The Mediterranean Sea, and Cyprus

Since we exited the Suez Canal at Port Said, we have been sailing across the Mediterranean Sea, and as I write this, are now on our way to Sicily, which we will reach tomorrow. This will be an additional stop only very recently included in our itinerary and will be my last day on the ship!

I have been intrigued by the different ‘moods’ of the Mediterranean we saw yesterday, our first day at sea after Cyprus. For most of the day, the sky was a clear blue and the water was quite calm, and a beautiful true blue colour, a welcome relief from the weeks of mists in Asia and the Middle East. But then suddenly we had a ‘white-out’, with the sky covered in low cloud and even the water looking white. You could not distinguish the horizon. I have never seen anything like that before; it was quite eerie and disorientating. But then the sky started to clear again. This made me think of the thousands upon thousands of desperate refugees who try to cross this very extensive sea in flimsy, unseaworthy boats, without possessing any navigational skills. How terrifying it would be for them if they were caught in a ‘white-out’ like that, not to mention storms, rough seas and all the other dangers.

On Friday we anchored in Limassol, the major port city of the Greek part of Cyprus, which is south of the dividing mountain range. The northern part is Turkish, and now the island is at peace with these arrangements after years of conflict between the two communities. In fact Cyprus has a fascinating past, with many civilisations having at one time conquered it, including the Saracens, the Genoese, the Egyptians, the Turks, Phoenicians from Lebanon, the Romans under Alexander the Great, the Byzantines and the Venetians, and even Richard the Lionheart, who married Berengaria from Cyprus before he did battle with Saladin. The Crusaders had used Cyprus as their stepping stone to the Holy Land. But when Richard left Cyprus to continue the Crusade he sold the island to the Knights Templar. (I am not quite sure of the correct sequence of all these occupations.) 

Finally the island was bought by England in 1878 from the Turks, who had occupied it for the previous 300 years. Initially classified as a British Protectorate, it was made a Crown Colony in 1928 but then achieved independence in 1960 after the British forces had been harassed for years by Greek guerrilla fighters. However, Britain still has two sovereign bases here. 

The third largest island in the Mediterranean, Cyprus is just 40 miles from the nearest southern point of Turkey, 60 miles from Syria to its east and 240 miles from Port Said, Egypt, to its south. So it is in a zone where there still is a lot of conflict.  

And as if all these conflicts and the stress and suffering they brought were not enough, the island also has been racked by earthquakes over its history.

Cyprus is the Greek word for copper, which was discovered on the island about 2500 BC and one reason why so many civilisations and countries wanted to possess it, on top of its strategic location. But the island also is very fertile and our tour guide spoke with great pride about all the incredible range of fruits, vegetables and produce such as wines, nectars, syrups, honeys, nuts and carob that are exported from the Greek sector. It also is a popular tourist destination. 

The tour on which I went was to a small village in the mountains called Omodos, just over an hour’s drive from Limassol. I was struck by the fact that the mountains are made from limestone, so the vegetation in the mountains wasn’t what you might call ‘lush’ and the scenery was not really picturesque. The sides of the hills were cut into narrow horizontal gardens with white rocky fences made from the limestone, so that every available space was used for growing food. On our drive we saw many olive trees, carob trees, vineyards, orange groves and market gardens, as well as cypress trees. 

At this small and delightful village, we first sampled some local produce at a tavern, and then wandered through the village square, where some local hand-made lace, embroidery and jewellery were sold, as well as some delicious foods made from sesame seeds and nuts, and so forth, not to mention the usual touristy stuff. An hour was simply not enough time to enjoy that, so we left to go back to the ship very reluctantly. I would have loved to have lunch there but that was not to be. I would add that some of our group chose to spend most of that hour to see the local church and winery, or to have coffee and some local food at one of the several cafes. But I love handcrafts so spent my time browsing in the shops and tasting small samples offered at their bakery. 

All in all, a lovely but not nearly long enough experience. 

The view of Limassol from the ship 

A view from the tavern

Small vineyard next to the tavern (all the vineyards we saw were small) 

View of the village from the tavern

At the tavern. 

