A Catching Up Entry

April 22, 2015

Nauplia, Greece 

Wow. It's been over a week since I wrote entire day of adventures. We have traveled well over 800 miles in that time, but have experienced over three millennium of history. For anyone who is truly paying attention...sorry. It's been a whirlwind of activity. 

The itinerary in brief:

Tuesday April 14, Nazareth and the Golan Heights

Wednesday April 15, a day at sea, doing laundry (my John, the laundry man) and getting ready to leave the ship soon. 

Thursday April 16, Kusadasi Turkey and the breathtaking Ephesus. 

Friday April 17, the Greek isle of Mykonos and the ancient ruins of Delos

Saturday, disembark the ship at 8:30 AM in Athens and tour the Greece National Museum before settling in for a night of rest in Athens. 

Sunday April 18, onto a small tour boat for a tour of the Greek islands of Hydrea, Poros and Aegina. 

Monday April 19, Athens and a visit to the new Acropolis Museum, as well as a trip up the cable tram to the highest hill in Athens and a tiny chapel of St George. 

Tuesday April 21, the Acropolis of Athens, the ancient Parthenon, and the Erechtheum temple, among a number of stops. 

Wednesday April 22 (today), Corinth, ...

So much and so many fast miles through time we have traveled. It's late at night and I wish to share only a few of the incredibly moving moments of the past week...

Nazareth meant being in the places that Christ got started with his ministry, including the River of Jordan. The most significant moments for me were watching the large group of Eritheans at the river, immersing themselves, singing and praying. These are the same people we meet in Jerusalem. I was completely touched by their amazing faith. There are many other moments of that day that I shall share when I have the time, but this one brought me to a place of peace. 

Our day in Turkey meant seeing the huge, inspiring ruins of Ephesus. Again, I shall share more of the trip later, but my biggest moments of this day was being in the theater that St Paul spoke to the Corinthians, while we toured the ancient  city...and an evening concert, back at that same theater.

This was a goosebumps night, with the theater lit up, and we were snuggled at tables with wonderful music performed by the Kusadasi Philharmonic. 

On to Greece and Mykonos with the ruins of Delos...I was underwhelmed, mostly because of my experience at Ephesus. More ancient ruins, more Greek history and more data to process. Sorry Delos...My brain was still in Ephesus. 

We arrived in Athens early Saturday and spent the next few days seeing the sights, some of it on our own, some with tours...

Sunday was a delightful cruise to the three aforementioned islands, with some terrific entertainment. Later in the day the dancers got many of our fellow passengers to dance with them. Between the rocking boat and the wine, I only lasted a few minutes!  

More later. The ancient history lessons of high school have faded, so I'm in a serious learning curve. Thanks for hanging in there with me. 

Jerusalem

Monday April 13, 2015

Port of Ashod, Israel 

We had an early start on our day, clearing through a very strict military and immigration process at the Port of Ashod. That said, I hardly know where to begin with a description of our long day. The itinerary for the day included The Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, Old Jerusalem, David's Tomb, a site called The Upper Room and a traditional kibbutz. Instead of a rambling description of all of these tremendously significant places, I feel I should focus on the emotions of the day. 

Before I begin, I must say that we covered an amazing amount of territory in a very short amount of time. Our tour guide, Schlomoe, was amazingly well versed, not only in the historical and religious aspects of our journey, but also with the politics. We felt lucky to have him as our guide.  In many ways our delay in the Gulf of Suez was a blessing, the most significant being that our trip through Jerusalem the day after Orthodox Easter, instead of the day of.  The sites we visited were very crowded, but much less so than they would have been if we were there on Sunday. 

The Mount of Olives is such a significant religious area, but I was not terrifically impressed. The mount affords a tremendous view, from afar, of Jerusalem and the walls of the old city. As could probably be expected, it has been cemented over with monuments. It's entirely possible that there are areas of the mount that are still somewhat pristine, but we did not visit them. 

