Suez, Suez Canal, Port Said, Egypt, and the Mediterranean Sea

Suez, Suez Canal, Port Said, Egypt, and the Mediterranean Sea. We had been at anchor in Suez, all night, waiting our turn to join a convoy through the canal. It is not wide enough for ships to pass, in some locations, so they only go in one direction at a time. After getting our clearance, we joined a convoy at about 6:00 AM. There were 28 ships in our convoy. We were number 7 and the 6 ships in front of us were all US Navy. Normally there is a stop with a layover of various times in a lake at about the middle of the canal. As our convoy was with the US Navy, there would be no stop. We went right through. The US Navy gets priority. All the Navy ships also get tugs accompanying them in case they have to maneuver in tight spaces.

The east side of the canal is the Sinai Peninsula and is almost all sand and totally barren. The west side is Egypt. In many places it is very green with various types of farms. There are also some small towns along the way. There is one tunnel under the canal and a bridge or two. In populated areas there are free ferries.

At one point there is a monument celebrating their great victory in the 1973 Yom Kippur war. I guess their history is just a little mistaken. It seems to me, actually I remember very distinctly, they got their butts kicked so badly, the US and Russia had to step in to stop Israel from going all the way to Cairo. But then again, that’s how the Egyptians have been recording their losses in wars since the Pharaohs. The hieroglyphics tell of Pharaohs victories where they really got their butts kicked too. Why change now?

Along almost the entire length, there were soldiers, in various numbers, lining the west bank. I guess they want to make sure no one steals the canal or maybe it’s the sand they are protecting. There must be a big shortage.

Port Said is at the far north end of the canal, at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. There is nothing special to see or do there and it is really just a fueling station for ships. Shortly before entering Port Said harbor there is a fork in the canal. The Navy ships took the right fork which leads directly out to the Mediterranean as we took the left fork to the harbor.

Originally this was just supposed to be a very short stop, only to pick up passengers, who took an overnight Cairo trip from Suez. Now we had several hours as we made better time then expected. There was an announcement aboard that we could get off for a short time if we wanted.

By the time the ship docked and put down the gang plank, out of nowhere, appeared dozens of vendors setting up tables. The port area where we were docked was bordered by buildings that kept you from entering the city. There was a large gate but it was locked, so you had no choice of where to go if you did walk off the ship.

Besides the usual tourist garbage they had some weird stuff here. Bobbi tried to buy some Rolex knock offs. Naturally she needed many. The vendor didn’t have enough with him but left three with her as he went to get more. I walked over to Bobbi and started to try setting the watches to see if they ran. I was zero for three, so we put them down on his table and walked on. Nothing was a bargain, that I saw, but I forgot to bring a small calculator and our large one was to clumsy to carry. I really drove a hard bargain and got a great price. From $10 I finally got him all the way down to $2. I know that back home they are $1.50 at Walgreen’s but they won’t haggle there and where’s the fun in that.

They had all kinds of power and hand tools along with steel pipe and lots of other stuff cruise ship passengers would not buy. It must all be stolen off cargo ships.

Remarkable! We only spent $2 there and Bobbi really spent nothing. I think this is a first for her. The first time ever she has gone to a port from a ship and bought nothing.

Great Deal Sherm Out

Suez, Egypt

Suez, Egypt. This is really just a commercial port town with nothing of interest to tourists. We made a stop here for those wishing to take an overnight bus trip to Cairo. We intend to do a world cruise again next year and that one goes to Cairo, so no use for a long bus trip today.

There is a shuttle into town but there is nothing but a grocery and a few stores for the locals. This is, however, the filthiest port we have been in yet. The entire dock is covered with oil.

Nothing special happened today but I did get a letter of inquiry that you might like to see, or not. Here it is anyhow.

This is the email to me:

You did not mention if you ran into Charleton Heston (Moses) while you were there. Did any of the locals offer you Matza ? Inquireing minds want to know. It is the season!
Marty

This is my reply:

No, Chucky was no where to be found, however, funny you should mention. According to the bible, Petra is the place where Mo hit a rock with his staff and made water come out. Mo’s brother is also buried there. We saw the monument at the top of a mountain. I don’t have my papers here and I can’t remember if Mo’s brother’s name was Larry or Curley.

There is an awful lot of sand but I don’t know how anyone could get lost for 40 years here. It is an awfully small desert. I think the navigator must have been fooling around and was afraid to go back to his wife.

