Thursday 4 April 2019 – Cyprus

As we cruised into Limassol Cyprus this morning we saw that The Queen Mary II had overtaken us in the night and was already docked.

Our first impression of Cyprus was a good one.  It was a beautiful Spring Day and we took photos from the deck as we cruised in.

Our bus left just before 9:00  and we had both Italian and English speaking passengers with a guide for each language group.   The English Speakers had George who was just awesome.  He spoke clearly and slowly and gave us a constant flow of information on the agriculture, nature, birds and history of the island as we travelled the scenic route to Paphos.

Greek mythology is fascinating and we certainly learned a great deal about the gods and goddesses on this trip.   A story that captured our imagination was the birth of Aphrodite – Goddess of love and fertility.   There is a camel shaped rock at her birthplace in the sea and if a maiden wants to be more beautiful, she will be if she swims around the rock, three times, in the nude at full moon!

We also visited the Paphos Archeological park to see the Kings’ Tombs and the Paphos Mosaics.

The underground tombs date back to the fourth, fifth and sixth century BC.   They are carved out of solid rock.  No kings are actually buried here as no kings resided there.  In the fourth century Cyprus was under Persian Rule and later under Egyptian rule.  Some of the tombs feature Doric Columns.

The floor mosaic archaeological site was fascinating. Elite homes and palaces were decorated with mosaics depicting every day life and stories about the gods.   The mosaics are from houses of different eras between the second and fourth centuries AD, thus covering the Hellenistic period until the Byzantine period.

Many houses and mosaics were destroyed over the centuries but five houses can be seen a Paphos.

The spring flowers in the park were also really beautiful

We then had free time and The Earl and I walked along the waterfront and then had coffee at a local pavement café.   Cyprus s truly amazing.  It would be great to spend a whole week here.

Wednesday, 03 April 2019 The Suez Canal

I woke up several times during the night and looked out of the porthole.  The Queen Mary was right next to us also waiting to enter the canal.   We weren’t moving for some time. In the morning I heard Earl get up and he went on deck to take photos. I could see through the porthole that we were in the Suez.

I got up and showered and when Earl came back we went to have an early breakfast.  Val joined us. On and off for the rest of the day we were on Deck 11 watching the different stages of our passage through the Canal.  It was very interesting.

Transiting through the canal is not supposed to be the most exciting  part of the cruise. But in spite of the limited things to see along the way I was super excited to be there at all.  I remember The Six Day War and learning about the importance of the canal at school. I never dreamed that I would actually see it in real life.   Most parts are very narrow and the strip of water is in the middle of the desert and that is actually beautiful in itself.
Officially every ship has to use 4 pilots for the transit, although often less are used depending on the transit.

People on the banks of the canal cheered and waved as we passed through.  It was really rather festive.

An exciting part of the trip was cruising under the Mumberak Peace Bridge also known as The Egyptian-Japanese Friendship Bridge and the Al Salam Peace Bridge.  It crosses at El-Qantara and it links the continents of Africa and Asia.

 

 

At 4 we entered the Mediterranean Sea.

Here are some facts about the Suez Canal that I found here.

• Suez Canal opened to traffic in November 1869
• It was built by Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps using Egyptian forced labour; an estimated 120,000 workers died during construction
• It stretches 192km (120 miles) between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea
• It is 300m (984ft) wide at its narrowest point
• By 1955 approximately two-thirds of Europe’s oil passed through the canal
• The waterway closed 1967 due to the Six Day War, reopened 1975
• About 7.5% of world sea trade is carried via the canal today
• Receipts from the canal July 2005 to May 2006 totalled $3,246m
• In 2005, 18,193 vessels passed through the canal

The fact about The Six Day War fascinates me the most as I remember this being a big thing for South Africa.  It meant that ships had to sail around the Cape again which was good for our economy!

I knew that fourteen ships had been stranded in the Suez for eight years but never knew what happened to them during that time.  A little research on the internet brought up a wonderful story about those amazing sailors.   The following is a paraphrase from this website

The Six Day War resulted in the Suez Canal being closed for eight years. Fourteen foreign cargo ships (British, American, German, Swedish, Bulgarian, Polish and Czechoslovakian) were trapped in The Bitter Lake for all that time.

