Leaving Jordan

Hi, everyone!  So, I am going to do this backwards.  At this moment we are leaving Jordan on our way to and through the Suez Canal.  Just before the ship pulled out we were hosted by our friend and ship board neighbor, His Royal Highness Gasson Shaker (otherwise known as Gus) for a lovely lunch by the pool.  Tea sandwiches, blinis, foie gras, sweets and champagne.  After working out and having breakfast  this AM, we decided to go and see the town of Al Aqaba.  So, we took the shuttle bus in and found that there was nothing worth seeing or buying but we now know we haven't missed anything!  Last night we had a nice dinner at The Royal Jordanian Yacht Club.  The view over the Red Sea was very nice but the sounds of intermittent "fireworks" kept sounding, and although we saw an occasional flash of light there never was anything that we saw in the sky.  It was a little unnerving.  We had spent the day just doing personal maintenance (hair, nails, etc) and paperwork.  But, the day before that we went to Petra, which   is one of the 7 Wonders of the World, and deserves that accolade..  There stand the most majestic and magnificent mountain formations which were at one time under water, but now soar over 140 feet in the air.  The stone is multicolored, in hues of red, green, yellow, white and black , depending upon the mineral content.  It really appears to have been painted by some gigantic brush......I have not seen the Painted Desert in the US, but maybe it is similar.  Here, you walk for miles on partly paved, partly sand paths that have been traversed for thousands of years by Bedoins, armies, camels, horses, it is easy to let your mind try to picture it's history.  Over the years temples and over 600 monuments have been carved in these walls.  The largest of these monuments is called The Treasury.  It is 140 feet high and about 90 feet wide. This is where Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed.  It is really breathtaking!   Tomorrow we are at sea....more later!. 

Jordan

Well, The World is now in Al Aqaba, Jordan.  Now I look across the Sea and see Israel.  Talk about seeing things from both sides.  Anyway, we had quite an adventure today, the tour was described as "seeing Wadi Rum by 4 wheel drive".  For those of you who do not remember (I didn't), that was where Lawrence of Arabia and his men travelled by camel for 20 days, carrying their own water.  We did it a little differently......a comfortable airconditioned bus drove us 11/2 hours to the Wadi Rum area.  We then were assigned to the 4 week drive vehicle to begin our tour. Much to our surprise, instead of the airconditioned SUV we expected, we were herded into the back of some ancient, rotting, glued together pick up trucks, with torn sheets of fabric tied to poles over the truck bed to protect us from the sun.  There was seating of sorts......so it sort of worked.  It is true that Wadi Rum has some of the most impressive rock formations in the world, and it was a treat to see them in person.  We also stopped at a couple of Bedoin camps where they had set up shops with their wares for sale and tea and dates to offer.  At one of the camps there were camels available to ride or use as a photo op.  I had been on a camel's back in China at the Great Wall, but it wouldn't stand up!  So I climbed onto this Jordanian camel with a somewhat better attitude, and lo and behold it stood up!  Doesn't sound like a big thing! Right?  Well it feels like a big thing when you are that high off the ground and this very tall animal stands first only with his hind legs, pitching you way forward and then brings up his hind legs after a pregnant pause.  Again, doesn't sound like much, but it was challenging and exciting enough for me to decide that this would be perfect!  I didn't need to go for a ride........bought some really pretty beaded scarfs in their shop instead.  You know the beautiful, expensive Persian carpets that we put on our hardwood floors?  They use them directly on the sand as floors in their tents! Duh.....sorry, I just hadn't thought about this before!  Next our "limo" driver decided to drive up to the top of a very steep sand dune and then race down it much faster than was comfortable for me. I wear seat belts in every taxi we take and this would have been a bad scene had it turned over!  But, the good news is, it didn't and we ended up glad we had this whole experience.We won't need to do it again though!  More tomorrow after our 10 hour tour to Petra........

Jerusalem

This morning I went to the Holocast Museum here in Jerusalem.  It, of course, continues to be shocking and terribly sad!  The most shocking part to me was being reminded again how the rest of the world stood by and allowed this to happen!  It is unimagineable!  Also, I guess I wasn't clear on how wide spread this horror was and how many death camps there were.  All of the photos and interviews from survivors which were on film were horrifying enough, but the thing that effected me the most, and made tears spring to my eyes was a pile of hundreds of pairs of shoes that had belonged to some of the victims......they had all been worn by real people, people who were somebody's mother or father or child!  It was truly unbearable!  The museum was packed with people, from all over the world....lest we forget!  As strange as I find this country my heart goes out to each and every person who lives here.  They have gone through so much to have this land and this tenuous freedom....it makes me fearful for them.  That's it for today.  Tomorrow is Shabat again and everything grinds to a halt.  Sunday is a walking tour of The Old City, looking forward to that.