The Garden of Gethsemane was an emotional stop. The olive trees are not the same ones that were there when Jesus had his final moments on earth, but they are quite old and beautiful. We learned that older olive trees are hollow, therefore it is impossible to really put an age on them. Perhaps people are like that also...if they have nothing inside, they do not age, but they must lack the love, tenderness, joy, heartache and fulfillment of life. I'll accept age, as long as my core has something inside.

The garden is now on the grounds of the Church of  the World, one of many churches that we visited in our two days. I'd love to say exactly who built this church, but I have been overwhelmed with information and simply cannot remember. That is the way of most of our days in Israel...so much information, facts and data that I went into mental overload. Suffice to say, it was beautiful...and crowded. 

When we walked through the the Dung Gate (so named because in ancient times the dung was removed via this entry) of the old city of Jerusalem, we were right behind a family celebrating a bar mitzvah. Schlomoe explained that bar mitzvahs can only be done on certain days, and Monday is one of those days. We walked into the city in the Jewish Quarter and by the the West Wall, also know as the Wailing Wall. 

I was less moved by the wall itself than by the mass of people who are faithfully praying there. My assumption has always been that the Jews of Israel were all religious, but discovered that only 20% of the population are really practicing their faith. Of them, less than 1/2 are Orthodox. Much of my time in Israel was about smashing my assumptions. 

Old Jerusalem city is broken into quarters.  The Jewish, the Christian, the Muslim and the Armenian quarters are all connected by streets that are congested with shops, shoppers, tourists and pilgrims. In this old city, it seems that everyone is more than tolerant of each other and they live and work in harmony. We walked through all of the quarters, learning about each faith and visiting some their revered holy places. 

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After walking down the crowded Via Delrosa, where tradition holds that Christ carried the cross he was crucified on, we came to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This church was built around the place that is traditionally believed to be where Christ was prepared for burial. With many hundreds of people milling about in the square, and the throngs of faithful inside, I began to back into a corner, just to escape the masses of people. My feelings of faith were replaced by feelings of claustrophobia. And we learned that this was an uncommonly quiet day.  I accept people's need to visit as an affirmation of their faith, but it's just not for me. The entire city is an overload for someone who prefers to sit in quiet solitude. 

Men of Georgia, in their traditional clothing. 

A group of Orthodox Christians from Eritrea, waiting in the square to go inside of the church, touched my heart in ways that no building or historical site ever could. Nearly two hundred of them, from their famished country, have made their way to Jerusalem. We learned that organizations around the world sponsor and pay for the Christians of this war torn, starving country, to do their pilgrimage. Serious, but also laughing and smiling, they waited patiently. As our group left the area, one of the women and I exchanged a loving hand hold and a sharing of God's Peace. Isn't that what this is all about?  

We ended our day at the Kibbutz Ramat Rachel, a beautiful kibbutz that was once outside the city. Jerusalem has grown around the kibbutz and yet they continue to operate in the traditional ways. Well, mostly traditional. They have set up part of their operation as an inexpensive hotel, as have many other kibbutz of Israel. 

Enough rambling. I've written too much already, and said very little.  I will probably return to Israel someday, with a vastly different mindset and time frame. Peace be with you, dear reader and in the days following our return to Hawaii, I'll continue processing my thoughts and feelings. 

Garden of Gethsemane. 

My sweety, on another ancient Roman road. This one in much better shape than what we walked on in Spain. 

Stuck in the Gulf of Suez

April 10, 2015

Tonight, as I was waiting for my notes of the previous day to post, I overheard something amazing. We are heading into the Suez Canal in the morning, which I find exhilarating and fascinating. A few people were gathered around the coffee stand and one commented that, 'It's just a bunch of boats going through a ditch'. I'm sorry, but I can't even begin to express how agitated that makes me feel. REALLY?  A ditch?  That wars have have been fought for control?  All I could think of was that this fellow must be pretty callous. Oh well. I, for one, am excited to see this canal, and feel blessed to be on one of those boats going through the ditch. 

April 11, 2015

At anchor in the Gulf of Suez near Port Tewfaq

5:45 AM

It's 4:45 PM in Kapoho...hope you all had a lovely day. 

