A memorable visit of Laos

Visiting the Arab World and the Middle East -- 15 May 2008

Wed, 14 May 2008 16:12:15 GMT

The welcoming face of Jordan - Ph. by D. Santal

In the past two years, we have traveled to the Arab world and the Middle East. Our motive was merely curiosity: it is a world we knew nothing about. When we mentioned our project to family and friends, they were horrified: aren’t you afraid, aren’t you taking dangerous risks, don’t you think you’ll be unwelcome? The answer was “Of course not, why"?

So off we went: Morocco in 2006, Turkey in 2007, Jordan and Egypt in 2008. And how interesting, gratifying and informative our excursions were! Each one was very different from the others; and all were very different from our trips in Europe of course, in Asia and in South America. They puzzled and enriched us culturally, historically, and of course linguistically; most of all, we will never forget the warm welcome we experienced everywhere.

We prepared these trips with the help of several different tour operators: Gate 1, Isram, Sunny Land Tours… Our guides were extraordinary: learned, intelligent, well-prepared, curious about us; most of all, it was obvious that they loved their respective country and were eager to share their history and their culture. They went out of their way to provide what we needed: in Egypt for instance, when we came back to Cairo for a couple of days at the end of our visit, Esslam, the man in charge, met us at the airport and announced that our hotel had been changed; surprised, we asked him why: “Your guide told me that you wished for a downtown hotel in order to explore our capital on your own.” So he had arranged a room at the Sofitel El Gezirah, a luxurious hotel overlooking the Nile, five minutes from the Egyptian Museum and next door to the Opera House. In Morocco also: we had decided to spend two extra days exploring on our own, so we were by ourselves at our downtown hotel: as we were enjoying a lazy breakfast, Nourédine, our guide for the previous week, showed up and told us he would take us to the two museums we had mentioned before but were not included in the itinerary! We were deeply touched by such thoughtfulness and generosity, and we will never forget.

On the practical side of our visits, it was obvious that Jordan and Egypt were prepared for foreign visitors; security is tight everywhere, and the Tourism Police is obvious and active. They are also very friendly and ready to help all the time; we enjoyed their presence not just because they made us feel better protected, but also because their ready smiles and friendliness made us forget that we live in a dangerous world.

In all frankness, it is probably as dangerous to visit London as it is the Middle East and the Arab world. Terrorists are everywhere, a hidden threat to everyone. But I want to enjoy the whole world, I want to see beautiful countries and know, if only very briefly, and very superficially, the people who live in them.

I will still look both ways when I cross the street, in my home town, in Paris, in Bangkok or Cusco, but I will go there unafraid. So there !

Egypt & Jordan

Shopping for Oriental rugs - 12 december 2007

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 13:19:41 GMT

Galip Ceramic Dish

This past year, during two separate trips, we visited both Morocco and Turkey. Both made us feel welcome: Moroccans and Turks were hospitable, generous, and uncommonly friendly: there was no language barrier as all Moroccans speak French fluently (my native language), and most Turks speak at least a little English; Arabic and Turkish are difficult languages, even a simple hello or thank you is difficult to master. Nothing binds more than a sincere smile, we received and gave a lot of those.

Before going to either country, I knew I wanted to buy at least one rug, so I checked prices here before I left: I went to stores and looked online. By the end of my research, I knew what a new 8x12 flat weave or pile rug could cost here, and I was actually looking forward to haggling with our hosts. I also found out which merchants in both countries have the best reputation and are the most reliable. I decided that, in the long run, what mattered most was loving what I bought.

In Morocco, I saw a contemporary Kilim I loved: the design was contemporary and the colors and size were just right for our dining-room; unlike Turkish Kilims, Moroccan Kilims are 'embroidered', rather than woven. When the merchant realized I was hooked, he waited for me to ask the price: the answer was “8000 euros”! I finished my tea, extended my hand, smiling, ready to leave. I was cajoled into staying longer, but I explained that I was not a rich tourist, and that the price was out of my league; he offered “5000 euros”. I pretended I was close to tears, and again, got up to leave. “How much can you afford then?” , “I don’t know anything about the value of your rugs, I just know that I want an 8x12 one for my dining-room, I want something colorful and a flat weave, and I really love that one!” “Because you speak French and you obviously appreciate Moroccan carpets, let’s shake hands and you can have it for 1500 euros.” “No, you break my heart, was my reply, 1000 euros is what I have budgeted; besides, as a travel agent, I can recommend your house to my clients, so you could give me a better price…” I WON! Even my friend whose father is a rug dealer in Syria, was impressed when I showed him my “bargain”. My husband could not believe my bargaining skills! In Turkey, the merchants we visited did not allow any “bargaining”. I did know that when he named prices they were fair, so we came home with two smallish carpets, a flat weave kilim and a pile rug.

The trouble is that we met Galip, Turkey's best known ceramicist, and we blew our budget for the next three trips at his studio!

Turkish Kilim - wool on wool Turkish pile rug - wool on wool Antique Turkish rug on display at

Istanbul Archeological Museum

More information about the rugs of Turkey and the ceramics by Galip

Returning to Turkey - 27 November 2007

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 12:50:52 GMT

Ottoman Military Band - Ph. by D. Santal

Too often, when I visit a foreign country I approach my trip with long nurtured prejudices. I cannot help it. I love the arts: visual arts, architecture, music, good food (the culinary arts!)… I look forward to the surprises a foreign culture offers, I want to learn much about the history of a country, I even hope I will make personal contacts with people.

We just came back from our first in-depth visit of Turkey, actually of part of Turkey, the western part, as we only saw Istanbul, Ankara, Cappadocia and Ephesus. I was looking for the deeper roots of my western culture. On our list of “things to do”, there were museums, monuments, restaurants, concert halls and jazz clubs. We saw and enjoyed all of that, the depth of our explorations was dizzying.

In Istanbul, hoping to attend a concert of Turkish music, our inquiries led us to a most unexpected venue! The concierge of our hotel recommended the Museum of Military History, just a couple of blocks away: he told us that very often, in the afternoon, there are concerts of Ottoman music there. Until then, I would never have set foot in a military memorabilia museum largely because of my old anti-military attitudes, my lack of curiosity about arms, uniforms or soldiers... That afternoon, we were treated to music and harmonies our western ears were totally unaccustomed to: it sounded somewhat repetitious, but we got caught up in the enthusiastic beat and the joyful mood of the musicians and the spectators: we thoroughly enjoyed the performance, the spectacle, for spectacle it was as well.

Another amazing surprise, also in connection with Turkish culture, was our exposure to the famed Whirling Dervishes. One late evening, in Cappadocia, as we were wondering about what to do next, Cihan, our guide, suggested Whirling Dervishes. When we entered the performing space, we were given pamphlets explaining the service and the customs; I had no idea it was a religious service, I expected a dance with lots of men in white robes, reeling at full speed. Not at all! The dervishes are priests, so to speak, they perform a ceremony, and periodically spin like tops, but fairly slowly, while they form a circle around the room. It looked like a traditional dance, but it was not.

Both events took us out of our usual path, both were visually fantastic, and both helped us appreciate a wonderful country, very much like our own, yet different enough to satisfy our need to know it better for the differences.