A Cairo Thanksgiving

Let's start with dessert...and work backwards from there!



Our main objective for Thanksgiving was to have a pumpkin pie. For the three days leading up to Thanksgiving, we peeked in every coffee and sweet shop to see if they had pumpkin desserts. No luck. We went to the Marriott Hotel, who advertised a Thanksgiving Dinner that you could order, complete with pie. No luck. We scoured the shelves of the supermarket in one of the wealthier neighborhoods for pumpkin puree. No luck. We went to the shop around the corner from Max and Kathy-Ann's apartment and there was a lonely little can of Libby's. Such Luck!



In addition to the pumpkin pie, I made Muhallabia Massawa (cardamom pudding) and Max bought Kathy-Ann a special birthday cake.

For dinner we enjoyed:

• Garlic mashed potatoes
  
• Sauteed peppers and zucchinis
• Stuffing
  
• Cranberry sauce - made out of $7 reconstituted Craisins

I got to set the table with the pretty handmade napkins we gave to Kathy-Ann and Max for their generosity.



Appetizers: Cheese, Craisins, and Crackers



Preparations: Kathy-Ann experimenting with the Craisins



We were so thankful to be safe and comfortable for Thanksgiving away from home. We truly missed our families and traditions but had a great time celebrating with our new friends.

Remember that you can click on any photo to get to our flickr photostream and that we love comments! Love you!

How Max and Kathy Ann Saved Us

Dahab was a wonderful break, but something was still missing when we hopped on the bus for Cairo. It had been a restful 5 days, but it had not been regenerative as we had hoped. It was as if we pushed pause on the stress, but we were just as close to the breaking point when we left Dahab as when we arrived.

After 9 hours in a bus that smelled like the rest stop between Olympia and Tacoma, it was wonderful to meet Max and Kathy Ann in the lobby of the Cairo Marriott! We walked to their apartment and made ourselves at home in their spare bedroom. The whole week we hung out together and explored Cairo in a very relaxed, low-key manner. On Thursday, I really didn't do much of anything at all (This is my personal Thanksgiving tradition). I read about 200 pages of a Michael Crichton book, and watched half a dozen episodes of 30 Rock. It was great! Morgan can fill you in on the Thanksgiving details later...

We met Kathy Ann and Max in Goreme (Cappadocia), Turkey. We arrived at 6am from a night bus and by chance had breakfast with them and another couple from our hostel. They left on a bus that very night, but were living in Istanbul and seemed like cool folk, so we got their info. Two weeks later we were dining out in Istanbul, and they invited us to stay with them in Cairo. Um, yes.

Our new friends have a very different travel philosophy. This fall, their travel consisted of renting an apartment in Istanbul for a month, exploring the city and taking a couple short trips, then going to Cairo and doing the same thing. It is definitely the way to travel. We are already in the process ofminimizing our destinations in SE Asia to try to emulate this laidback method of traveling. "Traveling" is almost the wrong word. "Living abroad" may be more appropriate.

We've since talked about how our trip has changed because of that one chance meeting. If we had stayed at a different hostel, or come to Goreme one day later, we wouldn't have these great new friends. Considering how beat we are, we'd probably be wishing we were home instead of in Egypt!



The apartment in the Zamalek neighborhood of Cairo feels more like a home to us than any place we've been since August. It's a feeling we missed, and needed dearly. It is no exaggeration to say that Max and Kathy Ann have saved this trip for us.

Now we are in Luxor, the hassle capital of Egypt, and we can't wait to get back to Cairo! In a few days we are all traveling to Siwa Oasis together, so we are looking forward to the next couple of weeks. By the time we hop on that plane for Delhi, it will be like leaving home all over again.

So, someday when you meet our new Canadian friends (yep, right there in Vancouver), you can greet them warmly as people who were wonderful to us duirng a tough spot in our year.

The Power of Washington

It is official folks, we have been rained on in every country we have traveled to. Two nights ago we awoke to lightning and thunder as Cairo got poured on for a good portion of the night. Cairo has an annual rainfall of about an inch. The power of Washington has followed us, with a little thunder and lightning mixed in for affect.

