Petra………Mission Accomplished!!

Well I wasn't expecting that! Awakened before dawn by a lone howling dog, we started the day off all bundled up as the temperatures were hovering around 4 celsius. A big surprise was awaiting us and a big effort was needed to get in and out of the Petra gorge to visit one of the 7 modern day wonders of the world. I was in awe entering the gorge otherwise know as the Siq. The towering walls of brown sandstone are shielded by the sunlight due to their hight and the narrow passage. In 1812 the ruins were discovered by Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. Petra or "The Lost City" or “The Rose City” named because of the colour of the stone, was last visited by Crusaders who had inhabited it 5 centuries earlier. It was originally founded over 2000 years ago as a centre on the trading route between Arabia, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. A massive earthquake occurred in AD 363 which destroyed many of the buildings and the intricate water system which supplied the community and thus the city was more or less abandoned. Everyone is aware of the iconic facade of the Treasury but Petra is so much more than that. There are many other carved facades which were actually tombs. They were carved from the top down and there was no room for error by the master carvers and engineers.It is speculated that there were upwards of 20,000 Nabataean inhabitants who established the city. Jordan doesn’t have much going for it economically other than tourism but at a $75USD entry fee you would think they are trying to balance the budget on this one attraction. There is very little overhead and the couple of dozen sweepers and toilet cleaners are probably paid about $10 a day. Again I am amazed at the number of camel and donkey owners trying to sell you on a saddled experience. Too many vendors, however most are very respectful but it is hard to see how even an excess of a million visitors a year can support all of these impoverished purveyors of cheap trinkets, head scarves and t shirts. We are tired but the 10 km walking return trip was well worth the effort and certainly an experience not to be forgotten. Well that is about it for this trip and this will be my final post. We still have another day left in Jordan and we will be returning to Amman tomorrow for our 02:30 flight on Tuesday to Frankfurt and then onto Montreal. Thanks for following along and I hope you have enjoyed tagging along even though it was vicariously. We’ll have to do it in person the next time. Until next time. Shalom!

Dying a Slow Death

It may seem like a contradiction in terminology but the Dead Sea really is dying. We are at the lowest elevation on earth at 430 metres below sea level and my ears have been popping on the way down into the valley. It’s not just the lack of rain, summer temperatures reaching 130 Celsius and the evaporation process. The primary reason the water level is being lowered at the rate of 1 metre a year is political. It’s a very complicated issue but goes back to the 1967 war between Arab states and Israel. The long and short of it is that Israel took possession of the lands that belonged to Jordan and in effect also Palestine. The Jordan River is the primary source of the Dead Sea’s water replenishment. The Israeli government diverted 80% of the water to satisfy their settlements despite the United Nations decree not to do so. Our guide who definitely has Islamic views and practises strict Muslim values is very upset and makes no bones about it. One third of the Sea has already disappeared and at this rate it is predicted that The Dead Sea will no longer be in existence within the next century. His reasoning is sound and another reason for regional tensions. But that is not going to stop me from having a float. The weather is very comfortable and the water temperature is much warmer than anticipated. A very strange sensation not being able to stand up but just being able to “look Ma, no hands and no feet”. I kid myself that I look five years younger and Jennifer confirms I’m still the same old codger. Check out the picture listing the appropriate bathing attire one is allowed and not allowed to wear. Don't forget we are in a very spiritual mulslim practising country. The sign saying the number of feet below sea level says it all. Looking across the barren lands dotted with Bedouin nomadic tent settlements reminds me of illustrations in the bible during my Sunday school days. We are indeed in the backyard of Jesus, Abraham, Moses, the Sea of Galilee, Jerico and the Jordan River. The Holy Land is our playground for the next few days. We just arrived yesterday into Amman and I know biblical stories and the places of their origin will be coming fast and furious. I hope I can keep up. Shalom!

Ode to Agatha

I suppose I am under the poetic and romantic spell of Agatha Christie as I near the end of her mystery novel Death on the Nile. Today is the final leg of our Nile journey and I am taking the afternoon to reflect on what we have experienced on this iconic river. The breezes are warm and the sun is shining as I sit on the top deck embracing all she has to offer. We are heading north to our final port of Luxor before a flight tomorrow to Cairo. This has been one of the nicest rivers I have sailed. True, the Nile does not have the castles and cathedrals of the Rhine but it does have the Pyramids of the Sahara and the Temples of the Egyptian Pharaohs and Greek high priests. It does not have the steamers of Interlaken or Brown Swiss cattle grazing the Alps but it does have the Feluccas in Aswan and camels near the river's edge. No vineyards lining the hills like that of the Douro but but it does have irrigation systems trying to claim back the threat of the desert. It does not have the Hoover Dam on Lake Mead but is does have Lake Nasser which was created with the completion of the Aswan High Dam. The fall colours of the autumn maples of the St Lawrence are missing but the majestic date palms and banana groves lining her banks are in abundance. It does not have the towering cliffs of the Colorado River and Lake Mead's Hoover Dam but it does have the substantial limestone hills stretching high from a distance and Lake Nassar created with the creation of the Aswan High Dam. Rather than the chiming of the church bells along the Seine calling the faithful to mass, we are serenaded by the Islamic call to prayer five times a day from the minarets; every morning at five and evening prayers at sundown for the muslim faithful. It does not have the locks and jungle of the Panama Canal but it does have it’s own dams and locks to facilitate shipping along the route. The towns are not majestic fairytale settlements of the Danube but they are forgotten places where the poor try to eke out a living. Perhaps not as impoverished as the poor of the Mekong River but nevertheless just as determined to survive by what ever means possible. The fishermen in row boats go about their day in a non threatening way and the farmers tend to their crops in a very primitive existence. The Egyptian trains follow the Nile and blow their haunting whistles as the trains do around Lake Como or Lake Geneva but unlike in Europe they are relied upon as a lifeblood to the communities. I see the locals walk the riverbank in their traditional robes going about their business with no particular concern for the river boats passing by. The sunsets are spectacular and the birds flying low across the water have a calming quality unto themselves.The water is clean and the river is fast unlike the Ganges which is polluted and slow moving. When you take the time to embrace the moment and the serenity of the Nile, a peace comes effortlessly over you. Farewell to this mighty river as we will continue onto Jordan. Shalom!!