restaurants, etc wear the traditional outfits and long mustaches that curl upwards.
Not much on the news about the Royal wedding which surprised me. Their was a coronation of a maharaja in the provenance of Jaipur- he is 12 years of age- beautiful young man who is now ruling this area.
Will write more later going out to dinner now.
Friday, April 29, 2011
New tours to Turkey
We have two new tours to Turkey scheduled for this year! It has been some time since we have had set departures scheduled to Turkey, although it is always a destination we are sending clients to.
Our first tour in July focuses on Western Turkey. It will take the group to Ankara, Cappadoccia, Pamukkale, Antalya, then to coast and the city of Izmir and finally Istanbul. This will be an exciting intorduction to the country and will include sites of antiquity such as the Ephesus, the natural wonders of Cappadocia, the white mineral pools of Pamukkale, and the most important sites in Istanbul. To see the complete itinerary click here: http://www.caravan-serai.com/tours/TurkeyJune2011.htm
Our tour in September will focus on Eastern Turkey and include Cappadocia, Trabzon, Mt. Nemrut, Diyarbekir, Urfa, Lake Van, Erzurum, and more. The tour will end in Istanbul with a tour of the city, then free time to explore on your own. A farewell dinner cruise on the Bosporus caps off this exciting look into a less traveled region of Turkey. To see the entire itinerary click here: http://www.caravan-serai.com/tours/TurkeySept2011.htm
Pamukkale
Our first tour in July focuses on Western Turkey. It will take the group to Ankara, Cappadoccia, Pamukkale, Antalya, then to coast and the city of Izmir and finally Istanbul. This will be an exciting intorduction to the country and will include sites of antiquity such as the Ephesus, the natural wonders of Cappadocia, the white mineral pools of Pamukkale, and the most important sites in Istanbul. To see the complete itinerary click here: http://www.caravan-serai.com/tours/TurkeyJune2011.htm
Our tour in September will focus on Eastern Turkey and include Cappadocia, Trabzon, Mt. Nemrut, Diyarbekir, Urfa, Lake Van, Erzurum, and more. The tour will end in Istanbul with a tour of the city, then free time to explore on your own. A farewell dinner cruise on the Bosporus caps off this exciting look into a less traveled region of Turkey. To see the entire itinerary click here: http://www.caravan-serai.com/tours/TurkeySept2011.htm
Lake Van
April Egypt tour quick report
Rita:
Got home about 1:00 this morning.
The trip was really good. With only three of us and no tourist we got to spend valued time at
the sites.
Always felt safe. The Egyptian people are very warm, friendly and welcoming. They love Americans
and of course especially Obama.
Thank you for making this opportunity possible.
Dottie
Got home about 1:00 this morning.
The trip was really good. With only three of us and no tourist we got to spend valued time at
the sites.
Always felt safe. The Egyptian people are very warm, friendly and welcoming. They love Americans
and of course especially Obama.
Thank you for making this opportunity possible.
Dottie
Monday, March 28, 2011
American Group Welcomed in Cairo
Today I spoke to Maha from our office who is with our group in Cairo. She told me a bit about their impressions of their first few days in Egypt and the meetings they have had so far with our Egypt experts. In every place they have visited so far, the Egyptians have been welcoming and happy to see Americans visiting. They feel safe, and if you didn't know (ie: if you had been living under a rock for the past couple months!) about the revolution, you wouldn't be able to tell just by being out on the streets of Cairo. Businesses, shops, cafes, restaurants are all open as usual, and any signs of the thousands upon thousands of people that had taken to the streets and Tahrir Square are almost gone.
Maha told me that in spite of the usual heavy traffic in Cairo, the tourist sites are almost empty. They saw a few groups of tourists from Germany, the Netherlands, and France in Old Cairo, but at the Pyramids at Giza, our group was the only foreign group there. Usually there are rows and rows of tour busses parked in the parking lot, but when our group went, theirs was the only one. They said there were a few locals there, but other than that, they had the place almost completely to themselves. At Memphis and Saqqara, it was also very quiet.
