at sea - May 20, 21, 22

We decided to take the last Israel day off and stayed on the ship.  We have never not gotten off the ship when it was in port.  Our tour today was supposed to leave at 6:30 AM - that together with my gurgling stomach and our LONG day yesterday kept us on the ship.  I think it was a good decision.  The next 2 were scheduled sea days before Sorrento, Italy.  We're almost home!

Jerusalem and Bethlehem, Israel - May 19

Christ's birthplace

Today is a big day…Jerusalem and Bethlehem was one trip I have been looking forward to since we started looking into this trip.  HOWEVER…some time in the middle of the night my body decided to rebel and I spent some time hugging the toilet – and no, no booze was involved.  Who knows what it was…Chris was perfectly fine, but I surely was not.  Without going into too many details I think it was something I ate.  By the time morning came I wasn’t exactly feeling in tip-top shape, but I WAS NOT MISSING Jerusalem and Bethlehem.  There were a couple of tenuous points (one just outside of the manger where Chris had to lead me to a garbage can), but I am proud to say I did not leave my mark on the birthplace of Christ.
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Holy Sepulcher Church

We had a drive of about 90 minutes from Ashdod to Jerusalem.  I can’t say I took in much of the scenery along the way, but it was interesting to hear the guide describe at certain points where various Biblical events took place.   

We make a brief stop at the Mount of Olives many of Jerusalem’s significant sites can be seen.  Our guide is wonderful and is able to point out many of these sites that we couldn’t have recognized on our own.  Many of the sites we visit today are also visited by many, many Israeli soldiers.  Apparently today is a sort of ‘graduation’ day for them.  We also make a photo stop at a viewing place for the Dome of the Rock.  We aren’t at the Dome of the Rock, but a viewing spot across the valley where the Garden of Gethsemane is. 

The Garden of Gethsemane is our next stop.  It is interesting how pictures and movies have formed a picture of these sites in my mind compared to reality.  For example…I have never pictured the Garden of Gethsemane with flowers.   

Gethsemane rock

Then we walked through Jerusalem’s Old City.  The Old City is walled and is home to the Via Dolorosa, which is believed to be the route Jesus took as he carried the cross.  We didn’t stop at all of the Stations of the Cross, many of which don’t really exist (Chris recalls from his last trip here) and are just spots along the side a random shop in the old city.  This was probably the most powerful part of the visit for me.  I always find the Stations of the Cross powerful.  In the old city is also the Church of the Holy Sepulcher built on Golgotha hill which is where Jesus was crucified buried and resurrected.  There is a spot of rock where is it believed the cross stood.  Here we lined up to put our hand on the spot.  The trouble is that there are so many people it isn’t at all contemplative.  Basically we shuffle along until we get to the spot, touch it and shuffle on.  Next time I visit I’d like it to be during the off season.
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Garden of Gethsemane

We also visited the Western or Wailing Wall where I wrote my prayer and slipped it into a crack in the wall.  Although this spot is crowded (especially with the soldiers I mentioned) there is some time and space to be quite for a while.  

While that is more religious sites than we typically see in one day there are still more.  We leave Jerusalem and our Israeli guide.  Because Bethlehem is in the Palestinian territory where no Israelis are permitted our guide gets off the bus and a Palestinian guide gets on – they switch again when we leave Bethlehem.  Our visit here is based entirely on a visit to Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity. This church is built over a grotto that is believed to be the location of Jesus' birth and except for incredibly beautiful lighting is quite unadorned.  Here again is a big crowd that shuffles and shuffles to the spot of the manger – where Jesus was born.  There is a silver star on the floor that most people touch as a blessing.  

Dome of the Rock

Jerusalem is an incredible place with more history than I could even get a handle on.  It is also holds the history and stories of much that is meaningful to me.  Of all the places we have visited on this journey it is one that I hope to without doubt visit again.

Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel - May 18

Tel Aviv, Israel is where today.  We are actually docked in Ashdod, and bus into Tel Aviv.  We spend the afternoon touring the city which has a very European flavour to it.  We stop for a few minutes at the square where Itzhak Rabin was assassinated.  I’m sure this would have been interesting if we had been able to hear ANY of it.  We got a bit of a dud today in terms of our guide.  All in all, we have been very lucky with guides throughout this trip, but today was just not great. 