These ships clustered together in the middle of the lake and created a sort of ‘country’ of their own.   They called themselves “The Yellow Fleet” because of the yellow sand that blew from the banks and settled on the ships.   There was little to do but clean and maintain their ships and move about aimlessly to keep the engines tuned.

Each ship had its separate function – The Polish freighter was the post office.  The British organised soccer matches.  One ship was the hospital and another a movie theatre.

There was only one woman among the crews!

There was nothing for it but to create activities to pass the time.  One of things they did was water ski on a surfboard pulled by a life boat!

They also played Bingo and a lot of sport!

The Tokyo Olympics did not go uncelebrated. They had their own mini-Olympics which Poland won.

Christmas saw them installing a floating Christmas tree lowered a piano onto a small boat, which roved around the lake and serenaded each ship.

The Yellow Fleet dubbed themselves the “Great Bitter Lake Association” and made special badges. They even had a club tie.

In 1975, they were finally able to disband and return to their homelands. But by that point, the crew had learned that, no matter your circumstances, home is truly where you make it.

Monday 1 April 2019 Aqaba, Jordan – Petra Comfort Tour

We did not have to go through customs in Jordan so our meeting time was at a respectable 8:!5 am and we were in our bus by 8:45.

As we disembarked we saw that our neighbouring ship was the Queen Mary!   I wondered what it would be like to cruise on her!

What a stunning trip this was.   Our Jordanian guide was amazing. She had a wonderful sense of humour and had us chuckling on several occasions.  She spoke excellent English and the tour was entirely in English.  It was a two-hour drive to Petra but we stopped half way for a break at a visitors’ centre.   The souvenirs and things on sale were very expensive.  And it was freezing!  I kept my cardigan and fleece on for the entire trip.

Petra was voted the seventh New Wonder of The World in 2007.   It became one of the most visited archaeological sites after the 1989 movie Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade.  This is where Indiana Jones finds the Holy Grail and the world was introduced to the beautiful, ancient city of Petra.   At that time nobody at all lived in the area but once it became a tourist attraction a huge town grew up around it.  Everybody living there makes their living out of tourism.

Petra was the capital of the Nabatean Empire.  They had control of the Spice Road which gave them great prosperity.  The Spice Road was the main caravan trading route that brought spices, incense, and textiles from Arabia, Africa, and India to the West.

How clever the Nabateans were to carve their tombs, theatre, shops and houses out of the rose coloured rock.  It was so well hidden that nobody would guess there was anything there.  This is where the merchants left their families in safety when they travelled to trade with other countries.   Mainly it was a city where the dead were buried in tombs and where they went to the theatre.  Shops were carved into the mountain so that goods could be sold to the theatre goers.   The homes were only used as a safe haven when the men were not around to protect their families from invaders.

Al-Khazneh also known as The Treasury is a temple carved into sandstone rock.   The Nabatean king, Aretas IV is believed to buried here.   It is also believed that treasures are buried here.

It was a long and winding path of a 1.2km to reach The Treasury.  The ground from the entrance to the canyon was very uneven and had loose stones which require care to negotiate.   But once in the canyon it was better.   However, horse chariots raced through the crowds  and you had to be alert to the drivers’  whistles and shouts of out of the way!

 

On the way home the bus over heated and we had to stop in a safe place to see what could be done.  The Earl helped the driver to hold the bonnet up and check the radiator.  Yes – indeed it was boiling hot and bone dry.  After filling it with several bottles of water we were back on the road.  Heidi, our English Speaking Tour consultant was with us and phoned the ship to report that we might be late.  Sailing time was 7 PM and we needed to be all aboard by 6:30.  But we made it back just after 6!

Sunday, 31 March, 2019

Timna Park and Underwater Observatory

We had to be up very early this morning as most of the ship needed to be seen through customs at the Port of Eilat.

It was a matter of hurry up and wait as we were called in groups to disembark the ship!  Our tour brief said to wear ‘good shoes and light clothing.’  But the weather had turned cold  and I didn’t want to freeze.   I decided the best was to wear jeans and a t-shirt and to take a cardigan and fleece.  I am so glad I did as it was freezing in the Timna Valley!

Once through customs at around 8:30 we set off in a bus with our Israeli guide who spoke English.  A Costa Staff member interpreted in Italian.   Our guide was amazing and gave us plenty of interesting information as we travelled  the 30 km to Timna Park.

