Middle East

The most memorable trip I have taken is the tour “Exploring Iraqi Kurdistan,” from Adventures Abroad (Blaine, WA; 800/665-3998), April 13-21, 2013. Including breakfasts, dinners and very good accommodations, the land price of the 9-day tour was $3,390 plus $600 for the single supplement. Airfare from New York was $1,390.

The Kurds were friendly and welcoming to us. Even the checkpoint guards were friendly as they waved us on. We never felt as though there was any threat to our safety. 

For bird-watchers, the third International Hula Valley Bird Festival, organized by the Israel Ornithological Center, takes place Nov. 10-17, 2013. Visitors to the valley, which is a 2½-hour drive north of Jerusalem, have logged over 200 different bird species.

A festival package costs $2,165 per person (sharing) and includes seven nights at the Pastoral Hotel, breakfasts, dinners, guided birding tours, evening lectures and all transportation within Israel. Visit the website. 

We asked ITN subscribers, “Where have you, in the last few years, had a great massage outside of the United States?” In addition to where it was (including contact info, if possible), approximately when you were there and about how much it cost, we wanted to know what made it great and about any tips you have for others interested in experiencing a massage. The responses appear below.

by Bill Altaffer; San Diego, CA

My husband, Gene, and I joined a tour of Biblical sites of Anatolia, Turkey, “Paul’s Missionary Journeys,” offered by Tutku Tours (Gaziosmanpasa Bulvari 3/303, Izmir, Turkey 35210; phone +90 [232] 441 8676 or 8677 or 8635; fax 441 8636). 

The price of our tour, March 28-April 9, 2013, was $3,549. This covered round-trip air from Chicago; internal air and bus travel; accommodations, and meals except for lunches, which we were happy to arrange on our own.

A program called EatWith offers travelers to Spain, Israel and Brazil the chance to book meals with local hosts.

On the website, visitors can browse available hosts (at press time, 117 in Spain, 70 in Israel and four in Brazil) and see verified photos of meals hosts have prepared in the past.

Meals range in size, price, capacity and duration. In Spain, events have varied from vermouth and tapas on a terrace for $13 per person to a cooking class that included a trip to Barcelona’s Boqueria market for $117 per guest.

We asked subscribers to write in about any impressive or historical natural caves worth visiting that are outside of the USA. We asked for the cave’s name and location and when you were there. In addition to describing the place and telling what you found noteworthy about it, we wanted to know how accessible it was plus any visitor restrictions or requirements, the best time to visit, any entry fee, etc., and about interesting sights nearby. We printed a number of responses last month, and here are a few more.

19 days / 17 nights, Oct. 10-28, 2013 & April 17-May 5, 2014. Highlights: Peacock Throne, Crown Jewels in Tehran / copper-gilded, mirror-tiled tomb of Imam Reza in Mashhad / ruins of Persepolis, Pasargad / Kerman Bazaar / in Isfahan, Royal Square, Friday Mosque / Ramsar on the Caspian Sea. Land and internal air, $5,380. Single supp., $1,310. Distant Horizons (Long Beach, CA; 800 / 333-1240).

My husband, Gerald, and I took a 2-week humanitarian trip to Morocco with Friendship Force International (Atlanta, GA; 404/522-9490). The “Morocco Cultural Tour,” March 24-April 6, 2013, was organized by Experience It Tours (Springfield Center, NY; 315/858-3426).

After my wife, Paula, and I and another couple traveled in Turkey in September ’11, I compiled information and tips on some topics that weren’t addressed or I felt weren’t emphasized enough in the guidebooks and Internet resources we consulted prior to our trip. I also have some recommendations.