Travel to distant land inspires couple

By Susan Akers, For The Herald Bulletin

July 01, 2009 09:57 pm

— ANDERSON — Judy and Ken Zinszer may have feared an attack by pirates as they recently cruised through the Gulf of Aden.
But, as always, they found a way to turn a foreign trip into a cookie-making adventure.
The couple, known for their store at 2245 Broadway and for their travels, recently toured with a group through the Middle East.
“Our kids were worried about us going through the Gulf of Aden,” Judy said.
“And we knew there would be some danger in going because right before we left a ship was taken by pirates and the captain was rescued. Supposedly the pirates had planned revenge on Americans, but we were on an Italian ship so we felt safe.”
The gulf has been a troublesome, deadly spot for cruise boats and shipping vessels. NATO has begun patrolling the gulf to prevent attacks by pirates.
On the Zinszers’ cruise ship, a plan addressed entering the danger zone.
The captain ordered fire hoses to be mounted with noses pointing downward so that powerful water blasts would knock back an impending pirate attack.
A huge spotlight was roped to the back railing to blind pirates if they tried to climb up the back of the ship at night. Military boats accompanied the ship into the harbor in the Gulf of Aden in Yemen.
Upon porting, the couple explored the area and did not stick with the group in an organized tour.
Ken and Judy hailed a cab and went to a bazaar, not for tourists but for local folks, offering items for sale such as food, crudely made kitchen utensils, clothes and sandals.
Judy said that they have done a lot of traveling but that was the scariest place they have visited because of often testing relations with the U.S.
“We told them we were Canadians,” she said.

Language knowledge helped

Combined, the couple speaks five languages.
Ken grew up in Saudi Arabia where his father worked with Aramco Oil Co. He attended all four years of high school in Rome. Ken had not been back to Saudi Arabia since the ‘60s, so he and Judy thought it seemed like a good time to go on a three week cruise.
Shopkeepers seemed captivated at Judy’s blonde hair. Hearing Ken speak Arabic fascinated the locals even more.
“It was like going back in time to Arabia 50 years ago,” Ken said.
Judy visited bakeries and sampled cookies. She learned about ingredients used in that locale. In this case, fresh dates.
The fruit will be an important ingredient in a cookie which will be featured as July’s “Cookie of the Month.”
She sat with a woman around an open fire to make their type of bread. Later in the day, the woman removed her long black veil to uncover a sleeping baby securely tucked in a cloth holder, held against her body.
“We wanted to see how real people were living,” she said. “But we were glad to get back on the ship.”
A former foreign language teacher at Anderson University, Judy retired so she could travel.
The Zinszers’ journey began with visiting friends in Paris, then to Frankfurt, Germany. Other stops included United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, Jordan, Egypt, Croatia, the French Riviera and ending in Venice, Italy.
A main staple in the diet includes rice and birds. Many people raise goats and sheep. Ken and Judy enjoyed meeting people in their homes, typically two rooms and made of handmade bricks.
She may create another recipe later this summer, perhaps using almonds or orange flower water.

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