Week 16 Jordan and Egypt
What a busy past 6 days! We left Saudi Arabia and sailed up the Red Sea to the port city of Aqaba, Jordan. It is here that we had two days of touring the city and visiting Magnificent Petra. We found out that there was a single bus going to Petra on Monday when 12 were going on Sunday. So, Kathy and I went to Guest Services and at that time only Kathy and Mike were able to exchange their tickets. Mike has a hard time on buses and we said it didn't matter to us. Around 5 o'clock I decided to go and see if anyone had cancelled and VOILA I was able to exchange our tickets as well.
On Sunday, Jeff and I took the included tour of the city of Aqaba. The city has a long history of trade and is often called the Crossroads of Africa and Asia. The city was made famous when Laurence of Arabia coordinated a camel charge on its fortifications when it was held by the Ottoman army in 1916. The charge was successful and the Arabs earned their independence from the Ottoman empire. Their previous Queen Noor, was an American woman and their current Queen is of British decent.
Our next port was in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt. This port city is a popular seaside resort often referred to as the "City of Peace" as a number of international peace conferences have been held here. The waters are a beautiful turquoise color and it is known for its scuba diving venues. There are coral trees, reefs, underwater cliffs and the most beautiful fish. Just outside the city is desert and stark browns. We took the included Glass-bottom boat tour and really enjoyed it. The fish were so beautiful.
Look closely and between the two white buildings is the Egypt-Israel border on the Sinai Peninsula
A coral tree
On Monday we headed out on our 10 hour trip to Magnificent Petra. This ancient site is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. It is actually a large cemetery. It was sculpted into the cliffs and rocky mounts 3,200 years ago at the height of the Nabataean culture. Petra was sealed off from the rest of the world for centuries until 1812 by a Swiss explorer. The entrance, via a canyon, was cleared and the intricate facades were now seen by the modern world. It is a 1/2 mile walk through the canyon before you actually reach the site. You can pay anywhere from $30 to $70 to ride a horse, golf cart, or donkey down the canyon and back. We spent 4 hours walking around this large area and only saw less than 1/4 of the site. It was around 100 degrees and the return hike up hill out of the canyon was difficult. Jeff wasn't drinking enough water and I really started to worry. Allison and a different Kathy had an extra bottle and he made it back safely. After a very nice lunch (buffet meal) we boarded the bus and headed to the Viking Star. We did have a light late supper and headed to bed exhausted but so grateful to see Petra.
From the port of Safari, we were bused to Luxor, Egypt 3 1/2 hours away from our ship. Luxor is the site of Ancient Thebes, and the location of the Temple of Karnak and the Valley of the Kings. We had a two hour tour of the Temple and only saw a fourth of the area. The temperature that day was 108 degrees. Lots of water was drunk that day. The remains of this large temple include the lined entrance of lions, the tallest obelisk at 97.5 feet, huge expanses of hieroglyphs, and columns. There are few columns that have the original paint colors. Just amazing.
After a wonderful lunch, we headed out to the Valley of the Kings. The site is home to 63 Egyptian tombs including the most famous King Tut. This was discovered by Howard Carter in 1921. The tomb was never discovered by grave robbers and so it held thousands of valuable items that would make the pharaoh's afterlife richer. This time we were in the desert and the temperature reached 110 degrees. So glad we took extra water and more water was provided. We returned after 13 1/2 hours to our ship and ate a very light meal and went to bed.
Baboon paintings in King Tut's tomb
We now are completing our 2 days at sea and will dock at Port Said on Friday afternoon. Our next adventure will take us to Cairo, the pyramids of Giza, and the Sphinx. It is supposed to be 20 degrees cooler on this 11 hour excursion. Let's hope.
Stay safe and I will post next Saturday. Hard to believe we only have four weeks left of this amazing adventure.
Such great things you are getting to see! I didn't realize there would be such colorful paintings on the walls and buildings. I wonder what they used that has lasted so long!
ReplyDelete