"Holy Land Tour - Day 12"- Arrival Mumbai Airport, and home in "Vaibhav apartments(Mumbai)-[Thursday 6-11-2008]

Boarded the transit flight at Bahrain airport Gf56 at 0010 hrs and reached Mumbai at 0605(I.S.T) after having dinner on the plane.Collected my luggage, with my suitcase totally battered and damaged due to reckless handling during transit transfers.Bid Tour conductor Nicola.Phillips goodbye and after checking past the customs shared a taxi along with Mr Mariano.Fernandes and his wife as they lived near Portuguese church and could be dropped en-route to my residence.Reached home at approximately 1000hrs and was back to normal, the "Self-Entrepreneur" doing the "Balancing act".

Window shopping at the "DUTY FREE SHOP" in the airport.

"Holy land tour- Day 11"- Departure Amman from " Queen Aliya airport" transit at Bahrain airport.(Wednesday 5-11-2008)

Last day of our stay in Amman before our departure to Mumbai , end of a hectic whirlwind tour spanning 3 different country's with diverse cultures and standards of living. Woke up early as usual and went for a walk in the cold early morning , visiting a local bakery manufacturing various types of bread and pastries akin to "City bakery", a landmark at Worli in Mumbai. Jordan is a very liberal Muslim country even prior to "9/11 2001 Muslim fundamentalism" hysteria that has gripped the World at present. Travel in Aqqaba during my sea-voyages was unrestricted and safe , the souk being within the harbour precincts and dry-fruits the cheap delicacy.In 2009, despite "Al-Qaida Terrorism hysteria" it seems that Jordan society has remained stable and freedom of travel is unrestricted and safe to the average tourist. Amman is a very clean city and "Amaken Plaza hotel" was situated in a plusher locality of the city, a fashionable suburb of Amman.On return to the hotel ,packed the luggage and went for breakfast, later inquiring the costs of some curio's at the hotel tourist shop.Boarded the bus and made our journey to "Queen Aliya Airport" in Amman. The effects of "International terrorism hysteria" was experienced at the airport customs and immigration checkpoints where besides physically stripping every passenger all other security checks were conducted.Gulf air flight (Gf972) was punctual on departure at 1515hrs local time and my co-passenger on the next seat happened to be a young Jewish girl, a student traveling from Israel to Bahrain and picked up a conversation with her as she was well versed in speaking English.She was a "social worker" and as she was reading a Hebrew book i inquired about the Hebrew script and was surprised to note that "Judaism" has more similarities to "Islam" culture than to Christianity. Hebrew books were read from the last page to the front or from "Right to left" unlike English or most of the other languages in the World.Politics and culture are real paradox's at times as the Israeli and Arabic country's demonstrate and which in turn affect the entire world.Lunch was on board the plane, served with a can of beer but unlike other airlines there was no video films, just inboard earphone channeled music and magazines. We reached Bahrain at approximately 1835 hrs and got the first feeling of the "Christmas Festive season" on entering the "Duty - Free Shopping promenade" where a "Santa-Claus" robot set was continuously playing jingle-bells and the large duty-free lounges packed with passengers and tourists. We had 5 hrs of leisure time at the "Duty free transit lounge" and having previously visited it on our arrival to Cairo i got to know the various shopping malls reasonably well on arrival . Browsed through the newspapers at the book-stall and was psychologically depressed at the crash of the Indian stock market, wiping out years of "Paper Profits" from my self created portfolio.Purchased a "Cinzano wine bottle" and an "old Grouse whiskey bottle" at the liquor shop as also a box of "Mackintosh's quality street" assorted chocolates, memories of my childhood delicacy in Mombasa.Normally,while traveling on International routes i spend my time in transit lounges by browsing through the various newspapers or books kept in the "Duty-free book shop" and a few purchases, mostly liquor or sportswear.The transit in Bahrain was of 5 hrs, besides , we were already familiar with the lounge hence we passed our time in normal talks as a common stay of 11 days had converted us from total total strangers on departure from Mumbai into acquaintances on arrival to Mumbai, sad that a exciting and educative tour was coming to an end , besides, for me it was the worry of "Balancing" my finances and living the "Khushi life" as a "Self-Entrepreneur".

