Israel

Haifa at night

We have 3 days in Israel between 2 ports – Ashdod and Haifa.  Today it was Ashdod and we chose to visit the Masada and the Dead Sea which unfortunately had the horrid starting time of 6:45am.  New country new immigration/security procedures.  In Israel we are issued a B type visa that is a driver's license sized card with our passport picture on it and the dates we can be in the country and warned not to lose it or it would be much hassle and $400 to replace.  Go through the scanners show our ship card, that new card and our passport multiple times and we are on our bus on our way to Masada.

Along the way we see the land and learn about how there are tectonic plates in the area that were related to the recent earthquake in Turkey and how they usually have an earthquake here every 100 years and they are overdue, so we were kidding/hoping for no earthquake while we were on top of the mountain.  Happily, no issues there. 

Masada

 We take the cable car up to the top of the mountain.  It was built as a palace by Herod and is an impressive piece of construction for its time with multi levels and tiers and a cistern and baths all the good roman architecture stuff.  Oh, I should add it is atop of a large hill 1,424 feet above and overlooking the Dead Sea.  All that is nice, but its claim to fame happened after Herod was gone.  The Romans took over the country and there was an uprising by the Jews.  The Romans had squelched it all except for a bunch of Jewish zealots who were holed up in the palace (Masada) with their families.  The Romans decide it was time to get them in line so they come with an army of thousands and first build an earthen ramp to get up to the top of the hill and then with all the modern equipment of the time – catapults, burning arrows and a battering ram they waged battle.  The zealots were outnumbered and then the walls of their structure caught on fire and the battering ram did its job.  For whatever reason, the Romans decided to enjoy a night in their camps and then come get the people the next morning.  Well, that night the Jews all disappeared.  Per our guide and Jewish tradition, they killed their families and each other till the last one committed suicide – well 3 people were found alive.  Now the online resources I saw said that they have never found any proof of the Jews killing themselves (like bones, etc in the area).  So anyway, it is a neat UNESCO heritage site and we got to ride a cable car up the mountain. 

Dead Sea

After that it was on to a hotel for lunch and the beach.  Beach as in Dead Sea.  We were with Tom and Linda and another couple from our ride in Wadi Rum playing in the water.  Amazing things from a visit to the Dead Sea:  the bottom is salt – no sand so you get pieces of salt between your toes; you can NOT swim in it; since you can't get our body be face down; if the water is deep enough, you can stand up right floating – no touching the bottom; floating on your back is the thing to do and incredibly easy.  In short, you are very buoyant, and it is a unique experience.

white lines are salt harvesting sites

Jerusalem

Next day we are in a new port of Haifa and have planned a 12-hour day trip to Jerusalem and Bethlehem.  For some reason I am not very excited about this trip - maybe the long bus ride, or maybe foreboding I don't know, but the trip had problems as in bus trouble.  Go through the security lines and get on the bus to find some broken seats and a bus not in great shape - what I expected in some of the Asian countries not Israel.  Find acceptable seats and start on our way.  Make a "comfort stop" at a not so nice gas station and our troubles begin.  Come out to find the equivalent of a hood is up on the bus.  We get on and the guide tells us there is a maintenance issue and it will be a few minutes.  Happily, they seem to fix it and we are on our way.  Or not.  We pull over on the shoulder for a few minutes and the driver gets off does something and we are on our way again.  Or not.  Next time he pulls off on an exit ramp and admits defeat to somebody because our guide says a new bus will be coming so we sit.  Bus shows up faster than expected - yeah - oh one of the other tour buses has come to rescue us and get us to Jerusalem - hey I'll take it.  Our ride drops us off at the Jaffa Gate to the Old City.

Old City of Jerusalem 

The old city walls were built by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in the mid 16th century.   Our guide tells us about how what we now see as a road was formerly the moat but it was converted for a wife of an Austrian king when they visited.   Then we walk down the road which is narrow and start seeing shops in the bazaar.  

Church of the Holy Sepulchre 

Various Christian groups, including the Greek, Roman, Armenian, and Coptic churches, control parts of the present church and conduct services regularly.  Our guide gives us advice as to which way to go within the church to see things and then sends us to fight the mobs.

The Alter of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ

Edicule, The purported Tomb of Jesus Christ

At one point in the bazaar, we turn and join the Via Dolorosa which is the road pilgrims would take.  We pass several stations of the cross on the outside of the walls of the buildings.  

