Middle East

ITN asked its readers for essays centered on the subject “Travel is. . .” in 250 words or less. Small prizes were offered for the best five. We were hit by a flood of responses — and the writing was so good, we decided to increase the number of prize winners and print not just the top five but the top 10.

We selected for judges three well-read people: Steve Venables, owner of the travel agency Woodland Travel in Woodland, California; ITN Associate Editor Mary Beltran, and the very well-traveled retired attorney Judith Anshin of Sacramento.

In September ’03 I took an independent tour to Norway traveling solo. When I began my planning in June, I had three main objectives in mind: visiting the cities of Oslo and Bergen, sailing the Geiranger Fjord and crossing the Arctic Circle. With a limit of 10 days (including the days for travel to and from the U.S. to Norway), I knew it would have to be a tightly constructed trip.

I returned Nov. 24, ’03, from a fantastic 19-day tour through western Turkey with Grand Circle Travel (phone 800/221-2610 or visit www.gct.com). In light of the Nov. 15 bombings in Istanbul, I thought some readers would be interested in the safety issues facing American tourists.

From Paris, FRANCE, Dec. 5-10, ’03. . .

by Kevin Keating

In a letter in the December ’03 issue, page 78, a reader was “shocked” to learn of Turkey’s $100 visa fee and thought to cancel her trip when she did learn of it. It is truly “penny wise and pound foolish” to miss a trip to one of the world’s interesting countries, one with nice people, because of $100.

The reader might consider how much the U.S. charges citizens of Turkey to enter our country. Yes, that’s right: $100!

Moreover, Turkey is not alone in this. Chile, for example, admits U.S. citizens for $100 paid at the airport. Reciprocity is not robbery.

My husband and I spent a week in Tuscany with our family group in June ’03. One feature of our stay was a guided tour of parts of the Chianti wine region not normally visited by tourists.

My husband, my parents and I departed on Dec. 16, ’02, for an 18-day trip to Egypt that included sightseeing around Islamic and Coptic Cairo; the Sakkara necropolis; the Giza pyramids; several days in Luxor to visit the temples and West Bank; a cruise down the Nile; the Aswan area; Abu Simbel, and diving in the Red Sea.

I found Istanbul as interesting as ever on my eighth trip to my favorite city. Istanbul is all about the people in the streets, both past and present. If you are not too timid, you should stay where the Turkish people are — bustling about the streets in the Sirkeci district (pronounced Sirkajee). From there you can walk anywhere you would want to visit.

In the last few issues we’ve printed many letters from readers sharing advice on using Internet cafés while traveling. This is the last of four parts on the subject. We could not print all the mail we received, but we thank everyone who took the time to write. If there is something yet to add, send your remarks to Internet Cafés Info, c/o ITN, 2116 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818, or e-mail editor@intltravelnews.com (please include your surface-mail address).