Maxine and Ray's trip 2022

 Fujairah is one of the seven city states that make up the UAE. Rugged mountains also come right down to the water at the port here. Our tour began at the  old Fujairah Fort, which was built between 1500 and 1550 and is located on the outskirts of modern Fujairah. It is the oldest castle in the UAE. It was built to resist colonial expansion. It was damaged several times, the last by the British who destroyed three of it's four towers in 1925. It was restored and opened as a museum in 2000. The fort is made completely of stones and mud bricks. The gate to Fujairah Fort, looking out to the modern Fujairah mosque and skyscrapers in the distance. The 400 year old fort An old ruin adjacent to the fort. A young Emirati couple who had come to the fort to take photos and agreed to pose for the tourists.( I think for their wedding or engagement) We then drove about 45 minutes outside of Fujairah to the natural Oasis in Bithnah.  It's fort used to  guard the mountain pass. The...

We are a stone's throw away from the UAE, but are back in Oman. The port of Khasab is small, but is known for it's beautiful location which has a landscape of sheer cliffs rising out of the sea, much like Norway's Fjords. People live simply in the small town beside the port. A smaller dhow on the fjord We toured the fjords in an open air boat called a dhow. Everyone had to sit on cushions on the floor of the boat, which proved to be challenging for some! Our group on the large dhow. One of our guides wearing the traditional Arab dress of Oman. We were lucky to see dolphins several times during the trip! Dolphin in the foreground. In the fjord area the cliffs protected the area from wind, and the reflections were like glass! The camera doesn't do justice to the wide range of colors in the rock. The back mountain in this picture was actually a beautiful soft orange color.

  A city beach in Abu Dhabi with skyscrapers in the background. After Dubai, our next stop was Abu Dhabi, which is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. It has lovely clean beaches right in the city,  and like Dubai, it is an impressive modern city with countless skyscrapers everywhere. Many of the building designs are very creative.  The Fairmont Hotel in Abu Dhabi. The highlight was a visit to the Grand Mosque, or Sheik Zayed Mosque, named after the first ruler of the UAE.  It is the 8th largest mosque in the world, and is stunningly beautiful inside. It has the largest handmade carpet in the world, the largest chandelier, 80 domes and 1,000 columns. The interior decoration is made up of hand pieced marble inlay in the floors and relief inlays on the walls. In keeping with Muslim beliefs, the decoration is only Islamic Koran verses in the quite lyrical Arabian script, and botanical images of vines and flowers. The effect is incredibly beautiful! A worship a...

 If you are like me, you don't know much about the United Arab Emirates. The Portuguese had colonized some of the countries, but then were forced out by the British who called this area the Trucial States from 1820 until they withdrew from the area in 1968. This led the Sheiks from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to instigate a political  alliance with 5 other emirates to form the new United Arab Emirates, with Abu Dhabi as the capital, and the Sheik of Abu Dhabi as the leader. The seven states are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and Ras al Kaimah. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the richest states, We were in Dubai a few days ago, and found it to be a very modern, clean city with an impressive skyline of high rises, and new construction everywhere you look. We did a historic walk, but found that most historic buildings are gone, and  those that were restored appear highly sanitized.  The development of Dubai since oil was discovered in the 1960's is astonishin...

 We arrived in Muscat, the capital of Oman this  morning. The harbor is very attractive, and surrounded by rugged mountains that border the water. View of Muscat harbor from the deck of the ship. The scenic harbor drive with the sultan's two large yachts in the distance. We learned a little more about the transformation and modernization of Oman. Oman had a very conservative sultan since 1938, and the population was poor, and illiterate, with high infant mortality.  The population had begun to rebel against the sultan until until his son Qaboos seized the throne and expelled his father from the country in 1970. Oil had also been discovered, and the new Sultan Qaboos used the oil revenue to extensively modernize the country. He introduced public funded education for all, public medical services and modern infrastructure. Both boys and girls now have equal access to education, and students with the highest grades are given full scholarships to attend international universit...

 After four days at sea, we arrived in Oman yesterday at the large oil and mineral export port of Salalah.  I really knew nothing about Oman, so will give you  a little summary. Oman is located on the Arabian Peninsula at the confluence of the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea.  It is an absolute monarchy governed by a Sultan since the 18th century. He is aided by an upper chamber with 71 members chosen by the Sultan, and a lower chamber with 84 members elected by the people.  But, the Sultan has the power to negate elections. It is an oil producing country, so quite wealthy.  It is a Muslim country, but has it's own sect called Ibadi Islam which was brought to Oman by the son of Mohammed's daughter.  His name was the Prophet Mohammed Bin Ali, who died here in 1135 AD. His tomb is small, but revered by the Omani people, and while we were visiting a small group from Yemen came to pay their respects, and pray at the small tomb/mosque.  The small tomb of ...

We were  thrilled to visit the amazing ancient city of Petra again in Jordan. The visit was shorter than we had hoped since it was a 2 hour bus ride each way from the port, and the ship was delayed in reaching port. Petra is reached by a winding drive through desert and rugged mountains.  Petra was an ancient trading center in a very remote and protected valley built by the Nabataeans more than 2,000 years ago. It was the capital of the Nabataean empire from about 100 BC until an earthquake destroyed much of it in 363 AD. It is mentioned in the old testament by it's Hebrew name "Sela" in Isaiah 16:1, 42:11, 2 Kings 14:7 and Judges 1:36. It was described as the place that the Jews would flee to for safety when the antichrist begins his persecution. It is close to the location where Moses brother Aaron died, and we passed a shrine to Aaron far in the distance on a mountain top. It is indeed a very well protected spot, and was lost to modern civilization from about 700 AD. I...