For about a year, my wife, Louise, communicated with Thomas Hollowell and Fazia Farrook of Journey Beyond Travel (Avenue Lalla Amina, Residence Afifa, Apt. 1, Hay Riad, Ifrane 53000, Morocco; phone, toll-free from the US, 855/687-6676 or, worldwide, 765/387-4404).
From multiple tour offerings, we selected Journey Beyond’s “Eclectic Tour” and, with their considerable help, a Morocco adventure was shaped that stretches my imagination to describe.
My husband, Mike, and I took a 27-day segment of a ’round-the-world cruise with Princess Cruises (Santa Clarita, CA; 800/774-6237).
We embarked on April 19, 2013, in Port Rashid, Dubai, and, after stops at Qatar, Oman, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Cyprus, Istanbul and Montenegro, disembarked in Venice on May 15. The cruise fare for the two of us was about $15,000; we had a cabin on level 7, midships. This was our third time taking a segment of a Princess world trip.
In the restored hippodrome of Jerash, Jordan, reenactments of Roman battles, gladiator contests (not to the death) and chariot races are staged twice a day at the Hippodrome, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday-Thursday. JOD12 (near $17) adult and JOD2 child.
Roman Army & Chariot Experience, or RACE (Jerash Heritage Co., Ltd., P.O. Box 1074, Jerash 26111, Jordan; phone +962 2 634 2471, fax +962 2 634 2481).
8 days, 7 nights in TURKEY. Highlights: In Cappadocia region, Göreme Open Air Museum, rock-carved churches / stay in cave hotel / ancient Hittite capital of Hattusa / in Amasya, Seljuk mausoleum with Mongol mummies / in Safranbolu, Cinci Caravanserai / depart from Ankara. From New York, $1,999-$3,099; from Los Angeles, $2,299-$3,399. No single accommodations.
Troy Tours (Los Angeles, CA; 310/417-3460).
I recently reread the travel journal I wrote when my husband and I took a trip to Morocco in 1992. Even then, Moroccans did not want their photos taken.
So Steven Emmet’s experience in 2011 wasn’t new (“Found Moroccans Camera Averse,” Nov. ’13, pg. 54). It must be a cultural thing, like he said.
JO ANN MICHETTI
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
by Martha Mangan; Santa Cruz, California
The Israeli Opera Company (Tel Aviv; phone 972 3 6086203) will present the opera “La Traviata” outdoors at the foot of Masada, a rock plateau overlooking the Dead Sea, on four nights from June 12 to June 17, 2014. Tickets are available only as part of a package. Example — a one-night package for June 16 costs $373 per person, double occupancy, including transfers to/from the performance.
I was in Istanbul with three family members in September ’13. It was my third trip there, the first for the others.
One of our group had trouble walking, so we had to use taxis several times. On two occasions, one of us, after giving the driver either a 50- or a 100-lira note, was handed back either a 5- or 20-lira note, far short of what we were owed, with the driver stating that that was the correct change. We couldn’t prove anything so ended up being cheated.
My wife and I travel to see interesting places and people and take lots of photos. If you like to do this too, do not go to Morocco! On our 2011 visit, people would run out of restaurants and physically accost us, demanding that we either erase the picture or give them money!
This happened even at night in the big square filled with thousands of people. One man wouldn’t even let us take a picture of his cat!
