Middle East

Two weeks before Christmas 2004, my husband and I decided to take a much-longed-for trip to the Middle East. Where to go for information? Our ITN magazine, of course. There we spotted a small ad regarding customized trips to the Middle East via Caravan Serai Tours (3806 Whitman Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103; phone 800/451-8097 or visit www.caravan-serai.com). After only three or four back-and-forth phone conversations, a very friendly and capable travel rep, Maha, put together a fabulous trip for us, Dec. 28, ’04-Jan. 11, ’05.

Our 16-day trip to Iran in September-October ’04 was absolutely marvelous in all respects, and our concerns about what it might be like, based on “information” published in the States, were totally baseless.

by Fred DeVinney, Oakland, CA

(Second of two parts)

Reliving a day in the life of ancient Israelis

Malaysia Airlines’ ad sounded almost too good to be true: $999 would take us halfway around the world to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s cosmopolitan capital. To that we could add as many (or as few) as we wanted of the dozens of destinations Malaysia Airlines flies to in the Far East. We’d be using Kuala Lumpur as our hub for the Far Eastern destinations, but it would not cost us a penny more to add to our travel agenda, if we chose, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Yangon, Hanoi, Manila. . .

by John Chatfield

by Lew Toulmin

The Cagaloglu Hamami (Turkish bath) is the oldest bath in Istanbul — over 300 years old — and I arrived at about 3 o’clock one afternoon in July ’04 after a day of sightseeing and shopping in the Grand Bazaar.

First things first. The hamami is not a spa. It smells a little musty (think hundreds of years of humidity and heat). There are separate sections for men and women; the women’s entrance is around the corner, down an alley. Men still rule in Turkey.

by Patricia Arrigoni, Fairfax, CA

Europe