Prague: A flash downpour begins while we are inquiring about a soccer game in the tourist office. We decide to venture into the storm and are quickly soaked. Searching for cover, we ran into a cafe. Dripping like wet dogs, we gazed at the menu featuring $10 cappuccinos. The suited waiters and posh clientele looked at us as if to say "you don't really think you're going to be served here, do you?" We didn't, and quickly decided we'd rather freeze to death (our gouge our own eyes out) than drop $10 on a cup of coffee.

Innsbruck: 4 days of rain culminates with an epic hike that almost ends in disaster. We flee for warmer weather.

Dubrovnik: We awaken to the loudest clap of thunder I have ever heard. I have never been fully awake quicker in my life. When I sit up in bed, the flash from the lightning is still happening. Both ofus feel the electricity in the air, and we came to the conclusion that our hilltop hostel has been struck. Minutes later I am outside with the "mom" of the house, pulling laundry under cover as the downpour begins.

Montenegro: We hire a cab to take us to the top of a mountain to view the mausoleum of a national hero. Freezing and oaked, we discover the monument is closed due to weather.

Albania: Morgan and I were killing time while waiting to meet with some Albanian students when this storm hit. We hid in the bazaar until we were running dangerously late, and then ran from awning to awning in the back alleys to make it back in time.

Turkey: Our Nemrut tour gets off to a bang with the "sunrise tour" mimicking our other mountaintop experiences.

Jordan: After soaking in the Dead Sea, the rain clouds rolled in and drove us back to the hotel.Wasn't this supposed to be a desert?

We have had good weather for the most part, at least in the second half of our trip, but it is pretty crazy how the rain seems to find us no matter where we go.

The Walking Wallet

Throughout this post, it will be useful to know that 1 Jordanian Dinar = $1.50 and 5 Egyptian Pounds = $1

Arriving in a new country can be very difficult from a financial perspective. When we arrived in Jordan, and needed to find a taxi to our hotel, we had no idea what was an appropriate fare We ended up settling on 5 Jordanian Dinar ($7.50) for a 10-15 minute ride. I thought this was high, but what argument could I make? Within two hours of being in Amman we had learned from our long lost relative that upon entering a cab, you need to insist that the driver use his meter. Otherwise they will see your white skin and jack up the price. The next 10 minute ride cost about a ten times less.

Through much of our time in Jordan, I felt like a walking wallet. To the majority of people we interacted with, I was not a person, but a prospective profit. This was especially true in heavily touristic areas. In Madaba, a less touristy town, we found a friendly falafal restaurant that sold us four sandwiches for a dollar, and made us feel very welcome.

Compare that to Wadi Musa, home of Petra, where I felt extremely uncomfortable walking into Al-Arabi, the Lonely Planet recommended joint. When I asked how much a falafal sandwich would cost me, the cashier snarled "One Dinar." Then he began making jokes to the locals waiting for their food, of which I was clearly the punchline. At restaurants throughout the country, their were no prices on the menu. This allows them to charge foreigners 3-4 times the going rate, and their is nothing we can do about it. At least in Cairo, if the sweet-potato-engine guys charge you double, you (a) know they need it and (b) are only paying 20 cents more.



I've already mentioned the flock of touts at Petra tryng to get us to ride camels or donkeys, or buy postcards and jewelry. We were expecting to be absolutely swarmed at Giza a few days ago in a similar manner. We had some friends who were there 2 weeks ago, and they were dropped off by their cab driver at an alternate entrance. He told them that the road to the other entrance was closed, and they needed a horse or a camel to go the rest of the way. Of course, there was a man with to horses who was happy to help. Only 250 pounds each for a ride to the pyramids! They went for it, and were out $100. Of course, upon approaching the Great Pyramid, they also approached the parking lot below it and saw that they had been tricked. I'm sure the driver had a a nice piece of the pie as well.

However, we were surprised to find that there were less tourists and less touts than in Petra. The difference was that the touts were more devious. Here are some more examples:

The minute we stepped out of the cab a man approached asking us if we had tickets. We ignored him. "I am trying to help you," he insisted. We ignored him. "I need to help you with your tickets," he pressed. We ignored him. "Stop, I work for the government. Just ask those policemen over there." He did not look anything like an official, and the guards did not seem interested (though I'm sure they would've loved a cut). We kept walking. "Come back if you want a camel or horse ride!" he shouted at us a final act of desperation. Gotcha.

