Lonely Planet Istanbul to Cairo on a Shoestring

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Travelling from Istanbul to Cairo

Lonely Planet Istanbul to Cairo on a Shoestring (Lonely Planet Shoestring Guides)
Andrew Humphreys , and Jeff Williams
Manufacturer: Lonely Planet Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Lonely Planet Middle East
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Lonely Planet Turkey

ASIN: 0864427492

Book Description

Istanbul to Cairo is a classic overland route offering an extraordinary range of travel experiences in six of the Middle East's most fascinating countries. With over 75 maps this brand new budget-travellers' guide covers all the essentials and more.

Coverage: Egypt, Israel & the Palestinian Territories, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey. <ul>

wander through some of the 400 rooms of the harem in Istanbul's Topkapi Palace </li>

explore the fine Roman-era ruins and palm-fringed oasis at Palmyra </li>

retrace the steps of Lawrence of Arabia among the rockscapes of Wadi Rum </li>

dance the night away in Beirut, home to the Middle East's best nightclubs </li>

bob about like a cork on the Dead Sea </li>

be awestruck by the Pyramids of Giza or the Great Temple of Karnak </li></ul>

Customer Reviews:

Great Guide..........2002-01-01

This is a great and detailed guide to the classic land route, covers the area and the trip in outstanding detail, but at the same time does not try to force you to stay on a certain itenerary. Highly reccomended.

Very good, if..........2001-08-27

This book outlines an excellent journey from Istanbul to Cairo, with all the detail and information we expect from Lonely Planet. The only problem emerges if you want to take a different route than the one they've outlined. They make hardly any allowance for this possibility, and this is the book's fatal flaw. Use it as a suggestion book, as a guide; but consider buying a guide to the Middle East instead, and thus providing yourself with much more information on the places between Istanbul and Cairo, places you may want to visit even though they're "off the beaten track." For instance, with more information I chose to go South through Jordan, ferry to Egypt, and then go back North into Israel, ending in Jerusalem. This made sites such as Petra in Jordan and St. Anthony's Monastery in Egypt fit nicely on the itinerary, and for me ending in Jerusalem provided a more fitting climax. No one trip can fit everyone. Whatever your desires, consider a guidebook that presents more options. Make sure you include Istanbul, Ephesus, Damascus, Baalbek, Beirut, Petra, Jerusalem, Cairo. Strongly consider Nazareth, Haifa, Luxor, and Mt. Sinai. Have fun!

Very good, if..........2001-08-27

For instance, with more information I chose to go south through Jordan, ferry to Egypt, and then go back north into Israel, ending in Jerusalem. This made sites such as Petra in Jordan and St. Anthony's Monastery in Egypt fit nicely on the itinerary, and for me ending in Jerusalem provided a more fitting climax. No one trip can fit everyone. Whatever your desires, consider a guidebook that presents more options.

----UPDATE: I didn't take that trip actually; but I think the principle is still valid! Design your own trip! Lonely Planet's general guide to the Middle East is not bad.

not bad.......2001-04-12

I used this book for Israel and Jordan. I liked the layout and found it useful. The entries for each country are basically abbreviated versions of Lonely Planet's single-country books. Instead of giving it five starts, I'm giving it only four because I usually found the city maps to be deplorable. These maps are more like sketches than real maps. The main problem is that all the city streets are not on the maps, and the steets that are there often don't have their names. This makes it impossible to orient oneself when lost, and it is very difficult to find something marked on a steet that has no name on the map and located amidst other streets that aren't on the map. I realized I was not alone in this appraisal when I went to the tourist information office in Eilat, Israel. I asked where a bicycle shop was and asked the man to show me where it was on Lonely Planet's map. He glanced at the map and had obviously seen it before because he gave a disgusted grunt and brushed the book aside saying, "That's not a map," and proceeded to give me verbal directions.

Travelling from Istanbul to Cairo.......2001-03-27

I have backpacked in this area extensively. Most of the guides I have used in the past weren't really that useful. I was therefore really surprised by this guide. I found it useful in Turkey, Jordan and Eygpt - detailing all the major sites (relatively in depth for a guide this length) and finding cheap guesthouses. It wasn't, however, very helpful in getting around - for example - the "travel agencies" recommended in Istanbul beyond being run by westerners for backpackers were much more expensive than any of the other local agencies. However, as I've never lived in any of those countries I can't really give a proper opinion beyond saying I personally found the guide helpful. On Israel it's a different matter - and I can only say well done to the writers - I didn't know you could find such cheap guesthouses in Israel, and I've travelled around the country quite a bit. I still use this guide when I travel here which says alot - especially seeing as I only bought the guide for its coverage of the neighbouring countries. All in all I recommend this guide and the route it contains.

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