Galleries

Turkey: Religion and Politics

05/20/2012By Dallas Smith0Travel: Turkey
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Our Turkish tour guide, Mehmet, has a college degree in English literature. He spent his military service working as a translator. Obviously, his English language skills are outstanding. Having been a tourist guide for twenty years, he has visited these Turkish historical sites hundreds of times. Thus, he has refined his narratives over the years to be immensely content-rich, historically informative, and culturally aware. Therefore, besides my own reading and observations, much of the information I will recount in this blog is derived from what I've learned from Mehmet's daily cultural and historical descriptions.

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The Glory of Istanbul

05/16/2012By Dallas Smith0Travel: Turkey
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My Second Trip to Turkey. Istanbul has modernized beyond recognition in the forty-one years since my first visit. . .

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In Transit From Reno to Istanbul

05/13/2012By Dallas Smith0Travel: Turkey
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This is the first blog post of my current monthlong trip, comprised of a two-week Turkish tour, a few days in Jordan, and finally, ten days in Israel.

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Decadence: Wine Tasting in Las Vegas

05/06/2012By Dallas Smith0Travel: United States
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Throughout most of my adult life, I've lived relatively frugally. I don't indulge very often in expensive habits…Skiing is one. So it is pure decadent indulgence to fly down to Las Vegas for the Wine Spectator magazine's annual gourmet wine tasting. Indeed, this was a new life experience for me. I have my good friend Jeff to thank for the invitation and encouraging me to accompany him.

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Jordan: Amman and Petra

June 2012

06/01/2012By Dallas Smith0Travel: Jordan
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We left our group tour in Turkey to begin a private tour in Jordan, via a two-hour flight from Istanbul to Amman. As expected, there was a gentleman holding a sign with our names as soon as we entered the Amman airport immigration hall. After purchasing a visa, changing some money, having our passports stamped, and collecting our luggage, we were introduced to our driver, Mazen, who would be our companion throughout our travels during our short four-day sojourn in Jordan. . .

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Entering Israel from Jordan

06/08/2012By Dallas Smith0Travel: Israel
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The difference between the Israeli and Jordanian sides of the Jordan Valley is striking. The Jordan side has relatively poor villages surrounded by fields of vegetables, fruits, and olive trees. The Israeli side looks more like California’s central valley…large lush fields not showing any lack of irrigation resources. The residences visible from the road were more “middle class” in quality compared with the simple Jordanian residences. . .

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The Rich Variety of Turkish Culture and Cuisine

May 2012

05/24/2012By Dallas Smith0Travel: Turkey
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This two-week tour of Turkey was managed by Go Ahead Vacations, a Boston-based tour company. Susan and I had traveled using their services once before, to Italy in 2006. We decided that for a country like Turkey, with which we were completely unfamiliar, that going with an organized tour was the best way to see the most sights in a short time without having to worry about managing any of the details ourselves. . .

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