Walking into the village square; the best shops were down this laneway  

Some of the local hand-crafted jewellery

In the village square

The Suez Canal - Final Photos

I have just been told that my Skype is unfixable, which is really disappointing, but I do hope that at least this fourth attempt to post the remainder of my photos of the Suez Canal works.

Aha - at last! Enjoy!

Another sculpture on the Egyptian side to celebrate the opening of the new canal, near the sphere shown in the last post.  

Notice how smooth the water is, apart from the ripples caused by the ship, and its interesting colour. This is the Egyptian side.

The only bridge across the canal - and what an impressive one! on the Sinai desert side. We also saw the occasional barge laden with cars crossing the canal. 

I am not certain which Egyptian city this is, but at least it was close to the edge of the canal. 

The tall towers were used to broadcast the call to prayer. The fence is still there, though we saw a train travel along the canal side of it.

Growing crops on the outskirts of Cairo.

Aquaculture in the same area

Sailing out of the canal into the Mediterranean Sea. 

IT woes

I apologise in advance for this, but I need to tell you about one of the drawbacks of going on a long voyage on a ship - apart from the outbreaks of gastroenteritis (which to their credit has been well contained by the staff on this ship) and chest infections (which have prevailed for the entire journey and which I contracted).

I am afraid that I continue to be totally frustrated with my iPhone. I have just spent more time down at the ship’s internet centre, this time with their chief expert, trying to sort out why I still cannot access Skype. Even he is puzzled by it, which is some consolation as otherwise I would feel like a complete fool, and I have to go back tonight for more time with him, since he had to race off to give a lecture. 

Meanwhile, please do not text me as I will not receive your text. My phone stopped sending and receiving them at least 4 weeks ago. Clearly my iPhone and/or Vodaphone is at fault. I have not dared try to try to make a phone call from the ship. It looks like I will have buy a cheap phone in Italy with a Sim card, if I can. This will not be easy when I am on tour on almost all the time. 

I have lost a huge amount of my WiFi time trying to sort out the Skype issue, so all in all, in addition to the initial cost of purchasing the latest iPhone available in Australia and my Apple laptop especially for the trip, for which devices Australians are charged far more than Americans, I have had to pay out around $2000 AUD in communications (WiFi and global roaming) in just 7 weeks! Can you believe that?  Clearly I cannot keep that up. I only hope I can access some free WiFi once I get off the ship. (Already I draft up almost all emails and all my blog posts - other than photo captions which cannot be done beforehand - on my laptop before I turn on WiFi to save time on WiFi. The main reason for the long time it takes is the very slow satellite coverage.) 

 Additionally, it looks like I need to cancel my global roaming contract altogether. I turned off global roaming on my phone some weeks ago after receiving bills that were way above what I was quoted by Vodaphone. To make matters worse, they told my brother they will only change the arrangement if I personally ring their call centre. As if I would be prepared to spend ages on a phone to a call centre from the ship! So for what it is worth, my advice to everyone is - be very wary of Vodaphone as a phone provider for international communication, and do not trust Apple either, as apparently even if you switch off global roaming on your iPhone, they still have it doing some global roaming. Apparently there have been complaints made over the internet about that.

Anyhow, once again my apologies for venting. I had hoped to upload the remaining photos of the Suez Canal to compensate, but, guess what, they were way too slow. It would have taken over 5 minutes to add even one. I will try again later.

The Suez Canal Part 3 - entering the canal itself

We have continued to have very poor satellite coverage, even when we were docked in Cyprus, so I only hope it works this morning to allow me to complete my story of the Suez Canal and to receive and send emails.

I have found out that the Suez Canal was completed and opened in late 1869 amidst great celebrations, when a small fleet that sailed from Port Said met a small fleet that sailed from Suez halfway along the canal in the new town of Ismailia. (My guess regarding the spelling of this city was incorrect.) Ownership of the canal was in the hands of Britain and France, who combined forces to build it, until 1956, when Egypt became independent and President Nasser nationalised it. But it has not operated continuously - it was closed for some years due to various conflicts. 

