In July 07 we flew from London to Taba. Taba is located in the Northern Sinai, close to the Israeli border. Israel seized the Sinai in the 1967 War with Egypt. Gradually they handed back land to the Egyptians, who successfully turned the area into a thriving tourist economy known as the Red Sea Riviera. Sharm El Sheikh, the largest of the resorts returned to Egypt in 1982. The last area to be handed back was Taba in 1989.
Taba is a small resort. It bears no comparison with the splendor of Sharm. Our motivation in going, apart from the diving, was to visit Petra, which on the 7th of the 7th, 2007 was voted as one of the Seven modern wonders of the world. Our trip to Petra started at the marina in Taba, where we boarded a catamaran ferry for the one hour ride across the gulf of Aqaba heading for the Jordanian port town of Aqaba. We left our Hotel at 6AM.
Petra was home to the NABATAEANS. Starting at around 600BC. In its glory days the population was around 20,000. Petra was revealed to the Western World in 1812 by a Swiss explorer in 1812. Petra became widely known after appearing in the Indiana Jones movie. In 1985 it was declared a World Heritage site. Up until then it was inhabited by Bedouins who continued to use the caves as their homes. In 1985 the Bedouin residents were incentivised to leave by the Government, thereby preserving the site. Archaeological groups are constantly working to preserve the site.
There are 50 pictures below, with accompanying text.
All pics are thumbnails. Click on pic to load big version
Setting off en route to Aqaba. This is a view of Taba from the sea.
Heading North towards Aqaba you pass this famous Hotel. The Taba Hilton. Located on the border with Israel, lying to the right of the Hotel.
The Israeli port of Eilat. Directly opposite Aqaba.
We set of by coach from Aqaba heading north on a two hour drive towards Petra. This view to the left is the desert in Jordan at the fore, and the Negev desert in Israel to the rear.
Arriving in Petra, this sight is at the highest point in the region.
There is a booming transport business, offering a variety of horse drawn carriage for visitors unable to walk the lengthy distances involved. The path is hard and rocky. Many of the horses we saw were limping.
Once inside the area, the walk down to the old city follows this path. Its called 'The Siq' Temperature on our visit was 47 degrees.
The first rock carving on the way down. This one is a tomb for a wealthy merchant who wanted to be buried in Petra.
A local flasher. If you look closely you will see she is about to flash her left ankle.
As you approach the main area through the magnificent gorge (The Siq), you can just about make out the huge facade at the rear of this picture.
The first and most famous facade in Petra. As featured in 'Indiana Jones'. This massive facade is in fact the entrance to a tomb. The Nabataeans valued the afterlife above this life. So they spent more time on making ornate tombs. Built out of all proportion to common sense.
The center piece in the facade is riddled with bullets. Locals believed there must be treasure in such a splendid tomb. By shooting at it they hoped the gold and precious stones would fall out. A useful insight into low brow local mentality.
This facade is absolutely massive. It provokes a feeling of awe and amazement that helps explain why Petra was nominated for the '7 Wonders' award.
Two of the very young wives of our fellow visitor. The husband looks well over fifty. The girl looking at the camera looks to have the eyes of a young teenager.
Perhaps the husband is inspired by the Prophet Muhammad who was 52 when he married A'isha, who was NINE when they sexually consumated the marriage. A'isha incidentally is the only one of his 12 wives who was a virgin. At the age of nine, we should certainly not be surprised by this fact.
A local family pausing for refreshment whilst enjoying the magnificent sights
The terra cotta color in the rock walls is splendid.
Here's what lies behind the facade. A basic tomb.
A strong Greek influence in the design
Traditionally dressed Jordanian guard
Camel drinking coke. He spits the can out when done.
How do Camels find water in the desert?
Classic Pic methinks
More tombs lining the main walkway towards the valley area
The high metallic content in the rock gives it the distinctive color
This is our guide. Walleed. Behind him is his former home. He lived in Petra with his 13 siblings in the cave you see in this pic. 14 children and their parents called this home.
Spectacular Petra
Petra
Another massive tombstone
This fellow is one of a kind. Raami Menajah. A Bedouin Kiwi. His mum, Marguerite van Geldermalsen, was visiting Petra whilst a traveler from New Zealand. She met Muhammad Menajah, a Bedouin resident of Petra. He liked the idea of a Western wife and asked her to come and live with him in his cave. Muhammad has since died, and the mum has left, but the son has returned, complete with a Kiwi accent.
