Magnificent Petra, Jordan

Petra, Jordan from Aqaba port 

 

Today, November 4, 2012 I took my first visit to the country of Jordan and to the famous archeological site of Petra.

Our ship docked at Aqaba, a booming resort town, known for its gulf’s colorful reefs, is considered one of the best diving destinations worldwide.  What’s most interesting is that it is situated at a crossroads between Asia and Africa.  In fact, from the upper deck of our ship in the Gulf of Aqaba, you could clearly see Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and Eliat, Israel.  They are so close you feel you can reach out and touch them.  I meditated on the peaceful panorama of twinkling evening lights among lands of Arabs, Egyptians, and Jews.

 

Departing from Aqaba, Jordan’s only seaport (in an otherwise landlocked nation), I took a private tour to the ancient city of Petra, declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1985.  Of note, Petra is considered to be a symbol of Jordan and is its most visited tourist attraction.

Petra Background

Established possibly as early as 312 BC, Petra is a historical  and archaeological  city in Jordan that is famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system.

The site remained unknown to the Western World  until 1812, when it was introduced by Swiss  explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. It was described as "a rose-red city half as old as time". Recently, Petra was chosen by the Smithsonian Magazine as one of the "28 Places to See Before You Die."

Our private tour leader, (Peter Roos, who I met online) arranged for two mini-buses and six taxis to transport us all to the site, located approximately 2 hours away from the port of Aqaba, Jordan. Our first stop was to a local currency exchange office to exchange $71 for 50 Jordan dinars. The entrance fee to Petra is only payable local currency.

Next, our driver, Amnett gave us a brief rest-stop break in a large well-organized, store with a beautiful assortment of local crafts, souvenirs, clothing, perfume, and more.  We had been warned that Egypt would spoil us with its bargaining practices.  Here, they were only willing to reduce prices by about 10 or 15%.  In Egypt, we experienced the opposite, where you could end up paying only 15 or 20% (or less) of the original asking price.  I was not tempted to buy anything.

On the drive to Petra, I observed mountains and beautifully colored desert dotted with Bedouin camps, complete with camels, donkeys and tents, and very few fertile patches fueled by irrigated water from the Red Sea.

 

Amnett contrasted Egyptian versus Arab culture specifying the differences between their way of life, income levels, shopping, practices, etc.  It was clear he feels that Arabs look down upon Egyptians as inferior beings. He is proud to be an Arab and not a North African.  OUCH!

We arrived in Petra two hours later and formed two tour groups. Before we entered the site of Petra, most of our group elected to take the 10 min. horseback ride up until we reached the entrance of the famous site.  Allergic to horses, I chose to walk alongside our guide, Adnan, an enthusiastic and knowledgeable Jordanian.  He explained to me that he found French customers to be the most difficult because they are very knowledgeable about history and often challenge much of what he shares.  Americans, in contrast, are the easiest because they don't care about history and all they want to do is take photographs of things they know nothing about.  Sadly, we proved to fit the stereotype.  (Karla included).

 

 

 

We entered the famous sic, the long, narrow two-mile passageway, surrounded by spectacular 300 feet high rose-colored rock formation, that lead to the ancient city of Petra.  Adnan pointed out numerous shrines, temples, cave dwellings, statues, and carvings along the route. We shared this narrow pathway with numerous horse-drawn carriages carrying passengers to and from the city at a rate of $30 per couple. We had to dodge horses, carriages, and donkeys throughout the two-mile walk. It took us approximately 40 min. to walk through.

The buildup for the main site was Adman suggesting we stay to the left and prepare ourselves for the feast that was to come.   And there it was – –the spectacular, piece de resistance: the Treasury.  This well preserved structure, 140 feet high, 90 feet wide and carved out of solid rock, held treasures of the ancient culture.  In front of it were a flurry of crowds of excited tourists snapping their cameras; souvenir- filled shops; beautifully decorated camels for hire; camel owners recruiting passengers; and more. It was awe-inspiring-- simply spectacular.

 

Next, we continued beyond the Treasury through the vast unpaved ancient city.  Yes, we were mostly walking in sand as we marveled at the towering temples, royal tombs, carved Roman theatre, burial chambers, paved streets, large and small houses and public buildings.

We fast-walked for 45 minutes, in the hot sun, non-stop, back through the busy sic to our meeting point.  Our leader suggested this.  I don’t know HOW I kept up with the group.  It’s a wonder I did not pass out.

That was likely the best exercise I had in more than 10 years!!

Because the ship extended our stay in port by 1 1/2 hours, we considered adding a visit to Wadi Rum (where the Indiana Jones films were made). In the end, we opted to head back to the ship, not risking missing our sail away.

It was another great day of learning and exploring!