More of the fence and another observation tower, with some of the land used for agriculture behind the fence.

An early part of the Sinai desert as we entered the actual Suez canal.

More of the Sinai desert, where some road construction was taking place.

An almost completed road. Most passengers were viewing this all from the comfort of their deck chairs.

This pilot boat followed us through the canal

On the Egyptian side, a canal linking the original canal with the new section on which we sailed.

Ismailia - the original part, using the zoom function on my camera

Ismailia - the new part being built on the other side the canal. Some already is occupied.

A special feature to celebrate the completion of the new canal

Another linking canal between the original and new canals

The Suez Canal Part 2 - Egypt from the ship

We are now just two hours out of Cyprus, and I look forward to my first excursion into a member state of the European Union. It will be my last shore excursion on this ship. While the captain has decided to also visit Sicily, that day I will be busy packing and so forth for disembarkation early the next day. I will have a chance to visit there later in my itinerary. 

Back to the Suez Canal . . .

As I noted in my last post, we did not come very close to the three or four Egyptian cities we saw along the canal, including Cairo. What struck me most was the very long tall fence made of stone separating Egypt from the canal, complete with observation towers. Occasionally were was a tall black gate. Sometimes this continuous barrier was less visible - perhaps behind the sand hills, but you could still see observation towers rising out of the top off the sands. Between them and the green rafts that are for military use, it seemed to me that Egypt must be very protective of its borders. If only it were more protective of its own citizens. The problems occurring within what was once a great nation with such rich history prevented us from having the pleasure of going for a cruise down the Nile, and visiting the great pyramids. I would have so loved to do that, but of course it was not worth the risk. At least I saw Petra.

Also, on the Egyptian side of the canal, we saw a lot of aquaculture and horticulture - neat rectangles of ponds and crops such as wheat and corn, all on the other side of the fence. This was another benefit Egypt received from the building of the Suez Canal. A very long freshwater canal was built for them at the time of building the original canal, and now there are a number of canals that keep the land well watered and productive. According to one of the ship’s experts, Egypt supplies Britain with goods such as potatoes and other vegetables. Along the entire length, however, I only saw one small herd of cattle, and no sheep or goats. I assume their pastures are  further afield. 

One city half-way along the canal attracted great interest as it was being extended to the other side of the canal as well. A huge amount of construction of side-by-side multi-storey buildings (not skyscrapers) was going on, and apparently a tunnel is being built under the canal to join two halves of the city. I think the city was called Ishmaelia, though I am not sure how it is spelt.   

I had hoped the remainder of my photos could be included in this post and one other. Surprisingly, our satellite coverage is really poor right now and the downloading was taking too long. I will try again later. 

Heading to the Suez Canal Part 1 - some photos near the start of our journey

We are finally in the Mediterranean Sea, after a long, very slow transit through the 100 mile-long Suez Canal and the waterways that led up to it. Our speed was about 7 knots, while in open seas it is generally about 20-22 knots. 

Much of our journey in the canal was along new sections of the canal, built around 2003, I believe. So anyone who sailed through the canal before then will not recognise the views shown in my photos. For most of the way all you could see were huge hills of sand, placed there not by nature, but by those who constructed the new canals to let more ships pass through per day. Those travelling west to east sail along the old canal and those travelling east to west sail along the new canals, all in convoy. Apparently you see a lot more on the original canal. 

All the ships have to anchor outside until given permission to travel through. We started moving around 2 am. By chance I woke up at 4 am so managed to take a night picture of the part of that voyage in a canal before we entered the Suez Canal itself. I am afraid I am a bit hazy on the geography, as we did not have a map to check where we were, which was somewhat frustrating. 

I gather that for much of the way along the Suez Canal, the Sinai desert was on our right as we looked forward (the starboard side) and Egypt was on our left (the port side). Egypt earns billions of dollars each year from the canal, though it has had a checkered history.

   

Fortunately it was a sunny day with less haze than usual by mid-morning, probably due to the winds. So a large number of passengers were out on deck to see the sights, such as they were. 

I will divide my commentary in three, as there are too many photos for just one post. And at the moment I have poor satellite coverage.