After we bought our tickets and were walking towards the Great Pyramid, a man standing next to some officers (for effect only) asked to see our tickets. I'm not sure why we pulled them out, but you have to understand that many of these con-artists have a way of catching you of guard and surprising you, even if you know it's coming. "These tickets allow you to walk to all of the pyramids," he explained (duh), "but they don't pay for a horse or camel ride." I quickly snatched the tickets back and we began to walk away. "Wait, did you want a camel ride? I can arrange it for you, but it costs extra!" They've really had a lot of practice in fine tuning their approach.



Overall, however, Egypt has been much better than Turkey and Jordan as far as harrsment is concerned. At first I thought we had just become desensitized by it, but Turkey truly was much worse. Egypt also trumps Jordan in that it's prices are actually printed at the restaurants. No rip offs there.

Taxis in Cairo are also very easy, and cheap. There are basically two options. You can hop in a newer white checkered cab and the meter will run. Anywhere in the city for under $5, usually under $3. Or, you can hop in one of the older black and white cabs that are meterless You end up paying a little less, or a whole lot more. The entire sytem is based on the passenger knowing what the appropriate fare is and paying accordingly. As soon as the words "How much?" come out of your mouth, you become fair game.



We usually take the checkered cabs for simplicities sake, but coming back from Giza (basically a Cairo suburb) we negotiated a fare. Of course the driver told me "60 pounds," when I knew 25 was fair. We negotiated to 35 (with Morgan and I beginning to walk away at least twice). This is what I love about the taxis. I can pay more than the going rate, and not be out a lot of money. In most cabs, I just tip big, or round up to the nearest 5 pounds. The reality is that a lot of these drivers are just scraping by, and a good fare for them is not that much more for us. Everybody wins, everybody is happy.

If we really wanted to go cheap, there are public buses. Neither of us have a death wish though...



In retrospect, I imagine that a lot of the restaurant owners and camel herders are just scraping by as well, but their approach is all wrong. When we have the feeling that somebody is trying to take advantage of us, deceive us, or crack jokes at our expense, they are not going to get any of our money.

This post has been a long time in coming, because it something that is a frequent topic of conversation for Morgan and I. Money changes hands in our daily lives so much, and it gets wearisome when we have to be on our guard at all times. Do we tip here? How much? How long have we been in the cab? Was this cheaper at the other place? Is it worth it? Or the all-time classic budget reference: How'd we do today? Even when things are cheap, the feeling of being ripped off just isn't fun.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody, we have much more to share in the next day or two!

Penguins Far From Home

Day 82:

Being in Dahab was the perfect remedy for our travels. After two and a half months of mad-dash travel (never more than 5 days in one location), we arrived in Egypt knowing that we had 24 days for just 4 locations. A mental burden was lifted off of our shoulders, and we responded by doing very little for 5 days.

Our lodging was the Penguin Hostel, which Mosleh from the Cleopetra had reccomended. He also gave me a name and a password. We arrived with half a dozen other travelers, and I asked "Is Emad here?"

A friendly guy who seemd to be in charge responded, "I am Emad."

"Hallah wallah!"

"Mosleh my friend, hallah wallah! You get the special deal from Mosleh!"

Another traveler inquired if he would be recieiving the special as well.

"No, only these two. But everybody gets a free drink at the restaurant!"

With a start like that, you know its going to be good. As the waves splashed on the rocks beside us, Morgan and I sipped our hibscus cocktails and chatted with the international contingent of friends we had made on the minibus. Our brains slipped into autopilot knowing that there would be very little decision making in the next few days.



Decision making is one of the root causes of a infirmity I will call "Traveler's Stress." Even though we are vacation, many days are more stressful and tiring than a day of work at home. Morgan dreads getting off the bus in a new town, because it means more decisions while dealing with a mass of taxi drivers and hotel touts. The cure? Other than a trip to Mt. Sinai, and one afternoon snorkeling, we wiled our days away reading and playing backgammon on the terrace of the Penguin Restaurant.

