Holylands Cruise Tour #3

HOLYLANDS CRUISE 2010
BLOG #3t
One should never read things written after the work is “completed”. A reread of the last two blogs led to the conclusion that fun writing should not be attempted when the TV is on in the room especially when the ability to multi-task diminished with the trip “over the hill”. All of which leads to the following correction. Ephesus and The Acropolis are NOT on the list of the “Seven Wonders of the Modern World”. These are great wonders of the past but they didn’t make the list. The Temple of Artemus at Ephesus was on the ancient wonders list but it didn’t make the new list. Sorry about the misinformation.
Our next stop at Port Said, Egypt did allow us to see one of the “Seven Wonders of the Modern World”, The Pyramids of Giza. We knew in advance that the shore excursion to see the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx involved a three hour bus ride from Port Said to Cairo and a three hour return trip. Our bus trip took us through the fertile fields on the west side of the Nile and the Suez Canal. Our well informed guide filled the hours of travel with a constant flow of facts about the history of Egypt and the development of civilization a long, long time ago. Somewhere in the discussion of Pharaohs and the reuse of some names by past Egyptian leaders, Ptolemy I,II,III………and so on, we were jolted from our state of polite listening by the announcement that there were actually nine ladies who used the name Cleopatra. The Elizabeth Taylor version that we know and love was actually Cleopatra VII and reported to have been adorned with an ugly hook nose and looks leaning toward the ugly. No mention was made of her significant measurements but she made the movies so they couldn’t have been all that bad.
Our visit to the pyramids was in the company of several thousand other folks who came out to fill their memory cards with pictures from all angles. To make our visit complete, there were several hundred camels with keepers named Ali waiting to pose for pics with tourists astride and maybe even to provide a short ride through the desert. We dutifully did both to keep the local economy rolling. Our guide warned us in advance about how much to pay for such privileges adding that some of the richest people in Egypt sell camel rides at the pyramids. Our new best friend in Egypt, Ali the camel man, almost had a heart attack when we offered him $4 US for our ride instead of the $50 he requested. We wanted to add a couple of bucks for the act he performed but in Egypt you just have to do what your tour guide says.

After a memorable hour in the sifting desert sands around the pyramids, our bus took us through downtown Cairo to a boat on the Nile hired to provide a boat ride and lunch. We apparently were very lucky that our tour was on Friday. Custom dictates that Friday and Saturday constitute the weekend in Egypt with schools and most businesses closed. Even on the “weekend” the Cairo traffic was unbelievable. Cairo is a city of 25,000,000 during work days and 22,000,000 at night. It seemed to us that each of the 22 or 25 million owned a car with most of them on the streets of Cairo as we passed through. We imagined our boat ride/lunch on the Nile would be on an open boat with box lunches. We were pleasantly surprise when our boat turned out to be a beautifully appointed floating palace with liveried waiters, live music and a marvelous Egyptian buffet luncheon. We guessed that there were about 200 tourists on board sharing a wonderful time. Our boat plied the waters of the Nile as it coursed through the most elegant and expensive part of Cairo. Ten story condo and apartment buildings lined the river with their expansive balconies adorned with all kinds of plants and trees. An occasional five star hotel was sandwiched in between where people lived adding elegance to the shoreline scene.
Following lunch we were treated to an Egyptian Folkloric Show that was billed as steeped in Egyptian tradition. The show focused on a group of musicians, playing mainly drums, and a beautiful young lady dressed in not much that displayed a lot of belly. She kept the attention of all for the best part of an hour doing some nice things that might be referred to as naughty in some fuddy-duddy circles. When she tired and left the room, presumably to take a cold shower, she was replaced by a Whirling Dervish who spun around in circles so long that many in the crowd were becoming borderline nauseas. As a part of her performance, the Belly Dancer person worked her way through the audience giving us a close-up look at her costume. She was followed by a photographer taking shots to sell as black mail. We were fortunate enough to have her come to our table and we dutifully bought the commemorating photo. The photo turned out so well we decided on the spot to use it for our Christmas Card this year. Unfortunately, we were so pooped when we finally returned to our ship we left the 8 X 10 photo on the bus leaving us back at square one regarding our Christmas greeting for 2010
Along the way we learned that of the eighty million people in Egypt, 25% cannot read or write. Two-thirds of the illiterate are over the age of 60. 40% of the population is under the age of 20 and the country’s population is increasing at a rate of over one million new citizens each year. The 25 public universities are currently creating more graduates than the economy can employee and out migration of Egypt’s educated young people is of great concern to the country’s leaders. 90% of the population is Muslim and 10% profess to be Christian. The vast majority of Christians are members of the Orthodox Church, an off-shoot of the Catholic Church.
