Full Day at Petra

Last night’s “Petra by Night” excursion kept us up late.  We had dinner at the hotel buffet (which was actually very good; even highly recommended by the Lonely Planet Guidebook).  We dressed warmly and met at the gate at 8:30 p.m.  The walkway down was lined with candles in paper bags and the Treasury was likewise lit.

This morning, we got up about 7:00 a.m. and had the buffet breakfast at the hotel.  Again, it was very good and we were able to make sandwiches with sliced turkey, cheese, cucumber slices, get a couple of apples and an orange to take with us for lunch.  We headed down the trail about 10:oo a.m. and took our first break at the Treasury.  The canyons, rock and monuments all change as the light changes, and you notice something different every time.  The temperature was in the 60’s, perfect for walking in the desert

Past the Treasury, and around a corner, the canyon opens up to an amphitheater, lots more structures carved into the rock and we were able to climb up to one tomb and go through the caves.  The main part of the city is even further down the canyon, with a colonnaded street, and various Roman additions to the city.

We had lunch on some unused tables at the restaurant and went through the little museum near it.  This part of the Petra Archeological Park is accessible by dirt road from the south, so there is more in the way of modern conveniences.  After lunch, we slowly made our way back up the canyon, heading back to the hotel, probably an hour walk from this point.

The white building just outside the gate, and across the street, is our hotel, the “Movenpick.”  It is nice to have it so close at the end of a long day.

Tomorrow, we head north to the Dead Sea Highway, which runs along the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea (the border with Israel).  Near the North end of the Dead Sea, we check in to the Dead Sea Movenpick Resort and Spa for our last night in Jordan.  They say you can see the lights of Jerusalem across the Dead Sea.  Also, the book says to keep your passport handy because there are many police checkpoints along this route.

At The Marriott, Amman, Jordan

We started the morning with another good breakfast at the hotel (the “Adamar”) and checked with the desk clerk about our car back to the airport; good thing we did as he knew nothing about it.  Since it was early, and we did not need to leave until 11:30 a.m., or so, it was not a problem.  He calculated our discount for having been referred by the Rick Steves book(10%) and for paying in cash (8%).  On our way down past the Hagia Sofia, I got the cash out of an ATM so we had enough to pay him on check-out and get all of the discounts.

Our tour of the morning was the Topkapi Palace, the center of the rule of the Ottoman Empire for about 400 years, until the late 1800’s when the Dolmabache Palace was built over near where we will be staying when we get back, North of the Golden Horn.  The Topkapi is really a complex that was initially just an administrative center but later had the Sultan’s palace built within the grounds.  It is a large walled area that sits atop a hill on the North and West side of the peninsula, with commanding views over the Golden Horn and the Bosporus straight.  The walls also enclose the first Christian church that was used by Constantinople and was the center of the Christian church before it was split between “Eastern” and “Roman.”  It still stands some 1500+ years, even though the soil has built up around it so that the foundations are now in a trench that is 20 foot deep.

The Topkapi Palace is also the home to a large collection of Muslim relics (Mohamed’s broken tooth, pieces of and various keys to the Kabala in Mecca, etc.) and the last bits and pieces of the crown jewels of the Ottoman Empire, including a 78 caret diamond and other such bobbles.  The kitchen and its massive china collection was closed and we were disappointed not to see it.  We got there right at opening and missed most of the tour groups, having the place largely to ourselves until the hoards started coming in as we were leaving.

We got back to the hotel about 11:00 a.m., and checked out.  Our driver showed up at 11:30 and got us to the airport for our 2:35 flight at 12:20.  Our flight was not assigned a check-in counter so we got to enjoy sitting in the Istanbul airport and soaking up the ambiance (how the hell can Libya still have an airline?) (Who knew that Iraq had one; flight to Basra leaving at 1:45 p.m.)  We finally got a check-in counter, got our boarding passes and had lunch at a Burger King (right next to Popeye’s Chicken).

Our flight was delayed for a half an hour for no apparent reason (they only do one flight a day so it did not seem urgent).  Our Royal Jordanian aircraft was an Embraer 75, a small regional jet that was fine.  The served a decent dinner aboard with wine or whisky.  We landed after dark about 6:00 p.m., losing an hour more off of California time.  It is a small airport and would only take Jordanian Dinar at the visa counter, but luckily an ATM machine was close and I got some Jordanian Dinar, not having a clue what the exchange rate was.

We quickly made it through visa, passport and got our bags and then customs, which was a cursory x-ray of the bags.  The “Hertz” counter was a six foot wide affair.  The guy had to fill out the forms by hand and had to use an old impression machine for the credit card.  We talked about a GPS, but he said it was worthless outside of Amman and we did not need it for Petra.  He drew us a handwritten map to get us to the Marriott and made it sound simple.

