Middle East Adventure

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Post #1

November 16, 2011 – Transiting the Suez Canal

One’s destination is never a place – but a new way of seeing things.

Henry Miller

BROWN… that is my first impression of Egypt. Everything around you is brown; the sand, landscape, buildings, and streets (brown and littered). The antiquities are also brown, but so impressive! We have had an unbelievably busy schedule with today being the first full day on the ship transiting the Suez Canal. We just started that journey so I won’t blog about it till I get to that part of the trip.

We had smooth flights with easy connections, no jet lag and immediately started our pre-cruise package in Cairo. The first day took us to The Three Great Pyramids of Giza, Sphinx, Mohamed Ali Mosque, the Citadel and Egyptian Museum. I couldn’t believe I was standing in front of the pyramids. Pictures do not even begin to indicate its grandness (so all of you who only want to live vicariously through our blog are in trouble… you must see it for yourself to really appreciate it! – But I will do my best so you may see it through my eyes in words and pictures).

The Pyramids are grand and very close to the city of Cairo. They peek out over the tops of the buildings. The stone work on the Pyramids is amazing to see and comprehend that it was constructed thousands of years ago and all by hand. The Sphinx is just a short distance below the Pyramids and carved from one piece of stone. The features are not as distinctive as I had believed but still impressive. The Mohammad Ali Mosque located in the Citadel is very large, ornate and grand. We toured the Mosque and were allowed to wander through it on our own without access restrictions or head dress requirements for the ladies. The religious accoutrements are visible everywhere even with the name of Allah carved into the foliage of the trees.

The Egyptian Museum has the complete Tutankhamen exhibit including the gold mask and jewels; the mummified bodies of several kings; and lots of ancient artifacts. The museum does not allow any photos… so you will have to see that one on your own. The Nile River at night is aglow with tour boats all lit up (reminiscent of Shanghai). We were able to watch an Egyptian - Muslim Wedding Procession that took place in our hotel. It was very interesting to see with drums, bagpipes (who knew they were part of the Arabic culture), chanting and men dancing together. There is no actual ceremony, only this celebration after the marriage contract is signed. After the above they then went into the reception and darn, we weren’t invited. We did take our picture on the steps used for the wedding procession; luckily we didn’t have to sign a marriage contract. The city of Egypt was a bit sad to look at… lots of litter and disarray with many buildings falling apart and the majority of them discolored from the pollution in the air. The pollution is very visible especially in the mornings when it sort of hangs over the city. We came to Egypt for the historic sites, which exceeded our expectations and will have to wipe off the dusty memory of the city.

The next morning we flew to Luxor and visited the Karnak & Luxor Temples. Karnak’s columns spiral up to the sky and you feel dwarfed in their presence. The hieroglyphic engravings and pictures are mostly natural stone as the years have faded the color from the pictures and writings. But the underside of the ceilings (where they are still intact) is beautifully colored. The Egyptians used kohl for black, lapis for a beautiful deep blue and turquoise to create the coloring. It has remained vivid and amazing to see. Just recently they have discovered an almost mile long connection between the two temples. The roadway was flanked by hundreds of Sphinxes’. They are in the process of excavating the area to once again connect the two Temples. This is a monumental task as homes and businesses have been built over them; it was not known they were underground. We were able to see a few areas that have already been excavated. We saw two other terrific Temples each with its own distinctive carvings and statutes. Now on to the Valley of the Kings… AMAZING. There are 62 tombs in the Valley of the Kings. We saw the inside of three tombs and each one was distinctive with much of the original colors and engravings visible. Again, no pictures were allowed.

We felt very safe at all times especially since the US government requires an armed guard accompanying all bus tours. The Egyptians were extremely welcoming, wanting you to enjoy your visit. They are hurting terribly from the lack of tourism and want the world to know it is safe to visit Egypt. Our guide indicated that we were the first tour group he escorted since the revolution begun in January.