Found no matzo but the pita at lunch was great.

Resting Sherm Out

Aqaba, Jordan

Aqaba, Jordan. At 8:45 the four of us left to board our private van. The main attraction is Petra, about two hours away. So far we have been very lucky with guides and drivers. This one was no exception. This one had a PHD in Political Science and was doing guide work. His English was perfect and you could see he was very intelligent as well as very nice. The kind of person that might be a friend under different circumstances.

It was a lot cooler then we thought it would be. Muriel was freezing even though she had a jacket. This guy, Sami was his name, took off his jacket and insisted she wear it, which she did all day.

The roads here were the best we have seen in the mid east. We were on a four lane divide highway going across mainly desert. There were mountains in the distance which soon became near. The city of Petra was actually up in the mountains. As we entered the city it was very hilly and the roads were narrow and very winding.

We drove to a gate that led to the ancient city. After paying admission there was a two mile trail to get to the first ruin. No problem it was all down hill and all paved. Big problem. It had been paved by the Romans and never improved or kept up since.

Our friendly tour director on the ship, Roger, told us about the horse drawn carriages we could hire for the ride. He should only be spit on by a thousand camels.

We did hire those carriages. The word carriage describes the things we rode as closely as limousine describes a roller skate. Old falling apart sulky is accurate. That is a two wheeled cart with very hard bicycle tires and no suspension of any kind.

It was all rocks and slabs of rock. It was very busy because of the ship load of tourists and they were making the horses gallop over this pile of rubble. Muriel started screaming to be let out until the camel jockey finally stopped and let her out. These things were made for just two people but these rag heads had to crowd in next to you because they were going so fast. Uncomfortable does not even come close to the ride. Extreme pain and injury is accurate.

We had been going through a pass through the weirdest mountains I have ever seen. In some places it got so narrow, only four people at a time could squeeze by. The ceiling would close in at times and it would be like a tunnel. The mountains themselves looked as if they were the phony kind you see in some zoos. They were very smooth and looked like they had been poured and free formed out of concrete. This had been a very easy place to defend. No army, no matter how large, could come crashing in.

Finally we came to the end of the cart ride at a wide opening in the mountains. We thought we had seen the most amazing stuff that ever was built by man. Wrong again. Carved into the mountain, 130 feet tall, was the front of the US treasury building. It does look a lot like it. It too had been prepared as a tomb but never used and no doors had ever been attached. Inside was just a large empty room with several smaller ones to the sides.

Further down the trail was a town like area with small houses cut into the mountain and even further down was a large open air amphitheater with seating for thousands. Again, you could see it, feel it, walk in and on it, but still not believe it.

Besides the people from the ship there were tons of young local girls from different schools in the area. Many wore uniforms and traditional head dress but many also wore western style clothes. A few got so brazen they even said hello but their friends would drag them away as if they would be eaten or something. When we were standing on the front steps of the treasury like building, a group of three walked up to Bobbi and I and said hello. One of them was dressed in western style clothes with blue jeans and a sweater. The other two wore babushka like things and long dress like uniforms. The western dressed one was doing all the talking. She asked us where we were from and said she had relatives in New Jersey. She was 18 years old, very nice, and seemed very bright.

In this area there were all kinds of very nasty vendors constantly bugging you. There was a guy with two camels selling rides or rather a photo opportunity on a camel. There were also mules to rent to go down the trail to the coliseum or part way up to where you could rent horses.

Going back up the trail was just as much fun, not. We had paid for round trips and we had to take the cart back if it killed us and it felt like it was doing just that. Our poor guide had to walk both ways. We would have been there all day had he not gotten us a couple of carts out of turn.

Right near was a place he recommended for lunch. The food was good and very reasonable. We offered to buy Sami, our guide, and the driver lunch also. He could have ripped us off for the $10 each but said they gave him lunch for free for bringing us there.

Just down the street was a junk store he recommended. Their profits went to a woman’s relief organization or so a sign said. Bobbi bought all kinds of stuff I never saw or knew we needed before. Boy am I lucky or what.

Then it was a two hour ride back to the ship. We saw many tents of nomads. They had flocks of sheep and goats. Where it looked like barren desert, there were really enough tufts of grass and plants to graze the animals. At one point he showed us people still living in an area that had just been flooded by very unusual rains that had drown three people and washed away their belongings and most of their animals. He said there are more rains forecast but they have been living there for as long as they can remember so they keep coming back. He also said most have no desire to improve themselves. The attitude is, what was good enough for their ancestors is good enough for them.