Though most tour companies push for the sunrise tour of Mt. Sinai we opted for the sunset tour based on a fellow traveler's reccomendation. It is a two hour drive and a 2-3 hour hike, depending on the speed of your tour group, so sunrise tours depart at 11pm each night. They hike in the dark after no sleep, and then wait atop the freezing summit for two hours on the small piece of land they have secured from the other several hundred tourists. We have it on authority from a group of very tired and disshevelled Aussies. Fortunately, we laid in relative warmth napping and chatting for a few hours until he 5pm sunset. Then we descended as the sky drew dark and the stars came out. A really nice day.



On our last full day in Dahab, we decided to finally get out and do something. We headed for the Blue Hole, a legendary snorkeling and diving spot. It is basically a ring of coral a hundred meters or so in diameter, with the center dropping down goodness know how deep. The coral is close to the surface, and then continues as a living wall down into the depths on all sides of the hole. Once in the water, you basically feel like a charcter from Finding Nemo. It's like the fish tank at On-Rice, but we were swimming with all of them. I can only say that I wish we had done more of it. At one point I was swimming with a group of half a dozen lionfish (picture to come, maybe), thinking "Oh, I thought these were poisonous. I guess there would be signs if that were the case." Turns out they are poisonous, but they just cause high levels of pain, not death. At any rate, I think my only regret about Dahab is not snorkeling more.

What was the best thing about Dahab? Not Mt. Sinai. Not the snorkeling. No, the best thing about Dahab (and I imagine all of Egypt), is the price. Falafel sandwiches for $0.60. Chicken, rice, soup, vegetables, salad, pita, and tahini dinner for two? $4 US. Boo. Yah.



I will write more about adventured in Cairo and crossing the border into Egypt in the next few days. For now, give each other a Hallah Wallah for us this week!

Egypt vs. Algeria, Pts. I and II

Part One: Wadi Musa

On our arrival to Wadi Musa, one of the first questions I asked at the Cleopetra Hotel was where I could watch football (soccer) that night. It was the penultimate night for most of the qualifiers for the World Cup, and I've become a much greater fan over the past three months.

Mohammad, one of the guys working at the hostel, asked "Which game?" I could see excitement in his eyes. With the wryest grin I could muster I responded, "the European qualifiers... and Egypt vs. Algeria." Mohammad was quick to answer, "We are watching it here, I am Egyptian!"

It was a big game. To qualify for the World Cup, Egypt needed to win by 3 goals. a tall order indeed. If they lost, tied, or won by one, Algeria would go instead. If they won by 2 goals, a final winner-take-all match would be played in Sudan.

Throughout the evening local Jordanians stopped by the hotel, harassing Mohammad by declaring their allegiance to Algeria. Nevertheless, by the time the game started it was clear that everybody in the room was pulling for Egypt.

When Egypt scored in the second minute, we waited in hopeful anticipation for the rout to continue. As the game wore on, the mood deadened and Mohammad's nervous mutterings increased. A 1-0 victory was not going to cut it. Then, in the 4th minute of stoppage time, Egypt drilled a header into the corner for a second goal. Mohammad jumped screaming into the air, and the next thing we knew he was on the ground yelling, next to the overturned coffee table and lots of broken glass. It was awesome.

-Break for Unrelated Mt. Sinai Photo-



Part II: Dahab

I was very excited to be in Dahab for the playoff game. Seeing the way one Egyptian had reacted to his team's victory, the prospect of being in Egypt was almost too much to take. Five hours before the game, as we sat in an internet cafe, people cycled in to get the red, white and black painted on their faces. A few men gathered around as one held his crying 3-month old baby still to receive the forehead flag. "He is hungry," he explained. My suggestion that perhaps the baby supported Algeria was quickly and loudly (but with good humor) refuted.

We showed up to the Penguin Restaurant an hour early to order dinner and secure a seat in front of the giant sheet that was to be the projector screen. At first we were told that the front seats were taken, but when the Egyptian men realized we were there to watch, not just eat, they quickly and warmly welcomed us to join them.