Next stop was the port of Safaga, Egypt and boarding the cruise ship. We were sailing to Jordan to see Petra, and the Wadi Rum (not the liquor but the high mountains). Petra cannot adequately be described in words. You hike in for about 20 minutes through a beautiful canyon with carvings, some temples and tomb sites. The guides are very clever and make you stand to one side as you actually approach the opening to the Petra Temple. They then shift you over to the left and there it is, the beautiful pink edifice peeking through the small opening in the canyon. I had no idea there were so many tombs with beautiful edifices and an amphitheater within Petra. There is only one entrance to Petra and it was covered in sand so it lay dormant for thousands of years with no one knowing it was there. Petra was discovered in the early 19^th century and is still being uncovered. Only nine years ago the floor level was excavated an additional ten feet revealing the original stone paths, additional carvings, tombs and a third level to the Temple which is now being excavated. The Nebateans built Petra and were conquered by the Romans who jointly shared Petra for a time. The Romans could not get into the canyon as there is only the one entrance so they waited it out, cutting off the water supply (there are aqueducts along the canyon walls that supplied the water) so eventually they had to come out and were conquered. It is truly a sight to put on your bucket list!

The Wadi Rum (valley-high mountain) is the desert of Lawrence of Arabia fame, vast with high mountains surrounding it. We had dinner in the desert at a Bedouin camp. Dinner was served in tents, sitting on cushions with local food and entertainment. A bit overdone but a good experience. Next day we visited Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt - a beautiful resort area with over 300 luxury hotels. We snorkeled in the Red Sea with beautiful weather, fantastic reefs and just O.K. fish life.

Today we entered the Suez Canal transiting from 6:00 AM till late afternoon. It is not as dramatic as the Panama Canal as there are no locks. All traffic goes in one direction at a time and there are areas set for waiting ships to go in the opposite direction. It has been a quite wonderful “sea” day catching up on rest, eating, enjoying the beautiful Seven Seas Navigator and I even won the putting championship (two Regent points – win a million and get a hat – or something like that).

So this is the end of our first Blog session. Hope you enjoyed it with some interesting information and pictures. Feel free to comment, email or not. We are blessed to have this time exploring and traveling… look forward to communicating again.

Pat – writer, photographer

Mike – blog poster, picture captions

The Great Pyramids outside Cairo, Egypt - WOW!

The word "ALLAH" in Arabic trimmed in a tree in the Citidel
Cairo, Egypt

The Mohamed Ali Mosque - located in the Citidel
Cairo, Egypt

The Semi Automatic weapon carefully hidden under the suit jacket of the security guard that accompanied each tour group... just in case. Egypt

We got close enough to touch them - but didn't
Cairo, Egypt

The Three Great Pyramids of Giza - Egypt

The sphinx was carved from one block of stone - Egypt

The Nile at night - Luxor, Egypt

Over a mile of sphinx statues line the street between Karnak and Luxor Temples

Luxor, Egypt

Area for the start of a Muslem wedding procession - with two fill-ins
Luxor, Egypt

The columns of Karnak Temple
Luxor, Egypt

The ceiling with paintings still intact - Luxor, Egypt

A statue of Ramses II, Luxor, Egypt

More colored panels - on the ceiling so they did not fade
Luxor, Egypt

Still more colored panels
Luxor, Egypt

A portrait of Ramses II

Luxor, Egypt

Two rock fish at the Aqaba Aquarium - not hard to see how they got their name
Jordan

The first glimpse of Petra Temple - Jordan

Full view of the Temple at Petra carved into the cliff

Jordan

Large carved out Ampitheater at Petra
Jordan

Upscale tombs - must have been bankers - Petra, Jordan

Original stone path to Petra, Jordan

On horseback for the return trip from Petra - Jordan

The seven pillars of Wisdom in the Wadi Rum
Jordan

Bedouin camp welcoming us for dinner - Jordan

The tents we used for dinner - Bedouin camp - Jordan

Talk about "take out" they are taking our dinner out of the ground!
Bedouin camp - Jordan

Really upscale house on the shore at Sharm El Sheik, Egypt

Post #2

November 25, 2011 - Malta

We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.

