New Edition of Iran - Persia: Ancient and Modern released Read more...
Join us for our information evening on Syria and Lebanon. Read more...
Read a recent extract of an article written about the emergence of Libya as a tourist destination by Kipat Wilson of the National newspaper. Read more...
View a slideshow of images from our Immidir Trek to the Amguid Crater Tour to Algeria Read more...
View footage from our Ghat Festival tour to Libya - This annual event is taking place again in December 2010 Read more...
Odyssey Publications have just released a new edition of Iran - Persia: Ancient and Modern. This is an excellent book both for visitors to Iran – or for those simply with a thirst to learn about and understand this fascinating country. It provides a indepth look at both ancient Persia and modern Iran, gives up-to-date travel facts and tips as well as chapters on each of the country’s provinces, and sections on Islamic art, architecture and religion.
Here are some reviews of the publication:
“…awe-inspiring photography and no-expenses spared production – worth getting acquainted with for the sensational visual introduction alone…” – Real Travel Magazine
This feels like an old school, intelligent guide for a traveller who doesn’t want their hand held – which is no doubt exactly the type of person who would choose to visit Iran…” – The Irish Times
“…A stunning guide, packed with history, that no visitor to Iran should be without….” – Christina Lamb, foreign affairs correspondent, The Sunday Times
Would you like to attend our information evening on Syria and Lebanon? The evening will consist of a drinks reception followed by a fascinating lecture given by Mr James Mather (author of Pashas: Traders and Travellers in the Islamic World). The event will be taking place on the 8th of September from 6.30 – 9pm at the Middle East Association (MEA), Bury House, 33 Bury St, London, SW1Y 6AX. There is very limited availability left for this event so if you would like to attend please contact clare@simoontravel.com as soon as possible.
“While Libya has much to offer us – including towering mud-brick Berber granaries, exceptional prehistoric rock art and wild adventures beneath the Saharan stars – its most powerful visitor magnet by far is Leptis Magna. A 75-minute drive west of Tripoli, this was the capital of Roman Africa in the third century. Earthquakes, floods and imperial decline led to its downfall, then the desert sands covered everything up until a group of Italian soldiers found themselves camping on top of the Arch of Septimus Severus in the 1920s.
As ruins go, Leptis is world class on two counts. Firstly, it is huge. Here you can wander the streets of a prosperous seaside city that was once home to 100,000 people – and because Libya is still a relatively new arrival to the tourist map, at times it feels like you’ve got the whole place to yourself. Secondly, the quality of what survives is astounding – a haughty triumphal arch, a massive forum, lavish marble baths, a 16,000-seater amphitheatre, a seaside hippodrome where races were held before roaring crowds of up to 23,000 spectators.
Visitors frequently remark, as they wander the flagstoned roads rutted with the wheel marks of bygone chariots, how easy it is to imagine people living here all those years ago. Bridging the gap between them and us, then and now, is easy when you visit the city market, with its marble fish counters and carved stone tables where oil and spices were measured out. The theatre still has its VIP box, road-signs point the way to the brothel, rows of marble latrines take us back to basics. In the nearby Villa Silin, a luxurious second-century des res, the walls and floors are decorated with delicate frescoes and exquisite mosaics depicting pygmies, crocodiles and chariots competing at the circus.
In my view, Leptis deserves a two-day visit – one to see it all, and a second to go back and dream. The site is an easy commute from Tripoli, which is also worth exploring. With its abundant green flags and ubiquitous portraits of the nation’s leader, Muammar Qadafi, the capital of what is officially known as the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya feels something of a stage set. Many of its grandest buildings date from the colonial era, and the Italians’ ornate banks, piazzas and churches add an operatic mood to the flagship city of this peaceful and welcoming Muslim nation. The atmosphere in the medina is relaxed, the shops hassle-free, and the only jarring note comes from the odd polemical sign that -announces that this pharmacy is “strictly for martyrs’ sons”, or observes how the old British Consulate, built in 1744, was used as a launch pad for scientific expeditions that were missions “to occupy and colonise vital and strategic parts of Africa”.
One sight not to miss in Tripoli is the Jamahiriya Museum, where many of the greatest treasures from Leptis are now displayed. Here, magnificent busts and sculptures stand frozen in time like children playing a game of musical statues. Venus, Mercury, Apollo, a fit-looking Mars … The beauty of the gods lingers in my head, along with more modern exhibits like the turquoise VW Beetle Qadafi drove around in the Sixties as he spread his revolution, and an -entire floor devoted to “The Era of the Masses”, where visitors can admire a lovely floral five-piece suite used for entertaining dignitaries. History has left Libya an Arab country with a taste for espresso and macaroni, but there is no wine, just abundant bottles of “The Water of the Great Man-Made River”, which is the result of a long-distance pipe-dream of Qadafi’s that taps underground reservoirs far away in the Sahara. Lorries covered in sand and flights coming in from Niamey and Ouagadougou are a reminder that we are on the fringes of the Sahara. For centuries this was the final stop on the great trans-African caravan routes – today the country’s cosmopolitan air is sustained by oil wealth”.
