Around the World in 180 Days with D and N: A Variety of Accomodations in the Mid-East

We've been staying in a variety of places since arriving in the Middle East. We originally had booked an apartment for seven nights in Jerusalem. The place looked good on the photos and the location was excellent. The owner, claiming the original apartment wasn't ready, switched us to another location and an apartment we didn't find acceptable, so we checked out after one night and checked into the YMCA 3 Arches Hotel. The hotel was built in the early 1930's, in a great location across the street from the King David Hotel, and features a tower that is a Jerusalem landmark. Rates also included a huge and delicious breakfast buffet, so we were very happy we made the switch.

Other interesting accomodations included an Arab guest house in Nazareth, a guest house operated by Franciscan missionaries on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in Tiberias, a room with a huge balcony overlooking the Dead Sea in Ein Gedi, part of a kibbutz, and a rustic cabin (but containing a whirlpool tub and a big flat-screen TV) in a moshav or agricultural village south of the Dead Sea at Neot HaKikar. In Aqaba we were three nights in a Doubletree Hotel (we're using Hilton Honors points to score free rooms in Aqaba, Cairo and Alexandria) complete with warm chocolate chip/walnut cookies on arrival. It was a little different from the versions we usually see, however, with security including a metal detector at the entrance and Arab music each evening in the lounge.