I heard then anchors drop around 1:30 this morning and when I peeked out the window,mother Egyptian pilot boat was along side. We will have an Egyptian pilot onboard until we finish our transit through the canal and emerge in the Mediterranean. Our last information was that we will begin our way through the canal at 10 AM and will probably be finished between 6 and 10 PM this evening. 

There will be approximately six to ten other ships in our convoy. The convoy travels until it reaches the first lake, which will be Great Bitter Lake, then slows to allow the south bound convoy to pass. 

A bit of small kine news this morning...I discovered that the observation bar has coffee - even at 5 AM. I don't normally get this far up on the ship, unless I want to get a good view of something and that has always been during the day. Yeah!  Coffee before 6:15 AM is totally civilized. The other news is that we are now able to get cellular service, so we can do a bit of Internet surfing, without using our precious, expensive data onboard. 

2 PM 

Ummm...still at the south end of the Suez Canal. And at 10:45 this morning, the captain announced that we are to be anchored, in the queue, for a late afternoon start into the canal. There is a massive storm, of wind and dust, that is encompassing the Mediterranean and Northern Africa, that has slowed the convoy of southbound ships.  This means that we, along with the other ships that were to start in around 10 AM, are cooling our jets for most of the day. A total shift in plans must mean a relaxing afternoon in our suite, movie watching and having a bit of bubbly. 

A Day In Jordan and Visiting Ancient Petra

April 10, 2015

Northern tip of the Red Sea, nearing the Suez Canal

This morning we rounded the southern point of the Sinai Peninsula and are now in rough seas, heading toward the Suez Canal, with Egypt to our port side and the Sinai to our starboard. The winds are blowing about 45-51 mph and we are cruising at about 8 knots. 

Our day was  spent in Jordan yesterday, starting in Aqaba then heading by bus to Petra. We had an incredibly knowledgable guide, as well as a PHD in antiquities, specializing in Petra, on our bus. I shall share our activities and revelations of the day, but first I wish to share my thoughts, as we passed through this ancient land. 

The creation of these mountains surrounding Aqaba must have been incredibly violent, as the granite strata is evident and zigzags crossing in all directions. This is a stark and arid land with mountains that seem impassable. It's a strange feeling, being here, that I cannot quite put my finger on. Across the Red Sea from us is the Sinai Peninsula, a place of ancient biblical, religious and political significance. These lands of Jordan are just like the lands that Moses wandered in, lost for 40 years. The God of Moses must have loved to keep him guessing, because the peninsula isn't that big. This makes me confident that the God of Moses, who I share as my God, has a  sense of humor. I had a tremendous feeling of  awe. I was humbled by the land, the history and by the beautiful people of the area. 

The people of Jordan are kind, accepting and tolerant. Muslims and Christians live side by side and each respects and loves their neighbors.  Jordan, officially called the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is ruled by King Abdullah II, the son of king Hussein who died in 1999.  The Jordanians  adore their king and his family and there are portraits and building sized posters of them everywhere. 

 Late King Hussein, King Abdullah, and his eldest son, who will be the next king. 

As we took our 2 hour bus ride to Petra, our guide explained many things of Jordan, of Wadi Rum, and of Petra. One thing that stands out is the way this nation coexists with all of the nations of the area.  But this is an incredibly poor nation. The main source of income is from their expatriates, who move away to become educated, find jobs and send money home to their families. There is no oil. Water is never to be taken for granted. And tourists are welcome. 

During our journey, we passed over 'Kings Highway' which is known to be the path that Moses took as he was crossing the area, we saw Aaron's tomb on the top of a distant mountain and we marveled at the many Bedouin people tending the flocks of goats and living in their tents. 

Petra, has been named one of the modern Seven Wonders of the World and is an UNESCO World Heritage site.  Being a World Heritage Site insures the preservation of the site and allocations of funds are distributed for its maintenance. 

The entrance to Petra is a deep gorge, named 'as-siq', and is hemmed in by cliffs up to 80 meters high. 

