Trip Report: Three Weeks in Syria, Jordan, and Egypt
Michel Puckett - 10:19am Apr 21, 2006 EST

My husband and I just returned from a three week trip to Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. We were totally safe the entire time, saw nothing unusual except the warmest, happiest people who were delighted that we would visit their country. We wanted to visit this area of the world and thought that it was time to go. I am so glad that we did.

Our new best friend, Omar Zaher @travelinstyle.com put together this amazing trip for us as we wanted to travel on our own, not with a group. His in-country people were exceptional and deserve a mention here. I LOVE to hear positive feedback from other travelers about a travel company I might use. Omar is simply the best. It was a bit daunting at times, but did not want to miss anything, and we sure did not!

In Egypt: Tresor Travel with Ms. Wafaa Turk and Ms. Mayada Ezz el-Din (special thanks also to Hany and Mervat). In Jordan: Jordan Circle Tours with a special thanks to our driver Ma'zouz and in Syria: Dawn Creative Tours with special thanks to our driver there, Samer. Of course Omar puts this all together.

Everything went so well from the moment we left our home to the day we flew back. All three in-country travel agencies and their staff worked seamlessly and totally in concert so that we worried about nothing. In fact, there is nothing negative to report all were positive experiences. Did I mention that I loved it:)

Highlights from this incredible trip were:

Egypt: I promise not to bore with too many details just the true highlights.

We arrived around 6:00 PM and were wisked through the airport and to our hotel. As we were unpacking Omar called and asked us to join the Tresor staff, Omar,Omar's Mother, and others for dinner that very night! We showered quickly and had the most delightful time with our new found friends.

Sure there are the Pyramids, the Spinx and the amazing Egyptian Museum where you are rushed by the wonderful artifacts to see even more amazing artifacts.

We have never cruised before and were not too sure about this part of the trip. We were booked on the Princess Sarah and she sure lived up to her name. We were the only Americans on board which was fun as all the others were from France, Sweden, and a small family group from Tunisia.

There were two 17 year olds in the Tunisian family and they wanted to practice their English with us. What a great family they were and we all became fast friends.

Highlights on the cruise besides the beautiful Nile, the delicious food, Galabya night, include Luxor and the Valley of the Kings.

A total must was the short trip at such an early hour to see the amazing Ramses the Great's huge desert temple at Abu Simbel. It was fantastic even after you feel a bit templed out.

The last night in Egypt we had dinner with Mayada's family. Loved her Mom, a very out going. lovely woman who is also a wonderful cook. It was such a delightful evening with SO many tempting Egyptian dishes from which to choose. A great coda to Egypt.

Jordan: We had just a couple of days in Jordan. We did stay one night in Amman, no problems.

Such much to see in so little time. We stopped to see Madaba where the church is that contains the oldest known map of the Holy Land (all in tile). All I can say is so worth the visit.

Loved Wadi Rum where our Bedouin guide pulled me up outcroppings and made sand angels for us. He was a trip.

Then came Petra. I am not sure that I was truly ready to experience seeing and being in the Nabatean City of Petra. One is just blown away with all that awaits you there.

When we were getting ready to enter Petra with our guide, a teacher from the college at Madaba asked our guide, who was a friend of his, if he could have a couple of college students tag along to practice their English with us.

We had the most delightful four hours with three young ladies and we talked about family, religion, politics, life, whatever. They were so smart and funny that it was hard to say good-bye to them as they were reloaded onto their university buses.

Syria: The most interesting of all of the three countries for us.

We truly did not know what to expect with the Syrian part of our trip and all people whom we met expressed the same sentiments. We were all pleasantly surprised. Everywhere, and I do mean everywhere we were greeted with "Welcome to our Country". People on the streets, school children walking by all said that same.

Highlights: Again so many in Syria. This is part of the famed "Cradle of Civilization". We loved Damascus and the Old Bazaar. One quick story about the Bazaar. We were looking for a certain rug dealer whom I had read about in the New York Times.

