Middle East

Here are three recommendations from our April ’07 trip to MOROCCO.

My husband, Andy, and I were part of a group of six traveling to Istanbul, Turkey, in September’07 to join a cruise. We arrived early so we could see the city in more depth.

I took a trip with Grand Circle Travel (GCT), Oct. 6-29, 2007. Along with a “Russian Waterways” cruise-tour I booked two optional extensions: the 5-night “Baltic Capitals: Tallinn, Estonia, and Helsinki, Finland” ($645) and the 3-night “Kiev, Ukraine” ($445).

The total price — including all air transportation from and back to Denver, Colorado; all internal transportation; the main cruise-tour and several optional day tours; the pre- and post-tour extensions, and recommended tips — was $5,100.

Bora Özkök of Cultural Folk Tours (Cypress, CA; 800/935-8875) was one of the best guides that I have ever traveled with.

We really enjoyed the 29-day “Bora’s Grand Tour of Turkey” from Cultural Folk Tours International (5631 Lincoln Ave., Ste. B, Cypress, CA 90630; 800/935-8875, www.boraozkok.com).

From JERUSALEM, Israel, May 6, 2008. . .

Hotel Sari Konak (Mimar Mehmet Aga Cad. No. 42-46, 34122 Sultanahmet, Istanbul, TURKEY; phone +90 [212] 638 62 58, fax [212] 517 8635, www. istanbulhotelsarikonak.com), which translates into the “Yellow House Hotel,” is located in the old section of Istanbul. My husband, Heinz, and I stayed there Oct. 24-25, 2007.

This hotel is simple but clean, and the location is perfect, since it is practically within spitting distance of both the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. We paid €89 ($130) per night for a double room. Breakfast, included in the price, was ample.

You don’t have to be in Cairo very long to realize that the traffic is horrendously congested.