Petra was at the crossroads of trade from Arabia, China, India and Europe. The creators of Petra, which means 'rock' in Greek, were the Nabataeans who migrated there from Saudi Arabia. The Nabataeans created dams and canal systems to keep the siq from flooding during flash floods, and an extensive water delivery system that included terra cotta pipes and had impressive gardens for food and a lively business in trade, due to their location. 

All through the siq are niches in which the Nabataeans carved various images of their gods, or idols. Like the Greeks and Romans, they had many gods whom they worshiped and offered sacrifices to. The massive walls of the sandstone siq are the colors of rose, yellow and brown, owing to the chemical makeup.

Science aside, it is breathtakingly beautiful. 

At the end of the hour walk down the siq, the Treasury comes into view. Forget taking pictures. There are times in life when I just put the camera away and take in the moment. The magnitude. The goosebumps. The vision. My eyes are wide.  My breathing stops. I don't hear or see the many tourists around me. I'm transported back to a caravan over 2000 years ago. As I enter the main area in front of the Treasury, I return to being a tourist, complete into camera. 

Our guide, Isam, has explained many things to us during our bus ride, as well as during our walk through the siq. Until about 15 years ago, the  Bedouin were living in Petra. They have been living there for nearly a century, but have been move out to a small village just outside the gates. The Bedouin  are traditionally a nomadic, tribal people.  Those who resided in Petra have been given complete rights to the crafts, carriage, mule and camel trade in the site.

That said, there is no shortage of opportunity to buy traditionally made art and to snag a ride on a camel. 

The famous Treasury is a tomb for a Nabatean king. Nearly all of the ornate facades in the area served as tombs for the Nabataeans and is separate from the city in which they lived. Excavation is ongoing at Petra. John and I hiked the site, through the huge theater which could seat 7000 and past dozens of elegant tomb facades. We climbed hundreds of steps past the Corinthian tomb and up to the Palace tomb where we got an overview of the entire area. 

The view from on high. 

Hassan, who sold me some Bedouin jewelry. 

We visited with many lovely Bedouin and bought some items to remember out trip. We spent nearly two hours at the site, but knew we needed to take the hour hike out in order to meet up with our group for lunch. 

The horse carriages that are employed for tourists run through the 2.2 km siq go at a very fast clip. Constantly, we hear the horses, with their carriage men shouting to get out of the way. Unfortunately, during our walk out, one of the carriage drives lost control and the poor hourse ran directly into a rubbish can and the siq wall.  The horse's hind quarter was thrown into an terrible position, obviously broken. Many tourists gathered around, but we knew what the outcome would be and I can't stand to see suffering, so we moved along. 

After our walk out, we were treated to a delightful Arabic lunch, then our bus ride back to the boat.

As we waited at the Aqaba port, we took in the view of the city.  It was an amazing day...one that neither do us shall forget. 

A Day at Sea

April 6, 2015

Hoi-ti-toi-ti 

Does this word exist outside of the slang my mother taught me?  If it doesn't, it should. Last night we supped in 'Restaurant 2'. It is a tasting of extremely elegant, small plate entrees and was interesting, but not a single item served was overly impressive to me. It could be that I was suffering from this damned cold. At any rate, the entire presentation is on the extreme 'hoi-ti-toi-ti' side of the spectrum. Let's face it...I'm just a Kansas/Seattle/Kapoho kind of gal and am more impressed with lovely people than with fancy living. 

We are nearing, or in, the very narrow water way that separates Yemen and Somolia, getting closer to the Red Sea. At 5:30 AM, it is too dark to simply look out the window to see if we in the straights. Once John is awake, I can turn on the television to see what our position is. 

Not much to see, but this is the coast of Yemen, which we passed early in the day on April 6. 

My personal position is calling for a day of total rest. I've fallen victim to yet another cold, as mentioned above. Based upon the timing, I suspect it was a gift from a fellow passenger on one of out flights to Mumbai.  All of my western cures aside, I may wander down to the doc and see what he can offer. I played through it yesterday, but today will be a day of complete rest for me. 