The hotels are equally quiet, so this means that those hotels with several restaurants probably don't have them all open, but the bars and cafeterias are open. The vendors are really eager to make a sale, and can be a bit overwhelming, but we have to keep in mind that while tourists enjoy less crowds, the crowds were what had been providing incomes to so many Egyptians. Now they have no one to sell their goods or services to, so they are really hurting.
Recently, a referendum was passed to allow elections to be held in about 6 months. I asked if campaigning was evident, and Maha said no. You would hardly know that elections were coming if you are a visitor.
The group has a guide with them, a representative from our office in Seattle and one from the office in Cairo, as well as security. There is a curfew from midnight to 6am in place, but it does not affect the group's schedule at all.
In the morning they will fly to Luxor, and visit the West Bank sites and the temples of Luxor and Karnak - both places usually swarming with visitors, but I expect they will find these sites also quieter than usual. This is really a great opportunity to see these sites without the throngs of people that can descend upon them. It will not stay this way forever as more and more people decide to visit Egypt, as word gets out that it is safe and things are getting back to normal.
We have another group departing for Egypt on April 10th, arriving on the 11th, that will also see the same sites and have meetings with Egypt experts in Cairo. Join us! Space is booking up quickly!
http://www.caravan-serai.com/tours/NewEygptApr2011.htm
Maha told me that in spite of the usual heavy traffic in Cairo, the tourist sites are almost empty. They saw a few groups of tourists from Germany, the Netherlands, and France in Old Cairo, but at the Pyramids at Giza, our group was the only foreign group there. Usually there are rows and rows of tour busses parked in the parking lot, but when our group went, theirs was the only one. They said there were a few locals there, but other than that, they had the place almost completely to themselves. At Memphis and Saqqara, it was also very quiet.
The hotels are equally quiet, so this means that those hotels with several restaurants probably don't have them all open, but the bars and cafeterias are open. The vendors are really eager to make a sale, and can be a bit overwhelming, but we have to keep in mind that while tourists enjoy less crowds, the crowds were what had been providing incomes to so many Egyptians. Now they have no one to sell their goods or services to, so they are really hurting.
Recently, a referendum was passed to allow elections to be held in about 6 months. I asked if campaigning was evident, and Maha said no. You would hardly know that elections were coming if you are a visitor.
The group has a guide with them, a representative from our office in Seattle and one from the office in Cairo, as well as security. There is a curfew from midnight to 6am in place, but it does not affect the group's schedule at all.
In the morning they will fly to Luxor, and visit the West Bank sites and the temples of Luxor and Karnak - both places usually swarming with visitors, but I expect they will find these sites also quieter than usual. This is really a great opportunity to see these sites without the throngs of people that can descend upon them. It will not stay this way forever as more and more people decide to visit Egypt, as word gets out that it is safe and things are getting back to normal.
We have another group departing for Egypt on April 10th, arriving on the 11th, that will also see the same sites and have meetings with Egypt experts in Cairo. Join us! Space is booking up quickly!
http://www.caravan-serai.com/tours/NewEygptApr2011.htm
Monday, March 21, 2011
Tunisia - Where it all began
This time last year I was visiting Tunisia with a small group of Americans, enjoying the Mediterranean and then the desert climate, the wonderful people, delicious food, and magnficent sites of this small North African country. This year we will visit to learn about the changes taking place and the recent revolution that brought down their president after 23 years of rule.
Travel to Tunisia next month with Caravan-Serai Tours to see where it all began. In mid-December 2010, the grumblings of frustration and discontent over un-employment, human rights, and police and ruling-family brutality exploded into full fledged revolution. The desparate act - a public suicide - of one man set the wheels in motion to bring down Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia's president for the last 23 years. Protests grew and grew, with more people coming to the cities to join in the call for the end of the Ben Ali regime. On January 14, they got their wish as Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia. Now the people are in the process of rebuilding their government and preparing for elections as they begin a new era of democracy in the Middle East.
