Victoria Aitken takes on Aruba – the island where the rum flows, the Virgin Mary apparitions are famous, and voodoo dolls are stuck on telegraph poles.

Aruba is full of charming bars, like the legendary Charlie’s. The locals also drink a lot of rum. So it’s true that “Aruba is the place where you have your feet in the sand and a cocktail in your hand.”

A local restaurant had iguana soup on the menu – meant to be a strong aphrodisiac.  My favourite dish was the Barracuda – a smoked salad. After that you’ll be ready for the National Park, where the iguanas are most definitely not on the menu. You’ll also find rare and exotic cacti, aloe, tropical flowers and birds.

The best-known lighthouse in Aruba is the California, named after the famous ship which was close to the Titanic when she sank.It is now a popular dive site.

Aloe Vera is big here. Aruba was once one of its biggest exporters. Instead the island economy has become focussed on tourism. There are plenty of caves to explore and even an old windmill shipped to Aruba piece by piece from Holland.

The local Dutch colonial architecture in pastel colours is beautiful. But I also witnessed mass poverty elsewhere;  San Nicholas, for example, is a ghost town.

Lourdes Grotto is another Aruba feature – in 1959 the Virgin Mary was said to appear here. There is darkness in Aruba, though, too.  I thought there must have been a lot of witch craft on the island –I noticed, voodoo dolls stuck outside telegraph poles next to somebody’s house – then while asking for directions back to Palm Beach, I stumbled into a shop full of tarot cards, and strange spell paraphernalia. Aruba is an island like no other.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/carve/4183042131/ CC

Victoria Aitken tackles street directions (‘Left past the cat!’) in one of the most fascinating, dangerous parts of the Middle East.

© Dawn Hudson / 123rf.com

Amman is the capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Unlike most Middle East countries which are full of oil, Ferraris and Starbucks it offers a fascinating history.

Modernised by its last two kings – Hussein and Abdullah – it’s also home to the famous Queen Noor Bridge). It’s not really a walking town – but the very few people I spotted through my car window, wore the  Palestinian black scarf or the Jordanian red.

When I arrived at my hotel (The Kepinski in Shmeisani) I went through the tightest security I’ve ever experienced, partly due to the attacks on Amman in 2005. As my car pulled towards the hotel they checked for bombs under the car and we also had to brave security spikes and various metal detectors before entering the lobby.

At first glance Amman doesn’t seem so beautiful because from a hilltop it looks like a mass of the same style stone houses. It’s not lack of architectural imagination but the easy availability of that particular white stone – which keeps in the heat when it’s cool, and the temperature low when it’s hot.

Amman is laid out on seven circles. Givine someone directions to meet you  can be a nightmare because there’s no real such thing as an address – and it’s not well signposted. Your directions may well sounds like this – “It’s left past the cat, then right to the old man on the corner, then take your third right.”

Neither the bus schedule nor any clearly marked bus stops are on hand, so you may find yourself waiting vaguely for transport until a bus goes past and you end up waving hopefully.

Each circle around Amman is very different. Balad, which is just above the valley, is the only place to buy the best fabrics and Bedouin dresses. Jabal is the residential area, and Amman East is where the many of the Palestinian refugee camps are.

I went with a friend to Withihad, the biggest refugee camp where 2 million Palestine people live – almost one third of  the population. It was unbelievably poor.

On another note, the Citadel (Jabal al-Qal’a) has amazing views – it is near Garden Street in Shmeisani, where most shops are.

Music seems to play from everywhere there – and also downtown, you will find the museum (full of modern art) right near the King Abdullah mosque.

The other good shopping area is in Hussein Mountain and in Sweifieh you will find many non-European boutiques. Arabic music (beautiful!) can be heard everywhere.

If you’re invited to a restaurant, or to dinner, don’t reject Jordanian hospitality – accept everything, or else there will be trouble!

 A great Shisha bar to explore is the Khuttar restaurant, owned by The Voice Of Iraq – Ilham Al Madfai’s son.

