15th Formal Night April4, 2011

The theme for our formal night was “Arabian”.   A lot of people had purchased various articles of clothing along the way, so it was fun to see them all decked up in their Arabian garb.  I had purchased a long top at one of the markets, so I wore it with some black tights.  Here I am with my two favourite dance hosts:

Aqaba, Jordan Sunday, April 3, 2011

Aqaba in the south of Jordan, is the country’s only seaport.  It is best known as a diving and beach resort, but also as the port of call for cruisers wishing to visit the Lost City of Petra, also known as The Rose City.  This is Jordan’s most visited tourist attraction and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985.  It was chosen by the BBC as one of “the 40 places you have to see before you die”.  For years it was lost due to the fact that the entrance ways were covered in a sand storm.  It was only rediscovered in 1812. 

We drove approximately two hours by bus to reach the site.  Quite a city has grown around it, with luxury hotels and of course the usual multitude of vendors.   We walked downhill at least a mile or two to reach the entrance.  I’m trying to find words to describe it – magnificent, stupendous, unbelievable ! ! ! !

It is an ancient city whose buildings were cut into the sandstone and granite rock face of the crevices inside the craggy encircling mountains.   During its heyday, it was on the trade route taken by the camel caravans travelling between the many countries bordering Jordan and beyond . 

I would strongly suggest that you look up Petra on the internet, because my words and photos are a very poor substitute.

 

The walk to the end of the city is about five miles long, all downhill and of course there was the return walk uphill.  We could have rented a 2 passenger carriage for $30. or rented a horse or donkey for less.  Most of us chose to walk.  It was a LONG WAY BACK ! ! ! !

This evening aboard the ship, there was  a pirate party to celebrate our safe passage through pirate territory.  Free drinks were being passed around but there were very few takers because since most people on the ship went on long tours these past 2 days, and the smart ones retired early.

The next 2 days are sea days, and we will pass through the Suez Canal, then we will have the opportunity to visit Israel – Bethlehem and Jerusalem.  Am looking forward to that.

Safaga, Egypt April2, 2011

We left the ship at the port Safaga,  around 8:30 a.m. for a 4 hour bus drive through the Sahara Desert.  What a sight that is ! ! !

At first, we were surrounded by tall, rugged limestone hills.  I was surprised, because I had pictured this desert as endless sand dunes. 

These gradually became smaller and after an hour or so,  the sand dunes did appear.

 

As anticipated we did  pass by an oasis or 2 and they were a welcome sight after all the isolation. 

Vehicles travelling through the Sahara must go in convoy.  There were 18 busses filled with passengers from the ship  and 2 spare busses in case of break downs in our convoy.  Every so often we passed through a check point manned by soldiers with guns.   People traversing the desert are checked very carefully to make certain they arrive at their destination.  If they don’t show up, a search party is sent out.  The road through the desert was excellent.

We arrived at the west bank of the Nile River across from Luxor shortly after noon and our bus headed straight for the Valley of the Kings – the necropolis where the tombs of the ancient rulers of Egypt have been excavated.  This is a huge mountainous area.  The pharaohs had these elaborate tombs dug out from the mountainside and had them elaborately decorated with brilliantly coloured pictures and hieroglyphics.   When they died, they were sealed in these tombs along with a multitude of gold and jewels as well as clothing food and furniture which it was believed they would need in the next world. 

We spent over an hour in  this location and were able to enter and explore three of the tombs.  One has to see this to believe it.  I though it would be claustrophobic but this was not the case.  The tunnels were fairly  wide and stairways bad been built so that we could descend quite comfortably.  In one of the tombs, we had to go down a very long way and that was fine, but climbing the stairs back up was a chore. The colours, in places are as brilliant as if they had just been newly painted.  The carvings are exquisite.  It is mind boggling to imagine that this was done using a hammer and chisel.   Over 60 tombs have been discovered and it is believed that there are many more.  Only one tomb that was discovered had not been looted by thieves and that was the tomb of King Tut.

We were  not allowed to take pictures here, in order not to damage the paintings.  I did buy postcards, however and I’m planning on scanning them into my computer.

The venders in Egypt are the worst we have come across so far.  They try very hard to sell their wares.  They swarm at you, are quite persuasive and  don’t take no for an answer.  They follow you and keep after you, offering you something at an exorbitant price and then lowering it as they follow and the more one says no, the lower the price gets.  The only way to get them to stop is not to acknowledge them, not to speak to them and not to make eye contact. 

after we left the Valley of the Kings, on our way to visit the Karnak  Temple we stopped along the way to take pictures of the Colossi – which are 64 foot twin statues of one of the Pharaohs.  They are all that remain of a once great temple.

