To Uncertainty & Beyond!

Happy New Year, everyone! We thought it would be fun to take a look back at our most popular Flickr photos of 2010. Enjoy!

1. Berwang, Austria

This is by far our most popular photo and one of our favorite memories. We were driving around the Tyrol Alps in our little rental car and stopped on the side of the road to hike up the rolling hills to get this great shot. The grass was so wet from dew, and cows were grazing at the bottom of the hill.  A few minutes later, we heard a traveling brass band putting on a concert in the village of Berwang, about 200 yards away.

2. Balloons – Cappadocia, Turkey

Who doesn’t love a hot-air balloon photo? We had a great time on our early morning ride in Cappadocia. We got up early to take photos only, but we decided we just couldn’t pass up on this popular Cappadocian activity. The price is pretty high, but it was well worth it.  Definitely one of my favorite HDR’s.

3. Auschwitz, Poland

Clark’s dad thinks this our most haunting photo. This train car is sitting on the original tracks inside the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. You can see the main building and gates in the distance. This camp saw the deaths of 960,000 Jews, 75,000 Poles, and 19,000 Roma.

4. Plitvice Lakes, Croatia

The Plitvice Lakes are often overlooked by tourists in Croatia who usually head straight for the coast. This national park in the mountainous region of Lika was one of our favorite sights. The water is amazingly clear and there are countless winding paths with some great views!  We had to semi-hang off a cliff for this shot.

5. Süleymaniye and Rustem Pasa Mosques – Istanbul, Turkey

We arrived at the Galata bridge in Istanbul just in time for a great sunset. This is one of our favorite mosque photos. I love the clouds, birds, and glow of the sun.

6. Berwang, Austria

Here’s another photo taken right after shot #1 from the little town of Berwang. In this sleepy little ski village, we enjoyed wandering around the hills and taking in the views. Besides the traveling band, I think we were the only guests in town.

7. Chicago, USA

We took this photo a few weeks before leaving for our trip. The best place to view the sunset in Chicago is from the lawn near Adler Planetarium. Its a long walk to the end of the little peninsula, but worth it, especially on an evening like this!

8. Blue Mosque – Istanbul, Turkey

We love our wide-angle lens. This photo of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul really captures the immense size of the domes.

9. Sarajevo, Bosnia

This was one of my shots. While Clark was in Zagreb attending to the broken MacBook, I was exploring Sarajevo and getting some great photos. Bosnia was a very interesting place, and one of our favorite countries. You’d think the war just ended after visiting. A friend and I hiked up a huge hill surrounding the city right before sunset. You can see the collapsed rooftops and remaining war damage if you look closely.

10. The Treasury – Petra, Jordan

Petra was hands down our favorite “sight-seeing” destination. Hiking around in this ancient intricately-carved city is high on our list of travel recommendations. This photo of the treasury was taken around 9:00 a.m. right when the sun peaks from behind the rocks.

Our lives will be getting back to normal in 2011, but we still have a few adventures in store.  Hopefully we will have another 10 great shots to post next December. Happy New Year!

Taken right after his al-Qaida job interview.

Most don’t put the Mideast at the top of their travel to-do lists. Other than Gilbert, our enthusiastic Taliban-poser friend pictured here, many have a negative association with the area. He just came from Iraqi Kurdistan and had nothing but good things to say. I was sold, but Kim would not have it.

I guess we aren’t ready for Iraq after all, but we are sad to have missed Syria, Lebanon, and Israel.  We’ll just have to get them on the next world trip.

I had a much different draft of this post, but I decided to scrap my 3,000-word essay on Egyptian and Jordanian culture. Seriously, who was going to read that? Instead, let’s keep it simple.

Egypt

Cairo is awful.  It’s incredibly polluted, overcrowded, segregated (tourists from locals), and frustrating.  Not to mention the men look at women “like they want to ravage them”, as someone in our hostel put it. What begins as a friendly conversation with a local ends with being asked to come to his shop to see his papyrus or take his bogus tour. Very annoying. Before you write us off as wusses, know that we usually enjoy gritty cities. Naples, Mexico City, and Izmir aren’t exactly tourists’ paradises, and we had a great time in each of them.

They were starstruck to meet the writers of the 1,276,574th most popular website on Earth (according to Alexa.com).

In Cairo, I had no problem walking the streets alone.  However, it was a different story when Kim and I were together. Everyone stopped and stared…and not in a friendly or curious way.  We never felt unsafe, but Kim would certainly have been harassed if I had left her alone.  Except for a group of teenagers, we didn’t have many friendly interactions with the natives. We didn’t hate Cairo, but it easily tops our least favorite cities list.

