While it’s easy to tour the historic district of Quito, Ecuador, on your own, it’s not very satisfying unless you speak Spanish, as my wife, Paula Owens, and I learned during a visit in July 2016. Few exhibits in the area’s churches and museums provide explanations in English. Our Moon and Lonely Planet guidebooks were helpful but, understandably, didn’t provide a lot of detail.
In the city of Karak, Jordan, four gunmen opened fire on a police patrol on Dec. 18 before storming the nearby Karak Castle, a historical Crusader site, and firing on a police station there. In the attack, at least 10 people were killed, including one Canadian tourist, and 34 people were injured.
Jordanian security forces entered the castle, rescuing tourists trapped inside and killing all four gunmen. Jordanian police found explosive suicide belts and weapons when investigating the shooters’ hideout.
The East Gardens of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo now can be visited on a free, 2-hour English-language walking tour offered by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) and the Tokyo Systematized Goodwill Guides (SGG) Club.
Norman Palermo
(First of two parts)
“IRISH & SCOTTISH SAMPLER” — 8-day, 7-night tour of IRELAND and SCOTLAND, April-October 2017. Highlights: In Dublin, Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre, St. Patrick’s Cathedral/Titanic Belfast/ferry to Cairnryan, Scotland/Pollok House in Glasgow/in Pitlochry, whisky tasting at Blair Athol Distillery/St. Andrews/Edinburgh Castle. $1,716-$2,154 (per dates) per person, double occupancy (ppdo). Single supp., $395. Tenon Tours (Wakefield, MA; 855/468-3666, www.tenontours.com).
11 days, 10 nights, Feb. 12-22 & Oct. 15-25, 2017. Highlights: In Addis Ababa, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Ethnographic Museum/fly to Axum for Stelae Park/fly to Lalibela for monolithic rock-cut churches/fly to Gondar for Debre Berhan Selassie Church/Simien Mountains National Park, home to gelada baboons/cruise Lake Tana/hike to Blue Nile Falls. $6,995 (groups of 7-18) to $8,395 (2-6) ppdo. Single supp., $1,395. Internal air, from $750. Abercrombie & Kent (Downers Grove, IL; 888/611-4711, www.abercrombiekent.com).
The tour of Iran that I took Oct. 30-Nov. 15, 2015, with Spiekermann Travel Service (Eastpointe, MI; 800/645-3233, http://mideasttrvl.com) was led by Professor Norman Jones, who teaches history and religious studies at Utah State University.
The members of our small group of 16 were from all over the US and very compatible, and we also had a knowledgeable Iranian-Canadian guide. With round-trip airfare from Washington Dulles to Tehran on Turkish Airlines, I paid a total of $6,495 for the tour, including a single supplement.
