1. Middle-east travel Turkey, Egypt, UAE, Oman

2. Middle-east travel We are off on a new travel epic! No car this time, just planes. The first goal is to see the Anatolian museum in Ankara. It holds the archaeological finds of the Hittites. They got beat by the Egyptians in -1274 at Kadesh (now in Syria - which we won't be able to visit this time). But still, they had an extraordinary civilization which only became known in 1905. To get to Ankara, we stopped off in Istanbul for 2 nights. It is nice to re-visit this fantastic city without having to do tourist sites; just roam around lively quarters. We went up the Golden Horn by public bus, to the Pierre Loti view point

3. Middle-east travel and back by public boat to the Galata bridge lined with fisherman supplying the restaurants below. Then we visited Beyoglu: the area between Galata and Taksim. There is a famous metro/funiculaire called Tunel to get up the hill. It is the oldest after London (1871).

4. Middle-east travel Then back to the hotel by metro to Sultanamet. The hotel was just facing the Blue Mosque with built-in wake up call at 6AM.

5. Middle-east travel We get to Ankara (using the eastern Istanbul airport a very long way through awful traffic). The hotel is in the Ulus area with artisan shops.

6. Middle-east travel Surprise! the Museum is closed all afternoon for electricity work!! So in the evening we take the bus to the newer Ankara (Kizilay) where pedestrian streets are packed with student bars. Fortunately the museum is open when we go early next morning. Here is a tablet of an agreement between the Hittite Queen and Ramses II. The peace treaty is in Berlin (the first written International treaty!). Now we must get back to Istanbul and go on to Cairo...

7. Middle-east travel Down from Cairo to Abu Simbel

8. Middle-east travel Then a three day cruise on Lake Nasser.

9. Middle-east travel To Aswan and the Philae temples.

10. Middle-east travel By train from Cairo to Alexandria.

11. Middle-east travel A few days in Abu Dhabi. The main site is this enormous mosque.

12. Middle-east travel A night camping in the desert..

13. Middle-east travel A drive up to the region of Musandam in Oman at the northern tip of in the mountains dominating the Straights of Ormuz..

14. Middle-east travel A drive up to the region of Musandam in Oman at the northern tip of in the mountains dominating the Straights of Ormuz.. Tomorrow is sailing in a Dhow (near these very straights) then Heliopolis (Cairo) and back home!!