Israel

I am sorry to have neglected all of you for so long, I will do better in the future.  After rejoining the ship in Dubais we had some incredible experiences there and in Oman and Qatar.  The World was then embarking on 9 days at sea, so I decided to spend that time on a first visit to Israel.  I traveled on Royal Jordanian Airlines to Jordan and then on to Tel Aviv.  While looking out the airliner window en route, I noticed a bright orange haze that prevented my seeing the ground. I was told that we ere flying over Saudi Arabia and that they were having such severe, but not unusual sandstorms that their airport had been closed.  We landed at Ben Gurion Airport, and the Israeli authorities did not stamp our passports but only a piece of paper.  It was explained that other countries in this region would not allow us to enter if our passports showed that we had been to Israel.  I was shocked.....well, the surprises continued.  On the taxi ride into Tel Aviv I felt like I was riding through a ghetto!  The buildings were run down, paint peeling off and graffiti everywhere!  I'm not sure what I expected,  but after all these people have gone through to get to their "promised land" I would have thought I would see clean streets and buildings where a pride of ownership was evident.  I didn't see it anywhere!  I hate to admit that I knew so little about Tel Aviv that I thought it was in the desert.  Well, I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that it is on The Mediterranean Sea.  The climate is lovely and the beaches clean and beautiful.  We stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel, which was highly recommended by American Express but was in fact not great.  We happened to be there during Shabat, Memorial Day and Independence Day when nothing was open, but we found one great shopping street full of Israeli designer's creations and had one full day of very interesting touring.  Our tour began in Caesaria, one of the oldest ports in the world, where King Herod built a fabulously preserved amphitheater and several other structures, including a vast water system made up of aqueducts and trenches which directed water to his fortress.  This is the same area which exports Caesar Stone, a wonderful building material.  We then went on to Acre, the home of the Crusaders and walked through their ruins and tunnels.  We experienced a local Arab market, with stall after stall of spices, fish, fruits, vegies, nuts and cheeses.  It was filled with locals making their purchases and was very interesting.  After 5 days in Tel Aviv it was time to go on to Jerusalem, only one hour's drive away.  We arrived at The King David Hotel, which was head and shoulders above the Intercontinental.  One of the interesting things about this elegant hotel is it's "walk of fame".  It consists of a series of large white tiles which are autographed and dated by the various famous people who have stayed here.  Randomly placed were the tiles from Ralph Lauren next to Richard Burton, Menachim Begin, The Black Eyed Peas, Pres Obama and Yascha Heifetz, among others. The weather in Jerusalem is much cooler than Tel Aviv, as we sit 3,000 feet above sea level. Both our hotel in Tel Aviv and here in Jerusalem keep kosher, which takes some getting used to. When I asked the Concierge about finding some Israeli designed clothes I was told that unlike Tel Aviv, the people here are very poor and religious and don't care about those kinds of things.  OK So, we took another car and English speaking driver and did some incredible sight seeing.  We began our day at The Masada.  It sits majestically on a hilltop overlooking the Dead Sea.  It was King Herod's fortress that was to be used in case of emergency. It is very well preserved and very impressive, with again a vast amount of aqueducts, trenches and sisterns as a water collection and distribution network .Although The Masada was under the control of many different factions over the years, it is most famous for the action taken by a Jewish sect called The Assyrians.  When they were under siege by the Romans, approx 1,000 Assyrians killed their wives and children to keep them from being imprisoned and tortured by their captors and then killed each other.  They drew straws to see who would be the last one to fall on his own sword as it is a sin, in the Jewish religion, to commit suicide.  The whole thing was incredible to see!  Quite a few Israeli planes flew overhead, each tipping it's wings in salute to The Masada and it's fallen heroes.  Quite impressive!  Our next stop was the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth.  It is very famous for the healing qualities of it's mud and waters.  So, needing to experience this miracle I proceeded to wade into this murky, rocky, yucky,muddy water and could not imagine that anyone would of their own free will submerge their bodies into this mess.  The waters of the Sea have receded a lot since the construction of The Aswan Dam.  The center of this body of miraculous water is the boundary between Jordan and Israel, and the hills of Jordan were clearly visible from the shoreline. Next we proceeded to Jericho, another familiar biblical name.  I was very uncomfortable as we proceeded through a gate controlled by the Palestinians.  But, we proceeded without incident and saw the ruins of The Walls of Jericho, and were reminded by our guide that this was the location where Christ is said to have been faced with his three temptations.  I was happy to return safely to our hotel, and looked forward to our visit to The Holocaust Museum in the AM.  More later......

