Good luck. While I most emphatically disagree with our presence there, I do have personal familiarity with the Mid East in general and lots of 3rd world countries.
first, copy all of your Cds. Leave the originals at home. this will protect you from theft and loss.
second, the ipod is a good idea but it might cause problems at customs, assuming there are any controls in place, at all.
You will find in the bazaars, lots of folks willing to get and/or copy just about anything you have or might need.
three, bring lots of high quality batteries.
four, bring lots of packs of blank Cds. these are very useful and are good for bartering with. also, this will allow you to burn a copy of someone else's Cds while you buy them a drink in the local hotel.
i would suggest a really good laptop that has DVD copy ability and make sure it has a pair of really good built-in speakers. this will make you very popular.
finally, on another note, get yourself in close with some of the British Medical teams. they have a bi-zillion years more experience with mid-eastern parasites, worms, malaria, etc. than our folks could ever hope to have. A bunch of these guys saved my life in Africa.
first, copy all of your Cds. Leave the originals at home. this will protect you from theft and loss.
second, the ipod is a good idea but it might cause problems at customs, assuming there are any controls in place, at all.
You will find in the bazaars, lots of folks willing to get and/or copy just about anything you have or might need.
three, bring lots of high quality batteries.
four, bring lots of packs of blank Cds. these are very useful and are good for bartering with. also, this will allow you to burn a copy of someone else's Cds while you buy them a drink in the local hotel.
i would suggest a really good laptop that has DVD copy ability and make sure it has a pair of really good built-in speakers. this will make you very popular.
finally, on another note, get yourself in close with some of the British Medical teams. they have a bi-zillion years more experience with mid-eastern parasites, worms, malaria, etc. than our folks could ever hope to have. A bunch of these guys saved my life in Africa.