Awaiting the plane homewards bound.

Holy Land tour-Day- 10 - Mount Nebo and Madaba visits (Tuesday 4-11-2008)

Suffered from terrible insomnia and hence woke up earlier than usual at approximately 0300 on Tuesday morning and went into the main hall, switched on the light, television and began "penning" my diary, a common routine on all my tours, beginning since my "shipping days voyages" as a Marine Engineer.Thanks to the internet and blogging have now transferred my diary writings of my "solo tours" and now my first group tour into a mass media for the benefit of other tourists and travelers. Stephen was asleep in the bedroom and as i explained earlier, this hotels accommodation was the equivalent of a "1 bedroom/hall flat", except the external design of the hotel which seems to have been recently renovated, resembling a "Mumbai Chawl type housing entrance"! Penned down in brief the excerpts of my tour as this was our last day and we would be departing to Mumbai tomorrow. Ironically,Raj Kapoors classic but commercial flop "Mera Naam Joker",also one of my all time best hindi movies was playing on the "Zee T.V", the only Indian channel on this hotels "T.V. Network", rest were all Arabic and local Jordanian news in English.

Ancient map of the "Holy Land" in Madaba.

Went to sleep again and later woke up at 0600 hrs and after a brief shower went for my usual early morning walk along the main road outside the hotel and found a lot of people busy walking to their various destinations, unlike in Tiberias(Israel) where spotting a human at early morning hours was a rarity. Amman is a clean city with broad spacious roads and a high cost of living and having visited the port of Aqaba twice in my shipping career was used to the Jordanian lifestyle and currency purchasing value.Jordan has recently become famous as a International tourist destination besides being on the "Holy Land Tour" itinerary after the cave sites of "Petra" was declared as one of the "New Seven Wonders of the World" in 2007. A tour to Petra was not on our tour itinerary and a few of us requested "Mosaic Holidays" tour guide Nicola to conduct a tour of "Petra" instead of Madaba as we could also visit these sites the next day on our way to the airport. Unfortunately, majority of the pilgrims were not willing to a change of plans to visit Petra and Nicola agreed to arrange a separate tour for pilgrims wanting to go to Petra instead of the normal tour itinerary, but at a extra charge. A single couple , Dr Placidius.A. Mascarenhas and his wife Mrs Pamela.Mascarenhas agreed for the "Petra private tour" ,the charges being U.S$'s 220 extra since there were no other tourists and hence beyond my "Financial Budget" already, having lost lakhs in "Paper assets" on the "Indian Stock exchange meltdown". Ultimately , Dr P.Fernandes and his wife were the only shrewd people who went to Petra in a private minibus, a real luxury which i couldn't afford at that stage of my life and repent for missing the chance of seeing one of the modern day wonders of the World having visited its country of origin.Its akin to a tourist coming to India and departing without visiting the Taj Mahal at Agra! Thats life,you have to lose some to win some,at least, i completed the entire "Holy Land tour " itinerary, including the torturous climb to Mount Sinai.
