It seems along time since the last posting, and a lot has happened. On Tuesday we stopped in Alexandria. it was sunny, not that warm, and windy. Sue did the city tour, and Ian went to El Alamein. Aparently there was not that much to see in the city, though Sue found the city libaray to be particularly impressive. In ancient history, Alexandria had a famous library but it burnt down centuries ago. The modern one is a fine replacement. The trip to El Alamein was interesting. The coast road runs about half a mile to a mile from the sea shore. The whole way from Alex to El Al was lined by holiday property developments, all120 kilometres! Not just single properties, but also large multi ocupancy blocks, though none were more than 3 stories high. Our guide kept telling us that these were owned by wealthy Egyptians. There have to be an awful lot of them! As might be realised, this rather diminished the effect of the museum etc at El Alamein. Still, it was very well done and impressive. The British war cemetery is on the land side of the road, which runs along a ridge, and overlooks the battlefield.
After Alex came Port Said. The only thing really to be said about it is that it was cleaner than Alex. We did not do anything much, apart from stroll round the town in the morning(everything closed until midday) and then walk along the beach promenade in the afternoon. At least it was cleaner than the beach! The weather was kind, the wind had dropped, and the temperature reached 17 degrees.
We left at 0100 in the morning to transit the Suez Canal. One side, the west, is quite built up, whilst the other is desert. Ships go through in convoy, there being two southbound and two northbound convoys each 24 hours. This is because the dug parts are only wide enough for one vessel. The convoys pass in the Bitter Lakes in the middle. Our ship was initially in the middle, but for some reason we were allowed to move to the front when we reached the lakes. Looking back, one saw quite an impressive sight. After leaving the canal, at about 7pm, we turned left up the Gulf of Akaba to Akaba itself. This is to be found at the head of the gulf, and is in Jordan.Next to it is Eilat, which is in Israel, and then Tarba in Egypt. On the south side about half an hour away is Saudi Arabia.
Our trip here was an overnight one to Wadi Rum and Petra. ONce on the coach, in lovely sunshine, we met our gude for the twodays, Basil. One of the first things he told us was that the south part of Jordan can experience alll four weather seasons in one day. Another was that he could prove we were all cousins, and that is wahat he called us for the rest of the trip. Quite endearing in a funny way.
It was about an hour to Wadi Rum, and the first thing we noticed on getting out of the coach was that it was very cold with a biting wind. On leaving the caoch, we transferred into what was loosely called a Jeep. The collection we travelled in would not have looked out of place in a UK scrap yard, but they did have four wheel drive to go into the Desert. This is Lawrence of Arabia country, and the weather was still fighting the battle,or so it seemed. It is also important in the ancient history of the area, and a race called the Abateans, who were around about two thousand years ago. They were mainly traders, and it was they who built Petra. Still, back to the wadi. We are sure it would have been realklly impressive on a nice day, but when one is coping with blasting rain, a bitterly cold wind and a sand storm, one is not really able to do aplace justice. Before we left the ship, they had said it might be cold, so we had taken fleeces. In hindsight, we would have been better off if we had taken our clothes brought for Alaska!!
FRom Wadi Rum, we moved on by coach to Petra. Now, that was an interesting journey. The wind was rocking the coach, and thrain trying to strip the paint of. It gave up and handed over to snow (or rather a blizzard). The traffic police closed the motorway to all but a few vehicles, either coaches, or 4x4s.We got through to Petra, but the descent into the town, which is confusingly called Wadi Musa, brought its own excitement. It is a pretty steep drop, and we found ourselves in the middle of a snowball fight. Reaching the hotel, The Movenpick, was like reaching a sanctuary.
We had a early start next morning to walk the few steps to the gates to Petra. It was dry, but very cold with a biting wind. The gates are only the beginning, as it is about 2 kilometres from there to what one recognises as Petra.It is all downhill, and the first 600 mtres are in the open, before one gets to the defile. Apparently this is part of the geographical fault line that includes the Great Rift Valley in Africa. Our guide, the excellent Basil, kept us well up to speed with all sorts of things that we would have passed unnoticing, if he had not been there.
Once through the defile, the first thing one sees is the famous Treasury building that everyone associates with Petra. but that is only the start. If one had the time and inclination, one probably needs two days to explore properly, rather that our five hours. What one can say is that it is an experience not to be missed. One thing to be said, is of the amazing colours in the sandstone, particularly after the sun broke through. The walk back is a good cardiovascular test, as it is all uphill. One could have hired a pony cart to traverse the defile, or a horse to do the bit from there back to the gates. But not us. We felt fit, young and sorry for them if they had to carry us.
To day is Sunday, St David's Day. It is windy, about 30 knots of wind, warm at 23 degrees, and a moderate sea, as we head down the Red Sea for Salalah in Oman. We have to round Aden, and avoid the pirates from Somalia to get there. We are due there on Thursday morning.