Part 1 is a travel story through six countries from May 20 to August 4, 1998, illustrated with over 200 color photos. I am grateful to Michael Wood for coming out with a book and TV special called In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great while I was preparing for our trip In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great. I followed Mr. Wood's maps, noted his omissions, and expanded his narrow focus. I renamed our trip The 1998 Footsteps of Alexander the Great Tour .... Going into this trip, I was working from an interpretation of ancient history gained from Zecharia Sitchin that I sought to investigate. Sitchin suggests a 12th planet that orbits our Sun every 3,600 years produced agriculture (circa 11,000 B.C.), then the Neolithic culture (circa 7,500 B.C.) and, finally, the Sumerian civilization (circa 3,800 B.C.) .... My only problem with Sitchin is: Why wasn't the circa 200 B.C. fly-by of the 12th planet noted by ancient writers, who had informed us about Alexander, given the 3,600 year interval?