Marvelous Middle East!!!

A bunch of Middle East countries and reasons why you should visit them...

Bahrain: Visiting The royal Tombs!

Egypt: Visiting The Pyramids!

Iran: Sipping Tea In the Sunset!

Iraq:Take a boatride!

Israel: Admiring the Dome Of the Rock

Jordan:Visiting ancient ruins!

Kuwait: buying goods at Sadu House

Leabanon: Go to Tripoli

Oman: Visiting the Hajar mountains

Palestine: floating in the Dead Sea:)

Quatar:Going to the ancient fort at Al-Zubara

Saudi Arabia: Ride a camel!

Syria:Going to Palmyra

Turkey: Drink turkish coffee

United Arab Emirates:

Yemen: Visit Al-Makha

Invisible Children Entry Three

Today, we left Uganda. We woke up at dawn, said goodbye to all of our new friends, gave Innocent a hug, got to talk to him for a little bit and eat a breakfast of mangoes with him. He introduced us to his family, but sadly had to leave for the airport.We soon boarded our plane to America at 6:45 am. I felt sad that we had to go, I wanted to continue helping the people in Gulu. I was also happy that we got to go back to America where it is safe. On the plane, we were once again the only people on board. But that didn't really matter because three days in Uganda had finally caught up to me, and I fell into a deep sleep.

Invisible Children Entry Two

We woke up at dawn to the sound of people shouting in a different language. I could smell fire right outside of the hospital. I thought I was crazy, but appearantly I wasn't because, as if reading my mind, Bobby said,"Does anybody else smell fire outside?". Someone went out to see what it was, and came back to inform us that the rebels were here and that we would have to stay in the building until they were gone. Innocent told us that it probably wouldn't be long and that we shouldn't worry too much about it, since we have people with guns guarding the people inside the hospital. We were all getting pretty hungry at this point. The Invisible Children dudes had prepared for this, and gave me and Innocent some Power Bars. I ate mine, and Innocent stared at his like it was from a different planet. He opened his, took a bite, and loved it. He smiled real wide, and ate the rest of the bar in only one bite. We all laughed and finished our Power Bars too. After about an hour, the noises stopped. I could no longer smell any fire. The rebels had disappeared. We thanked Innocent for letting us stay with him, and started walking around outside. We saw a couple of dead people, outside, and were very saddened. Some shacks were also burned down. Despite all of this, we could hear people singing. I couldn't understand why they sounded so happy, I mean, they just had their houses burned down, and their people were killed. Innocent said." That is just how Ugandans are, we can find happiness in even the worst of situations". We spent the day helping the people rebuild their homes, even though we couldn't even communicate with them. It felt nice to know that we were helping people in need.

Invisible Children Entry 1

I was not looking forward to coming to Uganda like I was. Unlike my last trips, in which I was simply vacationing, I am now traveling with the folks from Invisible Children, Laren, Jason, and Bobby. After John showed us the video about the child soldiers, I feared for the Ugandan children's lives, and now had to fear for my own. It was only the four of us on the plane, and the plane was rather small. I guess Uganda isn't really a touristy place(I wonder why?...). Once we got off of the plane, we were immediately greeted by the 100 degree weather. We got a cab, and traveled to the city of Gulu. The town was how I had imagined it to be. People carrying jugs of water on their heads, small shacks, and lots of people. We were originally supposed to be staying in the town next to Gulu, but were (thankfully!) informed that the town was being raided, and wasn't safe. We decided to stay with the night commuters
to get a little taste of what it is like living in Uganda. We met a boy named Innocent. Innocent was a night commuter, he had to walk three or four hours a day to find a safe place to sleep. He told us about how he had seen friends and family being abducted by the rebels, and being forced to kill their own people. I felt depressed, and lucky at the same time. Lucky, because in America, we don't have to experience what so many people, like Innocent have to, and depressed to imagine what horrible things he had to see. He told us about he had always wanted to be a politician, but knew he couldn't, because he couldn't afford it. It was getting quite late, and we decided to settle down for the night in the cold, wet, and dismal basement of a hospital, just feeling fortunate to be alive.