This was going to be great. A party in the streets that would hopefully turn borderline riotous, and a party in the restaurant that I would remember forever. Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell the Egyptian football team my travel plans, and they were unable to find an answer to Algeria's first half goal. As the clock wound down, we all waited expectantly; the miracle finish to the game four nights prior was still fresh in everybody's memory. But the whistle abruptly blew, the projector was abruptly turned off, and the fans abruptly went home.

Sometimes you have an idea of how something will be in your travels, but it never turns out the way you expect. My only solace was to see that Slovenia, our new second-favorite country, had knocked of Russia to secure a bid. I can't wait for this summer. Tour de France AND World Cup. I will probably walk from the Mt. Bakery to the Copper Hog every morning!

"X Never Marks the Spot"

We are relaxing in Dahab, Egypt, for a few more days, and I am going to try mt darndest to get caught anybody who cares caught up on our adventure. Get ready for a slurry of blog posts!

We spent 6 nights hopping around Jordan, and came to the conclusion that we are very worn out. Over the next 3-4 weeks we are only going to visit 4 destinations in Egypt. Dahab, Cairo, Luxor and Siwa. I'll dedicate at least one blog post to each stop. For now, let me share about the most enjoyable portion of our Jordan trip, Petra.

When most folks think of Petra, one of two things pops into their head. One is a terrible Christian band from 20 years ago. The more popular recollection is of the famous arrival of Indiana Jones and the Nazis to the secret hiding place of the Holy Grail. In reality, it is the Treasury of the ancient Nabataean city of Petra:



You walk through a narrow deep gorge called the "Siq" for about a mile before you get to the Treasury, and the effect is breathtaking. The gorge itself was not caused by erosion, but was rent apart in an earthquake, leaving towering, sheer walls on both sides. The open space containing the Treasury (which is carved in one single piece out of the cliff itself) is the first opening at the other end of the Siq. I have to admit, I thought this would pretty much be it. Not that I would have been disappointed.

In reality, the ruins are spread out over a huge mountainous area, and we took three full days to explore. Each day we hiked up to a hard to reach destination and spent some time in the easier to access ruins. The most incredible ruin of all, in my opinion, is the Monastery. On the one hand, it is high up in the mountains, away from the rest of Petra. On the other hand, it is absolutely massive. Can you see me?



Another hike took us to "The High Place of Sacrifice," but he best part was coming down the back way and seeing the incredible geology. The rocks looked as if somebody had literally taken a paintbrush to them.



We spent a fair amount of time lounging in the sun as well, usually from high places to avoid the bus below. The sights were incredible, but let me reassure you that we certainly did not have a tranquil experience exploring them on our own. Unfortunately for us, Petra was recently declared one of "The New Seven Wonders of the World." Of course, none of these new wonders are actually new, and it is essentially a ploy to invigorate tourism. It worked. The place was absolutely packed with tour groups, as well as locals selling postcards, jewelry, rocks, and camel and donkey rides. Nothing brings out the PETA in me like seeing a 250 lb German man breaking the back of some poor beast of burden is it struggles to carry him up to the Monastery.

At the same time, children as young as 4 years old are accosting you to try to sell a pack of postcards pr colorful rocks. A lot of them have little tricks to engage you in conversation and we saw many tourists buying junk simply because the kids were cute. One woman asked to take a picture of some little boys, and they demanded payment before posing for her. Quite sad really.

I tried to get in the habit of acting insulted at the offers for camel or donkey rides. "I'm young and fit! Do I look like I need a ride?" The most common answers were "For fun!" and "For the woman, she will love you more!" Thanks for the marital advice, pal. The thick skin we've developed from dealing with touts in Istabul helped.



We still had a great time, and would recommend the trip to anyone. More to come...

Mt. Nemrut

OK, I lied. Couldn't help myself. I was updating the map on the right, and I realized there is quite a bit to tell from the three day tour we went on to Eastern Turkey, so I will divulge.

We are not "tour people," but we had to make an exception for Mt. Nemrut. After Morgan had planned out a list of places in Southeastern Turkey to visit, which would have taken at least a week, with lots of buses and taxis, we discovered there was a whirlwind tour from Goreme that took us to most of those places. We signed up.

