By: Ben
This particular leg of our trip, I have no idea as to why my group decided to write about Mecca as if we could actually enter the city. Since we are not Muslim, any attempt to enter the city would result in severe penalty, up to and including imprisonment and death. Usual penalty is immediate deportation. Documentation of proof of membership of the Muslim religion is requested for entry to the city, and often checked throughout the city. Forged documents are available to allow access, but possession of these forged documents can result in severe penalties. Through even your most basic searches about the city, visitors are warned that they cannot enter the city.
Even if we were to enter the city, the conditions of the city would be highly dangerous to us due to religious rules, crime, beggars, and drinkable water. The culture of the city mandates specific ways to dress, worshipping practices, general law practices, and social practices that we would be unfamiliar with. It would be extremely difficult to find accommodations, and most of the city's water is undrinkable for Westerners. Overall, this would have been one of the most uncomfortable and potentially unsafe weeks of our vacation.
Once we would have learned this information, we would have either picked another destination, or skipped to our next destination, Accra, Ghana. Based on the fact that we still have a large amount of cash left to finance our trip, there are a wide variety of beautiful, historical, and interesting sites in this part of the world that we could travel to in order to replace our week in Mecca.
In order to simplify postings for the sake of our blog, I will assume that we traveled straight from Alexandria to Accra.
Sample websites listing the dangers and rules of the city of Meccca:
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Middle_East/Saudi_Arabia/Mintaqat_Makkah/Mecca-1806764/Warnings_or_Dangers-Mecca-BR-1.html
http://wikitravel.org/en/Mecca
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Recreation/Sport In Mecca
Good morning everyone! We are off to the races... again! We had so much fun at the horse race last time we went we all agreed that going to a traditional camel race in Saudi Arabia would be terrific! When ever the boys wake up we are going to go eat breakfast downstairs in our hotel for about 37 SAR per person for a grand total of 148 SAR. This will get us several types of soft cheeses, olives, honey, and unlimited Saudi tea which I have grown to love. At the rate we are going, it is going to be breakfast instead of brunch.
We originally thought about trying falconry, because it is a very traditional Saudi Arabian sport, but I really wasn't to keen on that idea, luckily the boys agreed to try camel racing instead.
From there we will be going to watch a camel race at the same arena in which they hold the Al-Janadriyah Festival every year. Instead of monitory winnings the winners often walk away from the race with winnings of camels or gifts. The money goes to the people who put on the race as well as the betters. Since we had such luck with our winnings last time we made bets we all agreed that it was best to hold on to our money. However we still had fun watching this Saudi Arabian tradition, the year-round warm weather of Mecca made this event very enjoyable. Its amazing how fast the camels run! I imagined they would be slow moving as they normally, however the little jockeys that sat on top of them made them run almost as fast as horses!
Since we were somewhat worried about being non-muslims in the city of Mecca we agreed that going back to the hotel and eating there would be the best option. We wouldn't want to end up in the wrong place at the wrong time after dark and end up locked up abroad. We had a family style dinner of Kabsa, a meat and rice dish and, shawarmas, flat bread meat sandwiches. This all paired with Saudian Arabian wine for all of us, was a grand total of 375 SAR.
After dinner we all retreated to my room due to the fact that we were non-muslims in Mecca, I was not very keen on going out that night. We took a couple of bottles of wine to our room that we purchased from the hotel for 94 SAR and retreated for a night of wine and movies.
We originally thought about trying falconry, because it is a very traditional Saudi Arabian sport, but I really wasn't to keen on that idea, luckily the boys agreed to try camel racing instead.
From there we will be going to watch a camel race at the same arena in which they hold the Al-Janadriyah Festival every year. Instead of monitory winnings the winners often walk away from the race with winnings of camels or gifts. The money goes to the people who put on the race as well as the betters. Since we had such luck with our winnings last time we made bets we all agreed that it was best to hold on to our money. However we still had fun watching this Saudi Arabian tradition, the year-round warm weather of Mecca made this event very enjoyable. Its amazing how fast the camels run! I imagined they would be slow moving as they normally, however the little jockeys that sat on top of them made them run almost as fast as horses!
Since we were somewhat worried about being non-muslims in the city of Mecca we agreed that going back to the hotel and eating there would be the best option. We wouldn't want to end up in the wrong place at the wrong time after dark and end up locked up abroad. We had a family style dinner of Kabsa, a meat and rice dish and, shawarmas, flat bread meat sandwiches. This all paired with Saudian Arabian wine for all of us, was a grand total of 375 SAR.
