I trust this finds you very well and enjoying your day.
Today, I am writing to you again from the Red Sea as we make our way full speed ahead (25 knots) north towards the Suez Canal.
Our scheduled anchor time is around 5 PM at the city of Suez, Egypt. It will take a long time for our ship's crew to complete the extensive paperwork required to traverse this international waterway through Egypt. We will begin our sailing through the canal by 4 AM tomorrow morning.
Even now, on either side we can see Egypt weaving in and out of view as we move north with the jagged brown mountains detailed when they are close, and looming out of the desert in the distance. So incredible to be so close to ancient lands I have only ever dreamed of being in. Wish we were stopping in Egypt to discover the pyramids and its culture, but certainly a trip for another time!
Yesterday evening, we left Aqaba, Jordan. A remarkable, colourful, thriving, diverse seaport of about 140,000 people which borders Eliat, Israel. These cities and countries have close relations with each other, I found out. Yes, Jews and Muslims CAN live peacefully side by side here in the Middle East! So awesome to hear the reality of this situation instead of believing what is reported in the news! It makes my heart smile!
Aqaba is an ancient city pre-dating Biblical times and yet is so modern. From the ship’s brochure, this city was "settled by the Edomites around 1300 BC, passed through the hands of the Romans and later the Byzantines. Between the 7th and 12th centuries, Aqaba was tossed back and forth between the Christians and Muslims...until the 16th century when the area was under the influence of the Turkish Ottoman Empire until 1917. Then came Lawrence of Arabia (T.E. Lawrence) who contributed to the Arab revolt, and won." Whew!!!
It seems natural that the landscape is just as colourful as the history. Once again, I am enthralled with the desert. At first glance, it appears lifeless but upon closer inspection, the land teems with life from its varied trees and bushes to the succulents and dainty flowers that emerge strong and healthy from the shifting sands and rocky soil. The colours are fascinating! Golden hues to rose coloured mountains to the iridescent greens and blues of the Gulf of Aqaba. This area has been called Aqaba's "crayon box", and I can certainly see why!
Yesterday, I went on an excursion to Petra - the Lost City, where I feel like I "found" myself!
Once I went through the gates (with about a thousand others, it seemed!), I made my way down a winding path towards The Siq.
The Siq is the narrow gorge that snakes its way down into the valley, walled on either side by smooth, colourful, layered stone reaching into the sky. When the light of the sun hits it just so, the scene is oh so magically breathtaking and I could see ancient carvings that seemed hidden to the natural eye. Such a mystical place!
I felt like a little kid. Awed by everything I saw, trying to take it all in, inspired and anticipating with so much excitement about what was coming as I wandered around the next corner. This is how I need to live my life - welcoming everything and looking forward!
Eventually we came to the Khazneh, The Treasury, which is the ancient tomb carved so intricately into the cliff. Before I came before it, I could see a sliver of its rockface through the gorge and I couldn't help but shed a few tears.
Places I've always seen in magazines, documentaries and also in this case, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", have been grand but to see them up close and personal...WOW!!! My mind has seriously been "blown" by this phenomenal wonder.
And then once I left the crowds, the camels, the donkeys, roving dogs, avoiding the horse carriages with the drivers shouting "Get out of the way" to the throngs of tourists, I had at this point lost track of my group, which turned out to my advantage. I was able to climb to the Royal Tombs where the ceilings were etched into the sandstone. I would have thought in viewing the ceiling that I was looking at a magnificent painting. Remarkable beauty!
A handsome and cheerful Jordanian soldier clothed in robes and head scarf kept watch over the tourists to help protect this sacred, medieval site.
(As a side note, having been in this area of the world, now I can truly understand why these proud people wear what they do - to keep themselves cool and protected from the sun, and blowing sand, plus they look amazing too!)
I then roamed around the area where everywhere I looked I saw even more carved homes, temples, palaces. Astonishing that the ancient Nabataean people were able to create this, living and flourishing in what was a "bustling trade centre situated between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea", but then disappeared without leaving a history of their existence, only this trace that stands and captivates people over 2,000 years later.
Along with the dramatic there must have been an appreciation of the life of the nomads. I found it awesome that the Bedouin tradition is alive and well. I spoke with a couple of Bedouins who were quite the young businessmen, not only offering camel or donkey rides, but accommodations for tourists in caves overlooking Petra!
Wandering the desert for (only) 4 hours looking at the ancient carvings gave me a very minute understanding of what it must be like to do so for 40 days as Jesus did, or 40 years as Moses and the Israelites did in ages past! I couldn’t even imagine scrounging
for food and water in the desert, watching the Ravens and Hawks, or looking out for Vultures and hoping that they weren't circling overhead!
There was so much to see and I know I didn't spend nearly enough time taking it all in, so a return trip may be in order at some point! Can't say enough about this medieval, ancient treasure! Put it on your bucket list!!!
It's rather bittersweet leaving this area of the world. I never saw this area of the world on my bucket list, but now that I have been here, I have added it and checked it off. It's been such a wonderful, eye-opening, and life-changing experience for me.
I'm not naive to the conflicts that seem to be on-going here. However, when I think about it, there are areas of my own country I would not venture in due to crime and conflict. In traveling the world, I believe one needs to use the same discretion and common sense. Despite how the news portrays this area, I have never felt safer and in seeing the beauty of the lands, the cultures and meeting the warm, hospitable people, I will definitely return given the chance.
So I will leave you with this update for now. Trying to enjoy the sun and warmth as we head further north and the temperatures cool down considerably. Being in the desert is even cooler without the humidity. It was only +14 degrees Celsius at Petra yesterday, and already we can feel the north winds move over the sea.
But on a positive note, spring has sprung in the Mediterranean cities we will be visiting - Athens, Greece; Valletta, Malta; Messina, Sicily; Naples and Rome, Italy. Looking forward to the rebirth and newness of another season!
I will write again soon. Be well and be great to yourselves!
Love, Jae
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