TRAVEL JOURNAL

My unforgettable trip from Rabat, Morocco to Kabul, Afghanistan

By: Ana Cristina Ibarra – 8th red

INTRODUCTION After wondering for a long time where I should

travel, the idea to visit other cultures totally different from mine crossed my mind. I chose to travel from Rabat, Morocco to Kabul, Afghanistan. Since I wanted to remember this trip from the first day it all started, I decided to record everything I learned from every place I visited in a travel journal so I could show my whole family what a wonderful experience I had during my voyage in North Africa and East Asia.

RABAT, MOROCCO The first place in my route was Rabat, Morocco’s

capital city. Tourism is huge in this city. Climate: Mediterranean, mild, temperate. Location: Atlantic Ocean Religion: mostly Muslims

RABAT, MOROCCO Education: not a very good education

Typical food: I was impressed with the food in morocco it is simply delicious! Even though it is very easy to find food from all parts of the world here, its original food is the best. I was delighted when I tasted Coscous.

RABAT, MOROCCORoyal palace

parliamentKasbash of the udayas

downtown

This were some of the amazing places I visited while I was in Rabat. After 5 days in Rabat I went by car, so I could appreciate the landscape better, to Algeria.

ALGIERS, ALGERIA Climate: Mediterranean climate with warm summers and

mild winters. Location: the west side of a bay of the Mediterranean Sea.

Sports: The city has a number of professional clubs in the variety of sports, which have won national and international titles. I visited a sports facility called “complex of OCO”.

ALGIERS, ALGERIA- ARCHITECTURE AND

MONUMENTSAlgiers waterfront The

Ketchaoua Mosque

Cosmopolitan algiers

The Monument of the Martyrs

 The tourism of Algiers is growing but is not as developed as that of the larger cities in Morocco or Tunisia.

TRIPOLI, LIBYA My visit in Libya wasn’t so pleasant

as I wanted it to be since people were protesting against the government and I wasn’t able to move around easily.

Even though there was a civil war going on, I was still able to learn many things about this country.

TRIPOLI, LIBYA Climate:  Mediterranean. The city enjoys

warm summers and mild winters. Location: Tripoli is located at the west of

Libya close to the Tunisian border, on the continent of Africa.

Sports: Football is the most popular sport in the Libyan capital

Economy: It is the leading centre of banking, finance and communication in the country and is one of the leading commercial and manufacturing cities.

TRIPOLI, LIBYA – MAIN SIGHTSRed castle and

entrance to national museum

Emhemmed Elmgharief Street in central Tripoli 

Tripoli’s old city

Since of all the protest I didn’t feel safe in this country so as soon as I saw what was important here, I left heading toward egypt.

CAIRO, EGYPT Climate: Its temperature varies from

very hot in the day to very cold in the night

Location:

CAIRO, EGYPT Everyone recognizes Egypt throughout

the world because of its pyramids, which are the pharaohs tombs.

It is the major power in Africa. Religion: full of Muslims.20 percent

catholic, the 50 percent is Muslim, and others religions are just 30 percent.

Economy: based on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism

CAIRO, EGYPT

Egypt is the place which left the greatest impression on me it is full of life and interesting history anywhere you turn. Egyptian culture has six thousand years of recorded history. Egypt maintained a stable culture that influenced other cultures of the world. After my visit here I continued with my adventure heading toward Israel by car.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL The modern State of Israel was declared

in 1948, and traces its historical and religious roots to the Biblical Land of Israel.

Location: Israel is located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea.

Climate: Temperatures in Israel vary widely, from windy, cold, and sometimes snowy mountainous regions, to typical Mediterranean climate with cool, rainy winters and long, hot summers in the coastal cities.

Districts of Israel: (1) Northern, (2) Haifa, (3) Center (4) Tel Aviv (5) Jerusalem (6) Southern

JERUSALEM, ISRAELThe Flea market in

the Old City of Jerusalem

The Dome of the Rock

The area is also known as the Holy Land, being holy for all Abrahamic religions including Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Baha'i Faith

Shrine of the book

ISRAELI FOOD Israeli cuisine adopted,

elements of various styles of the Jewish cuisine, along with Moroccan, Ethiopian, Indian, Iranian and Yemeni influences.

It incorporates many foods traditionally eaten in the Arab, and Mediterranean cuisines, as falafel, hummus and couscous.

DAMASCUS, SYRIASyria is located in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest.

DAMASCUS, SYRIA Capital : Damascus Climate: The climate in Syria is dry and hot, and

winters are mild. Because of the country's elevation, snowfall does occasionally occur during winter.

Economy: Syria is a middle-income country, with an economy based on agriculture, oil, industry, and tourism.

Religion: Muslims are 87% of the total population, 10 % iss made up by Christians and 3% belogn to the Druze Religion.

FOOD Typical food: Syrian

food mostly consists of Southern Mediterranean, Greek, and Southwest Asian dishes. Some Syrian dishes also evolved from Turkish and French cooking. Dishes like shish kebab and stuffed zucchini.

Fattoush

Kebbeh

Fetté with clarified sheep butter and almonds, a specialty of Damascus

PLACES TO VISIT

The Great Mosque

Market in Damascus, Syria

Ruins in Damascus, Syria

BAGHDAD, IRAQ Climate: neither hot nor cold. Location: Jordan to the west, Syria to the

northwest, Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, and Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south.

Iraq has been fighting the last 30 years against Iran and USA, so it is actually undergoing reconstruction.

I thought this country would be more interesting but since it is not organized nor attractive yet because of the reconstruction, it wasn’t what I was hoping it to be.

BAGHADAD, IRAQ - MAIN SIGHTS

Albunneya mosque

International airport

national museum

Convention center

Haifa street

Iraqi national orquestra

TEHRAN, IRAN one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is

the 21st largest city in the world.

Location: east of Iraq, and west of Afghanistan. Landscape: full of mountains

Economy: centre of most Iranian industries including automotive, electrical, military, weaponry, textiles, sugar, cement, and chemical. Tehran is also a leading centre for the sale of carpets and furniture. There is an oil refinery located south of the city.

Climate: semi-arid, continental climate

TEHRAN, IRAN Most traditional dish: chelow kabab

TEHRAN, IRAN - MAIN SIGHTS

Statue of Abu Rayhan Biruni in Laleh Park 

City theater

Museum of contemporary arts

KABUL,AFGHANISTAN Finally, I reached to the final country of my

trip. Religion: mostly muslims Landscape: mountainous Climate: varies from -7 °C to 23 °C. Economy: The economy has improved

significantly since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 largely because of the infusion of international assistance, the recovery of the agricultural sector, and service sector growth.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

workers processing pomegran

ates

CONCLUSION This trip was very helpful for me to

understand other cultures and appreciate mine. I was able to enjoy other foods and to experience the way many people live. I recommend everyone to come visit this interesting places. The country I most enjoyed visiting was Egypt.