Hilaire Belloc

Masada… our first tour in Israel. We took a private tour with four other people we met on the ship and it was a terrific experience. You take the cable car up to Masada which sits on top of the mountain overlooking the Dead Sea. King Herod built it as a “get away” retreat and also a safe haven in case of attack. He had it designed very extravagantly in case Caesar was to visit him there; actually Herod only visited Masada once without Caesar. There were Roman Baths with elaborate mosaics, a dining room with an expansive view of the sea, a bird room with Pigeon Holes (who knew they actually had Pigeons in pigeon holes – I’ve only seen mail in pigeon holes), and many other rooms. The ruins have been beautifully restored with great effort made to keep the integrity of the original rooms, wall painting and mosaics.

During the first Jewish - Roman War in the 1^st Century, approximately 300 Jews used Masada to escape from the Romans. They were able to keep the Romans from attacking their mountain top by rolling stones down on them as the Romans tried to reach them. The Romans built forts surrounding the mountain and eventually built a ramp to attack. Before the Romans reached the top, the residents of Masada all committed suicide rather than be taken as Roman prisoners. A sad ending to an amazing site.

We then went to the Dead Sea, putting our feet in the very salty water. Didn’t swim or slather ourselves with the mud, we were pressed for time but at least we can say we were in the Dead Sea (at least I can – Mike didn’t go in).

Next day we spent in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. We took a highlight tour and were very disappointed. I was expecting to have a spiritual experience walking the Via Dolorosa… the route Christ took on his way to Calvary. Jerusalem was so busy with people everywhere; the Stations of the Cross were marked in small nooks and crannies within the market place. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher houses several of the other Stations of the Cross; they are memorialized within the Church. The Church is packed with people and noise. I asked our guide if it is always this busy and he laughed telling me that this is the quiet season… you should see it when it is really busy. We saw the Garden of Gethsemane and said a prayer at the Western Wall. We then went to Bethlehem to the Church of the Nativity – the first Catholic Church built 300 years after Christ’s death by Constantine’s Mother. It is recognized as the site of Jesus’ birth and again it was crowded and noisy with many people waiting to view the actual site. I am glad I walked the steps that Christ took and saw the site of his birth, but I was disappointed….

Traveling to Bethlehem we had to enter a Palestinian Authority area. We saw the separating wall which is such a major factor in the area. We had a quick and uneventful crossing at the checkpoint, but our guide said at times the wait can be several hours long. We picked up a Palestinian tour guide after crossing, as the Israeli guides defer to them while in the West Bank. It was very civilized between them and they tried to give the impression of détente.

The next day we spent in Israel, we saw the beautiful Baha’i Temple and gardens, and then we were off to Acre to see the Citadel of the Templar Knights. The Ancient City of Acre has only been recently discovered and is still intact. It was buried under debris and is in the process of being unearthed. There are the halls where the knights met, the dungeons and the tunnel used to travel from the city to the port. Poor Mike was so hunched over getting through the tunnels, but it was amazing when you came out the other end to face the sea before you. There is very interesting history associated with the site and terrific to see.

We spent three days in Israel and were constantly being told how wonderful the country is… it really was rather tiresome. I am sure the Israeli people are proud of their country and what it stands for as a Jewish person, but I felt they were trying to brain wash us. We were even told that Israel is the best place in the world to live, with the best of everything. I held my tongue and didn’t say – why don’t you try someplace else before you pass judgment. Previous to this, the guides in the Muslim countries of Egypt, Jordan and Turkey voiced such distain for the Shiite Muslims and want no part of them. They wanted you to know how tolerant they were of other religions, living close by Christians, even having them as friends. Of course, they never even mentioned that Jews existed and were not part of their countries. It is such a complex part of the world… very interesting to witness and learn about directly from the people who live there. Enough “Social Commentary” and on to vacationing….