We crossed the Nile River on our way to the  Karnak Temple and parked along its banks were multitudes of river cruise boats, jut waiting to take tourists for a cruise on the Nile.  I had hoped to take the tour that included a dinner while cruising down the Nile, but by the time I went to book it, there was no more room left.  I guess it wasn’t meant to be.

At the Karnak Temple, the Avenue of Ram-Headed Sphinxes leads to the entrance.

The Hypostyle Hall, is a colonnade featuring 134 immense and richly decorated columns.  The complex also boasts the obelisk of Queen Hatshesput, the temple of Amen-Re and a Sacred Lake.  It’s amazing  that these  artefacts are still in such good shape despite their age.   Here is a statue of one of the Ramses in the death pose.  The small statue at the bottom is that of  his favourite wife.

Our drive home was long and uneventful, but I enjoyed the four hour drive through the desert just as much as I did in the morning on the way there.  

Salalah, Oman Tuesday, March 29, 2011

I hadn’t planned on going to Salalah.  I was going to spend a relaxing day aboard the ship shortening my new gown, sunbathing, reading and catching up on my blog, but that wasn’t to be the case and here is the reason why:

Some of the dance hosts had purchased  long white Arabian gowns to wear for the Arabian night to be held on one of the formal nights.  James was moaning and groaning that his was too long, so I offered to shorten the hem and the sleeves for him.  This being done, I went to the laundry room to iron it.  We have an “el cheapo” iron and it is difficult to set it properly.  I added water to have steam.  It was already hot because someone else had just used it.  Unfortunately I didn’t follow the golden rule of testing the heat of an iron by trying it on an inside seam.  A blast of hot steam came out of the iron and  yes you know what happened.  I burned a hole in the sleeve.  I was devastated ! ! !  What do I do now?    I rushed to the tour booking office to try to book a tour to Salalah so that I could go to a souk, at our next stop, to buy another one, but there was no more space on the tours.  We had been warned that getting a cab to the town a half hour away might be a hit and miss affair, so I wasn’t certain about that.  A friend of mine, (Maria, a Mexican lady) was going on a tour and I asked her to buy me one in case I didn’t find a way to go myself, thinking, “If I go and find one the right size and Maria also gets one, I’ll have a spare one for a costume when I get home, and that way at least I’m sure of getting a replacement.”   I wasn’t taking any chances.

When I got back to my cabin, there was a message on my phone from Jan,  one of my former dinner table mates, asking if I’d be interested in sharing a cab to go to town the next day, so of course I said, “Yes.”

Off we went, 4 ladies,  and we had no trouble getting a cab.  First we went to a very modern 3 story department store where Jan had made purchases on another trip.  They had no white gowns, but I bought a couple of memory sticks for my computer, some cough drops, some white thread and some beautiful scarves. 

Next the cab driver took us to the souk and he led me to the stalls where the white gowns were sold.  I had taken the original one with me so that I could make certain that the size was correct.  No luck at the first 2, but at the 3rd we hit the jackpot.  The gown was the perfect size, needed no alterations and had a bit of fancy work around the neck.  It was even a better quality than the other one and cost me $17.   What a relief ! ! !  I walked out of the stall crossed the street to go to see the sultan’s palace to take a few pictures when I spotted Maria in a shop over there and she was calling me to tell me that she was in the process of purchasing the gown I had requested.  I quickly ran over and told her not to buy it, that I already had one.   Phew  ! ! ! !  My guardian angel was working overtime that day.

That  afternoon after the first dancing session, which finished at 5:30,  James, Paul and I went to the Canelletto Restaurant -- the Italian restaurant aboard the ship-- for dinner ,  as a celebration for all the work I had done on James’ gown and a button I had sewed on Paul’s shirt.  I still hadn’t told them the story, but let them believe he was getting the original one back.  After dinner, I presented James with the new one and explained the situation.  Of course he said that I needn’t have bothered, but he was just being polite.  He was very pleased with the new one—and guess what—that material was perm press and didn’t need any ironing ! ! ! !

And that was  my big adventure in Salalah.

And finally I am all caught up with writing my blog.  More to come after I return from Egypt and the “Valley of Kings”.

Muscat, Oman Sunday March 27, 2011

The landscape her in Oman is totally different from that of the countries we have visited recently. 