April 7, 2015

Buggers. I wrote a lot yesterday and now, when I want to continue, the text is gone. Buggers. 

The events of yesterday will stay with me for a long time. 

Since I was going to spend the day lounging, I elected to take in some time in a comfy deck chair in the aft, near a small saltwater pool and jacuzzi. After an hour or so (in the shade), John (in the sun) and I saw and heard one of the crew security men shouting to another. John was curious and as I rolled over, I caught sight of a Zodiak type boat speeding our way. I mentioned it to John and then saw yet another boat speeding our way. High alert. 

I mentioned in an earlier post that we took on additional security, as well as weapons, in Salalah. I saw two of the incredibly buff, big security men (think Rangers or Seals) heading into a crew stairwell in a big hurry. The boats got closer and closer.  John feels that the potential pirates were getting in close to see the vessel type and determine what their possibilities may be. His theory continues that the security (2 from Germany, 1 from Belgium) trained one of their rockets on their vessels and pinged them. That was enough to send them away. Shortly after that, yet another boat came speeding our way, getting much closer. When they were about 100 meters off the port side, they again turned around. They followed for nearly 15 minutes, but then disappeared. Thanks to our mercenaries protecting us, it was a non-event. 

At noon, the captain's report from the bridge didn't mention it, but did mention that the security men would be leaving the vessel around 5:30 this morning. Evidently, once we get well into the Red Sea, the threat of piracy subsides. The only passengers who were aware of situation were those at the saltwater pool. 

Just another day in the Middle East. 

Now, a little about this cruise. 

Our vessel, owned by Seabourn, is named the Sojourn. Her overall length is 150 meters, making her very small in the world of cruise ships. Her total capacity for passengers is 450 with 425 crew.  We are sailing with 402 passengers, and almost 400 crew, so have a nearly one to one ratio of passengers to crew. And the crew are from all nationalities, as are our passengers. 

The nationality breakdown of our fellow passengers. 

There is no shortage of places to hang out. The main hang out is on Deck 7, where the baristas keep busy all day. There are plenty of reference books, novels, magazines, newspapers and games to keep us occupied. Naturally, there is a gym as well as a game room, a theater, a casino, six bars, four restaurants and five pool and spa areas. They have gone for the semi tropical with their plantings around the ship. It is I. The theater that we have our conversations about the religions, politics and cultures of our destinations. 

Reminds me of home. 

And there is some odd art around the ship.

We walk past this silver pooch numerous times daily. For Easter, he got a little red ribbon. 

I'll post more of the art and ship in later postings. 

We are covering much distance on the water. That means many sea days in the first week of our journey. Thursday we will be in Aqaba and have 9 hours of touring at Petra. After that we head to the other side of the Sinai peninsula and the Suez Canal. 

For now, it's off to the pool I go. I'm completely engrossed in my current book, 'All The Light We Cannot See' by Anthony Doer. 

On through the Straight of Bab el Mandeb

It is Easter Sunday, April 5, 2015. 

Just a short entry here, jotting down some thoughts...

We are in areas that were familiar to the people of Jesus' time and are speeding along at nearly 25 miles per hour. Currently we are heading for the straight of Bab el Mandeb, at the southern tip of the Red Sea. The straight is between Yemen and Somalia. 

As we were boarding yesterday, after our tours, John noticed packages waiting to board.  Even though they are in concealed cases, he says it is clear that they are rocket launchers and the rockets to go in them. If there is to be any trouble, it will happen in the next couple of days. My guess is that the bridge is a pretty serious place these days.  

The fighting between these areas has been going on for thousands of years. Doesn't it usually just boil down to religion?  Yes. I wish there were a way to bring more tolerance into this part of the world. Such beautiful people, but the radical extremists are not concerned with anything but spreading their true doctrine. 

Forgive my bad line drawing, but this is where we are currently and where we are headed. 

Easter service at 9:30 this morning. My prayer for my family and friends who read this is for peace. 

Shalom. 

