During our week in Jerusalem, we squeezed in a couple of day trips that we organized ourselves using public transportation which is very easy to use, affordable, reliable and comfortable. We spent half a day exploring the ruins of Masada which is Israel’s most popular paid tourist attraction, we indulged in an afternoon floating 423 metres below sea level in the Dead Sea, and we ventured over the border to Palestine to spend a few hours exploring Bethlehem.
Archive for the Category »Middle East «
Sunday, November 11th, 2012 / christina
Category: Israel, Middle East
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Tuesday, November 06th, 2012 / christina
Jerusalem is a holy city to three major religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), and is one of the oldest cities in the world. It is the holiest city in Judaism and the spiritual center of the Jewish people since the 10th century BCE, the third-holiest city in Islam (next to Mecca and Medina) and it is also home to a number of significant and ancient Christian landmarks.
Category: Israel, Middle East
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Sunday, November 04th, 2012 / christina
We made the long, arduous journey to Jordan with the express purpose of visiting Petra, one of the world’s most famous archaeological sites. Recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985, it was also named one of the Seven New Wonders of the World in 2007.
Category: Jordan, Middle East
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Tuesday, October 30th, 2012 / christina
The distance between Dahab, Egypt and Petra, Jordan is a mere 210 km as the crow flies. But we weren’t travelling as the crow flies; no, we were taking a bus to Nuweiba, a ferry from Nuweiba to Aqaba and a taxi from Aqaba to Petra.
Category: Egypt, Jordan, Middle East
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Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012 / christina
It was love at first sight. The aquamarine waters, the gentle sea breeze, and the cloudless skies were the perfect setting for the cozy hotel we booked ourselves into at the last minute ten days ago.
Category: Egypt, Middle East
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Tuesday, October 16th, 2012 / christina
As tensions flared, erupting into riots and demonstrations in Tehrir Square on Friday afternoon, we witnessed an incident at the pyramids in Giza that caught us off guard and made us realize how quickly situations can escalate and how important it is to stay alert to your surroundings and to avoid large gatherings of any kind.
Category: Egypt, Middle East
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Sunday, October 14th, 2012 / christina
With only three days at our disposal, we limited our explorations to the downtown core of Cairo and focused on a few of the most interesting and important sites. We used the metro system when we ventured a little further afar and found it to be a reliable, safe, cheap and fast way to get around.
Category: Egypt, Middle East
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Saturday, October 13th, 2012 / christina
My stomach tightened into a knot as we entered into the train station at 4:30 on Monday morning and I saw the train that would take us to Cairo. It was old, dirty, and marred with cracked and broken windows.
Category: Egypt, Middle East
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Saturday, October 06th, 2012 / christina
Since arriving in Luxor a week ago, we have been immersed in ancient Egyptian history, mythology and culture. Luxor is a bustling city of about a half a million people with an economy heavily reliant on tourism.
Category: Egypt, Middle East
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Saturday, September 29th, 2012 / christina
Diving in the Red Sea was everything we were hoping for and then some. Over the eight days at Roots Camp, we dove on four days plus Chris did a night dive. We saw beautiful, colourful coral like we have never seen before.
Category: Egypt, Middle East
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