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British Mensa Travel Special Interest Group |
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Israel
and Egypt by Boat We had a small but comfortable cabin, with bunk beds, toilet and shower. There were several bars, shops, a restaurant and a casino on board. We had full board during the cruise, including lunch boxes for our two shore excursions. The restaurant stewards, mainly Russian and East European, were so numerous that they cleared empty plates and glasses almost before they are placed on the table! In Haifa dock, we went through the strict Israeli immigration procedures, which involved collecting our passports from a lounge on board ship. There was a security scare in the lounge as an unattended bag is discovered, so the room had to be evacuated. Eventually the owner of the bag came forward and procedures resumed. We departed from the port at 8.15am. Haifa is a port of 300,000 inhabitants, a major oil-refining, factory and business centre. The city lies below Mount Carmel, where early European monks came and established the first order of monks in Israel, the Carmelites, over the tomb of the prophet Elias. Israel has an area of 20,712 sq km and a population of 5.9 million: 80% are Jews. The unemployment rate is 8.2%, but, in the autonomous Palestine regions, this figure is 42%. Inflation at the time of the 6-day war in 1967 was 480%; it is now 11 %. The main cause of inflation is military expenditure. Cotton is Israel's leading export agricultural crop; this year's harvest was complete. We passed a lot of banana and orange plantations. Except for corn and some fruits, crops did not exist in Israel until the early 20th century when Jewish pioneers returned bringing foods from various parts of the world, cleared the swamps and cultivated the fertile coastal plain. This year's autumn rain, due since October, still had not arrived; there had been no rain since March. Winter crops are irrigated by pipelines, built in the 1960's to convey water from the mountains in the Galilee area. Israel's no 1 export business is diamonds: 80% of the world's diamond polishing takes place in this country, thanks to low local wages. Tel Aviv's diamond exchange is one of the world's largest. The next largest are hi-tech business and weapons manufacturing. Three years compulsory military service is undertaken by all Israeli males (Moslems are exempt) at age 18, after which they complete 45 days reserve duty every year until age 54. Women have to do two years compulsory military service at age 18. Wrecks of armoured trucks still litter the Tel Aviv to Jerusalem highway as a memorial to the War of Independence. Soldiers and military vehicles were very much in evidence everywhere, although we did not experience any kind of hostility. Traffic was tremendously heavy, however, as the day was not one of the three weekly holy days for the country's main religions: Friday (Moslems), Saturday (Jews) or Sunday (Christians). Jerusalem, the capital of Israel with its population of 600,000, lies in a valley between the mountains of Samaria and Judea. We make our first stop a few kilometres south of Jerusalem, in the growing town of Bethlehem, which lies in Palestine, its population of 55,000 comprises 96% Moslems. The Pope is expected to visit Bethlehem next year. We first visit a souvenir shop, then the Church of the Nativity. The traditional site of the birthplace of Jesus Christ is marked by a 12-pointed star in the crypt of the church, and next to it is a row of five oil-lamps marking the position of the manger. Christmas is celebrated in the church on three dates each year: December 25th (Christians), January 6th (Greek Orthodox) and January 18th (Armenians). Huge construction projects in Bethlehem, preparing for the year 2000, include new roads, car parks, pipelines and buildings, making the town an eyesore, and traffic is utter chaos. Next we proceeded
to Jerusalem, which has been a battlefield in 36 wars, and destroyed and
rebuilt 11 times. King David was the first to unite the 12 tribes of lsrael
and establish _ the capital at Jerusalem in 1004BC. His son King Solomon
built the first temple. A later temple was destroyed by the Romans in
70AD, the only part remaining is the Western or Wailing Wall, so called
because Christians regarded it as the last tangible piece of Jesus' temple. After he split from Rome, he established his capital at Byzantium which he renamed Constantinople. In 325, with his mother Helena, he established the world's first church at Bethlehem. Our hurried walking tour of the Old City of Jerusalem took us through the colourful bazaars to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The church contains the site of Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified, as well as a smaller church, built in the 19th century over the traditional site of Jesus's first tomb. Sadly these and other holy sites seem to have lost their real religious importance to over-commercialisation; so many tourists come without any religious intention that pilgrims and devout Christians cannot offer prayers