Introduction: A Middle East adventure many times over
Welcome to my next travel report, which tells about my trip to three Middle Eastern countries and Turkey.
An epic Middle Eastern adventure many times over
A dear friend spent a long vacation in the Middle East in the spring. Although family and work commitments prevented me from being away for two months, I was able to travel back and forth enjoying the most important parts of the trip. The trip started in Dallas, where I flew on a Qatar Airways A350-1000 to Doha in Qsuite business class. I spent five nights there at the Four Seasons Doha, which was an exceptionally positive experience. I then flew home via Copenhagen, Helsinki and London and enjoyed the opportunity to experience the brand new Qatar Airways 787-9, Finnair A330 and British Airways 787-10, all in business class.
Next I flew to Jordan… via Tokyo (as one does). JAL First Class from Los Angeles to Tokyo, Qatar Airways 777 Qsuite from Tokyo to Doha, then Qatar Airways A330 to Amman. Jordan was my favorite part of the trip as I spent time at the Red Sea, biblical sites, Petra and finally Amman.
From Amman we flew to Cairo, played tourist and then visited Alexandria, staying at the Four Seasons in both cities. I then flew home via Istanbul, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, London, Bogota and Houston…yeah, I love a good mileage ticket.
Finally, I flew Turkish Airlines back to Istanbul, where I rejoined my friend before we flew home in Lufthansa first class via Frankfurt.
Here’s what you have to look forward to:
- American Airlines 787-9 Business Class Los Angeles – Dallas
- Thompson Dallas
- Four Seasons Dallas
- American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
- American Airlines Admirals Club DFW
- Qatar Airways A350-1000 Business Class Dallas – Doha
- Four seasons in Doha
- Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge DOH
- Qatar Airways 787-9 Business Class Doha – Copenhagen
- Carlsberg Aviator Lounge CPH
- Finnair A321 Business Class Copenhagen – Helsinki
- Hotel St. George Helsinki (Marriott Design Hotels)
- Good coffee in Helsinki
- Finnair “New” A330 Business Class Helsinki – London
- Lunch is the closest I come to Cathay Pacific
- British Airways 787-10 Business Class London – Chicago
- Oneworld Lounge LAX
- JAL 777-300ER First Class Los Angeles – Tokyo
- JAL First Class Lounge Tokyo NRT
- Qatar Airways 777-300 Business Class Tokyo – Doha
- Al Safwa Lounge Doha
- Qatar Airways A330-200 Business Class Doha – Amman
- Kempinski Dead Sea
- Biblical places in Jordan
- Petra
- Mövenpick Petra
- A day in Petra outside of Petra
- St. Regis Amman
- If flying from AMM, fly RJ
- Royal Jordanian Crown Lounge AMM
- Royal Jordanian ERJ-195 Business Class Amman – Cairo
- Four Seasons Cairo
- Going to church in Doha and Cairo
- Pyramids
- Alexandria
- Four Seasons Alexandria
- Turkish Airlines 737-800 Business Class Alexandria – Istanbul
- IGA Lounge Istanbul
- Etihad Airways A350-1000 Business Class Istanbul – Abu Dhabi
- Al Dhabi Lounge AUH
- Gulf Air A320 Business Class Abu Dhabi – Bahrain
- Gulf Air Lounge Bahrain BAH
- A missed opportunity in Bahrain…
- Gulf Air 787-9 Business Class Bahrain – London
- Air Canada Lounge LHR
- United Club LHR
- Avianca 787-8 Business Class London – Bogota
- Avianca Lounge BOG
- Copa Lounge Bogota (BOG
- United Airlines 737-700 Business Class Bogota – Houston
- United Polaris Lounge LAX
- Turkish Airlines 777-300 Business Class Los Angeles – Istanbul
- Four seasons in Istanbul
- Lufthansa A321neo Business Class Istanbul – Frankfurt
- Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt
- Lufthansa 747-8 First Class Frankfurt – Chicago
I have two more recent trip reports that I thought I’d run first, but I’ve been doing it all year, which is why this report is so late. Judging by its length, this report takes us well into the new year. I’ve teased several of these flights over the past months, but now I’m looking forward to an extended review.
For all clicks Live and Let’s FlyI trust that regular readers will recognize the labor of love (and time, the currency of love) that such a Travel Report entails. It’s frankly terrifying to watch the literal weeks, when all is said and done, this Trip Report will last. Yet by doing this, I’m not only creating fresh content, I’m preserving the memories of one of the best trips of my life, which were a total of 60,399 miles when all was said and done.
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Thanks for reading!