These two photos were taken using my phone, one at 4.15 am and the next at 5.30 am. I have no idea where I was at the time, but it was clearly a canal.

Apparently the green rectangles are barges that can be easily launched and connected to make a bridge, so we were told. Notice the long fence. There was kilometre after kilometre of fencing with observation  posts along most of the length of the canals. 

More of the Lost City of Petra - the remaining photos

I have just discovered that a couple of words suddenly disappeared from the text in my last post and there are a couple of typos. Much of this arises from the Apple predictive text, which drives me mad, though sometimes is so crazy it makes me laugh. The rest is no doubt due to the headache I have had since visiting Petra. I do apologise. But here are the remaining photos. By the way, in the third photo of my last post, my guide was the one in front, with Arab headwear. His English was excellent.

Zooming in on the Treasury.

The Treasury.

One of the many camels waiting for a rider.

Some of the tombs of the ordinary citizens. 

The Amphitheatre.

The tomb in the centre was thought to be that of a King; many people climbed up to it. (I zoomed in on it.) There were other tombs on either side of it.

Jordan and the Lost City of Petra Part 2 - and me and the Bedouin!

Petra is Greek for rock. And certainly the journey to Petra and Petra itself, both the village and the ancient site, have well earned that name. Our bus climbed high up on the mountain range and we saw some incredible vistas. It reminded me of the Grand Canyon in the US in some parts, and the Nullarbor Plain in Australia in others, though without the variety of colours found in those two places. We saw some small areas where wheat had been planted, although the green stalks were much shorter than the wheat in Australia at the same stage of growth, according to an Australian wheat farmer and his wife who happened to be on the bus. Here and there we saw small flocks of sheep and at one place I saw a few cattle. Jordan receives very little rain; its main water source is underground springs. The big basin of water that supplies much of its water is shared with neighbouring countries. 

To see the incredible carvings on the hike through the narrow, long chasm leading into the ancient site, and on the most well-known of the sculptured tombs at the site, commonly referred to as the 'Treasury', as well as the amphitheatre, was a breathtaking experience and worth the difficult walk. 

The chasm, which starts about a mile from the Visitors Centre, is a mile long and at places only 3 m wide but never more than about 5 m. Known as the 'Siq', tall sandstone cliffs surround it, and it slopes downward all the way, ending opposite the Treasury. Some tombs could be seen along this route. One interesting feature was the continuous channels that had been carved into the rock face about a metre above the ground to bring water into the ancient city. Apparently the city had splendid gardens and a fountain as a result of this abundant water supply, the source of which was natural springs. While there were many, many tombs carved into the high cliffs that encircled the ancient city, apparently the people lived in the space between all the cliffs amongst the gardens, but their dwellings have all disappeared, no doubt partly due to the earthquake but also due to the ravages of time. As it is, it is amazing that so much detail of the carvings remains, given the sands that have blown against them for many centuries.  

If you saw the film ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’, which was screened on the ship the day before we arrived in Jordan, you would have seen the magnificent columns and so on of the 'Treasury'. What is less well-known is the symbolism they represented. For example, there were 12 columns to represent the months of the year, 31 carved roses to represent the days of the month and 7 arches to represent the days of the week. It was once thought that the treasures of the city were kept there, but unlike in the movie, behind that facade there is only a small cave. All evidence points to it being a grand tomb built to honour someone who had brought so much success to the city. 

In front of the 'Treasury', it was like a market place, with tourists milling around taking photos, Bedouins going from person to person trying to persuade us to buy silver bracelets and postcards, market stalls, and horses and carts, donkeys and camels available for rides, all the animals in the charge of very persuasive Bedouins. By this stage it was very hot and there was little shade. I saw our intriguing Japanese passenger racing off on a camel, though, with a very pleased look on his face!

On our group walked, however, still downwards, over the very rocky sands with some paving and more stalls. The main point of interest was the large amphitheatre, built along Roman lines and yet different in some of its design features. Our very informative guide pointed out that while a Roman theatre had a special place for the Emperor and his entourage to enter and sit, here the rulers entered and sat with the rest of their people.