Cyprus

– our port was Limassol and lovely. There are many churches, very religious Orthodox Christians, even a small Chapel in the port area. We visited the ruins of a 1^st century temple – Sanctuary of Apollo with remains from an ancient villa with the most amazing mosaic work in the Roman Baths. Then it was off to the most charming village of Omodos. We wandered the streets viewing the beautiful white-washed village on a hill top with ancient stone walkways. It was a Sunday morning and the village square was filled with locals having coffee with friends, lunch with family or shopping for fresh vegetables. It was the kind of place that makes you feel tranquil; never wanting to leave.

But… it was back to the ship and on to our next port. That is what is terrible and wonderful about cruising. You get to see so many wonderful sights, but can’t stop and stay when you find somewhere you absolutely love. We have seen so many wonderful sights and more to tell about, but in the next blog. Hope you are still enjoying. Look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for all your great comments and emails.

Love,

Pat & Mike

Mountaintop where Masada was built.
Masada, Israel

Window view from the top of Masada, Israel

King Herod's Dining Room on Masada, Israel

A Shadow Kiss on the wall

Masada, Israel

Pigeon Holes - Actually used for pigeons
Masada, Israel

2000 year old Mosaic in the bath house on Masada, Israel

Ruins of some of the rooms on Masada, Israel

One of seven Roman forts surrounding Masada

built during the siege in the 1st century

Standing in the Dead Sea
Israel

A pot of mud from the Dead Sea

Israel

The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, Israel

The Garden of Gethsemane on Mt Olive - Jerusalem, Israel

The Western Wall - Where Jesus is expected to return

He did not show while we were there

Churches in Jerusalem
Israel

The section of the Western wall set aside for praying
Israel

The Via Dolorosa

Touching the place where Jesus leaned against the wall

Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Jerusalem, Israel

Stained Glass window in church of the nativity in Bethlehem, Israel

Original floor from the first Christian Church

Bethlehem, Israel

Baha'i Temple in Haifa, Israel

Haifa, Israel - harbor and our ship

The Knights Hall in the Acre Citadel - from the Crusades

Acre, Israel

Prisoners were dropped through this hole into the dungeon below

Citadel - Acre, Israel

Tunnel for Templar Knights to get from Citadel to Seaport - Acre, Israel

Port reached from the Templar Tunnel

Acre, Israel

Flower planters made from shoes - seems like a waste of shoes to me (Pat).

Acre, Israel

Ruins of the sanctuary of Apollo Hylates 1st Century BC

Cyprus

Ruins of the sanctuary of Apollo Hylates 1st Century BC

Cyprus

Mosaic from the Eustolios House on Cyprus

Original Stone road in Omodos, Cyprus

Ancient Olive Oil jars used for decoration outside a house - Omodos, Cyprus

House with grape arbor in Omodos, Cyprus

Small chapel on the dock in Cyprus

Post #3

December 4, 2011 – Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

The World is a Book and those who do not travel read only one page.

St. Augustine

Turkey

and Rhodes, Greece – incredible ancient archeological sites. It is amazing to stand in ancient towns built 4,000 years ago with mosaics, theater seating areas, carvings and pillars still intact. To see the gates where the Gladiators entered the stadium and below the gates, the doors where the animals entered the theater (Oh no! Thank goodness I wasn’t the Christian on the stage this time).

When the ship docked in Alanya, Turkey the impressive ancient walled city loomed above us. We visited several sites, each one more amazing than the one before it. Aspendos’ theater accommodated 15,000 people – that was almost the entire town. We thought we had seen unbelievable sites in Turkey but it paled to Rhodes, Greece. We entered a walled city with beautifully preserved and impressive gates. Many of the mosaics from various different sites throughout Rhodes have been painstakingly moved (small sections at a time) and reset in the Palace of the Knights within the old city. They are now preserved for generations to come.

