The sun was setting over the mountains of Israel as we left Jordan behind us and then Saudi Arabia coming up on our port side and Egypt on our starboard side as we headed, back down the Gulf of Aqaba, for Sharm El Sheikh. At Sharm El Sheikh we had a lazy, relaxing day sunbathing on the ship while others went ashore to 5 star hotels!? Then today, 15th April, we transitted the Suez Canal. So different to the Panama Canal with deserts as opposed to jungles, an...

Friday 13th, 7.am, and we are sitting in our coach, (no. 16, there is no 13 coach as it is unlucky in Jordan), ready for a two hour drive to the mysterious city of the Nabateans, Petra, one of the seven Wonders of the World. We are full of anticipation. From this natural fortress, the Nabateans commanded the trade routes from Arabia and the East, until the Romans conquered them. On arrival we walked to the entrance of the Siq - a very narrow, twisting pathway...

The next four days were spent at sea, as we returned to The Arabian Sea and to the Gulf of Aden and through the straits of Bab El Mandeb into the Red Sea and to our next port, Safaga, Egypt. This is a commercial port but is the tourist port for day-trippers to Luxor and Karnak. As we had been there on a Nile cruise two years ago we opted for a jeep ride into the eastern desert to a Bedouin settlement. After a bumpy ride across moon-like landscape we had a warm w...

Muscat, the Capital of Oman, was our next port of call and totally different. Sailing into the port, we observed the rugged mountain scenery which reminded us much of southern Spain. As we walked walked through this city we enjoyed seeing the people in their traditional costumes.We walked through the Mutrah Suq where the stalls were full of Omani items such as Dullah (bronze coffee pots), exotic spices and frankincense. I thought I was in church. After a li...

We arrived in Dubai at 6.00am having raced across the Arabian Sea, through the Gulf of Oman and around the Straight of Hormuz. The pirates couldn't keep up with us!!!! The shoreline here is very flat, as it is mainly reclaimed land, with skyscrapers on the skyline. We left the ship full of anticipation and excitement. Our tour was a mixture of the old and the new of Dubai. The old was the Bastakiya area, one of the oldest in Dubai, with its ancient houses bed...