After a sumptuous breakfast , barring Dr P.Mascarenhas and his wife we all boarded the bus with the Jordanian tour guide Mr Hiyari.Kamal who with his driver Khalid took us to Mount Nebo, the biblical mount. Mount Nebo offers an excellent view of the entire Jordan valley and from there we next visited "Madaba", the city of Mosaics.We were shown a demonstration of the manufacture of hand crafted "Mosaic Designs" at a Madaba tourist shop. I purchased a "Tree of life" fabricated from mosaic, my usual passion of collecting curio's and handicrafts from various country's of visit. Lunch was at a local restaurant in Madaba and after lunch we visited the Citadel of Jordan, an archeological ruin of an ancient city situated in down-town Amman.This citadel is situated on a hillock and gives an excellent view of the entire city including the ancient colosseum which in the present day is used to hold cultural events and concerts.On our return trip to the hotel a few of us requested to be dropped in the souk at Amman, one of the biggest shopping bazaars in jordan. Pilgrim tourist couples Mr&Mrs D.Pereira and Mr& Mrs J.Martis joined Stephen and myself in alighting the bus in the main "Amman Souk" and we all proceeded on our shopping excursions or window shopping. As usual, i split from the crowd , being a bachelor,and did a solo tour of the "Souk" surprised to observe the rapid decline of the purchasing power of the "Indian rupee" since i last visited the souks of Aqaba in 1986 and again sometime in the 1990's, realising that India is still one of the World's cheapest Country's.Viewed the historical "Al-Husseini Mosque" situated in the main souk locality and also inquired the price of gold in the numerous "gold shops" as also the price of "Dry Fruits", a craze for purchase by Indian tourist seafarers in the 1980's and 1990's. Wild-Life conservation seems to have a negligible effect in Jordan and many endangered animal species and their by-products were freely available in some shops.The common Indian ring parakeet was available at 30US$'s(Rs 1500 approx) and exotic coloured parrots at 300US's(Rs 15,000), besides ,"stuffed foxes" and "Kestrels" were also on sale. As mentioned earlier, considering the "Currency Exchange rates", Mumbai seemed to be a much cheaper place for "Dry-Fruits" in 2008! Purchased a few shirts and reported at our meeting place near a currency exchange shop for departure to the hotel by taxis. Three of us shared a taxi at 6U.S's/taxi and made our way to Hotel Amaken Plaza, the end of our hectic, busy and educative tour of the entire "Holy Land" and other World tourist sites. Dinner was at the hotel and after a brief  relaxation  crashed off to sleep.