This begs the question, are the pyramids really worth all this?

Some say Giza is overrated, but I disagree. If you can avoid the corrupt tourist police, t-shirt hawkers, and camel pushers, it is a pretty amazing site. The two other pyramid sites near Memphis are much less crowded and touristy and are well worth a visit.  There is very little transportation for independent travelers, so we had to hire a taxi for seven hours to see all the sites.

I’m sure India and Southeast Asia will make Cairo seem like a breeze, but those regions have a great deal of culture to balance the chaos. Besides the pyramids, the only other redeeming quality was the cost.  Egypt is damn cheap. We spent a grand total of $180 over four days which included $60 for lodging and $15 for food.  That’s right, we only spent $15 for four days of food. When falafel sandwiches are under $1 per person, you don’t need a big budget.  And that 7-hour cab ride?  Only $35.  For me, the prices almost made up for all of Cairo’s negative qualities.

But, not quite. Cairo sucked.

We had an ambitious two-week itinerary planned, but we scraped it due to the high cost, low reliability of the Egypt-Jordan ferry and our tight schedule.  We only had a few weeks scheduled for the Mideast and less of Egypt meant more of Jordan.

Jordan

“Welcome to Jordan!”

Jordanians are very friendly people, and we heard this greeting about ten times each day. The people seemed excited to show off their English skills and often wanted to chat without wanting anything from us.  Just like at home, this is election season for Jordanians.  We fell asleep most nights to campaign messages blaring, honking horns, and the sweet sound of AK-47s firing in the air. Don’t be alarmed though. Jordan is a  very safe country, and besides a bed bug incident in Amman, our visit was trouble free.

Egypt still wins in one department– cost. Jordan is damn expensive. Public transportation is almost nonexistent, and we had to rely on private taxis more than we preferred.  Our three hour ride from Petra to Madaba set us back nearly $125. We were kicking ourselves later on when we found a minibus to Amman where we could have transferred to Madaba. The sights are also very pricey. Petra cost $50 per person while Jerash was much more reasonable $11 per ticket. We arrived two days before prices increased to an insane $77/person, so we were thankful for that at least.  The individuals themselves, however, aren’t out to scam you as they were in Cairo.

I estimate we hiked about 20 kilometers including 2,000 stairs over our two-day visit. Petra and Jerash are among our favorite sights on this trip, but you should expect some degree of hassle just like at Giza.  Donkey taxi drivers, jewelry sellers, and postcard kids are the main offenders.  Unlike at Giza, the tourist police quickly boot out misbehaving entrepreneurs. Kim had a hard time with the poverty, animal cruelty, and very poor health of the street kids in both countries.  At Giza, we witnessed an Egyptian whipping a horse and its teenage rider equally mercilessly.

Even with Petra’s ridiculous entrance fee, I feel we got our money’s worth.  I reserved my budget-fueled rage for the Dead Sea.  Apparently, there is only one public beach, and they charge accordingly.  On our ride to Madaba, our driver deposited us at the Amman Beach, and we had to decide between missing out on the second saltiest body of water on Earth or paying $50 for two hours of swimming floating.  We ended up forking over the 35 dinar fee, and we bobbed for about an hour.  I was pissed for the rest of the day, but you really do float effortlessly.  Kim could easily sit on my chest and be almost completely out of the water while I sank just a few inches.

In summary, we can’t recommend Cairo on its own merits, but I think the pyramids are worth the trouble.  Jordan, however, is great destination, but you better have a big budget.  Petra is one of those places you have to see.

Be sure to check out all our photos from Egypt and Jordan on Flickr and watch our hectic Middle East Montage for the highlights:

Tonight, we fly to New Delhi to start our subcontinent adventure. Friday is the first day of Diwali, so we should have a very energetic introduction to India. First priority = Mango lassi.

Thanks to the Schengen Agreement, we didn’t make it to Greece on this trip.   We used 89 days of the 90-day limit, so that doesn’t leave much time for Athens. Now that we are in the Republic of Cypress, we finally get a taste of Greece without worrying about hassles like deportation or overstay fines.

We successfully found a great gyro yesterday, and today’s mission was desserts.  Lucky for us, we found Ζορπασ (which translates to Zorba’s according to Google) right by our hotel in Larnaca.  We picked out three of our old favorites from Chicago’s Greektown and dug in.

1. Γαλακτομπουρεκο (Galaktoboureko)

This was our favorite of the three and is my dessert of choice at The Parthanon. Zorba’s version was much better. This creamy, custard cake was the perfect texture. It has been too gelatinous at some restaurants, but this one was just right.