After the city tour we went to the mountaintop Acropolis of Lindos… 300 steps UP! You leisurely walk unescorted down, as there is a small village with winding streets. There are houses, a church and shops selling souvenirs and other assorted goodies. There is also a rest room carved in the mountain with (almost) modern facilities. And now the coup de gras… Kusadasi, Turkey. We first visited the celebrated home of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A nun in Germany had a vision of this site in

Turkey

as Mary’s home; she mapped it out with specific details. After she died the papers were discovered and the map was followed to this site. All the info in her writings matched the foot print on this site. After Jesus was crucified, The Blessed Mother was taken care of by the Apostle John who spent much of his time in Turkey, so the likelihood of her home being in Turkey is great. Whether or not it was her home does not matter, it is celebrated as a holy site and this is the place where I felt the most spirituality of the entire trip. There is a prayer wall where you tie a tissue with your prayer request to it. We placed our prayers on the wall and felt a great peacefulness.

We covered a lot of ground in Turkey… our next stop Ephesus – WOW! The city of Ephesus was huge and an amazing archeological site. The village is only about 20% uncovered with constant work being done to uncover and restore the town. There were people on our tour who had been there about 8 years ago and were amazed at the progress that has been made. The ancient town was very sophisticated with running water, heated rooms, sewerage pipes and even latrines. They had an impressive Library, scored pavement so chariots going downhill had traction, backgammon games carved on a stone, and amazing stone monuments and carvings. It is one of my favorite ancient sites we visited on this trip.

Our next stop was Valletta, Malta with buildings know for their elaborate wooden balconies and the Maltese cross. We visited several sites along with the newly discovered Catacombs (I didn’t include pictures). After Ephesus, these were nice, but I won’t bore you with too much from Malta.

Our last sea day was spent relaxing, eating and socializing with several incredibly nice people we met. Richard and Margaret from the Blue Mountains of Australia were great drinking and dining buddies who we had lots of fun with. They would fit right in with our friends back home; we really enjoyed our time together and look forward to keeping in touch with them. Margaret really liked some of my Patti’s Pretties Jewelry and went home with a few pieces… do you think I can write the trip off as a business expense??? NOT!

Last overnight stop on the cruise and disembarkation was Barcelona, Spain. We toured the city visiting the Art Museum and viewing some wonderful Architecture including Gaudi’s Basilica – Segrada Familia, which has been under construction for several decades. There is now a huge push to complete the construction using Gaudi’s original plan. It will probably take another decade to finish the construction. I guess we will have to put Barcelona back on our visit list.

I will make this the end of the third Blog and save the Canary Islands for next time (which will be after we get home). Enjoy, thanks again for your emails and comments... keep them coming.

Pat & Mike

Walled City – view as we entered the harbor - Alanya, Turkey

1^st Century Roman Theater – no popcorn! - Aspendos, Turkey

Gladiator Entrance Above and Animal Entrance Below - Aspendos, Turkey

Carved lintel from theater - Aspendos, Turkey

Larger Roman theater – good for football - Side, Turkey

Columns along roadway to theater - Side, Turkey

Animal carving - Side, Turkey

Gates to walled city - Rhodes, Greece

Second set of gates - Rhodes

, Greece

Mosaic – Medusa - in the Palace of the knights – built during the Crusades

Rhodes, Greece

Mosaic – Garden scene

Palace of the knights – built during the Crusades

Rhodes

, Greece

Yet anotherMosaic –
Palace of the knights – built during the Crusades
Rhodes

, Greece

Statue said to be MichaelAngelo’s inspiration for David

Rhodes, Greece

Postal Delivery – that's why we are doing a blog instead of the mail

Rhodes, Greece

For overnight mail delivery there was Kitty Express

Rhodes, Greece

The Acropolis of Lindos – we have to walk WHERE?

Rhodes, Greece

The Acropolis of Lindos - Rhodes, Greece

Mosaic made from polished stones in a walkway - Rhodes, Greece

Restrooms carved into the mountain – talk about granite countertops!