Just the other day the Rabbi’s wife said to me just what I have been saying also. How could these Arabs have been so smart to have been able to construct those monuments thousands of years ago and you don’t see a mind anywhere today.

Non Arab Minded Sherm Out.

Pictures Updated

I have updated the World Cruise Photo gallery with the latest pictures received from Singapore.

The Photo Gallery can be found here or clicking on the "World Cruise Photos" link under the links section on the right side of this blog page.

Luxor, Egypt day two

Luxor, Egypt day two. We woke up at 6:00 AM for a 7:00 AM breakfast. Breakfast was in the same place as lunch the day before. At 7:45 AM we boarded the bus for the 45 minute ride to the Valley of the Kings. The day before we had been on the east bank of the Nile. The east side of the river is for the living to visit the temples. Today we were going to the west bank where the tombs are. The west side is for the dead.

After a thousand years or so the Egyptians finally figured out that all the pyramids were being robbed as soon as they were finished. They were obviously slow learners. This area called the Valley of the Kings was an area of mountains that were naturally shaped like pyramids. They had the strong belief that they must be buried under a pyramid to be able to make the transfer to the new life. Now, instead of being buried in the pyramid, where everything could be stolen, they were buried far under the pyramids in secret tunnels and passages. If I remember right, there are 62 of these tombs that have been found so far. King Tut was one of only three that got to go to the next life as all the others had been robbed. Tut’s was not meant to be a royal tomb. It was smaller then the others and not decorated like other royal tombs. He had died unexpectedly at a very early age. His head had been hit by a small hard object that made a hole in the skull but hey were very sloppy with the dead back then and they could not tell if this is what killed him or if it happened after his death. At any rate, Tut was not at home. He was out visiting museums around the world. As these tombs were deep in the ground, there had been no light to fade the painted etchings on the walls and ceilings. Some were still in very vivid colors.

After a long, long walk visiting some of these tombs we went to the bus for a short ride to the Queen Hatshepsut Temple. It was a huge building that looked like a modern one. We just took pictures from the outside.

Next it was on to Medinat Habu. We didn’t know it a first but that was where we had dinner the night before. It is second in size only to Karnark’s Temple. Ramses III mortuary temple is here. He was the great builder that built far more then any other ruler. There are carved walls telling the stories of the great battles he won. His version is quite a bit different then what is believed to have really happened. Then we went to see the Colssi of Memnon. Two 60 foot enthroned statues of Amenhotep the third. They originally guarded a mortuary temple but all that remains is the two, now faceless, statues. Then it was back to the hotel to check out and have lunch.

Our guide had been wonderful. Her English was perfect as was her figure. She was about 5 foot one inch tall with jet black, curly hair and was very cute. She had sold necklaces and shirts to many people on the bus. These things were made up overnight with the peoples names written in hieroglyphics. Due to our late return they were not ready in time to be delivered at the hotel and were to be delivered and paid for on the bus.

After everyone got on the bus, two men got on with all the necklaces and shirts. That’s when the fun began. Our guard wore a sport jacket under which you could see was a gun if you knew where to look. When these two guys got on, he jumped up out of his seat with his hand held under his jacket. He hollered something unfriendly, in Arabic, and these two guys turned very white and quickly got off the bus. Now our cute little friendly guide became incensed and jumped off the bus. She went over to some guy that was obviously in charge of security and said something to him. He said something back to her that she must not have liked very much. This little broad started yelling at him in what sounded like babble. She made so much noise he could not get one word in until he finally gave up and did it her way. So kids, our guide, Godia was her name, saved your shirts. That might make you happy, but now I had to pay for them and Bobbi didn’t even get me one.. We checked to see all the names were spelled right in hieroglyphics and they are.

Three and one half hours later and we were back at the ship in our 20 bus convoy. Art was okay now and we met him and Muriel for dinner. We had reservations at Latitudes. It had now been turned into a cabaret. Most of the food was very good but the decorations, the costumes, and mainly the show, was great. We had a band and a lady cabaret singer that was really terrific. We were exhausted but still stayed to the end of the show.

No Shirt on His Back Sherm Out.

Safaga, Egypt

Safaga, Egypt. We had to board a bus at about 9:45 AM for a three and one half hour drive to Luxor. Shortly before, Muriel called to say Art was not feeling well enough to make the trip. They had been there before.