We then made our way to Jaffa which has been incorporated with Jaffa (Tel Aviv-Jaffa).  Jaffa is apparently one of the oldest cities in the world.  The location here is stunning - the city is right on Mediterranean coast.  We take a walking tour of Jaffa’s narrow lanes and cobblestoned streets (very European.)

Security is definitely high here in Israel (as expected.)  We had a face-to-face immigration inspection when we arrived which we have only had to do in India.  Typically we don’t even see our passports.  The ship handles all of the immigration and our passports are stamped without us having anything to do with it.

Cairo, Egypt - May 17

it was windy!

Nile

The Cairo Museum is the first stop today.  This is more like a warehouse than a museum – there is ‘stuff’ everywhere.  This place is truly amazing.  This is like what I would expect the storage areas of museums to be like.  We walk around with our guide for about half of our time there (which is only 2 hours and doesn’t seem nearly long enough.)  He tells us details about what we are looking at and the stories behind these details.  





lunch before pyramid visit

Next we are off to the requisite ‘shopping-stop’ then to lunch followed by the pyramids and the sphinx.  The pyramids are huge – as expected as is the sphinx.   One thing that did surprise me was how close they are to Cairo.  I expected a drive to the desert...but they are really part of Cairo - technically Giza on the other side of the river from Cairo.

From Cairo to Port Said where we are meeting the ship is a 3 hour drive.  For part of it we are driving parallel to the Suez Canal.  It was never possible from the boat to see the canal, but as we passed ships in the canal it was obvious that it was there.  The ship transited the canal today as we were in Cairo which initially disappointed me not to be part of.  Apparently there is nothing much to the canal.  

Our trip to Luxor and Cairo was amazing.  We got to see some unbelievable things and had a great experience. 

Luxor/Cairo, Egypt - May 16

Cairo gridlock



sunset view from Cairo hotel

 Our second day in Luxor starts with a visit to the Karnak temple.  This temple is dedicated to the god Amon.  The interesting thing to me (knowing very little about Ancient Egypt to begin with) is that each pharaoh for the next 2000 years added his won contribution to the temple.  Each temple we have seen has been open to the air – which is how they were constructed other than for a few inner rooms.  Karnak temple is actually connected to Luxor temple 3k away by an ‘avenue of sphinxes’.  This is very impressive. 

avenue of Sphinxes

Ramses II

Next is lunch back at the hotel, a 45 min flight to Cairo and check-in at our hotel.  The flight was uneventful and the hour drive to hotel was interesting to see another huge city.  My first impressions of Cairo is dirty with huge traffic gridlock, but more organized than I expected.  Our drive takes us through Tahrir Square, which isn’t what I think of as a square.  I think of a pedestrian area and this to me is more of an intersection – interesting to be there nonetheless.

entrance to temple

We take a bit of a walk along the Nile before dinner where we get approached a million times (not surprisingly) where we’re from (interestingly every Egyptian has a cousin in Canada!, as to Indians) with offers of boat rides, shisha smoking etc.  They aren’t too persistent and we move along.

Luxor, Egypt - May 15

colonade Medinet Habu temple

Luxor, Egypt is something else!  Luxor is not on the coast, so we had a 3 hour drive from the ship with our guide Ahmed who will be with us until we board the ship again in 3 days.  We stayed in Luxor overnight and will be flying to Cairo the next day for the Pyramids.  This was not in the original plans when we booked the cruise before the Egyptian revolution, but this was the only way we were going to get to the Pyramids.  We could have chosen to stay on the ship and hit another Egyptian port, but we opted for Cairo.
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Medinet Habu temple

Colossi of Memnon

The area until right before Luxor was desert and mountains as it has been yesterday, but as we approached Luxor the landscape began to lush up.  By the time we were in Luxor there were palm trees, grass and crops.  My first sight of the Nile was very surprising.  It is a beautiful clean ‘looking’ bright blue.  I expected it to look dirty – it doesn’t.