Khuttar is actually the name of one of Ilham’s own songs. Another restaurant to try is Vinaigrette, which has the most amazing view, on top of Metropole Hotel.

You may also want to consider restaurants like Ren Chai, Nai and  Fakhr El-Din (Arabic food). As for night life, there are many bars in Balad, which are all fun. My friend Zeina Durra, a famous film maker (Seventh Dog is her award-winning film) showed me around these, together with another film maker friend, responsible for Salt of the Sea. Amman also has a new film school too – it’s well worth a trip if you are making your way around the Middle East.

This beautiful hotel sits right on South Beach’s Ocean and the art deco
lobby is huge with scattered candles everywhere. From the outside it
looks more New York than Miami (the hotel is one of Miami’s tallest
buildings) – but because of this the penthouse has amazing sea views and a pool
on the roof.  The hotel is full of labyrinth gardens and it houses the
famous Sky Bar. Strange but interesting quirks include 2 deep wading pools with lily pads and exotic fish, and the gym is open 24 hours a day (they want nobody to feel insecure and those
A-types need the reassurance that they can exercise at any time.)
Who are the clientele? Any A-type personality – a person who is super
fit, smart, modern, successful and who needs to be on time. It’s also a
Miami hotspot for the stars, over the summer Lance
Armstrong stayed here. The people here always seem to be on their cell-phone
pretending to relax but tend to check their Blackberry every half an hour
between drinks, or swims. This crowd is not such a fan of fine cuisine – the
good old American hamburger is just as good as any French restaurant in
Paris – but the point is to nourish you right?

VICTORIA AITKEN

Exhausted and about to die, and crying (not from exhaustion but from reading Whit Stillman’s touching film script Creation) I was fresh off the plane from New York. My destination? A Turkish gulet anchored off Bodrum. The gulet was a 40 inch sailboat of traditional design, but with modern amenities. Suddenly I had gone from polluted air to fresh warm air and from concrete motorways to olive tree lined bumpy rocky roads.

My Turkish friend Selda, a beautiful, fun and very successful businesswoman invited a bunch of her friends sailing, including a Spanish couple with three adorable children. The first night we stayed in Turkbuku and had dinner at the Markaska hotel, they have the most delicious buffet.

The restaurant overlooks a beach with swimming platforms lined with huge cushions. The platforms extend at least 80 metres into the sea. The hotel’s famous spa,Dreamlands, is owned by Liz Hurley’s best friend Alistair Dundas.

Two years ago Isabella Blow was there in full force planning a fashion show Turks in Tartan, having cast her friends the Wilson sisters as models – and sailing with Alexander McQueen, who was looking for inspiration.

I soon realised that although gulets look like (and are called) sailboats they are not! The sails are merely a fashion statement, as they could never carry such a heavy boat at a reasonable speed.

All of us would soon realise that sailing in Turkey is very different from sailing in western Europe, where huge yachts occupy the ports, businessmen hold meetings and during the night, Blackberries beep away.

Around the Carian coast the majority of boats are gulets filled with relaxed holiday makers. We started sailing off for the Datca Peninsula, where there are some beautiful islands only accessible by boat.

It’s not called the turquoise coast for nothing. And unlike France, the water here is as warm as a bath. As a result the waters are abundant with fish. Alfonso’s son Pepe fished whenever the boat set anchor, but luckily, we weren’t dependent on his fishing skills for lunch.

The chef on the boat was amazing and prepared traditional Turkish food for every meal. At breakfast we ate olives, tomatoes, cucumber, honey, yoghurt, and nuts. At lunch and dinner, we ate variations of yoghurt salads like Cacik

(Tatziki) roasted pureed eggplant, stuffed peppers, Borek, various stews and spiced lamb meatballs.

Interestingly, the herb that seemed to be used predominantly in Turkish cooking was fennel, used just as we use parsley. Afterwards there was a choice of syrup filo dough deserts and coffee – the coffee was more popular, however, as Selda had a secret talent for reading her friends’ futures in the cups.