Whilst we were admiring this huge outdoor structure, many children were climbing their way to the top. How I envied their energy, not to mention that of the many tourists who were climbing up the nearby 850 steps to the clifftop. In fact there were several sets of steps around the site. 

After viewing more amazing carvings, and seeing the Bedouin village in the distance, it was time to return to modern Petra for a very late lunch. By this stage I was very tired and hot, and I knew I had about a 3-mile all in the heat, all uphill, over rocky ground. At this age we were told to walk back on our own, the clear implication being if you take too long, you would not have time for any lunch. It was now 1.45 pm and we had not eaten since 7 am. I gritted my teeth and plodded on, knowing by now I was not nearly fit enough. By the time I emerged from the 'Sik', my face was puce, perspiration was trickling into and stinging my eyes, I was breathless and I wondered how on earth I was going to make it. At this point one of the Bedouins persuaded me to mount a horse to go up to the Visitors Centre, a journey of about a mile in the heat up quite a steep slope. I told him I was not a rider and very frightened of falling off. He assured me he would lead the horse all the way and it was a small and gentle horse. I looked up the path and decided that it was the only way I was going to make it. But, my dear family and friends, this was a challenge like you would not believe. Thank goodness nobody was there filming it or it would have made a comedy festival!  I have no flexibility in my legs anymore. Already I have had my grandsons laughing their heads off at me trying to get up from the floor if I have been sitting there playing with them. I have to crawl over to the nearest chair and with great difficulty use that to raise myself up. 

Even though the horse was placed next to a low wall, it took two strong Bedouins to lift my leg and get it over the horse’s back! I then held on very firmly, nearly going over a couple of times. But getting me off again was even worse. The poor man had to lift me up by himself and drop me onto the wall. My shoe came off in the process and it was a wonder I did not land flat on my back, when I plopped down very heavily  But he was very gracious about it and well and truly earned his money, I can tell you! 

After that, I still had about another 500 m of climbing to the hotel where we were to have lunch. Only my determination got me there. I arrived in a dreadful state -  my face was like it was in Bangkok, swollen, red and wet with perspiration, and my lungs were heaving. I am only starting to feel like myself now. But I did have some lunch, albeit at 3 pm and in haste. The lady sitting opposite me looked just the same as me. Both of us looked at those who seemed totally unaffected by the heat and effort with amazement. 

We got back to the ship at 7 pm, where waiters were lined up outside the ship to greet us with glasses of champagne and of orange juice. Clearly our marathon effort was being acknowledged. Never has a chilled orange juice tasted so good!

Other passengers, I might add, travelled to Wadi Rum, of Lawrence of Arabia fame. That film is being screened tonight. I gather it was a fascinating and picturesque site.

All in all, I strongly recommend travel to Dubai (which our witty guide at the time called “Do Buy”), Oman and Jordan. They are really interesting and safe places that offer many wonderful things to see and experience. But you really need to be fit to enjoy Petra to the full. My walking around and around the ship and climbing stairs as often as I could were not nearly enough to prepare me, as I discovered. 

Our pirate danger is now over and apparently the outbreak of gastro is just about contained. Some people two cabins from me are still in quarantine though, which means special attendants servicing their cabin with masks and special clothes on and everything from the cabin (linen and food trays) sealed and bagged. 

We will be entering the Suez Canal at about 5.30 pm local time. I am looking forward to seeing it, though fear much of the time it will be in the dark.  

The photos are taking a long time to upload, so I will post the rest later.

Family tomb along the route.

The sandstone cliffs along the 'Siq'.   

Our guide pointing out the water channels along the 'Siq', and carvings of camels' feet. 

Jordan and the Lost City of Petra Part 1 - some background to this most memorable excursion

Yesterday in Aqaba and Petra in Jordan was the most full-on day I have experienced so far - about five hours travelling by bus from Aqaba to Petra and back, walking for several kilometres in the heat over sandy, rocky slopes with horses and carriages driven by Bedouins bumping their way past you at speed, and even a horse ride (who would have thought?).

