We crossed the border into Jordan at the southern city of Aqaba. The process did not take much time and there was no visa or payment required. Hurray! Aqaba is a port on the Red Sea. The water looked very nice and inviting but we did not have any energy to jump in. The temperature was very hot, probably the hottest day of the trip so far, 45 degress with high humidity. We had a very nice hotel room on the top floor of a new building with a view to the harbor. Just what we needed after a long … Continue reading The beauty of ancient places. Petra

After two months in Africa we arrived in the Middle East, landing first in Cairo to connect to Israel. The little we got to see of Egypt while we were at the Cairo airport waiting for our connecting flight provided a bit of an eye opening intro to the region. First, English was no longer the common language. Second, there was a vibrant mix of people of many cultural backgrounds including Arabs, Muslims, Persians, Christians, Jews and more trying to get to their final destinations which was an interesting picture to see. The predominance of the Muslim religion is particulalry … Continue reading The holy land!