The following morning we arrived at Knidos, which as early as 360 BC had been a rich town due to its two harbours. It was on most pirates’ routes, and they exported large amounts of wine and olive oil.

The ancient city includes an Acropolis, a small theatre, a Temple of Aphrodite, and a strange sun clock. For further reading check out The Travels of Lord Charlemont who was one of the first visitors there. He was on his way back from Rhodes to Athens when winds swept him to Knidos, and these August winds known as Maistali and Meltemi are known to keep sailors stranded on the Greek islands.

Unfortunately, as we sailed on, biting flies swarmed us; luckily our host had lots of DEET prepared – but any romantic tension developing under the night stars was ruined. The flies were so bad that we had to stop off at Datca to get petrol and more DEET. Along the way we passed many beautiful shops selling carpets, water pipes, evil-eye jewellery and other nick-nacks.

The following night was Pepe’s 6th birthday. His father had bought him a sultan costume that he had spotted in a shop in Istanbul but only when the crew started laughing did we discover that the outfit was a circumcision costume and nothing to do with sultans at all.

All the team were given an evil-eye necklace then we tucked into birthday cake and belly dancing followed.

Most other days or nights were spent lazily swimming, reading and talking under the stars. I had to miss dinner, because I had land sickness from all the rocking – but the Turkish half moon in the sky reminded me of what mystical and wonderful trip this had been.

Who knows, if you sail around Turkey, you might even find romance with a Jack Sparrow. There are hundreds of Gulet Cruises to choose from – with or without crew- for more information, visit Pupa Yachting www.pupa.com.tr or try

www.flamatours.com

Chios is the fifth largest island in Greece and is situated in the eastern Agean sea, facing Turkey. I travelled and explored the southern part of the Island where the surrounding villages were built between the 14th and 16th century.

The island has a long history and is frequently mentioned in the texts of ancient Greek writers. Homer (the famous poet who wrote the Iliad and Odyssey) lived here, and during medieval times, Chios was also a strong Byzantine centre.

Chios has been rich for centuries and even today its economy does not depend on tourism – unlike Santorini and Mykonos. In this respect, it’s a hidden gem of an island as it does not actively promote tourism, but keeps its beautiful spots out of the press.

Some of the most powerful shipping families in Greece come form Chios due to the island’s location (Europe’s most eastern outpost to the rest of the world). Chios’s economy also depends on the agricultural production of Ouzo and mastic- but it is the mastic tree that keeps economic life of Chios abundant.

This special tree only thrives in the southern part of Chios (many have tried to uproot it and grow it in greenhouses without much success). The tree’s sap is very valuable, which only expects know how to collect.

In ancient times mastic was used as medicine but it was really its alleged aphrodisiac qualities which made the Chios locals rich, as people travelled far and wide to get their hands on some of the magic sap.

Today, the Japanese and the Americans try to outbid each other for their share of the sap, and there were many Japanese tourists in the south of Chios for this reason. On a more basic medical level it’s used in shampoo, perfume, and toothpaste. But it also has culinary uses in jam, gum, ice cream and biscuits.

Another local product with a story is the Chios cheese, Mastello. The ingredients are a closely guarded secret kept by farmers.

The best beach is in Emporios which has a volcano beach known as “Mavra Volia” -but don’t worry, as the last volcano erupted 12-14 million years ago. The beach is full of stones, though so bring your flip-flops – and by lying on the hot stones, you even get a free hot stone therapy treatment – how many beaches provide you with that service? Close by are the pre-historic remains of one of the temples of Athena, too.

Finally, if you feel like taking a day trip away from the island, remember that Turkey is just half-an-hour away by boat.

Chios Villages

Komi – you can find the best pizza in town here and every Sunday there’s a big beach party on the beach – watch the yachts fill the bay.