Aqaba, Jordan’s busy seaport, reminded me of Muscat in Oman, only the rocky mountains surrounding it were much taller and a little more distant from the township. As was the case in Muscat, the dwellings were mostly 2-storeys with flat roofs on which you could walk. The buildings were mostly rendered in various shades of white, cream and brown. I noticed that quite a few had satellite dishes on the top and some had a large solar panel mounted at an angle to catch the maximum amount of sunlight. I did not see any high-rise towers. A very small number of hotels had maybe 8 storeys. I assume this restriction on height is a government policy, as is the case in Oman, though on our drive-through I did not see anything to match the grandeur of the opera house and Grand Mosque in Oman. That is not to say they do not have such buildings, though their guide did not mention them. They are very proud, however, of their Marine Sciences Centre and Aquarium, beautiful beaches and coral reefs which are a mecca for those who love diving and studying marine species.  

Again, while about 94% of its citizens are Muslim, like Oman Jordan also prides itself on being a very tolerant society. The people were very friendly and I would add that most were wearing western clothes - including the ubiquitous pair of jeans - with Arab headgear. I did not see any ladies in black. Although it is smaller than Tasmania, and much of the country is a vast chain of rocky mountains and plains with few inhabitants, mostly bare of trees and vegetation, we were told that there are about 9 million citizens. Of these, about 3 million are native Jordanians and the rest are mostly refugees - the majority of whom are from Palestine - who have settled there and have been freely given Jordanian citizenship. But this too is a country with an enlightened leader. 

The chief export of Jordan is phosphates, but now they have also discovered uranium. Tourism also plays a large part in its economy.   

Another source of pride in Jordan is its incredible history over thousands of years. It was here Lawrence of Arabia helped an Arab prince fight the Ottoman Turks, and through here Moses led his people from Egypt. But the piece of history that attracts so many tourists is the ‘Lost City of Petra’, which is the site of one of the most important ancient Arab kingdoms - that of the Nabataeans, who moved to this natural rocky fortress from Arabia about the 6th century BC. The story of their society is incredible, and their skill at ceramics and carving stone is legendary. Unfortunately they were conquered by the Romans in AD 106, who were only able to conquer them by cutting off their water supply, though evidence suggests they continued to flourish, albeit under Roman rule, until the city was partly destroyed by an earthquake in AD 363. The Crusaders then used it as an outpost but it fell into obscurity until it was discovered by a young Swiss explorer in 1812, who had searched for it for some time.    

The ruins were then was occupied by a particular tribe of Bedouins, who unfortunately destroyed anything that was not of value to them, leaving no trace of the skeletons that occupied the many burial caves, or of the tools, ceramics etc. of that ancient society. Eventually the Bedouins were moved out of the city about 30 years ago, so that it could be studied by archaeologists and used as a tourist attraction, but not before they struck a deal that they would be given land and money to build houses nearby, and that they would have sole right to sell goods and run the horses, camels, horses and carriages and donkeys at the site.  

My experiences at the site will be told in my next post. But I leave it to you to find out more about the amazing story behind Petra site.

Aqaba from the ship. Notice all our buses lined up for our shore excursions, in the foreground.

Glimpse of the township of Petra, from where we made our pilgrimage to the site of the 'Lost City'.

Near the start of our long hike into the Lost City. Notice the carved blocks and the long, long lines of visitors.

En route to Jordan - and some miscellaneous photos

Just a few little tidbits from around the ship and my recent shore excursions . . . 

First, after mentioning the Queen’s birthday, I discovered a ‘birthday cake’ for her in the Grand Lobby, so I have taken a couple of photos of that. I am sure it was no coincidence that the film screened last night was ‘The Queen’ with Helen Mirren, an excellent filming which transported me back to the shock so many felt at Princess Diana’s untimely death. To me it was well-timed for another reason, and that is the very recent public admission of Harry of how he bottled up his feelings about his mother’s death for so long, and now he and William and Kate are promoting mental health and an end to the unhealthy British stiff upper lip approach to troubles.