Temple Mount

Western Wall (aka Wailing Wall)

Dome of the Rock

Bethlehem 

Segregation of Israel

One thing I was clueless about before the trip to Bethlehem is that it is within the Palestine Territory.  The sign below was on the road as our bus entered a highway exit/roundabout.

Our bus parks and we head off to the Church of the Nativity.  It is here that we believe Jesus was born. It is built around the grotto.   Oh, I should add that you enter through the door of humility meaning we have to lean over to enter the door since it is low.  We see the alter with the 14-point star which is where Mary gave birth to Jesus and then nearby another small alter where the manger was located.  The church is multi-level and has many alters.  We wander around some more.

door of humility on the left

Original 1st Church flooring

The Manger

Grotto of the Nativity where its believed Jesus was born - see the star on the floor

People would kiss the floor under the Alter

Then it was time to head back to the ship.

Akko or Acre

I went solo on this excursion since it did not interest Jeff.  I figured I had followed in the footsteps of the Knights of the Crusades last year and I might as well keep following them!  Our tour started with a drive up the mountain right outside of the port.  Our bus driver made a point of letting us get several photo opportunities on the way up because this was the Bahai Gardens which are quite pretty as they make their way up the mountain.  

looking upward at the Bahai Gardens

The mountain is Mount Carmel which had vague meaning to me before the tour.  Seems that here is where there was a test of gods many years ago and God was here, and the fire took hold sorry bad description there.  Anyway, it is a spot that proved to many people there is only one God.  Bringing it all home was the fact that a group of nuns that had a monastery in Kirkwood had their main monastery here – the Carmelite nuns.  We had a photo stop at the top of the gardens after driving around the monastery.

Carmelite Monastery

looking down from top of hill at the Bahai Gardens

From there we drove north along the coast to the present-day town of Akko which was Acre when the 

The Knights of the Templar and the Hospitallers (Order of the Knights of the Hospital of St John) were here until they were run out by the Muslims.  There is a fortified town with a nice shady park, bazaars, underground tunnels, and a port.  We started out our tour by walking through the bazaar.  The bazaar is small shops under archways.  The archways were built to give stability to the foundation for a mosque which they are under. 

shady park at entrance

the bazaar and its arches

The Knights’ fort is a nice old gothic stone structure that is still in good condition. This was their kingdom from 1191 to 1291 until they were literally run out of town to the sea where many of them would perish.

Top Left
Top Right -fleur de lis on a support
Bottom Right - Excavation for lower floors

One of the last places we visited was the tunnel.  The Templars Tunnel to be exact.  The tunnel was built underground from the inside of the fortress/citadel to the sea (150 meters) and had two purposes.  The first was a sewage system and the second was an escape route if needed.  The tunnels would have been dark so as our guide pointed out they might have had torches with them or running in the dark to get to the sea on a slippery floor that was rather low at times.  The plan was for them to hop on their ships that were at sea, but the ships left before most of the knights got there so they were killed by the Muslims.

Top Left - The tunnel is very low, we must bend down to enter
As we travel they get larger
The tunnel exits into the port

As in most places in this part of the world, these buildings were rebuilt and re used many times.  One of the last uses for part of this fort was a prison by the British (1918-1948) when they ruled this part of the Middle East.  This was the largest prison and held many of the fighters of the Jewish underground.

this was where the prison was located

Today its a pretty port on the Mediterranean Sea

Transiting the Suez Canal

We have been very fortunate to see some amazing sites on this trip.   The Suez Canal is another of them.  We arrived at the Red Sea/South side of the canal around 10 pm and spent the night anchored with dozens of ships.   Some ships felt a little too close as our ship’s side thrusters were used all night to keep us away and some passengers awake.  Ships travel in convoys, all going the same direction in the Canal.  It’s time and we set off in the lead.

The Suez Canal is a project that never ends.  Along the way, we notice a dredger, huge piles of sand and new riprap on the shore.  Also, in 2015 they completed a major widening and deepening project that also included a 22-mile parallel channel on the northern half.  Click here to read 9 interesting facts about the canal including the plan to place what became the Statue of Liberty monument at the Mediterranean mouth of the canal.  