Hatshepsut temple



painted ceiling



We had lunch and were off to The Valley of the Kings which is where 63 (that have been found so far) pharaohs including King Tut, tombs are.  Absolutely no photos are allowed.  One entry ticket gets the visitor into any 3 tombs – there is a separate ticket for King Tut.  Of the 4 tombs we visited, King Tut’s was the most impressive as his mummy (surprisingly tiny) and sarcophagus were there.  Each tomb consisted of an entrance way fully decorated with hieroglyphs and Egyptian stories.  No guide explanation is allowed inside any of the tombs,  The guide explained outside the tomb and we visited after.  However…each tomb has a guard who will try to give ‘extra’ information or give you a ‘special look’ and will then ask you for a tip.  One person on our tour got roped into this and was OK giving a dollar when the guide asked for 5!  Crazy.  We don’t tend to give off the ‘weakest-in-the-pack’ vibe, so we are generally left alone by the hawkers and others looking for a buck.  The hawkers by the way, aren’t as aggressive as in India.

Nile from our Luxor Hotel

After the Valley of the Kinds we made 2 photo stops; one at Hatshepsut temple and the other at the Colossi of Memnon - I realize I need to have people in these photos to show the scale...let's just say they were huge.  Scale can kind of be seen from the cordon around them - the stakes are about a meter high.  There are all within Luxor.  Our final stop for the day was for a visit to Medinet Habu temple.  This temple was built by Ramses III on the west bank of the Nile.  This is a huge place (not unlike other Ancient Egypt temples.)  Every single bit of surface except for the floor is decorated with carvings or paint.  The paint has not stood the test of time as well as the carvings have, but there is still quite an impressive amount of paint still visible 3000 years later.  The temple was the last of our sight seeing for the day. 

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Chris and Mosab

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Lisa and Mosab

this is new...

We were staying at a hotel on the Nile.  At this part of the river there is a wall rather than a bank at the edge.  Our room had a wonderful view as did most of the hotel’s facilities.  The hotel’s shisha bar was located right at the edge of the Nile which made a spectacular spot to spend some time.  This spot was made even better because we were the only ones there.  I suspect our group of 80 were the only ones in the hotel.

Safaga, Egypt - May 14

Bedouin tent

camel dung heap

This morning as we arrived in Safaga, Egypt we were welcomed by a wall of sound as we stepped onto the balcony.  Apparently Egyptian workers from Saudi Arabia are home for the summer and have brought a ton of possessions with them.  At first we thought they may be setting up a market, but learned they were just off of a ferry.



making bread

Our tour today is entitled “Desert Jeep Safari” and those with back problems should think twice as the drive to the Bedouin camp is very bumpy.  WOW – was it ever!  A group of us piled into the backs of 4x4s and left the Red Sea for the 60 min drive to the Bedouin camp in the middle of the Arabian Desert.  45 of the 60 minutes were spent driving through the desolate desert.  There is minimally recognizable path through the sand, but the route we took resembled nothing like a road – AT ALL.  This to me is truly the desert – there are no plants or animals for as far as the eye can see.

We finally arrive at the camp and are welcomed by tea, a rest on floor cushions and a Bedouin primer by our guide.  We wandered a bit through the camp to see how they lived a very basic life such as a woman make flat bread and tasted a bit of it, and saw how they dried huge piles of camel dung for fuel – surprisingly unsmelly.




as much on one truck as possible

Egyptions arriving home

Then…I…rode…a…CAMEL!  I am in no way a rider of any animal whatsoever…but think most animals you ride are already standing when you get onto them.  The camel standing up and sitting down was the scariest part.  There were 2 handles one in front and one behind the seat.  The woman guiding my camel motioned for me to really hang on to the handles.  She motioned this over and over – I was getting the point.  These handles were a bit bigger than I could get my hand around, so I just did what I could and in the end all was fine.  By the way….my camel’s guide was a woman who seemed to be about 20 (although I couldn’t exactly see much of her!) who carried a baby the entire time while guiding my camel.  Riding the camel wasn’t the tough part – staying on the camel while it got up and down was the challenge.  The back legs go up first followed by the front – this means that first I lurched forward and then back.  Finally I was up and we were on the go.



Aqaba, Jordan - May 13

hitting the town

Petra`s Treasury

Last night Chris and I hit the town. We went into the town of Aqaba hoping to find dinner and a shisha. We found a shisha, but decided against dinner. It was nice to be out on our own away from the ship for a while doing something a bit different.