Rhodes, Greece

Retirement home of Blessed Virgin Mary - Ephesus

, Turkey

Prayer Wall with tissue prayers – Ephesus, Turkey

Hadrian’s Temple – Ephesus, Turkey

Hadrian’s Gate – Ephesus, Turkey

The Library – Ephesus, Turkey

Communal Latrine – worse than the army! - Ephesus

, Turkey

Scored street stones to provide traction on hills.- Ephesus, Turkey

Street sign showing the way to a Physician’s house – Ephesus, Turkey

Cat posing for a statue – Ephesus, Turkey

Wooden balconies in Valletta, Malta

More wooden balconies in Valletta, Malta

The famous Maltese cross

The Segrada Familia Basilica – Gaudi’s design started in 1915 and still not completed - Barcelona, Spain

View of Barcelona from Art Museum - Barcelona, Spain

Fabulous building – Barcelona, Spain

Another Great building – Barcelona, Spain

Post #4

December 5, 2011- En route home

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel… until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.

Lin Yutang

Bucket List… well, I can cross The Canary Islands off my list – been there, done that. Mike wanted to know why I had the Canaries on my list. I am not really sure why, but I am glad I did. Sometimes you imagine a specific destination that would be interesting to see. The Canaries sounded exotic, in the middle of the ocean, off the coast of Africa, and no one I know had ever been there. I am not sure many Americans ever think of going there. We didn’t meet one person from the

America

’s (North or South) while we were there. Most visitors are from northern European countries, especially Germany. People were amazed we were vacationing there when we said we came from the USA.

We decided this would be a low key week after coming off the non-stop terrific cruise. We stayed at a time share, ate many meals on our terrace, including a frozen pizza and drank “One Euro Paulo” wine (you must have heard of “Two Buck Chuck” from Trader Joe’s – so we named this wine ourselves). We couldn’t believe a bottle of wine could cost one Euro. It was the only dry white wine we could find in the market, so we bought a bottle. We were amazed… it was terrific, produced in the Canaries and probably no taxes or tariffs, thus very cheap. We have the cork and will look for it when we get home. We really ran the gamut on this vacation… Regent Cruises with Champagne and Caviar for breakfast and the Canaries with Pizza and One Euro Paulo wine.

We alternated quiet days, pool or beach, with escapades throughout the island. When I say escapades I am not kidding… street signs do not exist on most roads and the maps only show about 20% of the roads, mostly winding and curvy. The inland’s small towns nestled in the mountain side are beautiful and peaceful. They overlook the most amazing rock formations with one side of the mountain dry (about a 3 hour drive to the top) and the other side lush. The coastal towns overlooking the ocean are precariously perched along the side of the mountains with dozens of hotels stacked high above the sea. An amazing contrast within the same island.

On one of our days touring around we found an Aboriginal village that was recreated to show the life of the original inhabitants of the Canaries. The Aborigines had a cast system, with the aristocracy living in grand quarters (larger stone huts), cloistered nuns, and the lowest of the low was the executioner. They had an eye for an eye justice system and the death penalty was a boulder pummeling your head. An education in justice made Mike behave for the remainder of the trip.

One day we visited the city stopping to see the caldera of a dormant volcano on the way. We toured the city of Las Palmas including a beautiful Teatro from the 1800’s with amazing acoustics. We visited a home where Christopher Columbus stayed en route to America. We stopped in a small market and bought local cheeses, olives, bread, and cured meats. We had one of the best meals sitting on our terrace, eating the above with cheap wine. Life is good!

It was wonderful to view another country with its differences and similarities. Young schoolgirls in Las Palmas wanting to chat because we spoke English; Santa climbing up the side of the buildings because there are no chimneys; not being able to make eye contact with the German tourists; sitting in an al fresco, mountainside café chatting with the young owners trying to make a go of a new business; potato chips flavored with prosciutto (I will dream of them forever); road workers hanging out and not working; the best truffles EVER in Las Palmas; passing people biking up the most unbelievable narrow, steep and winding roads; out of order computer signs that made us laugh (Kaputt) and just soaking up the local culture.

We had a fabulous vacation, truly blessed to be able to see so many amazing places. Thanks for traveling along with us.

Pat & Mike