4 capitals in 5 days

Christine was here for two and a half weeks. We went to Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Having now gone to three other Middle Eastern countries, I now KNOW that the cars in Lebanon truly are the crappiest. It actually makes no sense. Never have I been anywhere where the cars (I guess I'm talking mostly about the taxis) are so crappy. Sometimes when a service pulls up, I say to myself, I can't get into that, it won't make it up the mountain. In all the other countries, there are taxis that look like taxis, and they don't look like they have to be duct taped together. But as I've mentioned before, over 70% of the cars in Lebanon are over 20 years old. The whole thing is just scary.

What else?? Bed bugs. . . They exist. When you stay at really cheap hotels recommended by The Lonely Planet, (like $8-$12 a night for 2 people) you start scratching almost immediately after lying down. We brought towels and soap and had to buy toilet paper. But fortunately I also brought a sheet--my experience in 2-star hotels in India taught me something--and Ultrathon. Ultrathon is the bomb. It's the best insect repellant on the market. You get it in the camping section in Walmart. My mom is sending me some.

The Dead Sea is really salty. It HURTS when it gets in your eyes. And it's so buoyant, you can't keep your legs down. You just sort of sit there in the water.

And the men. I heard all these horror stories about Egyptian guys--groping, following you, etc. We really didn't have any problems. I guess I've learned now how to deal with them: ignore them. This advice goes for just about everything--people who want you to buy their stuff, kids begging on the street. Just keep on walking. (Actually, one time I saw a fully covered Muslim woman YELL at this little kid in Bombay. . .That kid ran away so fast. Who would have thought???)

But one early morning around 6 A.M. in Damascas, as we were going over a bridge to get to the bus station, a guy saw that we were by ourselves and with no one else around, and climbed up the other side of the bridge, and had his penis hanging out of his pants as he walked by us. I actually didn't see it. I noticed that his hand was down there, but I just looked away. Christine was a little behind me, and when I turned around, she looked kind of pale. I asked, "Was that guy vulgar?" And she was like, "You didn't see that?" Nope. I thought I was going to have to deal with Christine trauma for the next couple hours. But she got over it pretty quick.

To read Christine's Musings on Being in the Middle East, Greatest Hits, and travel tips, go to her blog at cfolch.blogspirit.com/.

To see the pictures of Syria, go to www.homepage.mac.com/janerubio/PhotoAlbum31.html.

For Petra, go to www.homepage.mac.com/janerubio/PhotoAlbum33.html.

For the rest of Jordan, including the Holy Land sites, Jerash, and Amman, go to www.homepage.mac.com/janerubio/PhotoAlbum32.html.

The pictures from Egypt are at www.homepage.mac.com/janerubio/PhotoAlbum29.html.