After 5 very relaxing days at sea we are back to getting up early and onto tour buses. We are visiting Petra (an ancient Jordanian city from the 6th century BC) which is a 2 hour drive through the mountains and deserts of Jordan from Aqaba. The landscape is very similar to the landscapes of our last few ports. It is still mountainous desert with little if any vegetation, but it is still quite beautiful. The mountains seem to layer on top of each other one behind the other, and when the sun hits some of them and not others some appear light when others are darker – this is lovely.

Urn Temple

approaching the Treasury

As soon as we boarded the bus our guide told us that because Petra was 900 metres above the sea that the high temperature for today was only going to be 20/22 degrees. AMEN!!! This is music to my ears! I couldn’t have dreamt a better forecast. As it turned out he knew what he was talking about. The low temperatures were even more welcome as the walk around the Petra site was quite strenuous as compared to those we typically have and a hot and humid day would have been ugly.

are we there yet?

gorge

There is a whole lot more to the Petra site than the ‘treasury’ that I was familiar with from travel shows. The entire site is huge and the visit only covers a small amount of it. For me the multi-coloured rock formations are more impressive than what is carved. The view along the walk to the treasury through narrow passages takes about 40 minutes over huge cobblestones and is stunning. The cobblestones make the walk a bit treacherous so, a lot of the time is spent looking down hoping more to take a spill rather than looking up.

Apparently the slumping economy coupled with the fact that today is Friday is responsible for the small crowds at Petra – this is a treat. Petra is at the same time huge and tiny. The passageways are relatively narrow at some parts, considering that there are carriages and camels in the mix. The extra space is welcome.

After the guided part of the tour Chris and I head out on our own. We are able to see a bit more of the site and get a bit more walking in. We have sadly had very little chance to get out and walk for the last month, so this was nice.

We ate a lunch of both western and Arabic food at a hotel. I could have eaten pita and the variety of dips all day.

Aqaba, Jordan - May 12

After 5 long days, we have finally found land in Aqaba, Jordan

at sea - May 9 and 10

Terribly uneventful, but restful and relaxing couple of days.  2 more are ahead of us - life is rough!

at sea - May 8

Today is the first of what was scheduled to be 4 days at sea.  Apparently there has been a mechanical problem with the ship that can't be solved until we reach land and get a necessary part.  Because of this problem we aren't moving as fast as we were supposed to be moving so we will be arriving in our next port (Jordan) 9 hours later than originally planned.  This isn't a huge problem for us as our scheduled trip to Petra will be moved to the next day when we didn't have anything scheduled.  So we are essentially having 5 sea days.

Salalah, Oman - May 7

forgot to include this yesterday

Today we are still in Oman, but now we are in Salalah. There has been a lot made by the ship’s team responsible for coordinating the land tours about how to dress on land. This morning was the most stringent. When we booked the tour we were initially told that shorts and skirts were fine as long as they were not skimpy – no problem…Chris and I left our ‘skimpy’ at home. However this all changed when we convened for the tour. At that point we were told that we needed long sleeves and long pants. Well I don’t have long pants so I did my best with my longest pants and brought a jacket. Chris put pants and a long sleeve shirt on. Normally this wouldn’t be such a big deal, but it was a bit hot at 35 degrees! Chris even broke a sweat. Anyway…we changed and were on the road. In the end it didn’t matter AT ALL! There were people on the tour with shorts and that was no problem. We were also told women would have to cover their heads and this was not required either - much ado about nothing.

blow hole (in the cliff)

rugged landscape

All was forgotten as I spotted the first camel. Camels in Oman are all domesticated, but they roam freely and head home at night. We eventually saw quite a few, some who we had to wait for as they walked down the middle of the road.

Our first stop this morning is at Mughsail Beach. This beach is about 2 miles of white sand with cliffs at both ends. When we visited, there were no other people in sight. It’s funny that for cultures so close to the sea, no one swims. The main attraction of this beach is blow holes. When the tide is high there are holes in the cliffs where the ocean blows through. This is quite impressive, especially with the sound the rushing water makes as it hits the cliffs.

Job's tomb

We next visit Job's Tomb. This is where (according to legend) the remains of the Old Testament prophet Job can be found. This was disappointing and quite underwhelming as can be seen from the photo. The drive was picturesque and interesting, but it took about an hour to get to for not so much. The tour ended with time at the local souq. One of Oman’s main products is frankincense. This and perfume was pretty much all to be found at the souk market. I came away with a box of frankincense.