Our tour will focus on the most recent history of the country as well as it's ancient roots. Visit Tunis, El Jem, Kairouan, Kasserine, Tozeur, Chebika and Tamerza, Metlaloui, El Kef, Dougga, Sbeitla, and more. To see the entire itinerary click this link: http://www.caravan-serai.com/tours/NewTunisiaApr2011.htm
April 14 - 23, 2010, $1650 per person, double occupancy, land only.
Travel to Tunisia next month with Caravan-Serai Tours to see where it all began. In mid-December 2010, the grumblings of frustration and discontent over un-employment, human rights, and police and ruling-family brutality exploded into full fledged revolution. The desparate act - a public suicide - of one man set the wheels in motion to bring down Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia's president for the last 23 years. Protests grew and grew, with more people coming to the cities to join in the call for the end of the Ben Ali regime. On January 14, they got their wish as Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia. Now the people are in the process of rebuilding their government and preparing for elections as they begin a new era of democracy in the Middle East.
Our tour will focus on the most recent history of the country as well as it's ancient roots. Visit Tunis, El Jem, Kairouan, Kasserine, Tozeur, Chebika and Tamerza, Metlaloui, El Kef, Dougga, Sbeitla, and more. To see the entire itinerary click this link: http://www.caravan-serai.com/tours/NewTunisiaApr2011.htm
April 14 - 23, 2010, $1650 per person, double occupancy, land only.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Be the first to see the new Egypt March 26 – April 5, 2011
As the protesters in Egypt finish cleaning up the streets they are now turning their attention to making the necessary changes in their government, and a large part of that task will be to get the economy repaired and growing again. Tourism is a huge part of the Egyptian economy and it is important for the country to begin welcoming visitors back as soon as possible.
Caravan-Serai Tours is offering a tour of Egypt at the end of March to visit the historic places of the Egyptian Youth Revolution, and will include meetings with our contacts in Cairo, sightseeing in and around Cairo and Alexandria, and a Nile Cruise. This tour will be a great opportunity to see the monuments and sites of Egypt without the throngs of people usually present. Also, hear first hand from people who were present during the many days of protests at Tahrir Square.
This tour will be escorted by our own Maha Sarhan. A native of Egypt, she has lived in the US since the early 1990's. Maha leads groups to Egypt, Jordan, Libya, and Israel and she has traveled throughout Europe. She is fluent in French, in addition to Arabic and English. Before joining Caravan-Serai Tours, Maha worked with KLM Airlines for 5 years.
We are getting a group rate on Egypt Air from New York, so please call for details.
NEW EGYPT
March 26 – April 5, 2011
11 Days/ 10 Nights
Price per person:
Sharing Double: $975.00
Single: $1505
Air ticket: JFK/Cairo/Aswan Luxor/Cairo/JFK: $1220
Lecturers:
Amal Winter is an Egyptian-American psychologist in Seattle who currently lives in Cairo, Egypt during the academic year where she is Visiting Professor of Practice at the American University in Cairo’s Graduate School of Education. She is a member of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, the Arab American Community Coalition in Seattle, and the Arab American Institute’s Pacific Northwest representative. Her numerous consulting positions include the U.S. Department of State where she trains women in the Middle East to run for public office and the creation of training programs for panels of mediation specialists in over 450 Egyptian family courts.
Jere L. Bacharach is Professor Emeritus, Department of History, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Born in New York in 1938, Bacharach attended Trinity College, CN, Harvard University, and the University of Michigan. He has been a member of the U.W. faculty since 1967 having officially retired in 2004 although he taught his last class in the fall term, 2007. While a member of the University of Washington faculty, Bacharach served as Chair, Department of History; Director, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies; and Interim Chair, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization. He has also been President, Middle East Studies Association of North America, President, Middle East Medievalists, and President, Association for Professional Schools of International Affairs. He has served in Cairo as Interim Director, American Research Center in Egypt and has held numerous other positions in various professional organizations.
