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