We hopped into our tour van, a 15 seat VW, though only 5 tourists were on the trip. This proved to be nice, because we could spread out all over the van and be comfortable. An hour in wqe stopped at a... shoot, I can't rember the word. Anyway, it was a caravan fortress of sorts. Along the silk road, these walled hotels provided shelter every 40km for caravans. It was really cool inside, and something I'd never really thought much about.



10 hours of driving across the Taurus Mountains got us up to Mt. Nemrut just in time for dinner. In the morning the fun would begin...

Mt. Nemrut is on the tip of the Taurus range, and as such has a beautiful view of the Euphrates, as well as clear views to the east and the west. The Assyrians built altars facing both directions, so that they could make sacrifices at sunrise and sunset. Our tour was designed so that we could wake up early, drive to the summit for the sunrise, and enjoy the view. Unfortunately for us, it was pouring rain (how many mountaintop rainstorms do we have to endure?), and we were essentially inside a cloud. This diminished the experience somewhat. "Look at the bright side," I said, "at least we will have unique photographs!"



The headless statues were pretty cool. Apparantly the Romans decided to lop off all the heads to show the Asyrians who was in charge now. Nevermind that the Assyrians had been gone for centuries... Anyway, we headed on towards Urfa, while our wet layers hung about the van in a vain attempt to dry. We stopped at an awesome Roman bridge that spanned the mouth of a gorge, and some pillar that was of importance for some reason or other. Obviously not that much importance, or I would remember.

Urfa, the birthplace of Abraham, excellent. There was a huge park that contained a lot of beautiful and historic sights, as well as just being a really nice park. It was raining still, putting a damper on things. "Look at the bright side," I said, "there will be less tourists."

The first thing we checked out was Abraham's Cave. I didn't even know what it was as we went in, I must have been picking my nose when the tour guide explained it. It was absically an ordinary mosque, witha a glass viewing box that peeked into a cave. Big whoop. Then there was an old Muslim guy who got mad at me for some reason, even though I had remembered to take my shoes off. The guide then got in an argument with him, and kept telling me to go in. So I did. My first time in a mosque, and I get yelled at. Not exactly a good start.

Anyway, the best was yet to come. I always figured that Jews, Christians, and Muslims shared the same stories about Abraham, because we all share him as a forefather of the respective relhions. Wrong. Islam has an awesome Abraham story. Apparantly there was a prophecy that Kinf Nemrut of the Assyrians would be usurped by a baby or something, so he decided to kill all the newborns in the vacinity (one of those kings). Abraham's mother hid him in the cave from the last paragraph, but eventually, when he was the last kiddo left, he was found out. The Assyrians took him to the hilltop fortress overlooking Urfa, built a giant bonfire down in the city below, and catapulted him into it. I love this. They could've catapulted the baby, or barbeque the baby, but instead they had to go for the catapult-barbeque combo kill. FINISH HIM!

Of course we know that Abraham doesn't die, and indeed God saves him... by turning the fire into water and the sticks into fish! Take that Nemrut! To this day there is a giant pool of carp in the city park, supposedly the ancestors of Abraham's fish.



Sidenote: At first I missed the part abou this happening when Abraham was a baby, and I was picturing a long-bearded-old-man-Abraham character being catapulted across town. Even more amusing, in my opinion.

That evening we drove to Harran, which is supposedly one of the oldest continually inhabited places on earth. They are famous for several ancient sites, including an Assyrian Observatory, but it was dark when we got there. We could just barely make out its outline as we tried not to step in cow poo. "Look at the bright side..."

We checked out some reconstructed houses that Harran is famous for, and joked around with the brothers who ran the place. One insisted that if I could not produce 100 camels to Morgan's father, than she had to stay in Harran with him. We agreed that I would get the camals when we wnt home, and if not, Morgan always has the option of coming back to Harran. We got all dressed up in traditional clothes (don't ask me why), and another brother said I looked like Yasser Arafat. He called me Yasser the rest of the evening.

The rest of ourtrip was rather uneventful. It mostly involves us driving for hours on end, and when we got back to Goreme we were exhausted. Too exhausted to share about our tour for at least a couple weeks.

Where are we now? Madaba, Jordan. We are heading to Petra tomorrow. Also, we just bought 3 falafel sandwiches for 1$. Booyah.