The area is rich in copper ore and has been mined since 5000 years BC.  The mines were possibly part of the Kingdom of Edom and were worked by the Edomites who according to The Old Testament were the enemy of The Israelites.   The Israelites and Nabataeans also mined copper right through to the first and second centuries AD.

Copper was used to make beautiful ornaments and also for stone cutting.

After seeing where the copper rich area was we went to the Smelting Camp.

An interesting Geological phenomenon  was the mushroom rock caused by wind erosion.

We also visited  Solomon’s Pillars, natural structures that were formed by water erosion through fractures in the cliff.

In the 1930s an American archaeologist, Nelson Glueck suggested that the pillars were related to King Solomon having been in the area and thus he gave them his name.  There is, however, no evidence that this is true, but excavation in the area began after his discovery.

At the base of Solomon’s Pillars, a small Egyptian temple dedicated to Hathor, Goddess of mining, was excavated.  We visited a shrine and saw rock carvings of Ramses III with Hathor at the top of some steps, carved into the stone.    I climbed the steps with a few other fit members of our group and the view from up their was worth it.

The second part of the tour was to the Underwater observatory where it was a lot warmer.   The only complaint about this tour was that we did not have enough time at the Underwater observatory and Aquarium!   It was simply awesome!

The photos do not do justice to the underwater observatory but seeing the coral and fish in their natural habitat was an amazing experience.   I could have stayed there for hours.

The aquarium was great too but not unlike the ones in Cape Town and Sydney.   However, more time there would have been great too.

When we got back to the docks we got straight onto a shuttle bus with an Australian woman, Judy who we met at the observatory.   The bus dropped us at the Hayam mall in Eilat.  Our first stop was at the Pharmacy where we bought some just in case cold remedies and Vitamin C as half the passengers on board are coughing and spluttering and there’s no medication available in the ship’s shops.

We then went to have lunch at a mall restaurant.  Earl and Judy had Tuna Salad – absolutely awesome and I had a traditional dish made with eggplant and cheese and a spicy sauce.  It was served with a generous green salad with extra olives on the side.  It also came with a huge bread roll which I’d asked to be left off.  Earl also declined bread but Judy didn’t.  They got that part of the order mixed up so I gave her my roll.  The food was expensive but worth every shekel!

 

Monday, 25 March, 2019 Salalah

Our tour only left at 13:15.  We had to get landing cards before we left the ship.  We were with other English speakers on Bus 17 with tour leader, Mohamed.  He was awesome and gave us interesting information.

It is a dry, arid land but very wealthy because of their oil and natural gas resources.  The Sultan made huge changes in the country in 1970 when he came into power.  Women have equal rights with men and work hard at school and college and in fact are more likely to get the good jobs than the men!

Camels are wealth in Oman and all the camels we saw roaming were owned by somebody. None were wild.

Water comes from underground and 97%  is free from contamination.  All residents have access to water.  91% have instant access to piped water, meaning only 9% have to wait for water to arrive in tankers. The water in the Wadi Dayqah dam is of a high enough quality to satisfy irrigation requirements as well as domestic water supply after treatment.

We visited the geysers at Mughsayl Beach and we were thrilled that they cooperated and shot out streams of water several times as we watched.

Some people got quite wet.

We were also taken to see the alleged site of Job’s burial site.  In Oman it is know as the Tomb of the Prophet Ayoub.  It is in the hills overlooking the city of Salalah.

Oman is home to the Boswella Scara tree.  And it is from the dried sap of this tree that Frankincense is made.  In bygone times it was more valuable than gold and was one of the gifts brought to The Baby Jesus by The Three Wise Men.

We were taken to a market where many Frankincense products were on sale – but I resisted the temptation to buy anything.

Friday, March 22, 2019

After breakfast this morning we went to the pool deck as today was the day we crossed the equator.  I did a dance session with the animation team and then four groups had their faces painted in the colours of the four elements – Earth, Water, Fire and Sky.

We had to gather on the balcony under our flags and when Neptune appeared he did a whole thing and called for us to yell when he called our elements.   Then he welcomed us and said we may cross his territory.

We all lined up and were baptized by the God of The Sea!   It was great fun.