Egypt, Jordan, Syria & Turkey Sept/Oct 2008

Egypt, Jordan, Syria & Turkey

The Pyramid, Egypt

Petra, Jordan

Troy, Turkey

Palmyra, Syria

Abu Simbel, Egypt

Pamukkale, Turkey

Cappadocia, Turkey

" A journey of a thousand mile begins with a single step from the moment a travel plan is hatched " 

" My 37 days solo visit to Jordan, Syria, Turkey & Egypt from 16/9 - 23/10/2008 - chasing the UNESCO world heritage sites and my first visit to Middle East, African countries " 

Total expenses incurred (37 days) : Rm7,610

Kuwait Airways Flight Itinerary
Booking Date: 19 August 2008
Flight No: KU416
Depart KLIA 0315am ( transit in Kuwait for 2hrs 40mins) 16 September 2008 Tuesday
Arrive Amman, Jordan 11.20am 16 September 2008 Tuesday
Return KU562
Depart Amman 12.20pm ( transit in Kuwait for 9hrs 30mins ) 22 October 2008 Wednesday
Arrive KLIA 13.20pm 23 October 2008 Thursday
Kuwait Airways Flight: RM1,815
Airport & Fuel Tax: RM535
Travel Insurance: RM205
Airport shuttle bus fare: RM20
Visa fee: RM126 ( multiple entry to Jordan)
Cost breakdown per country ( includes only hostels, food, entrance fee & ground transport ):

1) Jordan
Hostels ( 7 nights in Amman, 1 each in Wadi Musa & Aqaba ) : 37JOD (RM196)
Transport: 60JOD (RM320) + US$75 ( ferry crossing from Jordan to Egypt ) = RM581
Entrance fee: 30JOD (RM160)
Food & sundries: 38JOD (RM202)
Total expenditure: RM1,139
Currency conversion:
Euro$1= 0.94JOD (Jordanian Dinar)
1JOD= RM5.32
2)Syria
Hostels ( 2 nights in Damascus, 1 each in Homs & Aleppo ) : 1,900SP (RM144)
Transport: 1,725SP (RM131)
Entrance fee: 375SP (RM28)
Food & sundries: 2,512SP (RM191)
Total expenditure: RM494
Currency conversion:
Euro$1= 65SYP (Syrian Pound)
1SYP= RM0.076

3) Turkey
Hostels (3 nights in Istanbul, 2 in Goreme, 1 each in Canakkale, Selcuk, Bodrum & Pamukkale ):
133TRY (RM379)
Transport: 317TRY (RM903)
Entrance fee: 120TRY (342)
Food & sundries: 109TRY (RM310)
Total expenditure: RM1,934
Currency conversion:
Euro$1=1.75TRY (Turkish New Lira)
1TRY=RM2.85

4) Egypt
Hostels ( 5 nights in Cairo, 2 each in Aswan & Luxor ) : 294EGP (RM200)
Transport: 556EGP + US70 (ferry crossing from Egypt to Jordan) = RM623
Entrance fee: 348EGP (RM236)
Food & sundries: 417EGP (RM283)
Total expenditure: RM1,342
Currency conversion:
Euro$1=7.31EGP ( Egyptian Pound)
1EGP=RM0.68

I hope you enjoy reading my travel blog covering my recent trip to Jordan, Syria, Turkey & Egypt ( 16 Sept - 22 Oct 08 )

For this trip, I focused my visit on 19 places which had been described as the world wonders in two of the travel books entitled "Civilized Wonders of The World" & "Natural Wonders of The World". Prior to retirement in 2006, I yearned to see the Great Wonders of The World. To fulfil this dream, I have to walk the talk. In 2006 , I visited the Angor Wat in Cambodia and in 2007, Taj Mahal of India. I had earlier visited The Great Wall of China twice in 1997 & 2002. As for 2008, I finally made it to see The Great Pyramid & Petra !

The 19 places of interest I visited were:Civilised Wonders of The World:

Egypt
1) The Great Pyramids
2) The Sphinx
3) Abu Simbel Temple
4) Luxor Temple
5) Karnak Temple
6) Valley of the Kings
7) Alexandria
8) Suez Canal

Jordan
9) Petra
10) Jerash

Syria
11) Damascus
12) Palmyra

Turkey
13) Hagia Sophia
14) Troy
15) Mausoluem of King Mausolus
16) Temple of Artemis

Natural Wonders of the World:

17) River Nile, Egypt
18) Cappadocia, Turkey
19) Dead Sea, Jordan

In preparing this trip, I had taken into considerations of the following

1) Ramandan
2) Hot and dry wheather
3) Travelling solo
4) Border crossings from Jordan to Syria, Turkey & Egypt
5) English vs Arabic
6) Currency exchange

"Indeed it was a journey of a lifetime. For this trip, my travel trophies were 1,642 pictures taken during the trip; interesting experiences and the memory will linger for some years to come"

Jordan (Amman) Sept/Oct 2008 D-1

At the departure lounge of KLIA, I met 5-6 Jordanian post graduate students who were returning home to celebrate Ramadan and EID. I befriended them and they provided me with a great deal of advice on Jordan. What a great start for my trip to Jordan !