With regard to photographs, I did not have quite enough room for a couple of other photos taken in Dubai and Muscat I would like you to see, so I am including those as well. Speaking of those ports, the people I know who were in the group that went to the desert barbecue in Dubai told me very excitedly they did get to ride camels. And a couple at our table were telling me about the most unique experience they had in Muscat. They went to a place like a spa where you put your bare feet in a particular pool and tiny ‘cleaner’ fish treat your toes. They said it was a most extraordinary, ticklish feeling. I have seen documentaries of such fish at ‘cleaning stations’ that service large fish, but this is the first I have heard of such fish being used to service humans. What an unforgettable experience! I reckon it would beat the exotic and very expensive spa baths and pools and beauty treatments in the salons here on the ship. (I, of course, prefer to spend my money on WiFi, which is equally expensive, so I can keep my blog and emails going.)

I am very much missing the lovely and very kind friends I have made on my journey. That is the difficulty with a long sea voyage - so many people join the ship for just one or two stages, and then depart. Of course, that is understandable, when they have a limited time for their holiday. And on 2 May, I in my turn will be leaving the ship in Naples, before the end of the next leg - Dubai to Southampton. I have now been on the ship almost seven weeks - how time flies! Only a small proportion of passengers are on the ship for its entire around-the-world voyage - about 240 of the approximately 2800 passengers. By their journey’s end, they will have been on the ship about five months! 

But already I have had two very kind couples offer to meet me in England - one couple to show me around London, and one to meet me in Etchingham in Sussex from where my maternal forebears, William and Sarah Head, migrated as young farmers to Australia almost 180 years ago, though their ship was a far different cry to this, and their voyages to Sydney then to Melbourne were far more perilous. This couple will then travel with me to Battle, a couple of stations further on, where the famous Battle of Hastings occurred. Until they told me, I had no idea the two places were near each other. What a wonderful and unexpected opportunity this will be. I am immensely grateful to both couples.  

  

Yesterday I went to a brilliant talk by an historian called Dr Susannah Lipscomb, entitled ‘Why care About the Past?’ She lectures at a British university and was just so articulate and perceptive about our human foibles. I already am looking forward to her next talk. Such activities for me are the icing on the cake for a voyage like this, when we have four sea days to fill in between Muscat and Aqaba, Jordan. I am really looking forward to walking down into the Lost City of Petra in Jordan, which will be an arduous 8-hour tour. But what an opportunity to visit this important historical site!

  

The Queen's birthday cake - front view

The Queen's birthday cake - side view 

An incredible sculpture in the terminal at Dubai

The dome of the Grand Mosque in Muscat from where the magnificent central chandelier hangs

Beautiful palm tree in  Muscat

Part of the complex at the Sultan's palace in Muscat

An intriguing and lovely bush in the grounds of the Sultan's palace

Muscat, Oman - including the Grand Mosque

We are now sailing for the next four days in an area with the highest risk of piracy in the world, apparently, and so none of us is allowed on the promenade deck (Deck 7) or any deck area below that. We all know where we have to go and what we have to do should an alarm sound. High pressure hoses are being manned by security staff around Deck 7 to prevent anyone attempting to climb up the side of the ship. At night the ship’s outside lighting is dimmed. And of course we still have the Lieutenant-Commander from the Royal Navy on board. So every possible precaution is being taken and I feel perfectly safe.    

Likewise, the ship’s crew have contained the gastro outbreak very effectively by its prompt firm action. People are not getting away with refusing to sanitise their hands, and all food and drink is served by staff wearing food-handling gloves. Anyone who becomes ill is quarantined in their cabin. They were told in no uncertain terms to go immediately to their cabin should they start exhibiting any of the symptoms, and ring the medical centre from there. And we all are encouraged to use our own cabin toilet rather than any of the public toilets when we can. This all must have been very puzzling to the large number of passengers who joined the ship in Dubai a couple of days after the outbreak was announced. It can only have come, I should imagine, from someone who flew into and boarded in Colombo, who was incubating it without knowing it, or who failed to declare they were not well. 