Plans Change

One thing we have learned while on this trip is that plans change.

The first major change happened on September 15 when we took a train to Ljubljana, thus entirely skipping Switzerland and Italy. Next, instead of traveling from Croatia to Greece, we decided to visit every country in the former Yugoslavia plus Albania. Prior to the train to Ljubljana, we made a huge change to our well thought out itinerary: we wouldn't be spending Christmas in the Alps!

I had a romantic vision of drinking hot chocolate by a cozy warm fire all bundled up singing Christmas hymns in a quiant little village in the hills with snow all around. But where would we find the village? And who would play the piano? When I paid 3.40 Euro for 4 ounces of luke warm hot chocolate in Innsbruck, I started having second thoughts about our plans. Central Europe is just too darn expensive!

The day we decided to cancel our Christmas-in-the-Alps plan was the same day that Jessica and Mitch sent us an itinerary of all of the things they wanted to do and see when they spent Christmas-in-the-Alps with us. Sorry guys!

Also, we have realized that we hate to backtrack, even if just to go back to get our coat or bottle of water. Cairo to Vienna to Delhi wasn't the smartest idea. We had three ideas by the time we got to Turkey:

1) Spend Christmas in Greece. This was a good idea because we didn't go to Greece and it was in the original plan. Alas, Greece is also expensive and it is not in the direction of India. Also, the islands are basically closed down during the winter and we would have to be cold on the mainland. When I go to Greece I want to be warm. Maybe next time.

2) Spend Christmas in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Here we would get a feel for how Christmas really was so long ago. This was a good idea because we didn't go to Israel and it was in the original plan. Alas, we just aren't feeling it. We are now in Jordan instead of Israel because we wanted to clambor around in Petra and hike through the desert. We'll come back to Jerusalem when all we want to do is walk through the holy sites.

3) Spend Christmas in India. This is a good idea because India is big and beautiful and cheap and it is on the way to places like Thailand and Cambodia and Vietnam. The best time to visit India is not during monsoon time, Christmas just happens to not be during monsoon season. I know that India does not typically remind people of Christmas or hot chocolate or singing hymns by the fire, but where ever we are we will be missing home like crazy so we might as well be in a place that doesn't even compare to home. And while you are all eating Sally-Jesse-Raphael-Cream-Cheese-Stuffed-French-Toast and Pigs-in-a-Blanket, we will be eating too-spicy-curry and drinking our 7th cup of chai. Mmm, Indian chai.

Another cool thing is that Mitchell is going to come to SE Asia with us for a month! He has some time in January to travel, so if we go to India earlier, then we have more time to hang around the beaches of Vietnam with Mitch. And he and Tommy can do all of the boy things they want and I can learn how to cook yummy food and go shopping.

So that's the plan. What do you think?

Reflections on Turkey

Ouch, nine days without a peep. We have a good excuse: The Turkish laptops at our hostel make typing ridiculously slow. We are at an internet cafe now. Time has really flown the last two weeks, and I'm not going to even attempt to blog about everywhere we've gone. I will update the map on the sidebar and you can take a look.

Tonight is our last night in Istanbul, and our last night in Turkey. We have spent more time in Istanbul (8 days total) than in any other place on our trip. "Best Island Hostel" holds the record for most continous nights in one place (6), which is a shame because it is a total dive.

Turkey has been a very interesting place to travel, but also very strange and difficult at times. Rather than tell you all about Ephesus, our tour to Mt. Nemrut, or the churches we've seen in Istanbul, I just want to tell you more about what it is like for a westerner to travel here. Especially since the "Istanblues" post was such a hit (we have been to Starbucks two more times)!

The food has been good, although it has been hard for Morgan to find good vegetarian fare. She has eaten a lot of lentil soup, bean salad, and eggplant cooked in a variety of ways. Outside of Goreme, we have not found a restaurant we really like. There is no cheap, healthy, good food, and I can only eat so many meatball sandwiches and kebabs. At one restaurant, you may be pleasantly surprised to be served this (thank you Homeros Pension):



While at another, you may be shocked to be served this:



The hardest thing to get used to, however, is people trying to sell you stuff. For your first 15 minutes in Istanbul, you think that Turkish people are incredibly friendly. But 95% of the conversations begin with "Excuse me sir, where are you from?" and end with "Please come into my shop for tea/kebabs/carpets." If you respond to every person who politely greets you on the street, you will never make it 100 yards from your hostel, and your time will be spent explaining that you don't want what they're selling.

