Middle East Travel:

Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt

Draft Itinerary

Silk Roads

April 5-24, 2004

 

Week one of spring quarter, both programs will be doing on-campus orientation work to prepare for the trip. The following dates are tentative, and the order we do activities will vary. This is just to give you a general idea of what we will be doing.

 

Days 1-2: Travel Olympia ­ Beirut (evening walk along Corniche)

Day 3: Beirut ­ orientation at American University of Beirut, including a lecture by AUB faculty and meeting with student groups; walking tour of downtown (former Green Line)

Day 4: Beirut ­ National Museum; meetings with womenšs groups, unions

Day 5: Beirut ­ Palestinian refugee camp; meetings with journalists, artists

Day 6: Beirut ­ Free day. Possibility of trip to Sidon, Tyre in south Lebanon

Day 7 ­ 8: Tripoli, Biblos in north Lebanon ­ Khalil Gibran museum, Crusader castle, cedars

Day 9: Bašalbeck, Zahle ­ ancient ruins of Bašalbeck, good eats at Zahle

Day 10: Amman, Jordan (fly from Beirut) ­ walking tour of souk, downtown and national contemporary art museum

Day 11: Amman ­ Meet with humanitarian groups that do work in Iraq; 

journalists (www.jordantimes.com)

Day 12 ­ 13: Petra, Jordan ­ magnificent ruins, great hiking

Day 14: Wadi Rum, Jordan ­ camp, eat, listen to traditional Bedouin music

Day 15: Egypt (travel a.m. to port of Aqaba, Jordan for swimming/snorkeling; p.m. boat to Egypt).

Day 16: Mount Sinai. Hike up the mountain where Moses supposedly received the Ten Commandments, sleep at St. Catherinešs Monastery.

Day 17: Two groups split. (Re)Interpreting Liberation goes to Valley of the Kings, Egypt; Silk Roads goes to Cairo.

 

Days 17-20: Cairo. American University of Cairo orientation, pyramids, Islamic quarter (Al-Azar mosque), Jewish synagogue, Coptic and Orthodox churches, souk, national museum, Islamic museum. Some activities will be organized, others students will have free time to explore on their own.

 

Day 21: Depart Cairo for Olympia. Arrive same day.