Galakto…whatever..is topped with phyllo and lightly coated with a sweet syrup. The name is derived from the words gala (meaning milk in Greek) and bourek (Turkish for pastry). I think this is the only instance of something Greek and Turkish in close proximity without the United Nations’ involvement.

2. Μπακλαβας (Baklava)

We do like our baklava, so we had high hopes for our trip to Turkey. Unfortunately, we usually found a phyllo-heavy, nut-deprived square that was soaking in syrup all day. When you bit into it, your mouth was flooded with super sweet syrup, and the texture was mushy. Kim’s favorite baklava remained my mother’s.

Our prospects greatly improved in Cyprus. As you can see, there are plenty of nuts in the inner layers, and it isn’t swimming in a pool of liquid sugar. Topped with ground pistachios, it was crunchy with just the right amount of chewiness. Sorry, Mom, but you ain’t got nothin’ on Ζορπασ’s.

3. Ινδοκαρυδο Ταψιου (Coconut Cake)

This super moist coconut cake jumped out at us, but we still aren’t sure how traditional it is. Luckily, you pay by the slice at this bakery because our piece weighed about a kilo. We were pretty full from the first two desserts (yes, we ate all this in one night), so we only had a few bites. The flavor was good, but the syrup content was a little high for us. We just don’t like syrup, I guess.

By the way, if you were wondering how we are managing with this crazy Greek alphabet, the answer is that we aren’t. Cyprus was a British colony, so most signs are also in English. Our time on the island was short, but we’re glad we made it. We are headed for Cairo tomorrow and look forward to trying some Egyptian sweets. King Tut tortes, maybe? Sand pies? We’ll let you know.

After four months in Europe, things begin to look the same. Old town squares blend together until you’re not quite sure where you saw the Astronomical Clock or the porcelain tiled Mural of the Princes. Don’t get me wrong, European cities are great, but we were ready for more exotic sights by the time we reached to Turkey.

When arriving in Istanbul, you are immediately struck by the towering minarets, brightly colored carpets, lamps, and scarves, and the bustle in the streets. It was our first taste of Eastern culture. The Blue Mosque (Sultanhamet Camii), Hagia Sophia, the Grand Bazaar, and Spice Market are everything you’d hope they’d be. Yes, there are a lot of tourists, but it seemed to add to the chaos and charm of the city.

The call to prayer never gets old for me.  We recorded this sound clip one afternoon.  Click to listen as you read on:

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The Grand Bazaar is a wake up call to the senses. The bright, glowing lamps and layers of rugs hanging in the shops, the soft cashmere scarves piled high on tables, the determined shopkeepers luring you in to sample their merchandise, and the smell of çay and kebabs bombard you at the turn of every corner. It is loud and bustling. The same goes as you walk through the cafe-lined streets. Confident and charming waiters call out to you in a way that you almost start to believe that you really are hungry, even though you ate just an hour ago.

Istanbul is loud, rowdy, and gritty on the outside, but soft and calm on the inside. Once you step off the crowded street and into one of the many mosques, all is quiet. Families are lounging in the courtyard and barefooted Muslims are quietly praying inside on their own little spot of carpet. The beautifully painted domes, towering columns, warm, glowing lamps, and soft rugs below your feet engulf you with tranquility. It is also easy to find a quiet corner in a cafe for a çay or puff of nargile. I’d love to go back someday and see more of the city.

Our next stop was Göreme by way of Ankara. This is Turkey’s version of Southern Utah (except fewer Mormons). Cappadocia draws thousands each year with fairy chimneys and other strange formations caused by ancient volcanoes and river deposits. The rocky landscape is filled with peaks jutting into the sky, precariously placed boulders, and suspiciously phallic formations. The soft rock is also home to “pigeon houses” and numerous underground monasteries and churches. The farmers carved out their homes in the stone to collect the pigeon droppings used as fertilizer. Now that’s what I call a shitty job. The Christians built underground cities to hide from persecution. Now there are countless guesthouses and hotels in these caves with all the mod cons. It is a fascinating area.

The big-ticket tourist attractions in Cappadocia are the hot air balloons. We were aware of the popularity before arriving but were struggling with the insane cost for 60-minutes of floating. Seriously, over $150 per person seemed awfully expensive, especially for our budget. We had decided against it and planned to go horseback riding instead. As usual, Clark was up way too late one night and was nice enough to wake me up at 4:00 a.m. with a spontaneous idea to go take balloon photos. If we weren’t going to ride one, at least we could get some cool photos. He was up all night working on our video montage (you better watch it!). I reluctantly agreed and dragged myself out of bed so we could take the damn photos. We set out on foot in the pitch black of early morning.