Our tour bus .

"Holy Land tour- Day 9"- Visit to Mt Tabor, departure Tiberias(Israel) and entry into Amman(Jordan)[Monday 3-11-2008]

Early to wake up as usual and onto my daily walks around the hotel in Tiberias, this being the last day in Israel as we were to depart to Amman, the capital of Jordan in the evening.After breakfast went to the room and got our luggage into the "Tour Bus" and meandered our way alongside the narrow jordan river and onto the foothills of Mount Tabor, the place where the "Transfiguration of Christ" took place.At the foothills of Tabor mountain we alighted the bus as it could go no further and hence we made the rest of the journey upto the peak by means of a taxi, akin to climbing the "Khandala Ghats" in Maharashtra. On reaching the summit on which the "Tabor Church" was built we met a lot of Indian pilgrims from Mumbai and as i said previously,"Its ultimately a small world" and a few of the pilgrims were from "Worli locality" of Mumbai and happened to know my late mother, Mrs Greta.N.Furtado. My mothers religious practices and beliefs were on the point of pathological fanaticism reasons best known to her and ironically, her son, the "Blogger", was and is a total pacifist .My religious philosophy is "Live and let live" or still better to quote my favourite saying from Emperor Napoleon on "Religious tolerance",quote<>,"I am a Hindu in India and a Muslim in Egypt".
In life there are some people whom you might meet for just a few minutes, seconds or hours and then never again see them in your life-time,but, that one meeting can leave an immortal impression on your mind or memory either for the good or bad throughout your life.
In the courtyard of tabor church stood a imposing huge man with the built of a wrestler facing towards the sun with huge outstretched arms, a kind of "trance gesture" and on a closer look i observed colorful tattoo's all over his body. At 5' 10" of height , standing next to him i felt like a dwarf skeleton, such was the width of his chest and height, besides having shoulder length hair and reasonable good looking, reminding me of "Big Chief", the "American red Indian" who played a key role with Jack Nicholson in the movie, "One flew over the Cuckoo's nest". I happened to see "Big Chief" at Zurich Airport in 1985 on a transit flight to London for just a few minutes but remember him as if it was just yesterday that i saw him, although, i have traveled numerous city's and shipping ports since 1986. I mustered courage and first began a conversation by congratulating the giant on possessing a wonderful collection of "Body Art" and later inquired about his nationality and profession whose reply seemed straight out of a Hollywood fiction movie rather than a plain and visible fact. The giant was of Mexican Nationality and had been recently released from a U.S.A prison and hence had made the pilgrimage to 'Mt Tabor" and the "Holy Land".After bidding the Mexican giant goodbye i made my way into the church and after a brief prayer returned to the church courtyard, viewing the beautiful mountain valley. An Israeli army patrol was stationed on duty in the vicinity of the Tabor church compound and many of the young soldiers resembled school students let alone college grownups and on inquiry found out that many of them were undergoing their "Mandatory Military training" before their college enrollment or further educational study's. After the "Mandatory army conscription" period, individuals with an aptitude for military duty were absorbed for further training while the rest were allowed to pursue their higher education , professional course or a vocational course of their interest. We later returned to the "Tour Bus" and drove to a "Kibbutz resort" for lunch, the "Kibbutz's" having their own unique charm of informal luxury akin to the "Bedouin Hookah tent" in Mt Sinai(Egypt) peculiar to the country of origin. After lunch we boarded the bus and proceeded towards Sheikh Hussein Bridge and later to the "Israeli/Jordanian Border Checkpoint". It was a long wait at the "Israeli/Jordanian Checkpoint" and after an hour our bus moved into the "Customs Checkpoint". We disembarked with our luggage from the "Tour bus" and bid fare-well to Israeli guide Eleizer Gilboa and his driver Yousuf as we had spent the longest stay of our entire "Holy-Land Tour" in Israel. After undergoing the normal "Custom and immigration formalities" at "Hussein Cross border" of Jordan we were met by the Jordanian tour guide Mr Hiyari .Kamal, a young man compared to Mr Eleizer and proceeded towards Amman.The drive to Amman was of one and a half hour approximately and was a steep climb from sea-level to an altitude with the ambient temperature getting cold as Amman is situated at an altitude.In Amman we were accommodated in the "Amaken Plaza hotel" with Stephen and myself being allotted "Room nos 626" which was a "Suite type residence", bigger or equivalent to my Mumbai single/bedroom apartment and complete with a fridge and a kitchen, the best hotel accommodation in our entire "Holy Land tour". Relaxed in the hotel and later Mr Domingo Pereira and his wife who were accommodated next to our room visited us and we all had a small cock-tail party, discussing and summarizing the tour as well as "Its a small World" acquaintances.
Dinner was common buffet style and a bit spicy compared to the western food in Israel with the hotel packed with tourists.After dinner, came back to my room and browsed the "T.V.Channels" which had more of "Arabic programmes" and a Hindi movie channel, with no news of the "Indian Stock Market" which was just at the beginning of the "Great stock market crash of 2008/09" which had its roots in U.S.A and later effected the entire World.

Amphitheatre in Amman in Jordan.

"Holy Land Tour - Day 8"(2-11-2006)- Sunday Mass at Church of Beatitudes,Galilean fishing boat ride,River Jordan(Yardenit baptismal site).

"SUNDAY MASS" at the "Mount of Beatitudes".