I arrived at the Queen Alia International Airport, Amman around 11.30am and after immigration clearance and luggage collection, I took an airport express bus ( 3JOD=Rm16 ) to Downtown , Amman city. The airport bus stopped at Trababour bus terminal. From there, I took a local bus (0.5JOD=Rm2.60) to my hostel (Mansour Hotel - 4JOD=Rm21 for a dorm bed) , located in King Faisal street. The entire bus ride from airport to Trababour and then to Downtown took around 2 hours. Most young Jordanians could understand and speak some basic English, so it was quite easy for me to ask for directions and inquired on public transport to get to the city area.

After the hostel check-in, I began to explore the Downtown & the old Souq area. As it was Ramandan period, I noticed most shops were closed for business in the afternoon. I found my way to the Roman Theatre & Nymphaeum (fountain), the ancient ruins which reflects the historic character of the city. A row of columns was seen standing tall at the site.                                          

The Citadel, located up a hill along a main road could be seen from a distance but I did not visit the site.

In the evening , I walked to the King Hussein mosque ( built in 1924), which is close to the old Souq area. The mosque was filled with people offering their prayers and having their feasts as it was well past the time of breaking fast for all Muslims. I had a felafel meal (bread with fresh salads) as dinner at a local food stall before heading back to the hostel.

Amman city (1.8mil) is really a modern and progressive Arab city. The city is surrounded by hills. The people were generally friendly and most willing to offer their help to overseas travelers when asked. I felt very at home so looked like I had made the right decision in selecting Jordan as the first country to land.

"Hello Jordan ! Thank you for your great hospitality & generosity ! I Can't wait to see Petra and take a dip in the Dead Sea"

Dessert Landscape, Jordan

Jordan (Amman) Sept/Oct 2008 D-17

I woke up earlier and took a morning walk to the shopping area of Damascus. The area was deserted as it was a public holiday.

I took pictures of statutes of Syrian statesman in the city center and also Hotel Al-Haramain, which is 3-4 door away from Al-Rabie, both are old French colonial buildings with spacious courtyards in the interior of their buildings.

After checking out of the hostel, I took a microbus to Baramke Garage for my bus trip (500SP=Rm38) to Amman, Jordan. No hassle at the Syrian/Jordan border apart from paying a departure tax of 500SP.

Bye bye Syria !

On Saturday, 29 Sept 08, a car bomb attack by terrorists, blew up a security check point on a road to Damascus airport, which killed 17 people. I came to know of this incident after reading a local English Daily newspaper upon my return to Malaysia ! Scary, isn't it ?I arrived in Amman in late afternoon and checked into Mansour Hotel, Downtown.

"My time spent in Syria was short as the focus of my visit was on Damascus & Palmyra - both rated as the civilized wonders of the world. Syria was under the influence of Christian, Islam and Ottoman eras and in later years, under the French dominance .... so there is still much to see and explore in Syria …. I shall return"

Jordan (Jerash) Sept/Oct 2008 D-18

This was my second time in Jordan after my return visit from Turkey & Syria. After a good rest last night , my next few days were focused on visiting 3 major places of interest which come under the "Wonders" category ie Jerash, Dead Sea & Petra. This morning, I took a bus (1/2 JD) from Trababour station to Jerash, about 1 1/4 hr from Amman. Jerash is a well preserved Roman city and I spent 3 hours to see the place. I paid 8JD=Rm61 for the entrance fee. On arrival, there were 8-10 bus loads of tourists so indeed Jersah is a major attraction in Jordan.

I started my visit to the Hadrian's Arch and then the Hippodrome, which hosted chariot races (2 performances daily) . Next , I passed the oval plaza ( Forum) , the Temple of Zeus, South theatre (seating capacity of 5,000 people) , colonnaded street, Nymphaeum (main fountain), Temple of Artermis and a small museum with a good collection of artefacts.

 

 

"In Rome, do as what Romans do. In Jerash, let your eye balls roam at this magnificent site. This was, once upon a time, a very prosperous city ever built by the Romans in the Middle East"