When we left Beirut we had about 100 passengers.  At our first stop, in Antalya, Turkey we picked up 300 Turks.  They got on board while we were out on our excursion.  Little did we know what we would encounter when we returned to the ship.  At dinner that night, needless to say the dining room was quite full as we quadrupled our passenger load.  And I began to notice that all of these new passengers were wearing these buttons on their lapels.  Of course they were in Turkish, so I couldn't read them.  They next morning we decided to do the buffet lunch and by the time we got there, the Turks had eaten everything.  Um, OK, so we went back to the dining room for lunch.  There were many Turks in there as well and I noticed something else about them;  many of them had these drink containers with measurements on the sides, canisters of powder, and boxes of pills.  THEY WERE ALL ON AN HERBALIFE REWARD CRUISE!!!  All of these people walking around wearing these buttons on their person each and every day touting the virtues of Herbalife in Turkish.  They would descend en masse each and every morning and afternoon on the buffets and scoop up all the fresh fruit (I was vying for bananas for the kiddo) and HEAP their plates with more food than I could eat in a day. Then in the evenings, they would gather in the show lounge for testimonials.  There was cheering and chanting.  I swear to GOD I thought the comet hiding the space ship was going to decent on the boat at any minute and whisk them all away.  And while they were consuming their powdered drinks and handfuls of pills, touting a healthy lifestyle and weight loss, they all smoked like chimneys.  I thought this was hilarious.  They were on board for 5 days.  At the end of the cruise, I was speaking with one of the crew who told me that they were glad the group was gone.

Turkey is beautiful.  I was very pleasantly surprised.  What a sight to wake up first thing in this morning, look out your window and see the mountainous shore looming in front of you.  Breathtaking is wholly apropos to describe it.  But the highlight of the trip was most definitely our stop in Athens, and our trek to the Acropolis to see the Parthenon.  They are doing an extensive restoration right now, correcting problems from a previous restoration done in the 19th century.  There was scaffolding everywhere, but still worth it nonetheless.  There is also a small museum up there which houses sculptures and pieces of the frieze discovered around the area and was absolutely fascinating to see.  Some of the statues still had paint on them, albeit faded, and its things like this that I personally love to see.  Now if the Greeks can only get the rest of the Parthenon back from the Brits who have much of the frieze housed at the British Museum, all would be cool.  I remember standing in the British Museum a couple of years ago making fun of the fact that we were looking at Greek stuff stolen by the British.  

The rest of Tarik's time off was spent in Beirut which has changed DRAMATICALLY since I was last there in 1999.  There is still much work and rebuilding to be done, but DAMN that place rocks.  I really is a wonderful eclectic city with just the right mix of Middle Eastern Oriental flair, coupled with old world European charm.  I understand better why it was once called "The Paris of the Middle East."  The old 19th century building are just full of charm, and, an antique beauty that even the scourge of 15 years of civil war could not tarnish.  If we ever had to move to another country, I would want it to be Lebanon.  I have kind of taken it upon my self to be an unofficial tourism promoter for the country.  Americans would be very pleasantly surprised at the place.

Back in Jordan, we visited the Dead Sea for the weekend.  One word of advice, do NOT get into the Dead Sea after shaving, especially your bikini area.  In the immortal words of a demonically possessed Regan MacNeil, "It buuuuurns!"  Travis unfortunately developed an excruciatingly painful diaper rash that required a visit to the doctor.  Office visit and prescription "nappy rash" cream totaled $15.  Wow.  On our way out of the building, we were walking down some stairs, them around a corner when we literally bumped into a tight knit group of men, some of whom were uniformed officers, who were hurriedly making their way.  I said excuse me, and all was well.  Turns out, it was Mahmoud Abbas, the former Prime Minister of Palestine, and its current president.  So there was my brush with greatness, or rather, the famous (or infamous, whichever you prefer).

I was sad to leave the hubby and come home, but, I have much to be done here.  He may be home in a couple of months as his office, for whatever reason, is being shut down.  Its political, and not because the office was performing poorly, ineffectively, or inefficiently.  In fact, quite the opposite is the case and is one of the best managed offices in the region.  I know hubby is disappointed, but, he is ready to come home.  And he needs to be home.  I want him home.  I miss him.

Song Virus du Jour:   "Freedom" - George Michael

Useless Trivia du Jour:  Dead Sea water feels oily to the touch.  Its just downright weird.