After dinner we all retreated to my room due to the fact that we were non-muslims in Mecca, I was not very keen on going out that night. We took a couple of bottles of wine to our room that we purchased from the hotel for 94 SAR and retreated for a night of wine and movies.
Travel to Mecca from Alexandria
Good morning fellow travel lovers! Today we will be flew out from Alexandria Egypt to Mecca Saudi Arabia. We got a great nonstop flight through Saudi Arabian Airlines for only $213 per person! We booked our flight online so we were able to use our credit cards and American dollars for the transaction. We were only in the air for 2 hours and 5 minutes, which is great for me considering I am terrified of airplanes.
I believe that Saudi Arabia will be much of a culture shock for us. When looking at hotels we found the Mercure Grand Umm Al Qura Hotel Mecca. It was inexpensive, clean, beautiful, and had a great view. However when we went to book it we read that to be there you had to be of the Muslim faith! Craziest thing I have ever heard of! So we started looking else where and found that it was that same way in the majority of the city. We looked and looked until we finally found a place to stay that was within our budget and likable! We will be staying at the Makkah Hilton Hotel. This hotel has all the amenities we were looking for. However they only had rooms with twin beds available so we had to get two. For 162.50 per night is not bad for a hotel room, but for six nights that puts us at $975.90 per room for a grand total of $1951.80. Yet again since we booked online we were able to use our American credit cards to pay for the expenses.
http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll?tovr=-1294477296
https://mymotels.com/reserve/hotel/default.aspx?HotelID=179232
Total Expenses:
$852 airfare
$1951.89 accommodations
$2803.80 Total
I believe that Saudi Arabia will be much of a culture shock for us. When looking at hotels we found the Mercure Grand Umm Al Qura Hotel Mecca. It was inexpensive, clean, beautiful, and had a great view. However when we went to book it we read that to be there you had to be of the Muslim faith! Craziest thing I have ever heard of! So we started looking else where and found that it was that same way in the majority of the city. We looked and looked until we finally found a place to stay that was within our budget and likable! We will be staying at the Makkah Hilton Hotel. This hotel has all the amenities we were looking for. However they only had rooms with twin beds available so we had to get two. For 162.50 per night is not bad for a hotel room, but for six nights that puts us at $975.90 per room for a grand total of $1951.80. Yet again since we booked online we were able to use our American credit cards to pay for the expenses.
A picture from the Hilton website of the front of our hotel
http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll?tovr=-1294477296
https://mymotels.com/reserve/hotel/default.aspx?HotelID=179232
Total Expenses:
$852 airfare
$1951.89 accommodations
$2803.80 Total
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Attractions in Mecca
Good morning Mecca! The sun is shinning and the weather is great. Last night was awesome, although I think we all had way too much rum. I don't know how we all did it, but we all got up in time for breakfast in the hotel lounge where we each helped ourselves to different cheeses and home made jams. The wonderful foods and eating has yet to end in our travels so far. I have put on a good ten pounds since we left home.
After sipping on our coffee and taking a couple of aspirins, we headed out to make the most of our day. We actually decided that we were going to tour a couple of different sites today. The first place we visited was the Masjid Al Haram. Thousands of Muslims come to pray in this beautiful mosque each day and this is considered one of the most holy places on earth for the Muslim religion. Alison, Ben, Adam, and I all agreed that we had never seen nothing like this before. This was a very unique experience and it showed us all how diverse religion can be.
After touring the mosque, we headed on over to a near by market to grab a bight to eat. We had some lamb, fava beans, grilled chicken, and rice. After our stomachs were filled up once more, we found another taxi and headed out to see one more destination before calling it a day. Our last site was the Well Of ZamZam. The water from this well is believed to have the power to not only cure thirst, but also hunger and illness.
For diner we actually found a Pizza Hut. We where all just craving some pizza, so we decided to order a few pizza to take back to our room. After we ate we all sat around and enjoyed each others company until we feel asleep.
Total expenses:
383 Saudi Riyals
102 U.S. Dollars
sites:
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/saudi-arabia/mecca-haram-mosque
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293993-d671297-Reviews-Well_of_Zamzam-Mecca.html
Total expenses:
383 Saudi Riyals
102 U.S. Dollars
sites:
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/saudi-arabia/mecca-haram-mosque
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293993-d671297-Reviews-Well_of_Zamzam-Mecca.html
Friday, November 12, 2010
Something Old, something new...