 

Suez Canal Transit and Gulf of Aden Passage

Suez Canal Transit and Gulf of Aden Passage

The Great Bitter Lake

Suez Canal

I had the good fortune of transiting both the Suez Canal (Nov 2012) and the Panama Canal (Dec 2012) this year. Although both engineering marvels were championed by the same French mastermind and financier, Ferdinand de Lesseps, the similarities between the two projects end here. The Suez Canal was pretty straightforward: remove enormous amounts of sand after digging a big ditch in the middle of the dessert that unites two seas at the same water level. No lock system was needed. On the other hand, the Panama Canal project’s complexity offered numerous mishaps and obstacles including impenetrable mountainous terrain; monsoon rains that produced damaging landslides; unstable rock formations; swarms of deadly disease-carrying mosquitoes (yellow fever and malaria killed thousands); inadequate equipment; and the wild, unruly, overflowing, poisonous snake-ridden Chagres river. Furthermore, because of uneven water levels between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, the Panama Canal required construction of 3 complex sets of locks that operate as water lifts to elevate ships 3 feet above sea level to the level of the Gatun Lake, in their transit of the continental Divide, then, lower them back down to sea level on the opposite side of the isthmus.

While De Lesseps’ role was helpful in the Middle East campaign, his grandiosity, resistance to dissent, and unwillingness to adapt to the vastly different elements in the Caribbean, led to dwindling and insufficient funding, which hindered the Central-American project. Two decades later, the US government salvaged the work of the failed De Lesseps team and resumed construction with a new blueprint.

 The Suez Canal Brief Overview

Opened in 1969, to vessels of all nations-during peace and war time-this engineering feat took 10 years, I million workers, and cost $100 million to complete. It saves two weeks of travel for 20,000 vessels that transit annually, producing $4.5 billion in revenue to Egypt.

This recaps some highlights and provides commentary of our Suez Canal passage:

• There are 3-4 convoys of ships transiting, daily (southern and northern).
• Our ship led an 18-vessel convoy of ships on the early southern route. We entered the canal Sunday at midnight and headed south at 1 AM. When we awakened we were anchored along with all the other ships in the Bitter Lake to allow the northern bound caravan to pass. There are only four places where convoys may pass one another.
• The canal is built only to allow ships to travel in a single, narrow lane because on a windy day, two ships would crash into one another. The Great Bitter Lake, a salt water lake between the north and south part of the Suez Canal, serves as a“holding pen” where ships line up to pass each other in the Suez Canal before proceeding to either Port Said to the north, or the port of Suezto the south. The lake also provides an intermediate harbor for ships traversing the Canal.

· A transit typically takes 14 hours end to end.

· Cruise ships have high priority because they pay higher fees.

· The average cost to transit the Suez Canal is $260,000 per ship.

· The Suez Canal contributes $4.5 billion in revenue annually to Egypt.

· Shipping is Egypt's most important industry.

· Both sides are green at the entrance and exit points.

· At 10:30AM, our onboard lecturer, Emile Baladi, pointed out various points along the way.

· The ride was slow and steady. As we passed villages, residents waved hello to us.

· A train runs alongside the Suez Canal and carries cargo that exceeds the weight limit on cargo vessels.

· As we head south, we see fertile land to the west and desert to the east.

· It was a really cool experience to transit the historic Suez Canal that carries 8% of shipments worldwide.

· Importantly, the Suez Canal serves as the leading source of revenue for Egypt. We learned that because pirates have been invading cargo ships in the Gulf of Aden, it has become common practice for certain shipping lines to avoid the Suez Canal altogether-and go around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa- to avoid these vicious pirate attacks. Many insurance companies will not ensure cargo ships that transit the Gulf of Aden after cruising the Suez Canal. There is at least 30% less traffic thru the Suez Canal.

Gulf of Aden Passage

 The Gulf of Aden is a gulf located in the Arabian Sea between Yemen, on the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and Somaliain the Horn of Africa. The Gulf is a vital waterway for shipping, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Sea in the Indian Oceanespecially for Persian Gulf oil, making it an integral waterway in the world economy. Approximately 11 percent of the world's seaborne petroleum passes through the Gulf of Aden on its way to the Suez Canal or to regional refineries.

 

 The Gulf of Aden is known by the nickname "Pirate Alley" due to the large amount of pirate activity in the area.

On boarding day, we were handed a letter from Captain Berdos alerting us that our ship would sail through the Gulf of Aden, known for its pirate activity. We were assured that the crew members and security teams brought on board just for our sailinghad procedures in place to protect us from harm during our passage. In addition, our ship “was not the typical target of pirates because it is faster and more maneuverable and has more security staff onboard”. We noticed the extra armed and uniformed staff, during evenings, of our transit.

The note also notified us of sunset to sunrise curfews and restrictions they would impose for our 5-day Gulf of Aden transit as follows:

 Lookouts were in place on open decks.

Open decks were closed to all passengers from sunset till sunrise. (The line had to develop contingency plans for smokers who smoke outside with lighted cigarettes).

 All external lights were turned off.

 Guests with balcony rooms had to close doors and curtains.

 In the unlikely event that we encountered pirates, we were given a code word and after hearing it, we would have to move into interior corridors and hallways, towards the center of the ship.

 Although the safety precautions taken by the cruise line were annoying, we trusted their judgment and we felt safe.