Muscat is the capital and largest city of the Sultanate of Oman.  Situated on the Arabian Sea, it s landscape is dominated by the Western Al Jahar Mountains. The first thing one sees upon docking are the rocky elevations.  The other countries we visited lately were rather flat, because a lot of them, especially Dubai and Singapore have reclaimed lot of land from the ocean.  The economy is driven mostly by petroleum, trade and its port facilities.  The sultan is well liked by the people  because through his leadership the country has prospered and modernized.

As per usual, the tour we took today went to the museum, the mosque and the souks.  Here is a photo of some of the market stalls of the souk.

Again I was on the lookout for a beaded top, but no luck.  This souk was quite large and had many alleyways and I ended up getting lost for a bit. When it was time to return to the bus I didn’t want to be the last one to come and keep the others waiting, so I was a bit worried.  I bumped into Paul, the dance host ( who had gone there in a cab,)   and he pointed me in the right direction, to my relief.  Then I stood there with a few others waiting for the stragglers to arrive.  I needn’t have worried.

One of the places where we stopped was a modern art museum and the  former home of one of the sheiks.  It was beautiful, made of marble.  The living quarters were downstairs built in an open courtyard and upstairs were the bedrooms.  One of the tourists asked if there was an elevator to get upstairs.  The guide responded that in those days when this home was built and in this country, no one had ever heard of an elevator. 

I got into a conversation with one of the employees there and she allowed me to take her picture in front of the drawing I liked the most.  She is a graphic arts graduate from the local university and she speaks an excellent English.  She told me that a new opera house is being built in the city and that it should be finished within a year.  I have a totally different impression of the Arab countries, now that I have visited there.  They are quite modern and in some ways we could take an example from them.  Muscat is a beautiful and clean city – no graffiti here.  The laws are quite strict.  If you steal, you get your hand cut off ! ! ! !

Dubai March 25, 2011

In the morning today I took an excursion downtown on one of the ship’s tours.  The bus didn’t stop anyplace where we could get some good pictures of the downtown buildings, so I have to be satisfied with the ones I took out of the bus window.  One can only gaze in awe and wonder at the many tall, beautiful buildings, each unique in it’s own way. 

Dubai has a very modern transportation system.  The trains are computer controlled and they run above ground on elevated rails and below ground.  The stations above ground are built in the shape of a clam shell.

Our first stop was a mosque, where we just stopped to take a picture.  We were not allowed to go inside, because it was Friday and that is the day the Moslems worship.  Friday and Saturday are their weekend and Sunday is the first day of their week.  Most of  the stores today were closed until 4 p.m. because of that.

Then we were off to see the beach on the Arabian Sea.  What  beautiful sand it had!  I wished that we could stay there and enjoy it, but that wasn’t on the schedule.  Again, just a photo op.  In the following picture, taken there, you can’t see much beach, but the beautiful building in the background is one of the hotels.

Our next stop was at the Mall where one can go skiing.  Imagine ! Skiing in a mall ! ! Here is a picture of the ski slope taken from behind the glass partition separating it from the mall lobby.

At the mall we were offered juice and a short refreshment break, then on we went to see the old part of the city where a tent had been set up to show what the lifestyle was before they discovered oil.  Here we could have gone for a camel ride.  One lady did and I might have, but our time was too short and we had to leave.

Our last stop was at the gold souks (market stalls).  I never saw so much gold in all my life ! ! ! Stall after stall after stall of gold !

I wasn’t interested in purchasing gold so I went down the alley way to the clothing stalls.  I was hoping to find a beaded sleeveless top, but didn’t have any luck.  There were all kinds of fancy dresses and if there had been more time, I would have tried something on.  Good thing I didn’t because that evening I went to the Dubai Mall – the largest mall in the city and that is where I bought my beautiful taupe gown. 

Getting around in a large city is always an adventure.  There was a shuttle bus from the ship to one of the other malls, but others who had been there said it was more expensive than the Dubai Mall.  Anyhow, I got on the shuttle bus and met a couple I know, so we decided to get a cab to the Dubai mall once we got off the shuttle bus downtown.  Aong the way we met another person who was interested in doing the same thing, so for about $2. a piece we got to our destination around 5:15 p.m.  We agreed on a meeting place for 7 p.m. with the understanding that if anyone didn’t show up, the others wouldn’t wait.  My first  goal was to find someplace to have my finger nails refilled.  There are about 1000 stores in the Dubai Mall and plenty of information booths so I had no problem finding out where to go.  Unfortunately, the first appointment I could get was for 7 p.m. so I knew I wouldn’t be going back with my friends.  Our guide had told us that we could feel safe in Dubai, because the crime rate was 0 %.  Anyone who commits a crime gets deported and the rich Emirates don’t have to rob anyone, so I had no qualms going back by myself.  I looked around the mall, getting lost a couple of times while looking for a department store called Debenham’s where I was told I could find some nice dresses and that is where I bought the 2 of them.  Then I had to search for the nail salon and I was worried I might not be able to, but I made it in time for my appointment with a couple minutes to spare.  In Canada, small drills are used to do the manicure and it takes about a half an hour, more or less.  Here they do everything by hand with a nail file and it took two hours ! ! !  The young lady did a very nice job though.

