Middle East

by Ed Kinney

by Roger Canfield, Contributing Editor

Regarding extra pages for visas in your passport, I’d like to point out another problem.

Bora Özkök, the owner of Cultural Folk Tours (5631 Lincoln Ave., Ste. B, Cypress, CA 90630-3156; 800/935-8875, www.boraozkok.com), was the leader on our 20-day “Bora’s Eastern and Unknown Turkey,” July 15-Aug. 3, 2007.

Eastern Turkey, which we found safe and friendly, is unspoiled in its natural beauty and ancient sites. Bora’s knowledge and presentation of this fascinating area of Turkey made the ancient sites come alive. Every day was an adventure, and the 17 members of our group were the only tourists at each site.

The reader’s letter titled “Chancing Street Food in India” (Aug. ’07, pg. 71) provokes a response. She wrote that despite her “semi-suicidal” practice of eating from street vendors in India, she and her traveling companion never got sick, and she would have missed out on a lot of the best of India had she been more cautious on food consumption.

I don’t think her letter should be left unanswered without warnings about the risks that go with throwing caution to the winds in eating in Third World countries.

Flamengo Travel & Tours has a branch in Cairo International Airport run by a pleasant man, Mr. Said Atia (phone 012 212 6291 or 224 3587, fax 586 1621… or at 1 a El Sherifein St., Cairo; phone/fax 023931044).

Timna Park, in Israel, is huge; it reminded us of Big Bend National Park in Texas. It is the site of 6,000-year-old Egyptian copper mines. You can see the slag from the copper mines and the remains of the smelting ovens. It is also the site of nomads’ encampments and tabernacles that were erected by nomads in the desert.

by David Tykol, Editor

In the letter “Car and Driver in Morocco” (July ’07, pg. 34), the writer mentioned that his driver was not a licensed guide and could not be seen behaving as one. That brought to mind a trip my husband, Steven, and I made to Morocco in April 2001.

We were staying at a hotel a few blocks from the medina and, throwing caution to the wind, we decided we could maneuver the medina without a guide. We did, however, remember that all the travel books said not to pick up a guide who is not licensed.

by Larry Taylor, Fullerton, CA