Middle East – farflungistan

Trip to Iran: Shiraz Jet-lagged and caffeinated

The ride to the hotel is pretty much a blur. We learned that a light rail line would be completed sometime. Construction started in 2001 and it’s still not completed. I can relate since I spent most of my childhood waiting for the completion of the “Big Dig” in Boston. Mahmoud also informed us his sisterContinue reading “Trip to Iran: Shiraz Jet-lagged and caffeinated”

Ancient Eastern Crossroads of Apamea Syria

Driving up to Apamea after visiting the ruins of the other great cities of the area Al Basa and Sejilla while I was staying in Hama, Syria. This city was the center of it all at one point in time. The former village of Pharnake was renamed Apamea by the newly appointed and former Roman general to Alexander I kingContinue reading “Ancient Eastern Crossroads of Apamea Syria”

The Howls of the Rebel River in Hama Syria

The highlight of the city of Hama is by no doubt the norias or “wheels of pots”. Seventeen now remain standing and occasionally running above the Nahr al-Assi, aka Rebel River. Many know it as being the Orontes River. It’s presently the job of the office of Antiquities in Hama to make sure that theseContinue reading “The Howls of the Rebel River in Hama Syria”

The quiet town of Palmyra

The bus rolled into Tadmor, or as most know it as Palmyra, a little over 3 hours after it left the Harasta Pullman terminal in Damascus. Taking local buses is always fun and tricky if you don’t speak or understand the native language. The final destination wasn’t Palmyra and even if it was the busContinue reading “The quiet town of Palmyra”

Hama and it’s great Beehives

We were at a crossroads in Syria and needed to figure out whether the next stop should be the ancient city of Hama aka Hamah (Epiphania) or Homs aka Hims, Syria? We then turned to the help of the internet. We checked out some somewhat reliable travel forums, did some quick Google searches, read a little and decidedContinue reading “Hama and it’s great Beehives”

She’s traveling to the Middle East

What a girl packs away in her travel bag will all depend on where she’s planning to go. This case is the Middle East. This being said, taking great care in how you dress and act while visiting. What a woman traveler wears and how she behaves will show how locals in turn treatContinue reading “She’s traveling to the Middle East”