Egyptian Gymnastics Federation President ‘Bebo’ took some of the foreigners out to Khan el-Khalili (Arabic: خان الخليلي), a major souk in the Islamic district of Cairo.
We sipped mint tea and bubbled shisha at the same table where Putin and Saddam Hussein once sat.
Before I traveled to Egypt in 1994 all I knew about the nation was Naguib Mahfouz‘s novel Midaq Alley (1947) set in an alley in Khan el-Khalili.
Dinner was exactly my style. A tiny side street local joint with paper table cloths and feral cats waiting for leftovers.
Kate was in town on a media junket. They treated me to join them on her tour of Horne Lake Caves.
Though it’s #1 of 29 things to do in Qualicum Beach I hadn’t been there since my Dad brought the family on a camping holiday 50 years earlier. (Closed that day for renovations, he tells me.)
There are some short sections you can explore yourself for free. Or sign up for one of the award winning tours. (From $27 / person.) An expert guide like Myles Fullmer makes for a far richer experience. Myles is a passionate caver. Seven years guiding here. He met his wife at Horne Lake Caves.
Though I’d been to a few wheelchair accessible caverns over the years, I’d never caved for real before.
It’s adventurous. Physically challenging.
Myles showed us dozens of things we’d never have noticed on our own. Best was a stone Buddha formation protected by a perfectly clear reflecting pool.
Fantastic. I’d recommend this attraction for anyone physically mobile enough to scramble. I’m already planning to return for the 5 hour advanced version.
Surprisingly, Myles likes winter even better than summer as there is more water. The caves are open every day of the year aside from Christmas.
By the way, Myles explained the difference between caving and spelunking. Caving means to explore, survey and document the caves, main purpose is the accumulation of knowledge. Spelunking is the visit of caves without any kind of justification, the touristic visit of caves.
“… aspartame has been approved for human consumption by regulatory agencies in more than 100 countries and received wide consumer acceptance with consumption by hundreds of millions of people over the past 20 years, representing billions of man-years of safe exposure.”
Turkey has the highest per capita tea consumption in the world, at 2.5 kg per person—followed by the United Kingdom (2.1 kg per person). …
Tea is an important part of Turkish culture, and is the most commonly consumed hot drink, despite the country’s long history of coffee consumption. Offering tea to guests is part of Turkish hospitality. …
Any visitor will tell you Turkish cuisine is one of the highlights.
Not me. I found it a bit bland. Predictable.
Restaurants all tend to have the same things on their menus. Similar ingredients are used in traditional meals.
One highlight for me, however, is Turkish Pizza.
Pide is a flat-bread of a similar style to pita, chapati, or western pizza crust. A proper pide should be baked in a brick or other stone oven.
“stuffed” version
Over a week in Goreme I ate at Firin Express four times. Three times I had Turkish pizza (Pide). Once pizza pizza. Also excellent.
Once exception was the Nazik Ana restaurant in Bodrum. Popular with local workmen and police, it delivers typical Turkish food with a twist. And in a stylish, unique space.
Although more than a million tourists flock to its beaches, boutique hotels, trendy res- taurants and clubs each summer, Bodrum (ancient Halicarnassus) never seems to lose its cool. …
Bodrum is OK but it was the least favourite of my stops in Turkey.
The castle and museum are over-priced and not particularly well maintained. This strikes me as a tourist trap with far too many tourists for the available space. Rats crowded into a small cage.
The very interesting Theatre of Halicarnassus is locked up. It should be a major attraction.
Rick McCharles 