We walked to Ürgüp Balloons, one of the companies that our cave hotel recommended and luckily ran into a very jolly employee. We had happened to arrive at the building where they bring the balloon riders before take-off for breakfast. He brought us inside and kept us warm (and caffeinated) with several glasses of chai. Spontaneously, we decided to screw the money and just do it. We wanted the experience, and it was one of our highlights of our time in Turkey.

PLEASE NOTE: I do not recommend this approach.  In high season they would have been booked solid and unable to squeeze two sleepy passengers into the basket. Book ahead to avoid disappointment.

To view the bumpy landscape from above is definitely the way to go. Our balloon pilot, Ömer, was great. The wind luckily carried us right over the famous Love Valley, and we could almost reach out and touch some of the iconic formations. Near the end we climbed to 600 meters (almost 2,000 ft.) to take in a dazzling panoramic view. After a smooth landing, we all received our flight certificates with a champagne toast, and they drove us back to our hotels. It is an experience I highly recommend…despite the sky high price tag.

We then headed to Konya (home of the Whirling Dervishes), Izmir (a crowded, energetic city) and the nearby Ephesus ruins, and then Antalya and Alanya (two very touristy, lame resort towns).

Today, we traveled to Alanya to catch a ferry to Cyprus, but guess what?  Despite all the online info to the contrary, they are done running for the season! So, we had to come up with a Plan B on the fly. Tomorrow, instead of the boat, we are backtracking to Antalya to take the evening flight to Nicosia. From there, we head overland to Larnaca and fly to Cairo.

We put together a short video of the highlights, and don’t forget to view all of our photos on Flickr. Enjoy!

Tomorrow we will move on, but we are hoping to have more adventures in the Middle East.

Douglas Adams had it right.

A towel is the most massively useful item you can have. Our quick drying REI MultiTowels are lightweight and effective but not very satisfying.  Our room in Izmir came with two fluffy, white towels, and I remembered how nice a real towel can feel.

While drying off after a hot shower this evening, I slipped and hit my head on the edge of the sink.  When I came to, I had a revelation, a vision.  I sat down and wrote this Shakespearean sonnet:

Ode to a Towel

One towel have I to journey round the world.
With microfiber weave and hue of green,
it dries me adequately when unfurled.
Soon after use no moisture can be seen.
Alas! Luxurious this towel is not.
It’s thin and cold and sticks upon my skin.
To use it I can only dab and blot.
No satisfaction do I receive therein.
At each new place I hope that I will find,
some soft, plush cotton folded here or there.
If one is seen then, oh, my state of mind!
My shower is the happiest affair.
True joy is found in these the smallest things.
It’s for a cotton towel that my heart sings.

Half the fun of long-term travel is planning– planning which train to catch, city to visit, hostel to book, sight to see…. Unfortunately, sometimes plans don’t pan out.

To get from Istanbul to Cairo, we had always planned to travel overland across Turkey, Syria, and Jordan. This route was popular among hippies, and we were looking forward to seeing Palmyra and Damascus especially. The problem was always getting into Syria. Despite frosty diplomatic relations, Americans could usually obtain visas at the Antakya-Aleppo border crossing. You may have to wait for 5 hours, but you would eventually get in.

This is no longer the case.  According to several sources, Syria just cracked down on this practice.  Americans can no longer obtain a visa on arrival. Of course, this was always the official policy but now it’s actually being enforced.  We might be able to get Syrian visas in Ankara, but I think it’s unlikely.  Plus, Ankara is out of our way. We will need a new plan.

Plan A:

1. Travel overland from Istanbul to Izmir
2. Fly from Izmir to Cyprus
3. Fly from Cyprus to Tel Aviv
4. Travel overland to Jerusalem
5. Attempt to cross into Jordan (tricky)
6. Travel south to Petra
7. Cross into Egypt at Aqaba
8. Travel across the Sinai Peninsula to Cairo

Pros: Interesting; unique; very memorable; get to see Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, and more of Egypt
Cons: Moderate risk of failure, potentially dangerous, Israeli passport stamp, border issues, cost, time (three weeks minimum)

I really like this itinerary. It would be great to see Jerusalem (not to mention the lox and bagels). I think time and cost are major obstacles though.

Plan B:

1. Fly from Istanbul to Cairo
2. Fly from Cairo to Amman

Pros: Cheap, safe, low risk of failure, fast
Cons: Kinda’ lame, no Jerusalem, more flying

I hate to say it, but I think we will probably go with the slightly lame Plan B. Otherwise, we would not reach Kathmandu until Thanksgiving.  That would cut into our Asian itinerary too much. Maybe we’ll have time for Myanmar now…

Have you traveled from Istanbul to Cairo overland? Any tips?