Middle East

(Second of two parts)

In the last issue I analyzed the ins and outs of bill paying abroad. In this issue, I offer additional suggestions on this topic.

Debit card checklist

The food on our trip to Turkey was wonderful. Lots of lamb, of course, but the big surprise was the quality and variety of seafood. Best grilled fish ever! The surprise treat was the fried mussels on a stick. The mezes, or starters, were another surprise; a modest mom-and-pop restaurant would offer eight or 10 choices.

Restraint is in order, however, because you really should try the lentil soup — I tried it in 12 places and each version was delicious and different from the others — and you must leave room for the main course.

Five of us took a personal tour of western Turkey with Mehmet Ozbalci in March ’04. A reader had recommended him in a short letter (May ’99, pg. 117). He truly is a guide “extraordinaire.”

Not only is Mehmet knowledgeable about Turkey and its wonderful history, he is a caring, patient, engaging individual.

What do you do to pass the time in an airport waiting for a flight? Have any suggestions to make the interval more pleasant? ITN asked readers those questions and printed some of their responses in the May ‘05 issue. More ideas have come in and we are presenting them here.

If you have any tips to contribute (photos with captions welcome), write to Whittle While You Wait, c/o ITN, 2116 28th St., Sacramentro, CA 95818, or e-mail editor@intltravelnews.com (please include the address at which you receive ITN).

by Jan Oravetz, Ft. Myers, FL

“City Highlights Independent Studies” programs from Elderhostel (11 Ave. de Lafayette, Boston, MA 02111; phone 877/426-8056 or visit www.elderhostel.org) are shorter, include fewer meals and fewer group activities and are less expensive than the traditional Elderhostel European programs. I enrolled as a single in one of them, “Berlin: City of Many Faces,” Oct. 29-Nov. 5, ’04, and found it satisfactory in every respect.

For those ITN readers who might be searching for an experience which is more customized than a standard tour, I recommend the outfit which guided my 21-year-old son, Stephen, and me in Morocco: Berber Tours (Boutique Lac Iriqi, Ave. Mohamed V, 45900 Zagora, Morocco; phone 212-68-51-50-87, e-mail U.S. representative Jeffrey Teachout at admin@berbertours.net or visit www.berbertours.net).

(Second of two parts, jump to part 1)

We experienced similar cuisine in both Morocco and Tunisia during a trip in July ’02. In both countries, we stayed in 2- or 3-star hotels which had adjoining or nearby restaurants. The evening menus uniformly offered two or three dishes, usually including one or two tajines, usually chicken, beef or lamb.

Several years ago on a trip to Greece, we visited Mycenae and became interested in the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann and the Trojan Wars.