The first day, I was drawn into a lot of conversations. The tenth day, I shouted at someone "I don't want to but anything!" With that out of my system, I have been able to completely ignore people without the slightest trace of guilt. Avoiding eye contact is the best strategy. Though I have learned to handle it, I still do not understand the mentality behind waiters who stand in your way on the sidewalk telling you to come into their restaurant. (a) If I wanted to go to a restaurant, I would find one and sit myself down. (b) Even if I had intended to eat in your restaurant, I certainly don't want to now. I think it is fun to walk down streets with lots of restaurants, pause to look at each menu, and move on to the next one as soon as the waiter opens his mouth.

I should add here that Istanbul is an incredible city. In other cities, we were bored and ready to move on a matter of 2 days. Here, it would be easy to spend a month. In fact, we have some new friends from Vancouver (Canada) who have been here 6 weeks, and are still finding all kinds of interesting sights.

So now it is on to Jordan. We fly to Amman tomorrow, and will spend 7-8 days in Madaba, Petra, and Wadi Rum (the desert from Lawrence of Arabia). Then we head to Egypt, and another month of adventures. Yikes!

Troglodyte

That is your word of the day, and it was what I have been aspiring to be over the last week. Get ready for pictures!

Cappadocia trumps Kotor. The place is absolutely amazing. You could spend a lifetime in the little town of Göreme (a tourist town that manages to not feel like a trap), and still never explore all the nooks and crannies in the surrounding valleys. Think Arches National Park in Utah, with a awesome ancient cave houses thrown in. We've also decided it is one of the best places in the world to travel with kids (thinking of you, LSCCers!).



I'll give you the (very) remedial history of the area. A few thousand years ago, the Hittites started making caves to store fruit and grain; the rock is so soft that carving out a piece is no big thing. Christians arrived seeking peace from various oppressors (Romans, etc.) and learned how to make cave houses from the locals. What followed was an explosion of dwellings hidden away in a maze of valleys. Dwellings range from beautiful churches with frescoes and carvings chipped out of the cliffside...



...to underground cities 8 floors deep. These were great, with some floors connected by a single, narrowing passage. These passages end with a guard room that features a giant stone to roll in front of the door. There is a small hole in the stone to shoot arrows or thrust spears at any would be attackers (who barely have space to move).



Our first day in Göreme, fresh off the night bus from Istanbul, we headed for Sword Valley. We walked the road for about 30 minutes before taking a steep path down into the valley (Göreme is surrounded by these valleys, but they are really more like canyons). As soon as we were down, we started seeing cave dwellings. Of course, I wanted to climb to every last one of them, and it was slow going while Morgan waited for me to tromp repeatedly through the underbrush to get to each one. We quickly realized that the seemingly infinite number of caves meant that we would have to pick and choose. Further down the trail I made my first great discovery. By walking under an overhang in the cliff and looking up, I found a vertical tunnel, with hand an foot holds chipped out on either side. At the top was a trap door that was thankfully open. I hoisted myself into the dark room (headlamp again) and looked around at the ancient abode. In the top corner was another tunnel, so of course, I was obligated to climb through again. This room had a window, and I was able to wave to Morgan below. It was awesome to see how defensible the position was. Nobody was getting in unless the current resident invited them.



We explored caves to the end of the valley, ending with a church inside a stand alone rock. Note the worn footholds leading up to the entrance.



My personal favorite was the Selime Monastary, which featured a tower that our tour guide said was too dangerous to climb. Bah! I grabbed my head lamp and coerced my new German friend, Jan, to follow me to the top.



Basically, this is boy heaven. We spent about five days here total, 3 of which were exclusively spent wandering through the different valleys exploring. It was awesome!

We've uploaded a couple hundred photos and a few videos dating back as far as Macedonia- I encourage you to check them out on our flickr page! We can't comment on all of them, but ask a question about a picture and we'll be sure to slap a good description on.