As usual, woke up early and had my normal morning walk along the beautiful side-walks of picturesque Tiberias in the cool climate, akin to hill-station "Ooty" in India. After breakfast boarded the "Tour Bus" our "Home-On- wheels" during the entire 12 days tour, crisscrossing different Country's, religions and political doctrines. Sunday Mass was conducted at the "Mount of Beatitudes', a beautiful church situated on a small hillock where Jesus was supposed to have preached his sermon on the mount. A "Holy Tour Group" from Singapore had arranged for conduction of a special sermon at a outdoor chapel outside the main church and we, the "Mosiac Holidays group" also attended the same mass sermon.It had rained at night and the entire pathway had soft mud and the weather excellent.We next visited Capernaum which was Jesus's second home after Nazareth and then to Tabgha, all bibilical religious sites. Next we visited the "Baptimisal site" on the river Jordan, the biblical river that now also forms a part of the border between Israel and Jordan. Waded into the crystal clean and clear waters of the river filled with beautiful fish that relished the feeding by pilgrim tourists. Orthodox pilgrims draped themselves in robes, similar to Sadhus in India and waded into the river baptizing themselves .Manny locals come to this particular leisure as well as religious site foe relaxing and there was a shop selling "Holy water" and other religious icons.Swimming is not allowed in the river and pilgrims can only wade or have a dip in this holy river.After the "Baptismal Site" visited St Peters church of Primacy in Galilee, an ancient archeological ruins site which had a church built over the underground ruins . Ruins of an ancient Jewish Synagogue also existed next to the Church of St Peters in Galilee, a locality having archaeological ruins much before the life time of Jesus Christ. A qualified Archeologist would have had a treasure trove of archeological wonders at this ancient biblical ruins and observing these historical ruins a person gains knowledge as to the extremely difficult task of documenting archeological history. Later, lunch was typical buffet style and then a long journey by "Tour Bus" to the pier of the sea of Galilee. Visited the local souvenir shop near the "Galilean boat pier", a small mall having a variety of religious and curio souvenirs for sale to tourists. While shopping in the mall came across a first generation salesgirl Jewish g of Indian origin who had migrated from Mumbai and spoke fluent "Yiddish" as well as "English" , the first Indian origin Jew that i came across during my entire tour of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jericho( Palestine,West Bank )and Tiberias. As mentioned before, Israeli society has its own federal form of Jewish residency within a "Jewish State" with various immigrant jews from various country's residing within their own social communes, speaking their own country of origin language with "Yiddish" being the national language. Akin to the "Forbidden City" of China during the Chinese monarchy, Israel was and still is a very closely guarded and secretive Country, foreign tourist travels are restricted, besides, travelers to Israel were banned from visiting other Arab country's, a "Catch-22" situation for the average tourist, totally disconnected with the politics of the region. Wonder if Sir Paul McCartney will be allowed to perform or visit in some Arab Country's after performing a concert in Tel-Aviv in September-2008 , such is the complicated web of "Middle-East Politics", where even Sir Paul McCartney walks the "Political Tight-Rope", let alone the average mortal common tourists."Holy Land Tourism" in recent years has opened the biblical lands as well as Israel to the outside World and people are discovering the Country and its culture a little better, other than as being a "Middle-East military superpower" and the root cause of "International Terrorism".

"MOSIAC TOUR GROUP " on the "GALILEAN FISHING BOAT"

After shopping at the "Galilean shopping mall" we later boarded a mechanized fishing dhow designed on the original Galilean boats that plied these waters during biblical times.There were a lot of tourists from various country's and we had some few foreigners from Columbia amongst our boat passengers as the "Mosiac Holidays Group" had an entire boat to ourselves. As the boat cruised along the Galilean Coast , the National anthems of Israel,India and Columbia were recited and as usual everyone was camera happy in clicking photo's. As mentioned previously, Israel has a very "westernized Culture" and tour guide Mr Eliezer gracefully demonstrated the same by dancing a folk dance to the music being played on the boats music system while we all did our own "Desi versions" of dance, including the Colombian tourists.It was a memorable evening of pilgrimage and simple leisure and finally we boarded our "Tour Bus" and headed to our hotel in Tiberias. On inquiries at the hotel and browsing through local tour guide books i came to the conclusion that "Night-Life" in Tiberias was almost non-existent confined only to one or two prominent exorbitantly priced pub bars. As a "Mumbaikar", living in a "Sin City" and having traveled the World and also having seen a lot of other "Sin City's" , most unforgettable being Bangkok ,the thrill of visiting a "Disco pub" in either Jerusalem or Tiberias was not a fascination. According to local tourist literature, the city of Tel aviv is considered the "Sin City" of Israel, complete, with their own local Mafia's and crime, combination of an American import of the "Godfather series" and "Las Vegas" style entertainment.
Watched television on the huge flat screen in the hotel lobby and later crashed to a good nights sleep.

A dance on the Galilean  boat on the sea of Galilee.