His publications have ranged from the architecture of power in the Islamic world to the use of African slaves in military Muslim armies. His primary work has been in the field of Islamic numismatics where he has published numerous articles on fifteenth century Circassian monetary developments and tenth century Ikhshidid coinage. The latter appeared as “Islamic History through Coins”, which was the co-winner of the 2007 Samir Shamma Prize of the Royal Numismatic Society of Great Britain for the best book in Islamic numismatics during the preceding two years. Bacharach has twice been a Samir Shamma Fellow at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford and at St. Cross College, Oxford University and in 2008 received a Mellon Foundation Emeritus Fellowship.
Caravan-Serai Tours is offering a tour of Egypt at the end of March to visit the historic places of the Egyptian Youth Revolution, and will include meetings with our contacts in Cairo, sightseeing in and around Cairo and Alexandria, and a Nile Cruise. This tour will be a great opportunity to see the monuments and sites of Egypt without the throngs of people usually present. Also, hear first hand from people who were present during the many days of protests at Tahrir Square.
This tour will be escorted by our own Maha Sarhan. A native of Egypt, she has lived in the US since the early 1990's. Maha leads groups to Egypt, Jordan, Libya, and Israel and she has traveled throughout Europe. She is fluent in French, in addition to Arabic and English. Before joining Caravan-Serai Tours, Maha worked with KLM Airlines for 5 years.
We are getting a group rate on Egypt Air from New York, so please call for details.
NEW EGYPT
March 26 – April 5, 2011
11 Days/ 10 Nights
Price per person:
Sharing Double: $975.00
Single: $1505
Air ticket: JFK/Cairo/Aswan Luxor/Cairo/JFK: $1220
Lecturers:
Amal Winter is an Egyptian-American psychologist in Seattle who currently lives in Cairo, Egypt during the academic year where she is Visiting Professor of Practice at the American University in Cairo’s Graduate School of Education. She is a member of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, the Arab American Community Coalition in Seattle, and the Arab American Institute’s Pacific Northwest representative. Her numerous consulting positions include the U.S. Department of State where she trains women in the Middle East to run for public office and the creation of training programs for panels of mediation specialists in over 450 Egyptian family courts.
Jere L. Bacharach is Professor Emeritus, Department of History, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Born in New York in 1938, Bacharach attended Trinity College, CN, Harvard University, and the University of Michigan. He has been a member of the U.W. faculty since 1967 having officially retired in 2004 although he taught his last class in the fall term, 2007. While a member of the University of Washington faculty, Bacharach served as Chair, Department of History; Director, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies; and Interim Chair, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization. He has also been President, Middle East Studies Association of North America, President, Middle East Medievalists, and President, Association for Professional Schools of International Affairs. He has served in Cairo as Interim Director, American Research Center in Egypt and has held numerous other positions in various professional organizations.
His publications have ranged from the architecture of power in the Islamic world to the use of African slaves in military Muslim armies. His primary work has been in the field of Islamic numismatics where he has published numerous articles on fifteenth century Circassian monetary developments and tenth century Ikhshidid coinage. The latter appeared as “Islamic History through Coins”, which was the co-winner of the 2007 Samir Shamma Prize of the Royal Numismatic Society of Great Britain for the best book in Islamic numismatics during the preceding two years. Bacharach has twice been a Samir Shamma Fellow at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford and at St. Cross College, Oxford University and in 2008 received a Mellon Foundation Emeritus Fellowship.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Ancient sites in Saudi Arabia
Here is an update from our Saudi Arabia tour participant, Dr. Kiracofe. Thanks for sharing!
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Today I visited several most interesting sites in Saudi Arabia, the ancient city of Al Ula in an oasis valley green with palm gardens. The city was an improtant trading center and stop along trade routes. The city has been continuously in existance for at least 2,600 years. What we see today is the surviving mud brick architecture in a protected archaeological zone covering perhaps 20 hectares, with more modern buildings nearby.