By: Ben
Today's weather is much better! We decided to head out and check out the waterfront district of Alexandria. Located on the Mediterranean Sea, we were much excited to check out the modern areas of the city.
We began at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina - the remodeled recreation of the famous Library of Alexandria. With very modern design, I loved the architecture both outside and inside the Library. Here are a few pictures.
We also toured the bazaar Khan el-Khalili, and spent most of the day wandering around looking at all the things we could buy. We sampled random foods, and picked up some nice trinkets to bring home. We're not too keen on picking up too large of items, because we still have a couple of legs of our trip left. We did enjoy a coffee house in the bazaar, where we enjoyed nice cups of fresh arabic coffee. The smells from the freshly roasted coffee lured us inside, and we were not disappointed in the taste!!!
A relaxing day at the bazaar left us in great spirits for the rest of our trip... or maybe it was the caffeine high that we were riding....
Total costs for the day: 1581 Egyptian Pounds
Today's weather is much better! We decided to head out and check out the waterfront district of Alexandria. Located on the Mediterranean Sea, we were much excited to check out the modern areas of the city.
We began at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina - the remodeled recreation of the famous Library of Alexandria. With very modern design, I loved the architecture both outside and inside the Library. Here are a few pictures.
We also toured the bazaar Khan el-Khalili, and spent most of the day wandering around looking at all the things we could buy. We sampled random foods, and picked up some nice trinkets to bring home. We're not too keen on picking up too large of items, because we still have a couple of legs of our trip left. We did enjoy a coffee house in the bazaar, where we enjoyed nice cups of fresh arabic coffee. The smells from the freshly roasted coffee lured us inside, and we were not disappointed in the taste!!!
A relaxing day at the bazaar left us in great spirits for the rest of our trip... or maybe it was the caffeine high that we were riding....
Total costs for the day: 1581 Egyptian Pounds
Historical Alexandria - and the HEAT!!!!
By: Ben
Knowing that Alexandria was an amazingly historical city, the center of many battles and many different cultures, we were unsure of what sites were still standing, and wanted to check out the oldest monuments. We consulted with Wikipedia for a brief history of the city, and some suggestions of where to go. We also found good information on the tourism website http://www.touregypt.net/alexandria/ where we also found admittance pricing for the various sites, and photography rules while inside the sites.
Taken from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria
Due to the constant presence of war in Alexandria in ancient times, very little of the ancient city has survived into the present day. Much of the royal and civic quarters sank beneath the harbor due to earthquake subsidence, and the rest has been built over in modern times.
"Pompey's Pillar", a Roman triumphal column, is one of the best-known ancient monuments still standing in Alexandria today. It is located on Alexandria's ancient acropolis — a modest hill located adjacent to the city's Arab cemetery — and was originally part of a temple colonnade. Including its pedestal, it is 30 m (99 ft) high; the shaft is of polished red granite, 2.7 meters in diameter at the base, tapering to 2.4 meters at the top. The shaft is 88 feet (27 m) high made out of a single piece of granite. This would be 132 cubic meters or approximately 396 tons.[10][11] Pompey's Pillar may have been erected using the same methods that were used to erect the ancient obelisks. The Romans had cranes but they weren't strong enough to lift something this heavy. Roger Hopkins and Mark Lehrner conducted several obelisk erecting experiments including a successful attempt to erect a 25-ton obelisk in 1999. This followed two experiments to erect smaller obelisks and two failed attempts to erect a 25-ton obelisk.[12][13] The structure was plundered and demolished in the 4th century when a bishop decreed that Paganism must be eradicated. "Pompey's Pillar" is a misnomer, as it has nothing to do with Pompey, having been erected in 293 for Diocletian, possibly in memory of the rebellion of Domitius Domitianus. Beneath the acropolis itself are the subterranean remains of the Serapeum, where the mysteries of the god Serapis were enacted, and whose carved wall niches are believed to have provided overflow storage space for the ancient Library.
The most extensive ancient excavation currently being conducted in Alexandria is known as Kom al-Dikka. It has revealed the ancient city's well-preserved theater, and the remains of its Roman-era baths.
