MIDDLE EAST & GREECE
MIDDLE EAST & GREECE May-October 2001
MIDDLE EAST
TURKEY (3 months) Istanbul: Aya Sofya; Topkapi Palace; Whirling Dervishes; hiking in Cappadocia; relaxing at backpackers' pension in Olimpos; gulet cruise along the Mediterranean Coast; home stay and hammam scrub-down in Bursa; "ruined" at Pergamum, Ephesus, Pirene, Miletus, Didyma and Termessos; relaxing at the beach in Gumusluk; buying (another) carpet in Gocek; (Two weeks in Syria & Lebanon, then back to Turkey): Nemrut Dagi ruins; Georgian Valleys; hiking in Barhal; ruins at Ani on the Armenian border; Black Sea; quaint Amasya; archaeological museum in Ankara
SYRIA & LEBANON (2 weeks) SYRIA: Joan's unexpected haircut in Aleppo citadel; 14 days travel with French strangers to Dead Cities, Crusader Castles, Palmyra, Damascus and Bosra; Joan cloaked and cranky in a mosque; Lou visits Mar Musa Monastery; home stay with Syrian family; contentious dinner with cloaked Muslim doctor & her husband; LEBANON: Hezbollah militants in Bekaa Valley; Paris Opera Ballet in Baalbek ruins
EUROPE
GREECE (2 months) Ferry to four islands: RHODES, CRETE, SANTORINI and NAXOS; driving around PELOPONNESIAN PENINSULA to ruins of Mycenae, Epidaurus and Mystras; hiking in fortified Mani villages; Ancient Olympia; MAINLAND GREECE: Monodendri and Lia; hiking in Vikos Gorge; hilltop monasteries in Meteora; ruins of Delphi & Acropolis; home stay in Athens
(Note: After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, we decided it wasn't a good time for Americans to travel in the Middle East. We cancelled plans for two months in Jordan, Egypt and Israel, and extended our stay in Greece.)
Joan and Lou Rose joanandlou@ramblingroses.net