ChristieP

My husband is working as a civilian contractor in Iraq, and his employer would like to fly me over for a week's R&R in a nearby country. So, where should we meet? We'd like a place where Americans are somewhat tolerated and where there are nice hotels. Help?

tashak

How far will they fly your husband to meet you? And are there any limitations on where they will send either of you ?

thit_cho

Consider Egypt -- great R&R and nice hotels on beach. Plus great sightseeing in Cairo. Its also a pretty easy flight from US with lots of connections via Europe.

ChristieP

They will fly me from Dallas, TX to wherever we decide to meet! He only gets 7 days off work, so he really won't have enough time to come home. He'd also like to not stray more than 2 timezones away so he won't have jet lag when he has to go back, so he wants to stay within the region.

We have considered Egypt. I've always wanted to see the pyramids!!

eubank

How about Uzbekistan? It is close and should be very interesting.

eenusa

Turkey may be an option as well. The area around Antalya has many resorts and the weather is nice. Plus, there are antiquities and ruins in the area that are nice to visit. If you enjoy more of a sightseeing kind of trip, then you could also consider Istanbul. Lots to see and do there.

sandi

Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Turkey. Depending on when your husband has his vacation, know that Egypt and Jordan and Israel will have weather warm enough for relaxing on a beach somewhere just about all year round. Turkey on the other hand, gets cold beginning end-October so even along the beaches of the Aegean and Mediterranean aren't ideal.

In Egypt you can go to Sharm el Sheik, in Israel to Eilat, in Jordan along the Dead Sea or Aquaba (sp) though not as many hotel choices versus Eilat.

If you choose Israel, be sure that your Passports are "not stamped" - you can ask that they stamp a separate piece of paper which you turn in when departing the country.

And you also have to know to which of the above countries you will be able to fly to from Iraq or would the flight be from Kuwait?

All above countries provide history, culture and sea & sun. Hope this helps and let us know what you decide.

ChristieP

He will most likely fly from Qatar or Kuwait.

I doubt we'd choose Israel just because there is currently more terrorist activity there. Hubby gets enough of that in Iraq. If we did go there, why should we not get our passports stamped?

I'm thinking Turkey or Egypt sound good. Thanks so much for the suggestions!

sandi

With the exception of Egypt and Jordan who have peace treaties with Israel, the other Arab countries don't look favorably on those who have visited Israel. In fact, many people who do business in the Middle East actually carry two passports - one that they use when entering Israel, the other for Arab countries. Sadly, that's just the way things are.

Either Turkey or Egypt are great choices.

Roccco

Hmmmm...some would say that we, the USA, are the "terrorists" in Iraq.

Perhaps may be a good choice...after all we did "liberate" Kuwait and now they have a thriving democracy. What? What do you mean they are not a democracy? We went to war to return a MONARCH (KING) to power in a country where women and foreign workers are persecuted? Say it ain't so, shoeless joe.

Anyway, all politics aside, Dubai appears like it would be the best choice.

alice13

Some very interesting comments from Roccco there. Turkey and Egypt both wonderful places to visit. But it would be good to know what you consider 'nearby'. Time zones are one thing and flying time is another. Also I guess it depends where you can fly TO from Kuwait/Qatar which is for u to research. You could go south to Kenya. And if you can consider Turkey - you could also consider Greece. Are beaches important? When are you going?

ChristieP

I will be going over Columbus Day weekend in early October. Depending on our work schedules, I will take a couple of days off before/after the holiday, so it will be a fairly quick trip.

Hubby doesn't want to be more than 2 times zones away from Iraq (his preference) so that's our only real limitation. He can fly direct to Amman. Jordan from Baghdad, so that would be an easy trip for him.

Beaches are not necessarily important. We do want a comfortable, western-style hotel or resort.

alice13

If he can only fly direct to Amman, then here's what springs to mind. You have an opportunity to see one of the most amazing places - Petra - and then you could do the beach bum thing in Aqaba.

Petra is wonderful - and early winter is a good time to be there as it's in the middle of the desert.

I know there are resorts in Aqaba but i just visited.

Just a suggestion for you to check out.

ChristieP

Thanks, Alice!

We started looking on the web at Petra and Aqaba this weekend. I found a place to go camel riding in Wadi Rum (NEAT!) and we'll definitely do Petra since I am a huge Indiana Jones fan!

sandi

Jordan would definitly get my vote. There are plenty of sites north of Amman - the crusader cities, castles, then down towards Petra and Wadi Rum with a few days at Aqaba. You can probably hire a driver/guide for the entire time you're in Jordan.

You might want to contact Royal Jordanian Airlines, (have an office in NYC, I believe) ask for their Tours department and see what they have available. There are some beautiful hotels in Amman, then at Petra you can choose the Movenpick which is right outside of the site, or a bit further away, though rather romantic the Tabet Zaman. Plan to spend at least 3-days around Petra in order to enjoy when tourists are gone - line sunset and sunrise. And there is much to see at this site that many people don't take the time to do.

This should probably be your best option and really the closest. And it shouldn't cost too much. Let us know what you decide and tell us about your trip when you return.

bg_collier

I will also second the suggestions regarding Jordan. Wonderful country, wonderful people. Here are two sites I have found very useful.

http://www.jordanjubilee.com/index.htm
http://www.jordan.freehotelguide.com/

I'm not associated with either. I've got a number of photos of Jordan that I shot while there:

http://www.brucegcollier.com/galleri...level2_all.htm

Regards, Bruce
www.brucegcollier.com