"Holy Land Tour - Day 7" Tiberias, "Church of Annunciation ","Church of St Joseph',"Wedding Church at Cana".[Saturday 1-11-2008]

Guide Me Eleizer.Gilboa. explaining the site of the ruins of st Peters home and the synagogue(Galilee)

Woke up at 0600 hrs and as usual went for a walk near the vicinity of the hotel, a cold pleasant morning and i felt of being in some quaint European town ,reminder of my sea-faring port voyages to unknown city's and continents. Observed a lot of cars with bicycles harnessed externally like "Haversacks" onto their aft dickey cover heading towards the 'Sea of Galilee" area, the first time that i saw "Bicycles" being transported by "Luxury Cars". After a short walk around the hotel locality, myself being one of the few visible pedestrians i later returned to the hotel, showered and reported for breakfast in the main dining lobby. Breakfast and food was typical "Western Continental" in Israel, "Japanese Sushi" being the delicacy i found different, besides ,food although "self-service", "second helpings" of the main dish like chicken,Beef steaks,Lamb chops and fish fillets were not allowed.After breakfast we boarded the "tour Bus" and headed towards the Sea of Galilee area onto a hillock overlooking the sea and the entire "Golan Heights", famous in world news for the "Arab-Israeli Wars".
First time in my life i witnessed the enthusiasm of "PROFESSIONAL CYCLING" something which was a television sport to us Indians, where the humble bicycle is considered a "poor mans" transport in major city's like Mumbai and Bangalore where i have residences and was the "freak cyclist" of these city's! Saturday (Sabbath day) is a public holiday in Israel and hence a cross-country cycle race was organized around the sea of Galilee with all the participants arriving at the "Starting Point" of the race in their cars, the "Rough terrain bikes" strapped onto the back of their vehicles.Such week-end bicycle races are a common sport in Israel as indicated by the specialized flexible temporary "harness locks" fitted onto the cars for "Bicycle transport", akin to a taxi or car carrying luggage on its " roof carrier". All the bicycles were either "Mountain Bikes" or "Rough Terrain" with very few "Racer bicycles" since manny local week-end holidaymakers also carted their bikes to the remote mountains and used them for local "Bicycle trekking", a very popular mountain sport.After visiting the hillock overlooking the Sea of Galilee we next visited the Churches of Annunciation and later the workshop and church of St Joseph.Majority of the buildings in Jerusalem and Tiberias were made of a combination of Limestone and granite, hence the buildings look drab ,and ugly from the exterior akin to Mumbai's government "Housing board colonies", barring a few skyscrapers in New Jerusalem city. The wealth of the residents of these buildings can't be gauged by a common tourist unlike India where just a "Bus passage" from the airport to South Mumbai could make a first time tourist understand the economic equations of a particular locality just by its buildings and road cleanliness and the same applies to Cairo!Later after lunch visited the wedding church at Cana and also purchased the "cana wedding wine", a typical tourist product, selling on a religious significance in Christianity.I purchased two bottles of "Cana Wine" for religious as well as a "collectors item", since one normally doesn't visit the "Holy land" regularly, a once in a life-time journey of discovery.We returned back to our hotel a bit early and toured the city of Tiberias individually, a typical small and beautiful "One horse city".As mentioned earlier ,according to me, the cost of living in Israel is on par with Europe to the average Indian tourist where conversion of the "Israeli Shekel" into "Indian rupees" while purchasing common products could be a real drain on the wallet.Did some "window-shopping" in the stores and found out that the cost of an all terrain bi-cycle at approx US $'s 330(Rs 16,500) to be cheaper than the purchase of a inflatable "Rubber Dinghy" without an "Outboard engine" at US$'s 280(Rs 14,100 approx), as sailing was my profession and cycling my daily exercise in Mumbai. Purchased a bottle of local "Israeli Vodka" as its always been my habit to taste local cuisine or alcoholic drinks of a touring country, the cheapest available drink at 6 Euro's(Rs 420 approx) and later made my way towards the hotel.Later in the evening, tasted the "Israeli Vodka" and went off to dinner, later watching the television on the giant flat screen television kept in the main hotel lobby for tourists, also explaining the reasons for the pathetic "14' colour T.V" in the individual guest rooms.The "Paid Television channels" available in Israel are numerous including "Hot adult channels" and "Playboy" which in the era of "Internet Sex video's" can be considered a tame channel.Most of the channels available were in "Yiddish" with not a single "Indian Channel", rest all being American.

At a "KIBBUTZ".Understanding the Israeli way of  communal living.