We could not find him and were stymied when another shop owner in this HUGE Bazaar saw that we were perplexed. He saw that the article listed a phone number so he immediately called and got the location for us. He asked for nothing just wanted to help out. We found this to be true time and time again in Syria.

Gosh, better start wrapping this up, back to Syrian must sees: Palmyra, loved it. Krak Des Chevaliers, a Crusader Castle, very imposing.

More must mentions: coffee in a Beehive house, stopping for coffee at the Bedouin run Baghdad Cafe 66, seeing the Norias (huge waterwheels) in Hama, loved Aleppo with the vast Ottman Bazaar which dates back to the 13th Century. Wandering through the Dead City of Sergella, seeing the columns at Apamea.

Religion plays an important role in all three countries and I was impressed to see many peoples of many faiths in all three. Some of our guides were Christians and some were Muslins. Sure we saw amazing Mosques, but we also were in Catholic and Christian churches as well.

I loved this trip. Never, ever did I feel that tingle of concern that we were in any sort of danger. Would I go again? Of course!

Jordan July 2004

Hello Omar;

Here are a few somewhat disjointed comments about our trip
to Jordan. The trip surpassed our expectations and we feel
that it was excellent value for the money.

Jordan Tour Rep:

This is a professional very well run company. Our experience with them was vey positive. Two representatives were at the
airport to meet us and assist us in passing through customs.
One of the reasons we went to Jordan was to view the transit of Venus and as a result, we had a small astronomical telescope in our laggage. Jordanian Customs was not going to allow us to take the telescope to the hotel. After about two hours, with the help of the two people from your local tour company , the Customs Officer agreed to allow the telescope into the country.
I wish I could remember the names of the two guides who helped us.
I am certain they would rather have been at home instead of helping get a telescope into Jordan: we sincerely appreciated their efforts on our behalf.

During the rest of our stay in Jordan, your reps always did what they said they were going to do and in a most curteous manner.
The guide that accompanied us on the tour (Abdullah) was excellent.
He is an intellegent and knowledgeable man who is a great ambassador for both Jordan and for your tour company.

When we left Jordan we were again assisted by our guides who checked us in at the airport getting our boarding passes and hadling our luggage.

Impressions of Jordan

Jordan exceeded our expectations. The country is progressive socially and economically. The people are friendly. On several occassions, as we were walking around Amman, someone would lean out a car window and
say 'Welcome to Jordan'. Jordan appears to be a safe county to visit; we never had any concerns about our safety.

The major sites in Jordan were wonderful. The ruins of Petra and Jerash are truly amazing and the knowledgeable local guides enhanced our appreciation of the two sites. In addition to the archeological sites, we visted Wadi Rum. This is an unbelievably beautiful place and we really enjoyed our time there.

We were also impressed by the quality of the food in Jordan. All the meals we had there very well prepared, very flavourful and great variety.

The Things We Will Miss About Jordan

Peering over the railing at the top of the Radisson SAS hotel and watching the hustle and bustle of Amman.

Crossing the street in Amman.Watching the sunset in Petra.

Interaction of the people. On two occasions, the Highway Patrol stopped our vehicle for a spot check. Abdullah got out of the car and exchanged pleasantries with the officer. Only then did the officer examine the documents and upon leaving, Abdullah and the officer again exchanged pleasantries. It was gratifying to see the mutual respect displayed by
the two.

We hope you will find these comments helpful. We really have no negative comments concerning our experience and we thank you for providing the service that you stated you would provide.

Sincerely,

Steven and Joy Lambert
Canada

Japan July 2004

Dear Mr. Omar,

Thank you for the follow-up email. My father and mother had a wonderful time in Japan and they had nothing but the nicest things to say about the tour. The people, accommodation, tours, everything went according to plan with safety and comfort in mind.

The service exceeded their expectations and they were very happy to have taken this detour and spend 3 days in Tokyo.