Driving in Jordan is a lot like Mexico, complete with the speed bumps on the highways.  It was easy until we got to the outskirts of Amman and traffic got tight, drivers aggressive and the roads, which features double level round-abouts, difficult.  With only one wrong turn, we found the turn off at the Four Seasons and the Sheraton, and our little map showed the Marriott right behind the Four Seasons.  Then life got difficult.  Our little, beat-up Mitsubishi sedan got a workout as we followed one road after another, got directions at a tea shop (where the guy said we were going to get lost again), from a lady at a bank ATM machine, and finally from a guy getting out of a Land Rover being valet parked at a nice restaurant.  He drew us another hand drawn map and that finally got us here.  (Good thing English is widely spoken here!!)

The Marriott is beautiful and has high security, with our car having the under-carriage inspected with a mirror for bombs and the trunk searched before we were allowed on the property.  After two hours (45 minutes from the airport and an hour and fifteen minutes wandering around) we were really glad to get to the hotel.  It has a nice, big western style room, fast internet (both wired and wireless) and a nice view that we will appreciate in the morning.

More pictures to come, but I will post this update first.

Full Day in Istanbul

After a fitful night’s sleep, we woke up and went up to the 6th floor restaurant, where, like all good European hotels, breakfast was included int the price of the room. Not only was the breakfast good abundant, the view was spectacular.

After breakfast, we walked about three blocks down the hill to the square that has the Hagia Sofia on one end and the Blue Mosque on the other end. The Hagia Sofia is a spectacular church built in the sixth century by Byzantine Emperor Justinian. Fifteen hundred years later,and a thousand years as a Christian church and five hundred years as a mosque, it is now a museum. Across the square is the Blue Mosque, finished in 1616.

We took the self-guided tour which took us first to the Blue Mosque. Patty was resplendent in her Volcom headscarf as she toured the mosque.

After leaving the mosque, we went out to the hippodrome, the site of the Roman chariot race track, complete with its own plundered Egyptian obelisk.

After coming back down the hippodrome, and finding an ATM, and getting some local cash, we paid the entry fee and toured the Hagia Sophia. It is truly spectacular.

After the Hagia Sofia, we crossed the tram tracks and, on the way back to our hotel, toured the now restored city cistern. It was built in the sixth century to store water for the city.

We went back to the hotel, took a break, and then headed over to the Grand Bazar, a collection of some 4,000 shops that are now mostly tourist traps.

After wandering around the Bazar, buying some touristy stuff, we walked back toward the hotel. We had seen an old shoe shine guy earlier, so we both got our shoes cleaned and shined.

We came back to the room, rested and then went back down to dinner at a Rick Steve’s recommended place by the Blue Mosque. It is a famous old place nicknamed the “Pudding House” and even has its own WikiPedia entry. It was a famous hippie hangout in the 60’s and even has a picture of Bill Clinton shaking the Owner’s hand.

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Arrived in Istanbul

After a 13 hour flight on Turkish Airways, with both Patty and I dealing with a quick moving flu bug, we arrived in Istanbul about 5:30 p.m. on Monday evening. It was dark when we took off in LA, the sun rose while we were flying somewhere over Iceland, and was setting as we landed in Istanbul. Flying east on a Boing 777 makes for short days.

After buying our visas ($20 each, USD please), clearing passport control, getting our baggage and walking through the “nothing to declare” line with everyone else, we were very happy to see the driver from the hotel with a sign with our name on it. It was a nice ride with a little sightseeing thrown in, a drive through the fish market, and delivery to our hotel. The hotel is nice and modern with a great view down two old streets. We have a corner room on the second floor. Other than having to sit right next to the door to get the wifi to work, it is great.

At LAX

We left early to get to LAX, expecting horrible traffic like there was Wednesday evening. We made it in 45 minutes and now have to wait a half hour for the gate to open. Better to be early than late.

Trip to Istanbul and Jordan

Patty and I are leaving Sunday, November 25, 2012 for Istanbul. We spend two days there and then fly down to Amman, Jordan, where we pick up a rental car and drive down to Petra. On our way back to Amman, we are stopping at a resort on the Dead Sea. On Sunday, we fly back to Istanbul, where Patty has an Advanced Anti-Counterfeiting Strategies Conference. We fly home on Wednesday. Follow along. We hope to be posting lots of pictures.

We are excited to be going to countries both on the north and south of Syria, and to the border of the occupied Palestinian Territories. We will be on the lookout for missiles!