Well, the trip is over. It seems somewhat surreal to be sitting in the basement of my parents house, when just the other day I was falling asleep listening to the call to prayer. Nice to be home in some ways (funds were starting to run out), but missing the freedom and adventure that comes with travelling.
At least I still get to hang out on the beach and enjoy the sun.

Any future comments or questions can be forwarded to
laurarees@hotmail.com

From one beach to another. Hanging out at my parents beach (Trying to maintain my tan)

My dog Forrest and I the day after I returned home.

Since our trip has ended, it has been a whirlwind trying to get things finished and ready to go for our big move to Vancouver.

Some of my favorites:

Sights
Petra
Wadi Rum
Red Sea
Palmyra
Teremessos
Mt. Sinai
Giza pyramids

Food
Jordan and Syrian cuisine for sure
Hummus
Shish
Schwaerma
Kosheri
Yummy olives
Apple tea in Turkey
Fatoush salad

Memories of people
Abraham our taxi driver in Cairo who still came to pick us up after being hit by a car and breaking his arm. He even refused a tip because he thought we had tipped him too much the day before. A very kind and honest man.

Friends we met on the Intrepid trip.

Young internet cafe owner in Syria who kindly walked with us and found us a phone card, then helped us use it so that we could call our new room mate.

Syrian lady who walked with me to all different stationary stores to help me find sketching papers.

Erfan and his hilarious stories of crossing the border from Jordan to Syria, and being sent back to Amman.

Must pack items for future travellers

Noxema no wash facial wipes: Great to have, especially in desert countries where water is hard to find.
Silk bed liners: Especially grateful when other travellers got bed bugs but we didn''t.
Extra contacts: Went through way more pairs then usual due to the dry conditions and blowing sand.
Pepto Bismal: Tummy upset..what more can I say
Arabic phrase book/ Turkish phrase book
Macabi travel skirt: loved this product, a little item I found browsing the internet. Made travelling easy and comfortable. Great for Middle Eastern countries where modesty is key.
Merino wool light weight long sleeve shirt: For cool evenings, you can't beat this wool!
Petzl Head lamp: Desert camp, exploring castles...a definate must have.
Jack Knife: Cutting vegies and cheese etc. for pic-nic's
Scarf: Great for wearing into mosques etc. I bought mine in Egypt. If you don't have a scarf to wrap around your head, you must wear these green/ grey cloaks that make you look like some sort of character from lord of the rings. They even have pointed hoods on them. Bring your own scarf!
Extra femine products: Very hard to find!
Teva style hiking sandals: These were the only shoes we needed
Sunlight bar soap for washing clothes: We were able to wash all our own clothes and with the heat they would be dry by morning. The sunlight bars work best for this I have found. 2 bars for 7 weeks.

Things we didn't use/ Didn't need:

Hiking shoes: We basically only wore sandals. I don't think you would need or want anything else!
Journal: We only used our blog, but we carried a paper journal the whole trip for no reason.
Extra t-shirt: I think that I was carrying one t-shirt too many. Having an extra tank top instead for Turkey would have been better.

Things we wished we had:

1 Nicer Outfit: There were times when we went out to dinner that I felt a little too scruffy for the restaurant. I wished I had a pair of nice jeans (which I ended up buying in Turkey) to wear out in the evenings. I would also include a nicer top, or perhaps a button up light weight sweater to throw over a travel t-shirt.
Some sort of loofa or light weight scrubber to use: You get rather dirty and dusty in the middle east. Especially after a sun burn, it would have been nice to have been able to scrub off some dead skin.
A quick dry towel: We travelled with some people who had one. They are much larger then they used to be, and they were a lot more compact then our towels.

Anyhow, again if you are thinking of going travelling, I would highly recommend the Middle East.

Thanks for reading about our adventures. I hope you find all find a way to travel and explore always!