People Of Egypt

A wonderful portrait of a Nubian elder from Egypt. The Nubians are an ethnic group originally from northern Sudan and southern Egypt; in ancient times they were famous for their horsemanship, and skill and precision with the bow. There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, but the last one collapsed in 1504.

There is a great shop with egyptian souvenirs in the beautiful district of Zamalek, called Fair Trade Egypt. Not only does it have a plethora of hand-made items for sale, but also the part of the proceedings goes to the artists themselves and supports the traditional crafts. It is where I got this postcard showing craftswomen woving baskets in the Al Fayoum oasis. Sent sometime in November 2008!

Beduin People Of Israel

A wonderful multiview of the Beduin, the desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group. (here from around Beersheba, 'The Capital Of Negev'). Negev Bedouins hold close ties to the Bedouin of the Sinai peninsula, and face great changes of their traditional lifestyle. I hope the postcards wont become just a reminder of the way things were..! This card was in my favourites until Debora/chatte_noire tagged me - thank you :)))

Arad Fort, Bahrain

Another great swap on the official site - written(but not)stamped card from Bahrain, my 1st from there!

The card shows the Arad Fort, built in the 15th century in the typical islamic style of that time. Due to its strategic location overlooking many sea passages of Muhharaq Island it was used as a defensive fortress throughout the centuries. Last time it was restored in the 1980s using traditional materials (coral stone, lime, tree trunks) to keep the authenticity.

Saleh was even so thoughtful to write a few words in Croatian - thank you! :))

Alexandria, Egypt

We returned to Egypt via Eilat and settled in a nice bungalow in Dahab - which is a great place to chill out, quite touristy but not in a hectic way. Diving in the Red Sea sounded tempting..! But I have my own fears to tackle first :s

We bussed back to Cairo, where we spent another couple of days as I was caught by a cold and had high temperature (boo). But there was not much time to waste so we headed to Alexandria, where we had a day of exploration before catching a bus to Siwa oasis.  Of course we 1st checked the library! The Bibliotheca Alexandrina was inaugurated in 2003 near the site of the ancient Royal Library of Alexandria, once the largest library in the world. This one is quite awesome too!

The 1st postcard shows the El-Mursi Abul-Abbas Mosque, which looked stunning in the moonlight...Alexandria must have looked amazing back in the Ptolemaic days - everything was grand, very much like this lighthouse on the 2nd postcard - the Pharos of Alexandria. With its height between 120 and 140 meters it was for centuries the highest man-made building in the world. Sadly it was devastated in the series of earthquakes. In 1480 the last of its remnant stones were used to build the Citadel of Qaitbay on the site.

In the alexandrian post-office I found new stamps, goodie :)

These were posted on the 13th of December on the way back from the oasis.

The Palestinian Authority

While in Jerusalem I've decided to do a day-trip to Bethlehem. We took a mini bus which drove us up to the Israeli West Bank barrier - a huge concrete wall separating Israel from the Palestinian Territory. We were perplexed and didn't quite know where we're going, but after some minutes we caught a sight of a town which turned out to be Bethlehem. Not such a little town as one might imagine! After all it is being visited by millions of tourists every year.

In any case, I was thrilled to find an open post-office in the centre of Bethlehem. To my even greater surprise they had quite an impressive choice of stamps! I was beside myself, I think I must have spent a weekly pocket-money heh. My friend must have 'swollowed a dumpling' watching me do that :D I did stop myself eventually, somewhat lamenting on the stamps left behind, but overly excited about the postcards I was going to send from Palestine!

It took them longer than 2 months to arrive...after being convinced they were lost in transit the joy was...well you should have seen me..! :)

The West Bank Barrier - to my utter shame I wasn't aware of its existance before. Parts of the wall were covered with awesome artistic graffiti, all with the unified message of peace and tolerance.

This postcard shows Palestinian women in their traditional coastal costumes near the entrance of an old house in Old Jaffa. All of these postcards were sent on the 30th of November, 2008.

Views Of Israel

I don't think we reached the decision to go to Israel before staying in Jordan. It was just so close, so tempting...And because of the visa regulations it was possible to go from Jordan, but not from Syria or Lebanon, so a loop wasn't doable. It was an enjoyable week..!

What to say about Jerusalem...so much is said and written about it, but seeing it is in a league on its own. It is another place that I would LOVE to see again :)

Sent on 25th of November, 2008

From Jeruzalem we travelled to Tel Aviv, and up to Haifa to spend a night and visit Nazareth & The Sea of Galilee on a day-trip. Regardless of my current religion status it is mesmerising to look upon the lake and imagine the Bible stories taking place there :) Sea of Galilee & its Ancient Sites is on the Unesco WHS's tentative list, but also are The Galilee Journeys of Jesus & the Apostles.

Old Jaffa is gorgeous! Such a contrast fom the busy and urban Tel Aviv, and very picturesque. I made a wish on the Wishing Bridge touching my zodiac sign and facing the sea, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was..! Many many cool cats sunbathing on the coastal strip from Jaffa to Tel Aviv :D

And yay, in Tel Aviv I found a shop with stamps, old postcards and such. I have bought a few items but had to give up on the rest while biting my elbow...uff.

Amman To Jerash, Jordan

It is not enough to say I LOVE Jordan! I wish I could have stuck around for another week at least, but alas there was no time...If an opportunity ever arises I will gladly fly back!

First we crossed the border from Egypt by ferry, and went straight for Wadi Musa where we would spend the night in a nice little hotel. I was amazed to see how swollen my feet were from a day's waiting at the ferry dock..! But nothing would stop me from discovering the poetical Rose-Red City of Petra. Yes, I have read about it, I have seen some photos...but I still lost my breath! And not just once!!! With a strong certainty I can exclaim - it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

Amman was such a pleasure to visit, there was a certain feel of easiness and comfort. We stayed there for a few days, enchanted by the islamic calls for prayer (Adhan) or rather by the mellow and smooth voice of the local muezzin. From Amman we went for day trips to Jerash, Ajlun Castle and Mount Nebo.

The main post office had a philately section, I was lucky enough to find a small but cool variety of stamps :)

Jerash is now a modern town with more than 30,000 inhabitans; in the olden days of antiquity it was known as Gerasa, whose Greco-Roman ruins stay preserved to this day to witness its splendour. Jerash is considered to be one of the most important and best preserved Roman cities in the Near East. Walking among the ruins was magical! No wonder its on the Unesco WHS's tentative list :)

This postcard was sent on the 24th of November, 2008.

Ramesses II And Nefertari, Egypt

The first day in Cairo was a bit of a shock - firstly, the honking of the horns out on the streets never seemed to cease! Secondly, I realised its a gamble to cross the street. It took a little while but I managed to perfect the method of evasion by leaps :)

Soon I realised Cairo is a great city with lots to offer. Of course one of the main sites was the Egyptian Museum, which is so vast its impossible to see all the interesting stuff in one day - apparently some 120,000 items are stored there...Such a rich history and so much left to be seen...