Aqaba, Jordan 15/9
I went ashore here with Geoff
and Keith, friends from a previous cruise. Geoff, who was an Australian
diplomat for over 30 years, has vast experience of the Middle East, South East
Asia and USA and was on board giving a series of lectures on regional and world
affairs. There wasn’t a lot to see here but we hired a taxi to take us to a
shopping centre and then to a couple of very good hotels where we had drinks
and an excellent Arabic lunch.
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| The after tug, from my balcony. |
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| View across Aqaba. In the distant far left is Elat, Israel. |
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| Two friendly, English speaking locals. |
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| Geoff and Keith. |
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| Driving through one of the less salubrious parts of town. |
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| Outside the shopping centre. |
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At the nut and spices shop. We bought some
beautiful, fresh nuts. |
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| Drinks in the lounge of the Kempinski Hotel. |
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| Lunch at the Intercontinental Hotel. |
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| 43 deg C in the shade! |
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| Who would have thought a colour scheme of ochre, gun-metal blue, green and grey would look ghastly! |
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| Sunset over the desert. |
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| Early evening departure. |
Salalah, Oman 20/9
I have no idea why the ship called here. It’s a strict Muslim country – no alcohol, being a Friday everything was shut and, despite the heat, it was even frowned upon to wear shorts ashore!
I stayed on-board and had a very relaxing day by the pool and bar.
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| Early morning arrival. |
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| Arab dhows alongside. |
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| This appears to be a large transhipment port for containers bound for the Persian Gulf and India. |
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| Evening departure. |
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