Our Immidir trek tour takes you to the far reaches of Southern Algeria, this is a challenging trek whose final destination is the Amguid Crater – a 100,000 year old meteorite crater in the heart of the Algeria Sahara.
The Ghat Festival is an annual Berber and Tuareg cultural festival which takes place in the heart of the Libyan Sahara. This wonderfully vibrant festival includes camel racing, traditional music and dance as well as indigenous crafts.
The local bread in Ethiopia is called Injera. It looks like carpet underlay and comes in grey or light brown with a slightly springy foam texture to it. Normally it comes rolled up like a pancake or folded like a tablecloth. You then tear off bits with your right hand (only) and dip it into a variety of sauces and stews which come in little piles on a big round dish. These are normally made up of curds and goat and can be eye wateringly hot and spicy. The grain used to make the bread is called tef and is made into flour, mixed with water, and fermented which gives it a slightly sour flavour. It is baked on a metal disc over a fire in every house and hut across the country – everyone has a place for injera. I have to say I quite like it, and I shall be seeking out a little Ethiopian restaurant in Brixton that does the best injera in London soon. However I think my favourite bread is farasheas made by the Bedu in the Sinai in Egypt. It’s made with wheat flour and patted into small balls, then rolled out and stretched very thinly over a curved metal disc over a fire. Two minutes and it’s bubbling and curling up at the edges and it’s done. It tastes a bit like a naan but better. The tuareg of Libya and Algeria make a bread known as Leba which is made from a fine flour, mixed with water and beaten out into a circle a couple of inches thick. It’s then laid out onto a hollowed out area of sand and a carpet of hot coals is piled on top of it with a stick where it stays for half an hour before being turned over to do the other side. Once finished the end result is lifted up and beaten with a stick to get the sand off it. Sometimes caraway seeds are sprinkled into the dough to give it a subtle aniseed flavour and it is so delicious hot, fresh, and torn apart to enjoy with a glass of mint tea under the stars in the desert. The tuareg in Libya and Algeria love to break the bread up into tiny pieces (a painstaking task) and then make a gloopy meat stew which the bread is added to, but I prefer it on its own.
We are excited to let you know that American passport holders can now officially enter Libya on a tourist visa! Please do let us know if you would like to join a forthcoming group tour or a private tailor made tour to Libya with us soon.
Simoon has just joined the Elite Travel Clubwww.theelitetravelclub.com which is a collection of small specialist travel companies. The aim of the club is to act as a one stop portal for high end travelers looking for the very best companies out there.
The plethora of choice available makes it even more vital that you are looked after by the right travel company which truly understands your needs. The aim of the club is to match your aspirations with the respective club member’s skill and knowledge of the area concerned.
Each member of the club has extensive and well earned recognition in their field and has been operating for a number of years.
Our new Classical Lebanon itinerary will be introduced to the Simoon portfolio in 2010. This is an 8 day tour that takes in the vibrant city of Beirut, ancient sites of Baalbeck and Anjar aswell as the beautiful coastal towns of Sidon and Tyre. Full itineraries, departure dates and prices will be published soon. Watch this space! Click here to learn more about Lebanon.
‘Libya has agreed to lift its ban on granting visas to EU citizens after Switzerland ended a ban on visas for high-ranking Libyan officials. Switzerland ended its ban, which affected at least 150 Libyan officials and their associates – including the country’s leader, Muamma Qadaffi and his family – last Thursday 25th March, following demands by the EU. The Swiss ban, imposed last month, prevented Libyan officials from travelling to countries which are part of the Schengen area.
All EU countries, except the UK and Ireland, are part of the Schengen area, within which citizens can travel freely without documents or checks. Switzerland, although not a member of the EU, is part of the Schengen area. The resolution of the visa dispute was led by Germany and Spain, the current holder of the EU’s rotating presidency. Italy and Malta both have accused Switzerland of abusing the Schengen system and holding the EU hostage in a bilateral dispute.’
By Toby Voice, EuropeanVoice.com
Odyssey Publications have just released a new edition of Iran - Persia: Ancient and Modern. This is an excellent book both for visitors to Iran – or for those simply with a thirst to learn about and understand this fascinating country. It provides a indepth look at both ancient Persia and modern Iran, gives up-to-date travel facts and tips as well as chapters on each of the country’s provinces, and sections on Islamic art, architecture and religion. 