Pyrghi – this village is famous for the unique graffiti decoration on the buildings known as Xysta,

Mesta is the best-known of the medieval villages. Check out the tavern in the middle of the square. The chef’s wife is a soothsayer and can cast spells on your enemies for you – and also keep the evil eye away.

Recommended Hotel

www.medievalcastlesuites.com

Useful Websites

Visit www.chios.com, and for car hire, flight and hotel deals visit www.chiosonline.gr/default.asp.

Victoria Aitken is invited to a wedding in Bahrain, where the locals wave at you in the streets – and mineral water can cost more than oil.

When the door to the plane opened to the dry heat and sunshine of Bahrain, I felt so grateful to be visiting, smallest state in the Arab world. I was there for a friend’s wedding, and flew in from Dubai on the Middle East’s budget airline Air Arabia. (The check in line was hilarious – some men in the queue behind me were trying to check in their whole household from sofa’s to bedding!)

Bahrain is a small island and can be seen in two days. Many believed that the abundant sweet waters here gave eternal life, so in the past many people came to Bahrain to die. As a result, it has the biggest cemetery in the world – huge humps known as the Dilmun Burial Mounds. Unlike Egypt, however, few of the mounds were robbed, and so almost all the artefacts found there are now in the Bahrain national museum.

Due to the mixture of salt and sweet water in Bahrain, pearls are more abundant here than any other part of the world. At the height of the local pearl trade fourteen per cent of Bahrain’s population were pearl divers. Special dhows were built for pearl diving – they even had a singer on board to keep the divers morale up,

All of this is well documented in the national museum. In the past when oxygen tanks were not available, the divers were able to stay underneath the water by weighting themselves down with heavy stones, collecting as many oysters as possible before a rapid ascent.

The divers would use underwater goggles made from polished tortoise shells, and wore a bone clip to close their nostrils and ear plugs made of beeswax. Unfortunately, due to the Great Depression demand for pearls dropped, and tragically, due to pollution the sweet water channels were blocked.

Bahrain did not run out of resources, however, as just in time, oil was discovered. Oil in Bahrain is still cheap ($1 for three litres when I was there.) In fact, bottled water is more expensive than oil. Partly because water is so expensive, in Bahrain (unlike most strict Muslim countries) alcohol can be freely bought.

It’s a liberal Muslim country, Not all of the women are veiled and most of them work. It’s also the fastest growing economy in the Arab world, replacing Beirut as the main financial centre. This is evident in the growing skyline too. For a businessman, it seems to be the best way to show off your power – the bigger your business, the bigger the skyscraper. (Cars are still in there too, though, as male show-off tools.)

The people in Bahrain are charming and friendly. When you walk around town, everybody waves at you. Only some women are veiled – but on two occasions, I saw a man with three wives walking behind him. While their faces were covered in black cloth, every other stride they took revealed amazing fabric underneath. For veiled woman in Bahrain, it’s also all about the handbags.

While I was shopping, I saw an amazing dress that I wanted to buy but alas there was no changing room or mirror – and no receipt available either. On the way home I peeked at Al Jazaer beach, Bahrain’s best-known public beach – also known as Zallaq.

After that, it was time for the wedding. It was one of the most amazing I have ever been to, with women looking incredibly glamorous in diamonds and couture . The men looked elegant too – and their perfume lingered on.

The bride was preceded by four boys carrying incense burners. Nancy Ajaram sang (one of the most famous entertainers in the Middle East – like having Madonna sing at your wedding) and the food was amazing. We were offered Bahraini bread and kebabs, Thai, Chinese, Machbous (fish or meat served with rice )and Muchammar (brown, sweet rice served with sugar or dates.)

Although I didn’t try it, Gahwa (coffee) often has cardamom and saffron added to it as well. The Saudis and the Kuwaitis I met at the wedding said how much they loved Bahraini and Jordanian weddings as they are mixed. Unlike Jordanians, Lebanese and Palestinians, though, Bahrainis don’t really dance like crazy.

