Exitlude

And so it ends...

The Middle East has enchanted me with its beautiful, friendly and welcoming people, the warmth of which I have rarely encountered amongst strangers. There are memories, rich and strange, which I'll carry with me until my twilight years, memories that will bring a smile to an old man's face on his death bed. Amazing times spent with the very best of people, pushed to within a feather of the edge - so free and so alive.

There are so many cool things to recall - the highlights... where do I begin? For sheer natural beauty, I can't go past the underwater scenery and marine life of the Red Sea. The deserts of both Jordan and Syria wowed me myriads of stars and their deafening silence. Truly breathtaking. Resisting the comfort of luxury air-conditioned tourist coaches in favour of the local bus gave me a unique perspective into life on the ground, removed from the facade generally presented to tourists. Meeting friendly roadside food stall owners and seeing their countenances light up when you return to eat at their stall. Seeing first-hand the passionate expression that is Islam without the biased filter of East vs. West, down on street level where religious practice is part of the social fabric. Funnily enough, on Fridays after a day of prayer and religious instruction, locals are blissed out and subdued, the vicious bartering and touting of the rest of the week forgotten, if only for an afternoon. It's like the feeling you get in western countries around Christmas time, only here the 'Christmas spirit' happens every week!

But if I had to pick one highlight, it would be the people of the region. Before I travelled here, I'd heard about the hospitality of the Middle East, but nothing prepares you for the genuine warmth you receive every day on the street. A special mention goes out to Syria, where I received the heartiest of welcomes. Recently, the intransigent US renewed sanctions against Syria - apparently not enough concessions have been made against terrorism. But while the "big boys" discuss regional and global geopolitics, everyday activities go on as they always have, ignoring the international political chess game. That's not to say this doesn't affect people - business and tourism is adversely affected by US sanctions. However, the rich, welcoming and overwhelmingly genuine greeting that I've received suggests that it doesn't really matter to the little guy - he's going to greet you as a fellow human being no matter what happens. It's a truly humbling experience to be accepted with such unpretentious love.

The low lights... well, after the highlights, these are going to sound petty. In Egypt in particular, there's a constant on guard feeling - to relax is to be scammed. I'm sure I look like a walking wallet to some of them, and when life is tough, it must be hard to swallow that others - white skinned affluent tourists - have substantially more means than you. In that light, I can understand why scammers try, but it makes you feel harrowed when every transaction easily descends into an argument over price, and a simple walk means opening yourself to the insistent attention of a thousand touts and hawkers.

There's other things too, a little more personal. Like meeting an Iranian family on a boat in Turkey, a couple of proud parents touring with their two sons and a daughter. The daughter is outspoken - a Masters student in International Law, she dreams of working for the UN and quizzes us on our perceptions of Iran and terrorism. I can see that she feels the international slight against her country personally. I reach to shake her hand as we leave the boat and she refuses point blank, as shaking a man's hand risks bringing disrepute to her and her family. An honest mistake, a definite social faux pas that I came to regret deeply.

As I look back over the past 3 months, I'm left with an powerful feeling of fulfillment and happiness. Sure, there were tough times, but the good times easily outweigh the bad. I've come away with thousand smiles and memories that will last a lifetime. If you ever get the chance to visit this amazing part of our planet, grab the opportunity with outstretched arms. You won't regret it.