Based on that information, it was real easy for us to decide what part of the city we were going to check out. We wandered from our hotel down the street to find breakfast and to pack some provisions for the day. Being in the Jewish sector of town, we found a bakery where we had donuts and coffee for breakfast, and packed some breads and croissants. Next door was a deli where we picked up some shaved meat (we weren't sure what it was exactly, but we think it was lamb) and some cheeses. We also found a drugstore where we bought more sunscreen, and some large brim hats... the Egyptian sun seemed to burn into us, even at 10:00 in the morning. Locals told us that it was an unusual day today, with the heat, because Alexandria usually has a very pleasant climate due to the proximity to the Mediterranean Sea.
We made sure that Alison had a head scarf, because we wanted to make sure we didn't get into too much trouble if we went into a Muslim areas while walking around.
We hired a cab to take us to our first site, the famous Pompey's Pillar. The tallest monument in Alexandria, we were could only imagine how much work must have gone into making it, and how impressive it was to erect it without any modern machinery.
The heat was already getting to us. It seemed to just radiate all around us. As we started walking to our next site, we could tell that these weeks of "vacationing" we taking a toll on our bodies. We refilled our canteens at a public water fountain, and wet some cloths that we had packed, and placed the damp cloths on our heads under our hats to try and cool us a bit.
Our next site was the Kom al-Dikka. Over 30 years of excavation have uncovered many Roman remains including this well-preserved theatre with galleries, sections of mosaic-flooring, and marble seats for up to 800 spectators. In Ptolemaic times, this area was the Park of Pan and a pleasure garden. The theater at one point may had been roofed over to serve as an Odeon for musical performances. Inscriptions suggest that it was sometimes also used for wrestling contests. The theatre stood with thirteen semi-circular tiers of white marble that was imported from Europe. Its columns are of green marble imported from Asia Minor, and red granite imported from Aswan. The wings on either side of the stage are decorated with geometric mosaic paving. The dusty walls of the trenches, from digging in the northeast side of the Odeon, are layered with extraordinary amounts of potsherds. Going down out of the Kom, you can see the substantial arches and walls in stone, the brick of the Roman baths, and the remains of Roman houses.
After visiting those two sites, we searched for a shady spot to have our picnic lunch. We were uncomfortably hot still, so we decided to head back to our hotel and the comfort of air conditioning and take a cool swim in the pool. We would possibly venture out again later in the evening once the sun sent down a bit.
Total spent today on food, travel, supplies: 2750 Egyptian Pounds
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Scuba Diving in Alexandria
Over half way done with our trip around the world, and I can say that I have seen more than I ever imagined. So far all of us in the group have been having a ton of fun and will probably never forget this experience. Today we all wake up to a new destination and it is time to head out on a new journey for the week. The group woke up bright and early this morning, and we all got ready for the day. After we had our showers, we all went down to the hotel lounge and had fooll mudammes for breakfast, which was something none of us had ever heard of or ate before.
Right now I am really excited just to be in Egypt because I have wanted to come here ever since I was a little boy growing up.Two nights ago before I went to bed, I did some research on the area around where we are staying at and found out that scuba diving was actually becoming a popular activity to do. What a great way to explore the sea!
I learned that whole cities, palaces and boats are what lie beneath the Alexandrian Shore and nobody knows the exact reason they sank in the first place. Although some of the important statues of queens and kings were extracted from underwater; some 7000 Monuments belonging to the Pharaonic and Roman dynasties are preserved underwater. After running this activity by the rest of the group, everyone agreed that this would be a really great experience.
Once we found the directions to Alexandra Dive Programs, we headed out at about 9:30am so we could rent our equipment and go to the brief sessions about diving at 10:30am. At 11:00am we boarded the boat that was to take us out, and we made our first dive at around 11:30am near Pharos Island. Our dive lasted about 45 minutes and we got to see more than 8000 archeological pieces including: sphinxes, columns of all eras, parts of the lighthouse of Alexandria, and many other statues. By 1:00pm we were on to our second and final dive for the day. This dive site was at the Lovers Island where we went down for another 45 minutes. On this site we go to see lime stones of the palace, columns, Amphoras that were used for the royal food and drinks, and a second World War airplane that fell down on the palace. At 2:30pm we were back at the center for lunch. 
Total Expenses
2812 Egyptian Pounds
489 Dollars
Sites:
http://www.alexandra-dive.com/prog_sub.asp?ID=6
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