or feel holy inspiration here. Leaving the Church, we followed part of the Via Dolorosa, the route Jesus took to Golgotha carrying the Cross, to the Wailing Wall, where men and women are still segregated and have to cover their heads as a mark of respect. We exited the city via the Dung Gate, rejoined our coaches and viewed the Church of Gethsemane and the Mount of Olives as we left Jerusalem. Night fell as we returned to Haifa. Before returning to the ship, there was time for a brief visit to a diamond polishing factory in Haifu. We were given the opportunity to buy diamonds of any value, but we found the offer easy to ignore and instead enjoyed a free cup of coffee. Back aboard the Princessa Marissa we settled down for the overnight journey to Egypt. We took breakfast the next day whilst the ship docked at Port Said, at the northern end of the Suez Canal. This is Egypt's second most important port (after Alexandria) and was named after Said Basha who built the port when the canal was constructed. The daily income from the Suez Canal is US $5 million. We were bombarded with hassle from street vendors trying to sell their wares and we were on]y walking from the ship to the coaches! This hassle was repeated everywhere we stopped in Egypt. The best tactic is to ignore them, unless interested in what they're selling, in which case try to haggle. The population of Egypt is 66 million - one million are in Port Said. Everywhere is badly littered. Following attacks on tourists in recent years, all tourist buses are escorted by tourist police for security. They travel in convoy on the highways and are given VIP treatment, allowed to exceed speed limits and drive through red lights. We drove out of Port Said parallel with the Suez Canal. We noticed busy street markets off the main road. Once out of the city, we passed rice fields. Every village in Egypt has a school, a hospital and a mosque. Education is compulsory for children aged 6 to 14. All education is free, including the 14 universities. After nearly two hours we reached Africa's biggest city, Cairo, with its population of 16 million. We passed the city's airport and drove through the suburb of Heliopolis, which contains many rich and beautiful buildings, in stark contrast with the abject poverty of rural areas and city slums. We crossed the River Nile as we continued through the city and suddenly, without warning, we passed the last buildings and were immediately confronted with the first Pyramid. Police and soldiers are very conspicuous here. It's very dusty too. There are hundreds of camels and horses for tourists to ride (at a price) but, because of the mess, these animals are leaving the area soon. We arrived at Giza. Next to the first pyramid is the Great Pyramid of Chefren (Cheops), built around 2650 BC and about 140 metres high, the world"s tallest building at that time. No-one is allowed to climb on these pyramids, but we can enter the Great Pyramid, which costs about £2. The tunnels are steep, nearly 450 slopes, and little more than a metre high, so one has to bend double. First we descended around 50 metres, then there's a level corridor about 20 metres long (where we can mercifully stand up straight), then climb again, stooping, about another 30 metres to the burial chamber, a huge room with just an empty sarcophagus. In addition there are no hieroglyphics in the pyramids at Giza. Nevertheless it's a tremendous experience, more so when we realised that within 24 hours we had seen the birth and crucifixion places of Jesus Christ and entered the Great Pyramid. There was a ventilation shaft inside the pyramid, but the air was stale, owing to the large number of visitors. Numbers inside are regulated by officials. We continued to the tourist area, where we could approach the Sphinx (which has recently had a facelift and is now clear of scaffolding) with the pyramids behind it. In front was a son et lumiere theatre. Our next stop was a papyrus factory in Cairo. We learned how papyrus was made in ancient times and is still made the same way today. The papyrus reed is first cut to size and the outer green skin or bark removed. The fleshy white interior has a high sugar content, so it is soaked in water for five or six days to remove the sugar. The then strips of papyrus are laid horizontally and vertically, like wickerwork, between mats and pressed for another 5-6 days. It is now ready to send to the artist for painting. The factories sell examples of pap) TUS and other fine souvenirs. There is no need to change foreign currencies into Egyptian pounds; Cyprus pounds, sterling and US dollars are widely accepted. Our last
stop was at Cairo's Egyptian Museum. We saw many antiquities from the
pyramids and pharaonic tombs from the Early and Middle Kingdoms. The principal
display is the spectacular treasure of Tutankhamun, discovered by Howard
Carter in 1922. The fabulous collection is indescribable, gold and countless
beautiful and valuable objects. The ancient Egyptians were wonderful craftsmen,
creating these magnificent works of art, and the huge and heavy sarcophagi,
fitting one inside the other. |