The next day the Pacific Princess docked at Alexandria, Egypt. After three straight days of twelve hour tours we decided that Alexandria sounded like a great place to crash, do some laundry and catch up on our Sudoku. Alexandria, named after Alexander the Great, grew and flourished as a seaport and center of culture. The Romans made it one of their capital cities but as the Roman Empire fizzled out so did the city. However, during the Byzantine period the city once again came alive. When St. Mark brought Christianity to Egypt, Alexandria became a theological powerhouse and a center for theological debate. The Moslem conquest in the 7th century changed the character but failed to keep the commercial life strong. Only the rule of Mohammed Ali (not the boxer) in the 19th century began a revival of the city’s commercial life. The opening of the Suez Canal diverted some business away but Alexandria continues to reign as Egypt’s second largest city.
We looked forward to our stop at Dubrovnik, Croatia. At one time, Dubrovnik was a commercial competitor with Venice. With the disintegration of the Roman Empire, Dubrovnik suffered as many other cities in the region from the raids of barbarian tribes. For the next 1500 years or so, periodic attacks by various neighbors ravaged the city and then rebuilt it in our own image. In the process a wall w as built around the city in an attempt to make such attacks difficult. It wasn’t until 1991 when the country of Croatia became a reality that Dubrovnik gained a sense of the possibility of a secure future. We signed on to a tour that took us first to the small town of Cavtat, a few miles south of Dubrovnik, where we strolled through the small downtown area and visited the two churches in town. The architecture, as that in Dubrovnik, is Byzantine and quiet unique. Earthquakes in 1667 and 1713 devastated much of the area but we were told that the subsequent rebuilding was done with an effort to maintain the original style of buildings as they were repaired.
At Dubrovnik, we were treated to a folkloric show featuring dancers and musicians that displayed traditional music, dance and costumes. The Croatian dancers were quick on the feet and presented an amazing show that we appreciated. What we didn’t appreciate was the down pour we experienced when we walked from our bus to the folkloric venue. We were drenched the skin to the point that our only thought was to return to the ship and some dry clothing rather than take a twenty minute stroll through the walled city. Those who took the walk declared that they didn’t believe that it was possible fo become so wet so fast.
Our final stop before arriving at Venice was Ravenna, Italy. Ravenna is a good starting place for visits to Bologna and the small Principality of San Marino. We opted to do our own thing with a tour of Ravenna. As yet another walled Byzantine city, we enjoyed the narrow winding streets that surrounded an active downtown business community. The names on the shops were not familiar but the prices for stylish clothes and such suggested that there must be a lot of wealthy folks in Ravenna who can afford such prices….think Nordstrom’s or better. Ravenna boasts the fact that it was the last gasp capital of the Roman Empire just before its end. The Emperor moved his court to Milan and then Ravenna to be closer to the front lines in Rome’s battle with Gothic tribes under the leadership of Alaric. In 409 AD, Alaric, no dummy, bypassed Ravenna and the Roman army entirely to capture and sack Rome. From that day on, the days of the Roman Empire were numbered. The last emperor of Rome was disposed in 476 AD.
Tomorrow we leave our home for the past twelve days on the Pacific Princess and move into Hotel Saturnia in Venice, Italy for the remainder of our trip. One of the wonderful things about cruising is being able to unpack and put everything in the closet or drawers, just like home. The downside is that eventually you have to pack it all up again. Which is what we’re going to be all about for the next hour or so.
Trying hard to keep smiling……………………………………..
Love to all,
Gram and Grandpa Bill, Mom and Dad, Dottie and Bill