I also visited three stations along the Hejaz Railroad built just before World War I by German engineers for the Ottoman Sultan. This historic railroad was part of the system the Germans were trying to build to connect Berlin to Baghdad and the Gulf at Kuwait. The Hejaz Railroad was also an important military asset for the Ottomans and for this reason the Arabs sought to disrupt it as part of their revolt against Ottoman rule. They had encouragement from the British. T. E. Laurence, known as Laurence of Arabia, became famous during this time for his activities in the area that included attacks on the Hejaz Railroad. I was able today to photograph these stations, and a few others yesterday, one with a train still in the station, though much deterioratd. There is one station and maintenance facility that includes about 16 buildings at Madain Saleh, near Al Ula, that has been restored. Inside the old maintenance shed there are some of the old carriages, one now completely rebuilt, and also one of the original steam locomotives. Most interesting. Outside there are several other carriages waiting to be rebuilt and they are carefully converting some of the buildings for use as a hotel, making this a unique tourism destination.
Nearby is the Nabatean city of Madain Saleh, with its famous funerary monuments carved into the cliff faces, just as they did at Petra. This site was built about 2,000 years ago during a time when the Nabatean people controled the trade routes of the Saudi Peninsula by controling
the oasis centers. It is quite a spectacular site, and the surrounding geography is some of the most dramatic I have ever seen. We went deep into the valleys in four wheel drive vehicles to see some amazing sand dunes and rock formations, unlike anything I have ever seen, so dramatic. In a way the area reminds me of parts of Arizona and New Mexico, reddish colored sandstone formations eroded by wind and sand over thousands of years. We watched the sun set over mountains at the far side of the valley, a valley full of unusual rock formations and palm groves....
Today was certainly one of the most spectacular days of adventure I have ever had... just amazing...I strongly recommend visiting Saudi Arabia! If I only saw the things I have seen today it would have been worth all the effort and expense of coming here, many times over...
As soon as I have time I will send along some of the pictures...
Best wishes to all
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Today I visited several most interesting sites in Saudi Arabia, the ancient city of Al Ula in an oasis valley green with palm gardens. The city was an improtant trading center and stop along trade routes. The city has been continuously in existance for at least 2,600 years. What we see today is the surviving mud brick architecture in a protected archaeological zone covering perhaps 20 hectares, with more modern buildings nearby.
I also visited three stations along the Hejaz Railroad built just before World War I by German engineers for the Ottoman Sultan. This historic railroad was part of the system the Germans were trying to build to connect Berlin to Baghdad and the Gulf at Kuwait. The Hejaz Railroad was also an important military asset for the Ottomans and for this reason the Arabs sought to disrupt it as part of their revolt against Ottoman rule. They had encouragement from the British. T. E. Laurence, known as Laurence of Arabia, became famous during this time for his activities in the area that included attacks on the Hejaz Railroad. I was able today to photograph these stations, and a few others yesterday, one with a train still in the station, though much deterioratd. There is one station and maintenance facility that includes about 16 buildings at Madain Saleh, near Al Ula, that has been restored. Inside the old maintenance shed there are some of the old carriages, one now completely rebuilt, and also one of the original steam locomotives. Most interesting. Outside there are several other carriages waiting to be rebuilt and they are carefully converting some of the buildings for use as a hotel, making this a unique tourism destination.
Nearby is the Nabatean city of Madain Saleh, with its famous funerary monuments carved into the cliff faces, just as they did at Petra. This site was built about 2,000 years ago during a time when the Nabatean people controled the trade routes of the Saudi Peninsula by controling
the oasis centers. It is quite a spectacular site, and the surrounding geography is some of the most dramatic I have ever seen. We went deep into the valleys in four wheel drive vehicles to see some amazing sand dunes and rock formations, unlike anything I have ever seen, so dramatic. In a way the area reminds me of parts of Arizona and New Mexico, reddish colored sandstone formations eroded by wind and sand over thousands of years. We watched the sun set over mountains at the far side of the valley, a valley full of unusual rock formations and palm groves....
Today was certainly one of the most spectacular days of adventure I have ever had... just amazing...I strongly recommend visiting Saudi Arabia! If I only saw the things I have seen today it would have been worth all the effort and expense of coming here, many times over...
As soon as I have time I will send along some of the pictures...
Best wishes to all
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