After that I did some more window shopping and decided that I had better find some taupe thread in order to shorten my new gown.  I was sent to a part of the mall where one finds the type of clothes that the locals wear and I saw some that were very     beautiful  covered with beads and very elegant, but nothing that I would ever wear back home – besides I already had purchased mine.  The place where they sold thread was already closed so I ended up in a men’s tailor shop, where not too much English was spoken.  At first the tailor thought that I wanted him to shorten the gown and he wanted me to go into a broom closet to change.  I finally was able to make him understand that I wanted to shorten it myself and that what I needed was a needle and thread.  Mission accomplished, I went in search of a cab.  A sales person in the shop led me to the cab stand nearby (people were very helpful here) and I took a cab all the way back to the ship tired but happy.   The shuttle bus stopped running at 8 p.m. and by then it was after 10 p.m.)

Since it was Friday evening and the next day was a holiday for the locals, there were a lot of them out shopping, some with their children.  The men were all decked out in their long white gowns and the ladies were wearing their long black ones with veils covering their heads.  Very few had their faces covered.  Some of the ladies were really very beautiful.  They must wear lovely clothing when they are in their homes because in the shops there are some gorgeous, colourful long gowns.

So now you know all about my adventures in Dubai.  I’m way behind in my blog.  Since Dubai, we have been to two places in Oman.  I’ll try to catch up before I go to visit the Valley of the Kings in Egypt tomorrow.   I’m feeling a lot better than I did yesterday – sore throat is gone and sneezing has almost completely stopped.  The tour tomorrow lasts 11 hours, so I decided not to go dancing, but to stay in my room and rest,relax and recuperate. 

Dubai Tour March 24th

On this day, our bus took us to visit 4 of the United Arab Emirates.  As we left the city of Dubai,  we drove through desert country where the sand dunes were sparsely covered with low vegetation.  Camels and goats were to be seen grazing everywhere.

At our first stop, we visited a very modern well displayed  maritime museum.  Before oil made the people here rich, their way of life was fishing and pearl diving and this was portrayed very well in this museum.

Our next stop was at the compound of one of the former rulers,  (now a museum)   which portrays their way of life in the olden days.  It is built like a fort with thick walls.  The courtyard is open to the sky.  On the ground floor, small rooms are built all around in  the walls to house the staff and to store the necessities.  Upstairs were the sultan’s quarters – one room only for him, but lots of other rooms – probably for his many wives and children:

The next stop took us to a camel race track.  The camels they have here are quite small and apparently quite fast.  Camel racing is a very popular sport.  The citizens are not supposed to bet, but we heard that they find ways to get around that.  It was during the noon hour that we arrived there and because of the heat of the day, we didn’t actually see any racing, but we did get to see some of the camels.

The last location on our agenda, was a ghost town in the middle of nowhere.  In my opinion, this was just a tourist trap – somewhere to take the gullible tourist.  Supposedly, the town was found destroyed and almost all of the population disappeared and those who were left behind were all dead.  There is no explanation of what happened, or even when, but the local folk will not come here after dark because of the supposed strange noises and the invisible things that grab at you.  The site is now used by a film company when they make spooky films, but they only work during the day ! ! !

The drive through the desert going from one area to the next was very interesting.  It is hard to imagine the beautiful modern cities of this country springing out of this desert and all within the last 25 years.  Isn’t it amazing what a bit of oil can do for a country. 

MESSAGE FROM THE CAPTAIN March 31, 2011

Travelling through Egypt is now considered safe.  Although it is too late to change our itinerary back to what it was in the past, the ship has travelled so fast through pirate territory, that we are ahead of schedule and can afford to make a stop at Safaga in Egypt and this means that we will be able to take the tour to Karnak, Luxor and the Valley of the Kings on April 2.  Hopefully I will have recuperated sufficiently to go, because this was one of the places I really wanted to go to.