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World Highlights Tour, Part II

Cynthia Werner November 27, 2010 2:42 PM

I recently returned home from two unforgettable weeks as a lecturer (representing Texas A&M University) on the “World Highlights” tour with TCS & Starquest Expeditions.  Without doubt, this has been one of the most exciting trips I have ever experienced.  The trip combined visits to some of the most outstanding achievements of humanity with incredible experiences that are not encountered by the typical tourist group.  There were so many fabulous moments that it is impossible to select just one “favorite” part of the trip. 

For example, when we were in Luxor, we spent a full day exploring many of the tombs and temples left behind by the Egyptian pharaohs. Then, in the evening, we travelled by horse-drawn carriages to Luxor Temple, where our group enjoyed a private cocktail party inside the temple! 

Our next stop was India where we stayed in the Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, a former maharajah palace converted into a luxury hotel. One of the highlights was an evening at the Dera Amer estate in the beautiful Rajasthani countryside, where we had the opportunity to not only ride elephants but to play elephant polo.  In addition to touring some of the sights of Jaipur, we travelled by private jet to Agra to tour the Taj Mahal. People often say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but I would add that a visit to the Taj Mahal is worth a thousand pictures of this perfect treasure. 

After India, we flew to Aqaba, a Jordanian city that shares a border with Israel on the Red Sea.  We drove into the Wadi Rum desert to see the site where Lawrence of Arabia was filmed, and then headed to the city of Petra.  We spent a full day exploring the tombs and temples that the ancient Nabateans carved into the red limestone rocks of Petra. 

The Moroccan city of Marrakech was our final destination. We arrived during an important Muslim holiday to commemorate the end of the annual hajj. The holiday is marked by the ritual sacrifice of livestock (mostly sheep) and almsgiving to the poor.  The highlight of Morocco was a trip to the central plaza and bazaar in the Old City where we encountered snake charmers, henna artists, street performers, and local handicrafts.

On the flight from India to Jordan, I presented a lecture about the fashion and politics of veiling among Muslim women. In my lecture, I demonstrated how veiling practices vary greatly across the Muslim world, and argued a woman’s decision to veil is often made in a highly politicized context.  On the flight from Aqaba to Marrakech, I gave a lecture that looked at the connections between tourism, handicraft production and the bazaar economy. I talked about how bazaars differ from fixed price shops and discussed how handicrafts can be simultaneously revived and modified by the growth of tourism.


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