Landslide

Traffic control for the canal is similar to the Panama Canal.   Both have a lake in the middle that allows for traffic to congregate and pass.   Ships travel in only one direction on each half of the canal.  You can see the lake in the satellite image below.   Each of the colorful items on the map on the right is a ship.   The arrow points to our ship in blue.     

The green in the satellite image shows the lushness of the Nile Delta

Portions of the canal are flat as far as the eye can see.   In other sections we are walled in from the material moved to build the canal.  We only saw two bridges to cross the canal.   The canal is 193km long, so two bridges isn’t much.   The one below is a 1,100-foot swing bridge for train traffic.   It’s currently being upgraded while a second one is being built to cross the new parallel channel.  

Swing bridge for train traffic.

Lots to do on a Sea Day

Mosque on top created giant murals on banks
Bottom - Fisherman on a Felucca

We are now in a very built-up area north of the new parallel canal.  Small multi story buildings line each shoreline.  The docks are lined with ferry boats who must carefully navigate between the ships transiting the canal.  Ahead of us is a massive suspension bridge completed in 2001.   It limits ships to 68 meters tall.

That ship is very, very tall and is directly under the bridge

Our Pilot departs, note the very green color of the water.  Almost like the Chicago River on St. Patrick's Day

To mark our momentous feat of transiting the canal, Oceania has provided us each with certificates.  We are now in the Mediterranean Sea.  Next stop, Israel

Jordan, Petra and Wadi Rum

While we docked in Aqaba in the far south of Jordan, our day would take us inland in search of a New 7 Wonders of the World site.  Petra, the ancient rock carved rose-red city that most of us were introduced to via Indiana Jones and the last crusade.   We also visited Wadi Rum which is an amazing landscape you have seen in many movies.  Both are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  

Our ship didn’t arrive in port until 10 a.m. and the expected high was 104F in Aqaba, so we were prepared once again for extreme heat and a minimum of 4-5 km of walking.  With Tom and Linda, we boarded the bus and set out for a 2-hour drive through the mountains.  It’s scenic, we keep saying how each country is so different and how wrong our preconceptions of the Middle East were.   What a relief we discovered upon arriving in the mountains to upper 80s with an occasional drizzle, not the 104F at the port.

 

Lower image black line is from Lava being forced through cracks when the mountains raised up
Top shows dry wheat

Petra 

Modern Petra is a town of about 30,000 that is ancient.  It prospered as the capital of the Nabatean Empire in 1^st century BC, Nabateans became very wealthy and powerful by controlling the secret of where water could be found along the trade routes.  Petra was strategically located on the “King's Road” which is mentioned in the Old Testament when Moses requested permission 3 times to traverse it.  It reached its peak in 1^st century AD and was destroyed by an earthquake in 363 AD and abandoned by the 7^th century AD and lost to all except local Bedouin from the area.   It was rediscovered by a Swiss explorer in 1812 when he convinced a Bedouin guide to take him to the lost city.   Archeologists have uncovered ~25% of the remains with future projects occurring every year.  (Click here to learn more about Petra History)

After a nice lunch we begin our trek into the chasm (or Siq).   It was created over centuries of flood water cutting through the red sandstone.  The Nabatean’s harnessed that water by creating an elaborate system to redirect the water and store it.   Our guide points out to us a recreated dam and Nabatean carved ancient tunnel taller than a man to redirect water away from the gorge and into a cistern.   Remnants of an archway can be seen where the chasm narrows.  Along the walls of the chasm are manmade troughs to capture water coming down the walls.   Every time there is another chasm joining the main, there is a dam to capture water.   At one time, the chasm was paved with stones.   It wasn’t until shortly before the movie was filmed that the chasm was excavated, and the troughs and pavers were uncovered.  

 

Left tunnel built to take water to cistern 
Right ledge catches water running down the cliff face

Pale yellow highlight depicts doors and arch

Far right circle is entrance to Siq
Middle circle is The Treasury
Theater is upper left
Google Satellite Image

As we descend further into the chasm, we see various carvings into the sandstone.   The chasm narrows and the walls grow taller. Our guide shares a wealth of information as each turn has something new.   Direct sunlight rarely reaches to where we are. 

Contrast the two people to the height

The walk was adorned with carvings of small Temples to this scene of a man and what was once a camel, only the feet remaining.

Then we round a corner and there it is, bathed in light.   It is a stunning site.  The Treasury (El-Khazneh) you saw in the movie stands before us 45m tall and 30m wide. 

