Some Pics

Departure date from SFO was 15 March 06. The YELLOW lines indicate previous travel, while the RED lines indicate the 2006 trip. I will fly from London to Cairo.

By now you know I have gone and returned. It was a great trip, and I was able to stay remarkably close to the original schedule. I spent time in Cairo, a great, somewhat grimey, opressively populous, but nonetheless fascinating place. I went from there to Minya, up-river, and the one chosen site by pharao Akenaten (Ekhnaton) and his wife Nefertiti, as the site of the new sun-based religion and the city of Armana. From there I traveled (again by train) to Luxor and the incredible center of the ancient Egyptian empire, where the temples of Luxor and Karnak dominate the scene. Also the site of the Valley of the Kings and much more. Next I continued on to Assuan, the southernmost outpost of the Egytian empire, bordering, and often extending into Nubia, now called Sudan. Abu Simbel, Phylae, and of course the Assuan dam itself, noteworthy attractions. After my return to Cairo I completed my tour of the pyramids by visiting the Red pyramid and the unique Bent pyramid. Then it was by bus across the Sinai to the Red Sea and the resorts of Sharm el Sheik and Dahab. Poor Dahab. It was this year's pawn in the terrorist's deadly game. I missed that unfortunate event by a week and saw the news after I had safely arrived in Jordan. From there to Nuweiba and across the Gulf of Aqaba to Jordan. While there, the closeness of the adversaries really struck home. At one point you can see Egypt behind you, Israel's Eilat close to the left (gunboats patrolling), Jordan's Aqaba just ahead, and Saudi Arabia, off to the right. From Aqaba I journied straight on to Wadi Moussa and Petra. After a few days there I continued to Amman and then crossed the border into Syria and made my temporary home in Damascus. From here I visited the black fortress and amphitheater at Busra and then proceded by bus up north to Homs and Hamah, where I decided to spend nearly a week. I visited the great fortress Crak d'Chevalier and Afamya, before continuing on to Aleppo. From there I jurneyed to the great ruins of Palmyra at Tadmur. Then it was back to Damascus and an immediate departure to Baalbek, Lebanon and then to Beirut. After seeing Sydon, Tyre, and Biblos, and returned to Damascus and then headed back to Amman, to prepare for my continuing trip to Israel. After some great sightseeing and a fascinating time in Jerusalem, I headed up-country and stayed in Akko. I finally departed Israel from Tel Aviv. Back in London I changed pace and went to a favorite little town called York, before flying from London back to S.F.