T

Doha, Qatar 2010

Well, not as exciting as Dubais, by any stretch of the imagination! but interesting none the less.  It turns out that Qatar has more natural gas than any other part of the world, so there is alot of money here.  The skyline is also very attractive, with the same sort of mirrored high rises in every shape imaginable.  I started the day at the jewelry show presented by the Jordanian woman I told you about yesterday.  I bought a necklace that displayed a silver disc saying something in Arabic that means that I am grateful for all that I have been given.  And, I most certainly am, so I felt that it was appropriate.  Then we took a shuttle bus to the local Souks which were all together and were housed by a meandering collection of buildings and stalls, selling everything imaginable. My favorite part was The Live Souk which had more incredible birds than I have ever seen in one place.  Gorgeous parrots of all colors, cockatoos, lovebirds, finches and BABY CHICKS DYED HOT PINK, GREEN,BLUE AND PURPLE!  Poor babies! (See picture on the right).  It was 95 degrees outside and all of the large birds were chained to their perches.  A few steps more and there were bunnies, some of whom had been dyed pink, and the most adorable long haired kittens which had blue eyes and came in tones of white and beige.  They were all crying at me! For those who know me well, you know that in addition to children my weaknesses are fish, birds and kittens.  ( I guess that is better than diamonds and chocolate).  By the way, the milk chocolate here is made with Camel's milk!  In some adjacent stalls they were selling gorgeous fabrics by the bolt.  For $5 you could get a piece 2 meters long which is long enough to use as a shawl......at that price they were impossible to resist!  That evening we decided to have dinner at Bice Restaurant (yes, the same group as in New York, Milano etc) which is located on another man made island of sorts, called The Pearl, connected to the mainland by an auto bridge.  This restaurant was located up 4 flights of steep stairs (no elevator) in a very upscale, completely empty shopping center.  The food was good, New York prices, and only one other table was occupied in this huge restaurant!  Weird!  Happily back to our home on The World.

Dubais, 2010

After wonderful stops in Los Angeles and Old Greenwich, spending time with my loved ones, I enjoyed 2 days and nights in New York!  Then, off to London for a week of delightful shows (Don't miss Love Never Dies, the sequel to Phantom of the Opera!)  wonderful restaurants, and great shopping.  We stayed at The Jumiera Carlton Tower, which prepared me for my upcoming trip to Dubais as it seems that many of the monied people from that region come to London to escape the heat.  It was surprising to me to see so many Arab women in western clothing.  This hotel has the best gym in London called The Peak.  Not only is it well outfitted with equipment but also has a view looking out over London that is breathtaking! At the end of our time there, we headed for Heathrow Airport and The Emirates Lounge which served not only the usual cocktails and snacks but full meals with nice wines on tables with cloths.  This was a perfect introduction to our 6 hour Business Class flight to Dubais, which was very comfortable and well attended, including PJ's and dop kits. 

    

Then we arrived in Dubais!!!!! The airport was both magnificent and very well organized.  Everything is white and chrome and dramatically lit, with very high ceilings and interesting architectural shapes all around.  Everyone who worked there  (all men)  were dressed in starched white robes with black head bands......it was quite a sight!  The bags were there as we approached the carousel (that was a first!) and the Range Rover and driver were at the curb to meet us.  Off to the Raffles Hotel where for a VERY reasonable price we had a 2,000 sft. suite which was elegantly appointed and came with a butler.  The ship arrived in Dubais the next morning and we were anxious to get aboard!  It is always wonderful to be greeted by the now familiar staff and to be "Welcomed home" by our friends onboard.  We spent that entire day just organizing, unpacking and enjoying the lay back ok attitudes of all around us.  We dined on board at our wonderful Asian restaurant called East.  We hired a car the following day, with an English speaking driver to make traversing Dubais much easier. 

 

Our first stop was to a beach with white powdery sand and warm, translucent pale aqua water.  If I've seen a more beautiful beach, I don't remember when.  I put my feet into The Arabian Sea for the first time, and shuttered with amazement when the guide informed me that I was only 100 miles from Iran, just across the sea. Wow! Next we proceeded to the famous 7 star Burj Al Arab Hotel for lunch.  You will only be admitted to this Versace designed hotel if you are a registered guest or have a reservation for dining.  We were escorted to the Al Mahara restaurant where our table was next to the glass enclosure of the largest aquarium in the world.  As I sat there with my glass of Crystal I thought that this was about as close to heaven as I could get!  I feel head over heels in love with a vibrant blue and green Parrott Fish which was about 3x4 feet big and lingered in front of our table throughout our magnificent lunch.  I began with a Foie gras topped with mango gelee and continued on from there....OK it doesn't get any better.  From there we went to the largest indoor ski area in the world, replete with chair lifts, toboggan runs and a snowman!  I was ready to go home to The World to digest not only this exquisite lunch but all that I had experienced today.  more later.....