Incredible Italy(Eating)(Sound)

Today was my last day in Italy. I spent most of the day packing up, but did a little fishing too. I didn't catch any fish, but it was still fun. Luckily, the restaurant I ate at for dinner had. I was cruising in Florence, when I saw a little restaurant. It was around seven, and I was pretty hungry, so I decided to drop by and have a bite. I walked in, and learned that it was a seafood restaurant. I sat down, but something sounded weird. I stood up and sat down again, and something still sounded strange. I felt around the chair, and pulled out a squeaky toy! I figured someone with a dog had it, and left it on my table. The food they had was very good. After my dinner, I took a cab to the airport. And right when I got on the airplane, I fell asleep.

Incredible Italy(Pisa)(Person)

Today, I visited the Tower Of Pisa, or Leaning Tower of Pisa. I started off by taking a plane to Tuscany. Once I got there, I took a bus to the tower. It took a while to get in, since there can only be thirty people at a time in the tower. Once I started walking up the tower, I got really freaked out. I was seriously considering walking back down the tower once

I was part of the way up, but there was a really nice person who spoke English who told me that the Italians fixed the tower and had made it a little safer. He reassured me, and I walked up, and up and up until I reached the very top. After, of course, taking a bunch of pictures, I walked back down. All thanks to the nice guy who spoke English.

Incredible Italy(Biking)(Smell)

Today, I decided to get active. I woke up at 7:00 a.m., took a shower, got dressed, put my biking stuff on, and left my hotel. I rented a bike from a bike shop, and started to bike. I biked all through Florence. I biked on the streets, the trails, and anything really you could bike on. After about an hour of biking, I took a little break. I was in the mountains, and didn't expect anyone to be near me, but I could of sworn I had smelled something good baking in an oven. Something REALLY good

. I got back on my bike, and followed the scent. I was soon led to a small cottage! I was quite surprised to see it, and the old lady picking

herbs in her front yard was too. Of course, I was quite embarrassed, but she didn't seem to notice and invited me right in and gave me some of the fresh garlic bread she had been cooking. I thank her immensely, and started biking down the mountain with the scent of garlic in my breath.

Incredible Italy(gelato) (touch)

Today was very low key. I was really tired from all that shopping from yesterday that I fell right asleep and slept in until 9:30 a.m. I decided that, since I didn't have anything planned for the day, that I would just hang around Florence and see the sights. I got dressed, had some breakfast, and headed out for the day. I strolled around the city, took some pictures, bought some earrings at a jewelry shop, just simple things like that. I got soon got hungry, so I looked around a bit and found a casual pizza place, and chowed down on some pizza. I then realized that I had never tasted authentic Italian gelato. I quickly finished my pizza, and ran to the nearest gelato shop I could find. I walked in, and was amazed. They had every flavour you could ever imagine. Amaretto, chocolate vanilla, raspberry, mango, ,mocha, coffee, stracciatella, and, ooh, hazelnut, my favorite. Obviously, I ordered a hazelnut, sat down outside, and took a bite. The coldness felt good in my mouth, and tasted even better. I savored every bite, and was sad when I finished, so I got another gelato! This time I ordered the mocha. It was good, but not as good as the hazelnut. After I finished my gelato for the second time, It got dark out, and I decided to finish the last of my shopping, and go back my hotel. Since I was far from hungry, I decided to skip dinner. Instead, I just went to bed.

Incredible Italy(Venice)(Sight)

Today I took a lovely boat ride to Venice. The city is absolutely amazing. It is so old, but so beautiful at the same time. When I arrived, I hopped off the boat, and started walking around. After a couple minutes, I stumbled across a little market near the middle of the city, almost like a farmers market. There I bought a couple of souvenirs for my friends back home, and a fresh green apple to snack on, since I didn't eat any breakfast due to my late start in the morning. I then went shopping for various things around town such as clothes and more souvenirs. I did this until around 1:30, when I became hungry. I decided to grab a casual lunch at a small deli. There I got a sandwich. The sandwich was pretty good, so I tipped the sandwich guy eight euro, and was on my way yet again. At one point I actually got lost in the city, and was helped by a little girl(it was really embarrassing) to find my way back to my boat just in time for it to set sail. After a long day of shopping and taking pictures, I got back on the boat, and watched the sunset fade over the horizon.