Our first glimpse

The Treasury is carved out of the Sandstone walls.  We speculated on how they may have carved such a structure as there aren’t any large trees to build scaffolding.  Leading theory was to carve a means to reach the top and then carve from top to bottom.  Better not make a mistake.  

You can imagine the large, paved courtyard in front.   I wanted to enter the structure to see what lies beyond the entrance.  I remembered the line from the movie that “only a penitent man may pass.”  In the real world, there is only a single bare room inside.  No knight guarding the Holy Grail.   That’s not to say there wasn’t a recently solved mystery.  Archeologists discovered a lower floor below.  The “Treasury” is actually a tomb where the leaders resided for eternity.   It’s location in the narrow chasm protected and preserved it more than the others tombs that are more exposed to the elements.  Its architectural style combines Nabatean with Greek.  Legend had that the funerary urn at top concealed treasure.  Unfortunately, that led some in the past to shoot at it to obtain its contents.

262.4 feet tall

Looking down at the front of the Treasury, there are a pair of steps and door to access the lower level on either side.

Close up of Urn, thought to contain treasure.
It’s solid rock

 

After the awe of seeing the Treasury, we look around and notice steps carved into the walls and tunnels leading to what can only be described as balconies overlooking the courtyard.   The chasm takes a 90 degree turn to the left and we are overwhelmed with the multitude of tombs ranging from small to large at all levels of the cliffs.  

Can you find the people on the balcony in the upper left?

Local kids were climbing very high on these steps

Tomb on left had a knock off of a Starbucks sign and was selling coffee inside.
Upper right is interior
Bottom right is just pretty

Another Tomb perched high on the mountain side.
We didn’t have time to make the climb

Area is called Tombs of the Kings

 

Further down the path is a theater with a capacity to hold 4,000 built prior to being occupied by the Romans in 106AD.  It’s the only theater in the world carved out of solid rock.  

Theater was built before the Romans arrived

 

Our schedule did not allow us to explore further into the ancient ruins of Petra.  Like Ancient Greece, Archeologists have uncovered 800 individual monuments both free standing and carved into stone including:

• A Colonnaded Street
• Great Temple complex that covered 7,000 square meters
• Wast al- Bing, a square Temple building estimated to be 23m tall
• Baths
• Funerary halls 

Wadi Rum

Wadi Rum area consists of Mountain peaks arising from the sand.  It’s also known as Valley of the Moon.  It’s a vast protected area encompassing 280 sq miles.  Tourists and Hollywood love this area.   It’s known for rock climbing, star gazing and offers many hosted campsites from basic to geodesic domes.  You probably have seen it in one or more movies, such as:

• Lawrence of Arabia 1967  (T.E. Lawrence fell in love with the region back in 1917-18)
• The Martian
• Dune Part I and II
• Star Wars, The Rise of Skywalker
• And many more

Top Lawrence of Arabia
Bottom The Martian

 

Top Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker
Bottom Dune

Our bus delivers us from Petra to the Wadi Rum welcome center, where we then get in the back of pickups with simple upholstered benches to ride through the high desert to our Bedouin camp for dinner.  Unfortunately, we arrive late, and we didn’t get the full benefit of the landscape.   Our welcome included a vanguard of Bedouins, some with swords and a bagpiper playing.   We then watched as they started to dig in the sand to uncover a large pot containing our dinner of Lamb, Potatoes and Vegetables that had been slowly cooking.  We enjoyed an evening of entertainment and dining under a Bedouin tent.  

Dinner

For more photos, click here for the Wādī Rum photo gallery

 

 

If your interested in visiting, click here to learn more.

 

 

Cairo/Giza Pyramids

Hatsheput as a Sphinx The woman who became a man to be Pharoh

Day two of our Egypt land trip started before dawn as in 4:30 wake up call and 5:15 on the bus. Our day would start in Luxor, then time in Cairo/Giza, fly to Hurgado and then a bus back to the ship around 8pm - a long day!   The bus took us to the Luxor airport which was dead at that time of the morning where we went through security and then a bus to go out to our charter plane for Cairo.  There are 40 of us doing this land tour - 2 groups of 40 so we got our own plane.  The plane is from Petroleum Air Service and is a turbo prop.  We get to Cairo airport and while we walked through a quiet area when you get out of that it is a busy airport to say the least.  We hop on our buses, and we go to breakfast at the Cairo Ritz Carlton.  The food was fine, but not nearly as nice as the one in Singapore.  Now that we are fed it is time to walk to the Egyptian Museum (old one).  The new larger museum has not yet opened.