Please share this information with the tour operators in Japan. I am sure they will be happy to hear such compliments.

Thank you.

Ravi Somasundaram.

Guides:

Over the years we've asked returning Travel in Style travelers "What made your trip exceptional?" The top answer is always "service," and we've taken that to heart.

The guides on Travel in Style tours are the best possible people for the job: experienced, knowledgeable, professional and personable, exceeding all national regulations for qualification.

On our Egypt tours and Nile cruises, our guides are certified Egyptologists licensed by the government. All have university degrees, many of them Ph.D.'s. In Morocco, guides on our camel caravans and desert tours are local experts on the Sahara and Bedouin traditions. In Turkey, our city guides are
government-licensed members of the tour guides' guild, and the captains of our yachts have captains' certification as well as long experience in sailing the waters of the Turquoise Coast.

We realize that the guide is the key to an enjoyable, memorable travel experience, so we provide the best because we know you want to Travel in Style.

It's important to realize that 90% of the money you pay for our tours goes to working people at the destinations we serve

We believe in supporting the local economies of the beautiful places we show you, and we are pleased to be able to help local people to live better lives, whether it be your Nubian guides in Upper Egypt, the crew on a Nile cruise, or the Touareg tribesmen of Morocco. They are our valued associates, just as you are our valued
client.

 

Subj: Visit to Tunisia ( May 2002)
Date: 6/6/02 3:43:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: songerla@msn.com

Fatima,

We had a truly delightful time, thank you very much. Apparently Mr. Abid was aware of the ferry delay even before we emailed him and you. When we arrived, he had people there to meet us. We had missed a day of touring that was made up at the end with no problem. We ended up with an extra day at the Mechtal and one fewer day at Gammarth, but that was no problem because we really liked the Mechtal.

In fact, all the hotels were great except for the one in Sfax. Everyone on the tour laughed about that one. A woman from Brazil summed it up: The rooms were hot and the food was cold.

The tour size was great. There were 16 people: 10 from Portugal, 2 from Brazil, a British-Japanese couple, and us. There was no problem being American.

Tours were very well run. We had an excellent guide and driver. The guide gave all the spiels in both Portuguese and English. Mr. Abid also met with us the first day and arranged a driver for Lewis on a free beach day. He was able to have a golf outing at Hammamet.Thanks for all your help. Marcia Songer

While we were lounging around the pool in Gamarth at the Corinthia Khamsa hotel one of the "animation" boys came around trying to put together a table tennis tournament.

I agreed to participate not having played in 40 years but being quite good back then. The short story is that I won the tournament. There were only six players. Even so I can now include that I am Table Tennis Champion of Tunis.

We are glad to have you post comments as you like. You can even share e-mail address with anyone who might like a first hand report as we did.

And by the way, we were met in La Goulette by a small army of greeters with our portraits proudly displayed. What a treat.

Nothing but good memories.

Lewis Songer
songerla@msn.com

Paradise in Greece- Honeymoon

Subj: Re: Feed back on your trip with us & your Honeymoon : Egypt & Greece
Date: 11/18/02 11:18:32 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: andrews_april@........com
To: TInSyle@aol.com

Fatima,

Thank you for your follow up.

All of the people that met us were very kind and very helpful. We spent an extra day in Cairo - and got to relax by the pool. The accomodations in Cairo were fabulous - as were the ones in Santorini. We had a wonderful honeymoon and will cherish the memories for the rest of our life.

Thank you for all of your help

April and Gagan Singh

 

Jordan & Egypt

Subj: Re: Final draft- M/M Enersen Dec
Date: 6/25/03 6:32:31 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: enersen@...............................
To: TInSyle@aol.com

Thank you for of your assitance regarding this cruise which we so thoroughly enjoyed over our Christmas break. It was truly fantastic!!

Also, we would be interested in keeping on your email lists for future cruises and vacations. We are especially interested in a trip to South Africa in the not too distant future.

Dr. and Mrs. Paul Enersen