The full story, which is quite fascinating, is HERE
A traveler and his friend
shade in 47 degree heat.
view from inside one of the tombs.
Petra is a 50 acre site. This pic is taken from one of the stone stepped mountain walks looking across the plain. To the rear is the monastery.
The theatre in Petra
In the town of Petra is the location of a well believed to have been used by Moses. The Moses well. Possessed with mystical properties this water will - according to your degree of gullibility - facilitate any number of fabulous enhancements to your health and wealth.
Aqaba in the late afternoon. The flag is huge. 40 m by 60 m. Marks the site of the final battle that saw the Free Arabs defeat the Ottoman Empire (1916). The place where Peter O Toole as Lawrence so famously says 'AQABA'
We stopped for half an hour to have a walkabout in the town. Its a real picture of a Muslim town. In ten minutes we experienced two instances of racial tension. One group of boys squatting on a sidelwalk as we passed shook up a can of cola and then rolled it across the pavement towards Charlotte. The can burst and sprayed its contents, only narrowly missing her. This we think is because she showed the temerity to: 1.) Walk alongside a man, and 2.) not cover her head.
The fruits of Islamic belief grow richly in this fertile environment.
The three chimneys mark the border between Jordan and Saudi
The dive center in Taba. Its right next to the Marina where our journey starts and finishes.
When we returned to Taba after a very long hot day we rose to disembark once the Ferry had docked. BUT. We were not able to disembark. We were kept on the boat for 30 minutes. Just Standing. Sweating. Shuffling. Fidgeting. Aching. And in the case of one young girl, vomiting. And why this cruel delay?
The entire customs crew have stopped work to bend over and point their bottoms westwards.
This pic is taken just as the prayer session that required everyone's full attention ended. You can see the HOLY look on their faces.
A curious ritual widely practiced in these parts. 5 times a day they point their bottoms toward the West whilst carrying on a conversation with an imaginary friend. Possibly they believe in a mystical Behelzebub lurking in the West and by farting in that direction 5 times a day they consume him in the holy odor, thereby preventing him from gazing lustfully at their women and young boys.
This activity is best enjoyed accompanied by the soundtrack to Engelnd football games.
I imagine them chanting 'Here we go, here we go, here we go' as they rise up before bending down again......
Here we go.
Here we go.
Here we go.
Bedouins are berserk. They are radical Islamists. They practice Sharia law. They do not allow freedom of choice. They memorise the Quran. They obviously despise women requiring them to dress in black all over. (But mercifully allowing them narrow slits through which to see where they are going. Although I think its so that they can see to carry the beers over to their men.) And they live in dreadful conditions. I cant figure why they don't build their shacks in the shade. My theory is that too much sun has affected their brains. That and the crushing weight of their hopeless faith.
Local Bedouin housing. As far from any shade as possible.
The beach looks great. You can see four Countries whilst lying on the beach.Two problems. If you have Western standards in respect of social conduct, you will struggle with Israelis and Jordanians.
The view from our Hotel room window across the Gulf of Aqaba towards Saudi Arabia.
On Saturday night we decided to visit the infamous Taba Hilton. We hired a driver to take us through the checkpoints and deliver us to the Hotel.
On 7 October 2004, a date coinciding with a Jewish holiday which meant a high percentage of Jewish guests at the Hotel, a car bomb was driven into the drive through visible at the base of the building. The explosion killed 34 people. The entire front of the building in this picture collapsed. A 6 Billion $ PA Tourist boom was thtreatened. The Mubarak led Egyptian Government acted swiftly.
The finger of blame immediately pointed at the Bedouins. Over 2,000 were arrested shortly after the blast. In November 2006 three men, Bedouins belonging to a super Pro Allah fundamentalist group called
'Wermuslmfkpgswnobrns wrkg frmhmdthepedofle'
were sentenced to death for the bombing. Ten more Sinai Bedouins were imprisoned. International human rights groups report that many of those arrested were mistreated and tortured. Those convinted maintaining innocence, saying confessions were extracted by torture. The Egyptian government investigation into this, and the other bombings in Sharm and Dahab, has been secretive. Even years later very little information has been released.
This pic is taken from the grounds of the Taba Hilton. Its that close.
The Israeli border - pic taken as we exit the Hilton.
Two guests enjoying a cocktail (extremely poorly made while costing five pounds UK) in the Hilton bar while gunshots can be heard in the background..