The next day, I headed to the airport, stopping at a local supermarket first. The pork section (for non-Muslims) offered the biggest selection of pork products I ever seen – including some items I didn’t know existed!

Finally, if you are visiting Bahrain, don’t miss the Oil Museum (near Smoke Mountain), the Bahrain National Museum and the Burial grounds.

My friend Robin Leacock, invited me to spend the weekend with her in The Hamptons. She is a documentary film maker and is married to Robert Leacock. The film credits include Madonna’s Truth or Dare, Al Pacino’s Looking for Richard and Christy Turlington’s Catwalk.

The bus that goes to The Hamptons (on Long Island) is sheer luxury with free magazines (almost all of Conde Nast is represented), movies, music and delicious snacks – and blacked-out windows!

Robin zoomed in to pick me up in her sexy white beach jeep, and as we were on for a fun night of parties at the beach, we decided to prepare with a yoga class. We decided to take the bikes and felt a bit like Madonna…who according to Robin’s husband is easy to like, very polite and easy to work with.

From Watermill where Robin lives we drove past designer stores-Scoop, Ralph Lauren, Alice and Olivia and Theory – and several houses with clay tennis courts and beautiful tree -lined drives.

We drove to Sag Harbour to take the ferry across to Shelter Island, which is where the billionaires go. Shelter Island’s flash image is partly due to Andre Balas, who has been linked to Uma Thurman. The bar had a dance floor and an amazing DJ played relaxed hippie tunes. I chatted to my friend John Jacobs, producer of Blades of Glory, then the crowd from the beach  descended as the sun set in the distance and everybody swayed and danced around in the sand. Sun kissed bodies, shirtless men and beautiful women in nothing but bikinis and a sarong joined.

After that, we pulled up to the most amazing house in South Hampton for a cocktail party with valet parking and a very manicured lawn.

The style was old American to the max – an eclectic mix of young sexy men and beautiful models – with waspy old men wearing lime green or bright red trousers, a blue blazer, and loafers with no socks. As for fashion, well… the look was Easter bunny rabbit.

On this whirlwind party weekend we stopped for a fake clam bake with friends, then it was off to bed.

On Sunday we recovered from the partying by taking my friend’s dog to Mecox beach. One guy asked me to go surfing with him at Ditch Plains, but sadly I don’t know how to surf.  After walking on sand dunes I needed warming up so we met some friends at Piers restaurant which serves the best brunch!

Last time I was there I had dinner with Anne Hathaway (recently seen in The Devil Wears Prada). She was very glam and at the time was dating some Italian aristo, with none of the fashion cluelessness of her character in the film.

Did I mention the traffic around the Hampton? It’s awful! But maybe America’s rich and famous residents will solve the problem with a little plane to go from party to party to skip the congestion…

Forget relaxing at the beach-the water’s much too cold – the typical Hampton’s summer is all about socializing at the beach, and (hopefully) meeting a sexy millionaire. Hanging out with documentary makers, though, I did feel I was in a documentary surveying the social groups in the Hamptons…

Further reading: The Hamptons: Life Behind the Hedges

This ultra-designed hotel is situated in Turkey over looking the
Turkbuku bay, just 5 kilometres  from Bodrum. It was luxurious as each residence
had its own pool. The EV only has 48 suites (there are no normal rooms)
and there is a fitness center and a meditation room. The furniture,
floor and everything in my room was white – except the TV which is a
plasma one.
As for the clientele – Who knew? Nobody saw each other- this is a place not to stay if you are
single and hoping to chat up somebody at the hotel bar (there is none).
But my guess is that the exclusive, private and very rich who do not want to be disturbed come here or even the very famous who get fed up of
being harassed elsewhere. The old who cannot seem to sleep any where else these days, finally it’s a relief not to resort to ear plugs for
once as you can’t hear the loud music in the next door room. For people who like simple food, and have simple taste and want to be left
alone this is it.

VICTORIA AITKEN