Where does the time go? I see it's been AGES since I've added to my little blog and lots has happened this year.
It's a challenge to find fast internet while traveling, so altho I intend on updating things when I get home, I seem to get waylaid somehow (or maybe I'm just lazy?!).
I had a terrific cruise I worked with Holland America that started near the end of March and ran into April. It was my first visit ever to the Middle East and also coincided with the height of the Arab Spring that was changing the dynamics of this ancient part of the world almost daily.
Needless to say, I had some trepidations but I'm so happy I went as it was an unforgettable experience!
St. Augustine is quoted as saying,
"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page."
There's nothing like actually visiting a part of the world to help you understand how all the countries and cultures fit together; really changes my perspective. If you, like I used to do, think of the Middle East as one sort of mass, here's a map to show you my journey this trip. I took a LONG flight to Dubai, United Arab Emerites where I met the ship. From there we sailed to Muscat and Salalah, Oman; then around Yemen (yeesh!) up into the Red Sea where we stopped at Safaga, Egypt (outside of Luxor) and I disembarked in Aqaba in the magical Kingdom of Jordan.
I was fairly done in by the time I reached Dubai, arriving at the ship about 1:00 in the morning. Dubai has the look and feel of a very modern, western city. Unfortunately, altho I had the time the following day to visit downtown, we were docked a good distance and about a $25 cab ride each direction away from town. I'm sure I would've found many great sights to visit, but with my ignorance of the town and without a "must see" draw, I took the time to collect myself and adapt to the time change.
Some friends were kind enough to share their photos with me; you might enjoy this view of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.
My first port of call was Muscat in the Kingdom of Oman. With a rather desolate countryside; it exactly fit my idea of a middle eastern desert town. We did visit a cool Suq, or market, which reminded me of a smaller version of the huge market in Istanbul. Loads of brass goods, spices, textiles, etc.
There was a wall of beautiful murals decorating the entrance of the Suq. In spite of the heat, we were advised to wear long trousers in lieu of shorts in deference to local Arab customs.
In ancient times, Muscat was a walled city. I believe the walls have been destroyed (at least we saw no sign of them) but about a dozen of the watch towers still dot the hillsides around the city.
David Gordon, another guest entertainer who was part of a terrific group called The Unexpected Boys, and I shared an interest in photographing locals who epitomized their cultures. He was kind enough to share many of his photos with me including this one of men lounging outside of their stall at the suq.
One of the Sultan's two yachts was docked in the harbor; right across from where we enjoyed an outdoor lunch.
Walking around Muscat, we came upon this beautiful mosque. I've seen dozens of mosques but never one painted so colorfully.
One of the best parts of my work is that I usually get to travel and work with great people. From the guests to the other acts, I've made wonderful and lifelong friends. I was lucky this trip to be sailing with an amazing quartet: Kasey, Eric, David and JD. Their fantastic show, The Unexpected Boys, is a tribute to the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
We all stepped off the ship in Salalah, Oman into an absolute moonscape of a desert. We really had very low expectations but just a short walk from the ship was a small beach that bordered on what looked like a total oasis behind a fence with some serious security. You can see part of it behind JD's shoulder in the photo above and in the greenery in the photo below. Turns out this is where the King flies in to pick up one of his two yachts. The beach and cliffs that surround it were open to the public and we spent a great afternoon chilling in the water, climbing the rocks and enjoying the sunshine. It was gorgeous.
Salalah, Oman
I had been apprehensive about sailing in the waters around Yemen as the news had been featuring headlines of all sorts of Yemini pirate attacks all year. There's a flotilla of international navies that maintain a safe channel for ships sailing thru this area and we made it without incident.
Everyone onboard had been discouraged because due to the political upheaval in Egypt, that part of the cruise had been cancelled. We were enjoying a sea day (no ports) after Yemin when the Captain came on the speaker and told us that we'd been cleared to stop just outside of Luxor the following day, and that Egypt was back on the itinerary!
We were all thrilled and along with my new friends we lucked out and were able to take part in a crew tour into ancient Egypt. Of course the pyramids up nearer to Cairo are the quintessential Egyptian attraction, but I think we did even better on our trip.
A motorcoach whisked us from the port of Safaga on the Red Sea several hours inland. There were periodic security checkpoints which we sailed thru and at each slow down the local people waved, smiled and cheered us. We could not have enjoyed a more heartfelt welcome. I think they also recognize the importance of tourism to their economy and we were one of the few groups to make it through that season. The benefit to us is that we enjoyed the ultra-popular venues with minimal crowds.
I was amazed as the valley through which we drove was a green oasis with thousands of acres of serious agriculture. From soy to sugar cane the belt cut a green swath between the mountains and through the desert. Even more incredible is that the majority of it seemed to be executed without the aid of any modern farm equipment such as tractors. We saw only animal and human labor at work at what must be something like Egypt's bread basket.
Our first stop was at the Valley of the Kings, where dozens of tombs of the Pharaohs have been excavated. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any photographs at all but it was a thrill to be able to descend into the tombs with the walls completely covered in hieroglyphs and art. I'm sorry to offer so little a description, but the memories are wonderful and I highly encourage you to visit if you make it to that part of the world.
On our way to Luxor, we passed a site where they've placed the "Colessi of Memnon". These two immense statues originally guarded a temple on the banks of the Nile. After many floods the statues were in danger of being destroyed which is indeed what happened to the temple they protected. The statues were moved here to insure their safety.
To my mind, the temple at Luxor is the epitome of an Egyptian ruin. It has everything except for pyramids: enormous rows of columns, statues of sphinx(s!), a gargantuan obelisk and loads of hieroglyphs everywhere. To walk thru Luxor is truly to step back into time.