It is now time to tell you more about my shore excursion into Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman. Much of Muscat consists of low white buildings nestled into a stark background of grey stony mountains, though as we drove into the city proper there were some lovely gardens and trees. One of the first sight I saw from the ship was its ancient fortress, a very impressive structure. Later on in our journey we saw evidence of other lookouts and structures atop the countless mountains, all of which ties into its history, of which the Omanis are very proud. We saw excellent detailed models of the fortresses in the museum. Their design was most impressive. 

Situated in the Gulf of Oman, Muscat has been known as an important trading port between east and west since the first century.  Over the centuries, at different times, it has been ruled by various indigenous tribes, the Persians and the Portuguese, and many foreign tradesman have settled there. In the 18th century it was a regional military power, its influence reaching as far as East Africa and Zanzibar.  

But now, in a way, its story is rather like that of Dubai, in that the present Sultan, who came to power in 1970, is an enlightened man who sought to address the high infant mortality rate, the poverty, and the lack of education and health care of his people. Having been educated in England and even served in the British Army, he set about establishing schools, medical centres and an infrastructure to raise the living standard and education of the residents. Apparently, when young men reach the age of 25, they are given a grant of land which they cannot sell, and money. Our lovely young tour guide, who is 24 and has a wonderful sense of humour, told us he plans to go to England to obtain his Masters Degree if he can, and at the moment is studying to be a teacher. At the moment, marriage is out of the question because it costs a fortune to have a wedding, including paying a dowry to the bride’s family.

The Sultan, Qaboos bin Said, has built many wonderful facilities for his people as well, the most famous being the Grand Mosque, which we visited, and a stunning Opera House. Some more traditional Muslims in their society were critical of the latter, but he persisted, saying he loves music and that’s that! Unfortunately we drove past the Opera House too quickly for me to photograph it, but at least I have some photos of the Grande Mosque. The workmanship in that was positively superb. To enter we and the many other visitors were all inspected to check we had complied with their expectations in order to show our respect. We women had to completely cover our heads with scarves, and also to be covered from neck to toes in whatever garments we wore. Knowing this is advance, I had bought a lovely scarf for the occasion in Dubai. When we entered the temple, we also had to remove our shoes. The symbolism of that is held in common with other faiths, and I think is a great idea. When I entered this breathtaking set of buildings, especially the mosque itself, I was more than happy to show my respect for their beliefs and their craftsmanship, especially as our guide had told us they are very accepting of other people in their community and a gentle, enlightened society.

In Oman the language is Arabic, but it is a different dialect to that spoken in Egypt, for example. The traditional dress is differs to that in Dubai. In one of my photos in Dubai Part 1 you can see the traditional dress worn by the Arab men there. In Oman it is different - they wear caps or turbans on their head and their dress is more tight-fitting. Again, the women wear black, which our guide said was the result of the Persian influence. Before that, and even now at weddings, the women wore beautifully embroidered, brightly coloured dresses, examples of which we saw in the museum. Unfortunately, however, we were not permitted to photograph anything inside the museum. I would add that a lot of the men choose to wear western clothes - jeans and so forth - at least when they are not at family events.

After the Grand Mosque we spent an hour at a local market. It was interesting that most of the stall holders were Arabic, whilst in Dubai I did not see that. And I did not feel the same pressure to buy. I felt they were more respectful. We then had a photo stop at the Sultan’s Palace, which is now only used by the Sultan when there are visiting dignitaries. Queen Elizabeth has stayed there. (It’s her birthday today!)

All in all, I really enjoyed my time in Muscat, despite the heat! And I learned so much. 

A view of the port area of Muscat from the ship.

Inside one of the prayer rooms at the Grande Mosque.

The area where devotees can pray en masse at special prayer times. 

Some of the beautiful tile work near where the men perform their washing rituals before prayers 

Inside the Grand Mosque.

The magnificent main chandelier in the Grand Mosque. 

The focal point of the Grand Mosque.

One of the side walkways inside the Grand Mosque

Inside the market.

Some beautiful and unusual jewellery created from precious stones.

Some of the quirky statues outside the museum.

Part of the museum complex. 

View of part of the Sultan's Palace.