Top right shows demarcation of Sahara and Cairo
Bottom Left is a large Church in Cairo
Bottom Right is the Egyptian Museum

Egyptian Museum

The museum is very pretty /colonial from the outside - oh it is large.  We go in and Mustafa walks us around some describing key points telling us areas we should explore on our own and making sure we all go in the King Tut room.  In the King Tut room, you see the gold hammered head covering and his 2 very ornate tombs think Russian dolls these tombs often had tombs within tombs. 

We also saw a husband and wife that had been mumuified and were still in excellent shape.  We saw more Ramses statutes (living King statute always had the left foot forward and something in their hands) and lots of sarcophagus.  After an hour or so in the museum it was time to head to Giza and the pyramids.

Right Living King
Left Dead

Top right is a feather fan that has survived the centuries

Giza Pyramid Complex (Giza Necropolis) 7 Wonders of the Ancient World

The Giza Pyramid plateau is huge and borders the Safara desert.  We quickly notice that the top of one of the pyramids looks different like it has a coating or something.  Seems that originally the pyramids were built with huge stones and then covered in alabaster and the one still has some of that coating up at its top section.  There are different sizes of pyramids, and we learn that kings/pharaohs had bigger pyramids than the queens.  We discuss how they got built and Mustafa believes in the ramp and pulley theory.  He also tells us that they have found burial grounds from the workers who built it - took over 100,000 to build these pyramids.  They have also found proof that the workers were not slaves but well-paid Egyptians in that they know there were assurances like education for their kids and other benefits.  The pyramids were meticulously built so that their tips all point to a specific spot and all of them are aligned with the North Star.  

Then it was time for us to wonder around the outside of them.  Unfortunately there were no tours inside, but we could go up to them on the outside and it was even okay to touch them!  The bus took us to a couple different part of the Giza plateau so we could see different views and wander in areas.  Some of our group took camel rides in one area, but Jeff and I declined.  Oh I should point out that as I said this is called a plateau and yes there are hills here and then suddenly sand which we are told is the Sahara which isn't flat either.

Note the Alabaster at the top (King Khafre)

How did they cut and move these massive blocks

Last stop in Cairo is to see the Great Sphinx of Giza and it is big.  And I do mean BIG.  This one was partially buried for years by mud and sand, so the head is now a different color than the feet, but it is quite impressive.   It is the key part of another temple which they did not realize exited until a donkey fell in a hole and digging to get him out they found columns for a building.  Like the pyramids it is made out of stones that were tightly stacked together to give the shape.  Oh sphinx have human heads and body of a lion.

The Great Sphinx appears to be guarding the Pyramids

Then off to the airport to start our trip back to the ship.  Being a tourist in Egypt is a unique experience which someone on the ship had warned us about.  All of our buses had the front seats reserved for a military/police person which was never used but we always had a police car with its lights flashing behind us.  There are also people called "fixers' that were always with us.  A fixer got us through security and in front of lines so at first, I thought they are just a tour guide person of some sort.  Then on the second day I realized our "fixer" had a handgun on him, so I think he was there to get us quickly and safely through the sites.  At Cairo airport in the afternoon, it was a mob scene in that there were tons of people with large suitcases everywhere since this is the only international airport in the country.  Our fixer stopped the flow of people in one area to the airport terminal and we walked right in and through level one of security then we went to a terminal/gate area that opened just for us.  The two airports in Egypt were the easiest airport experiences I have had in a long time.  Fixers are nice.  It was back on Petroleum Air Services and onto Hurgada.  When we arrived in Hurgada which was a new spot for us, our bus from Luxor was there with the suitcases we had left behind and Mustafa told us a little about the city.  Jeff and I had noticed while flying that there was some very pretty water below us and assumed it was the Red Sea - think pictures of pretty islands with light colored water.  Well turns out that was Hurgada and it is well known for diving and snorkeling so there are several very nice resorts along the beach which brought back a vague memory of hearing of nice beach resorts on the Red Sea.  The pictures of a couple of them in the airport did look quite nice.  After our hour bus ride, we were back at our ship and going through Egyptian immigration for one last time.