We took dozens of photographs and I wish I could share them all with you here. This was a real highlight for me; what a privilege to be able to see such spectacular sights first hand!
As I approached the end of my journey, we sailed across the Red Sea and north to the Kingdom of Jordan. Situated right between Israel and Saudi Arabia, I was to fly home from the capital city of Amman (not to be confused with the country of Oman) after spending an evening in the Jordanian port of Aqaba. Just writing the names of these exotic places fills my head with images of the Arabian Nights; I know it's cliché but it's also the way it so often still is.
I had enjoyed some amazing sights this trip but nothing prepared me for what lay ahead. I had hoped to take a tour with the guests to the site of Petra but we were warned that Jordanian immigration can often take hours and as I was disembarking the ship was pretty devastated that I had to bow out of the tour.
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| Port of Aqaba, Jordan |
I had the good luck that another fantastic performer and all around great guy named Davie Howes was disembarking with me on the same trip home. A totally mad english musician, Davie was terrific and optimistic and assured me that we'd sort it all out once we got to the hotel.
Sure enough, we breezed thru Jordanian immigration and the port agent had us delivered to our hotel by 11:00 AM. Davie asked him about a private tour to Petra and the port agent made arrangements for a driver to pick us up from the hotel, drive us the 2+ hours to Petra, wait for us to see the sights, and then drive us back. A private tour and it cost almost the same as the group tour with the guests, so I was thrilled beyond words. I think our driver was the port agent's nephew or something, but why question good fortune?!
It was quite a long drive on modern highway through the Jordanian desert. I don't mean piles of sand, but dry mountains and rock.
You may think you don't know what Petra is but you probably do: There's an area near Petra proper called Wadi Rumm which is where many scenes from the film Lawrence of Arabia were shot. Most people know Petra itself because it's where the final exciting scenes for Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were filmed.
The site remained unknown to the Western world until 1812, when it was introduced by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. It was described as "a rose-red city half as old as time" in a Newdigate Prize-winning poem by John William Burgon. UNESCO has described it as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage." Petra was chosen by the BBC as one of "the 40 places you have to see before you die".
If you'd like to know more about Petra, I found a really cool website that 's a quick read and explains many of the myths and legends of the ancient "Rose-Red City" which truly dates back thousands of years:
or, check out the official website:
As we drove, we climbed higher into the mountains to see huge valleys which ancient Bedouin tribes still call home. They're mostly shepherds and we passed goat herders and saw the huge tents where the communities live on sort of an open range.
We finally arrived at the entrance to the city of Petra. It's a huge affair and set up not unlike a National Park in the United States. The entrance is protected and I think I remember it costing about $US 70.00 for the entrance fee. Worth every penny and more!
There's amazing history at every turn with dozens of tombs both simple and fantastic carved out of and into the rock.
The site covers a huge area; as you walk you gradually enter an incredible sort of canyon, a crevice cut into the stone called a siq (seek).
There are vendors who provide transportation for parts of the visit; some segments featured horse drawn carts or horseback delivery, even camel rides are offered. The ground becomes almost like cobblestone at times and is most often very uneven. I think the people we saw taking the rides paid a higher price in comfort than those of us who walked.
The siq is quite deep, in some places almost several hundred feet deep, altho in places it may only be 10-13 feet across the chasm. Notice the people at the bottom of the photo to give you an idea of the scale which was mind blowing to say the least. The light played against the colored striations in the stone and was really breath taking.
Much more than a guarded entrance to their city, the ancients created a sort of aqueduct carved into the sides of the siq to both collect and move water to support their community.
The main, traditional trail for the whole affair including the siq, theater and buildings is about 4 kilometers long. If you're a fan of Indiana Jones, this is the chasm where the villains chased Harrison Ford and his friends on a horseback chase which ended at the "Temple" where the Holy Grail was said to be hidden.
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| My buddy Davie Howes looking for his mummy! |
The siq winds along with amazing views at each turn, little temples or tombs carved into the sides from time to time. Everything is open and available to touch or climb; there wasn't much to see (but sometimes lots to smell!) inside the little chambers.
Finally, you know what's coming and suddenly there's a long, vertical gap in the rock ahead of you and peeking through it is the rose colored Al Khazneh, more popularly known as The Treasury and even though you've been expecting it, you almost can't believe your eyes...
Without a doubt, it's one of the most magical, incredible places on the entire earth. I do hope you can experience it for yourself one day as I promise it's unforgettable.
The chasm opens to a large clearing and carved into the rock is the famous Treasury. It was actually built as a tomb but is renowned world wide for its beauty and incredible architecture. The entire façade including the free standing columns was carved into the walls of the canyon. It's quite large and I'm afraid all the superlatives in the world can't come close to accurately describing it.
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| I make friends everywhere I go! |
Beyond the Treasury, the siq gives way to a huge open canyon featuring all sorts of carved buildings, an amphitheater, tombs, temples and churches and all sorts of wonderful sights.
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| Forever grateful to Davie for helping make my visit to Petra a reality |
After a quick dinner of soup and lamb in the town at Petra, we were driven back to our hotel in Aqaba and to pack, relax and appreciate a truly unforgettable experience.
Now the flight from Aqaba up to Amman to make our connection home was another whole story. Airport security took hours to be processed and there were only a handful of passengers at the little terminal. No matter, Jordan was fantastic and my visit will always mark one of the most memorable trips of my life. I know I'm very lucky to have opportunities, but really, you should go!
I'm not kidding..... GO!