We had to wait for all 20 buses to leave. We were going in two convoys of ten buses each. There was a pickup truck with armed soldiers in front of the convoy and another in the rear. Each bus also had an armed guard aboard. He always sat in the first seat behind the driver. No one could sit next to him or behind him. The mid east is such a nice place.

The road was pretty well paved but only two lanes. This however did not keep anyone from making a third lane when passing slower traffic. Every few miles there were permanent road blocks with concrete gun towers, a maze to drive through, and lots of soldiers with machine guns. At these road blocks they would have all other traffic stopped to let our convoys by. There must be a lot of good friendly people about that only want only to share things with you, like your belongings and or just kill you.

We got in to Luxor at about 1:00 PM. There were four different hotels being used. None were supposed to be great but the Sonesta was the best and that was where we stayed. As we approached the hotel we drove down a main street that ran along the Nile River. Almost all store and building signs were in English and some had Arabic also. Lining the river front were many dozens of river cruise boats.

We left our luggage aboard the bus and went into the Sonesta for lunch. It was a buffet in a very large room just behind the pool. It was a very nice room with all marble floors and columns. The furniture was nice but did not fit the room. Along the back wall were stuffed couches to sit on while all other seating was on open style chairs. The food was pretty good and there were quite a few choices.

After lunch it was back to our bus for a couple of miles ride, on the same street, to the Temple of Karnak. This was built over a period of 1,300 years and covers a vast area. It would take volumes to describe what we saw. Statues, buildings, columns, pylons, rock carvings, and on and on. You could stand there and look at and touch these things and still not believe it’s real. We, like everyone, have seen these things in books, pictures and movies, but those are nothing at all like seeing the real thing in person. We have seen a lot of amazing stuff all over the world, over many years, but never anything as outstanding as this.

This complex of buildings and forms went on for at least 1.2 miles but the center section had been built over with modern buildings even though artifacts were dug up during construction.

Next we got back in the bus and went a mile or so back, in the direction from which we had come. This was the opposite end of the same complex where the temple of Luxor was built. This was more but different artifacts of the same kind. Some of the carvings and statues were amazing. Just looking up close at a round column was unbelievable. They were made of granite. The only natural element harder then granite is a diamond. These columns were perfectly round. Some were about 100 feet tall. How did they cut them? They had no hardened steel or diamond tools.

We got back to the hotel at about 5:30 PM. Our room keys were laying on a table and we had been pre registered. We had been warned this was the best hotel in town but not to expect anything like the Peninsula. They were right, but I admit I have been at worse. We did have a nice balcony with views of both the Nile and the main street. I got some great pictures of a couple of Dows, (small Egyptian style small sail boats) on the Nile just after sunset.

We had to be cleaned up, dressed up and ready for dinner at about 6:45 PM. We had a 45 minute ride to Habu Temple. We crossed a bridge over the Nile to the west bank and traveled the country side. There were numerous donkey and mule carts on the way.

By the time we arrived it was very dark. First there was an outer temple area and then the inner temple. From one end to the other was 3 or 4 blocks. Then entire length had a Persian Rug carpet runner covering a very uneven walk with many holes. Lining both sides of this carpet were pots of fire from burning oil or wax. Every so often and especially at the many stairs and platforms, along the way, there were men dressed in various soldier costumes from thousands of years ago. They were just standing there silent with their spears and the fires eerily shinning on them.

Once into the main temple the entire football field size area was carpeted in the same Persian rugs. The walls and many columns were dimly lit with colored flood lights. The tables filled the entire area and all had candles. There was no ceiling on this temple and you could clearly see the many stars in the sky and a quarter moon. At the end of the room was a six foot high stage like platform from one end to the other. In one corner of it was a five piece string orchestra playing softly. Everyone I spoke to said this was the most magnificent thing they have ever seen. Again, there is no way to describe the scene with the figures carved into the walls and lit up with the colored lights playing on them and the columns. All have said this alone was worth the trip. This is not something regularly done. Everything had to be brought from the hotel including all the food. This only happens once a year if at all.

At 10:00 PM we got back to the hotel for a much needed nights sleep.

Amazed Sherm Out

Sea Day

Sea day. We, or rather Bobbi, packed for tomorrow’s trip to Luxor Egypt.
That’s it.

All Packed Sherm Out