Beautiful Oman

April 4, 2015

Let me start out by saying, I was more than a little apprehensive about our stop in Oman. I mean, they ARE right next door to Yemen. But my concerns were a wasted effort. We had a great time in Salalah. 

And John got completely into it.  Here is John , Mohamed and Gene. Besides his dashdi and muuffon, we picked up some frankincense. 

The Sojourn arrived right on time this morning and we were ready to head out, especially after 3 days at sea. Off of the ship at 8:15, we met Mohamed, our guide. He got us onto our bus with about 25 of our shipmates and off we went. Mohamed's English was impeccable as is his tremendous knowledge of his homeland. Mohamed told us of the current political situation in Oman. Because of an incredibly good leader, in Sultan Qaboos, the country is prospering. Free education and medical benefits for Omanis, very little unemployment and they are successfully staying clear of the arguments all around them. Some people want the Sultan would get to the fray, but most Omanis are extremely happy that he is not. 

The city of Salalah is the Capitol of the Dophor region and came to prominence many years ago because of their lively trade in frankincense. The frankincense trade dates back over 3000 years ago. We toured some UNESCO Heritage designated ruins of old trading ports and the settlement of a sultan 2000 years ago. 

But first, on our way from the heavily secured sea port into the city, we got to see a herd of camels heading off for a day at the beach. I didn't get any beach shots, but did get a few of some youngsters munching as they headed to the beach. 

The camels crossing the road made our driver stop, but we had some good photo ops with them. And evidently, camel meat is quite health and good. Who know, we gat to try it during our trip in Jordan. 

The city itself is made up of many shops, businesses, government building and huge personal homes. Homes are build very large to accommodate the extended family that is such a way of life there. At one point, we drove down a wide street, right next to the beautiful white sand beaches.  There has been some demolition of old buildings there and the plan is to move the road away from the water so it isn't flooded during monsoon seasons. Saturday is the second day of the Omani weekend, so there wasn't nearly the traffic there would have been on a workday. 

We visited Al-Balid, a famous mid evil port, made prosperous  by the frankincense trade. At the site of Samhuram, we walked about and learned of the trade centers importance over 3000 years ago. There are currently exploration digs going there and we saw basins, drainage and residential portions of these amazing ruins.  As we drove from site to site, we learned of the importance of frankincense to the area since ancient times. Mohamed told us of medical components and uses for frankincense and of its uses for purifying air as it kills bacteria, calms rattle nerves and imparts a general sense of wellbeing. 

The equivalent of a European coat of arms is in the entrances if the castle. 

After the tours of the ruins, we headed to the Al Husn palace to take some pictures and then to the Al Husn souk (market). 

Stall after stall of vendors selling their frankincense 

And piles of frankincense are displayed.  

Naturally, no tour is complete without a little shopping, right?  We bought some frankincense and myrrh as well as a new set of clothes for John. Every shop has frankincense and oils. Frankincense comes in three levels of purity. The most pure is used to ingest, making a water with Italy drinking the eater calm coughing, helps remove phlegm and open airways. The other two grades are used primarily as incense. 

On the personal side of things, I'm dealing with a cold that was graciously shared with me by someone on the plane. I'll be trying some of the frankincense in a drink, as well as behind my neck soon. 

For now...a few pictures from this very interesting trip that was filled with lovely, warm and happy Omanis. 

Just a couple of guys, on their phones. 

John is getting a lesson on dressing. 

A mosque tower. We were surprised to hot hear any calls to prayer. Mohamed told us that the timing is 5:30 am, 2:30 pm, 6 pm, 8:30 ans 11 pm. It works better with this schedule during the working days. 

This doorway was to the shoots that were used to fill the ships that wee in the bay below. 

Some dishes of the ancient sultan. 

And they ancient sustains waiting recommend. 

All in all, it was a terrific day.  Learning of cultures that I know nothing about has been a highlight on this trip. 

One last item. When we returned to our room, after dinner, our room stewardess had left a little gift for us.  

An Easter basket!  Happy Easter everyone. He has risen indeed.