"Holy Land Tour-Day 6"- Mt Zion, ,Mt of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane,,arrival Tiberias.(Friday 31-10-2008)

World's largest "Jewish Cemetery" on Mt of Olives hillside.

Woke up early, suffering from partial insomnia, a normal occurrence when on tours and in new surroundings and after showering, packing our luggage went for breakfast. There was a huge tourist crowd and buffet style of breakfast after which we went to our rooms and checked out of the hotel as our next stay would be in the city of Tiberias near the sea of Galilee.
Visited the room in which the “Last supper” was supposed to have been held and later the Dormition abbey. Strange, but true, the mystique of any historical, religious or tourist vacation site diminishes once a person visits that particular place or tourist spot. Agreed, a person might return for revisits if they find that particular location , religious or historical site enchanting but definitely, a bit of the literature or biblical suspense diminishes and the hence my personal opinion on various religious subjects and controversies changed tremendously once I personally visited the “Holy land”.We visited the “Garden of Gethsemane” where the betrayal of Jesus Christ by Judas Iscariat was supposed to have occurred and was really in wonder of the centuries old olive trees existing in the garden. Later visited the “Church of All Nations” situated next to the “Garden of Gethsemane” which had all country’s flags that had contributed towards its construction installed on its internal roof dome.The “Mount Of Olives” is the highest point in Jerusalem from where one can get a beautiful view of the entire “Old Jerusalem” fortified city.The largest Jewish cemetery is also situated on the sloping foothills of Mt of Olives with a Muslim cemetery situated just at the foothill of the mount near the entrance gate to the fortified “Old City of Jerusalem”. Today the tour was an entire religious visit of Churches and we began by visiting Mount Zion a holy place for Jews and visited King David’s tomb.As a backpacker and also during my sea-faring voyages I always made a detailed study of the port or country that we would visit., hence I am proud to brag about my geographical and historical knowledge of most country’s, a hobby converted into a passion. Prior to the “Internet” I would visit libraries in Mumbai and brush up my knowledge and later at sea while sailing would seek information from the “Deck Port guide”, a navigational encyclopedia for “Navigation Officers” consisting of all the World’s shipping ports and regularly updated. Before embarking on the “Holy Land tour” I had done my “Religious Homework” on the “Internet” of the various religious sites and churches to be visited, a real boon to modern travelers as it saves the trouble of going to a library and referring “Travel Encyclopedia’s”, a tedious search task amongst hundreds of “Travel Guides” books at any public library .The invention of the “Internet” has made information on any subject available at home or a cybercafe by just pressing the “search engine” icon, a time-saving as well as convenient form of self-education on any topic and not requiring any specialized knowledge of computer operations. Prior to departure we were given a complete “Tour Itinerary” and learning as well as brushing up my religious knowledge through the “Internet” made me capable enough to enroll into a “Theology school”. I had read the “Holy blood and the Holy grail”, a commercially flop controversial religious book from which Dan Brown is supposed to have derived the idea for his controversial million dollar bestseller “Da Vinci Code” but the “Copy right laws” pilferage filed by the authors of “Holy Blood and Holy Grail” couldn't be proved against author Dan brown in a “Court of Law”, credentials of my reading knowledge of Christianity theology and its controversies. Lunch was at a local “Kibbutzim” and we were explained the typical functioning and maintenance of “Kibbutz culture” and way of living. And as they say “Travel is the best teacher”, learnt about the mysterious and highly admired Israeli way of living by just visiting the country, although, as tourists we were never exposed to the negative aspects which was left to our own individual interpretation. I had visited Egyptian ports as well as the port of Aqaba in Jordan on more than one occasion during my “shipping Career”, but never Israel, hence, I was absolutely baffled by their “average” living standards despite having minuscule “Natural Resources” and now “Religious Tourism” after truce in this hostile region.

"GREEN HOUSE" cultivation in the arid Dead Sea area of Israel.

After lunch at the “Kibbutzim” we proceeded towards the ancient city of Tiberias driving through “Highway 90”, the lowest motorized roadway in the World, on the same level as the “Dead Sea”, the lowest sea below sea-level in the World.
The “Sabbath(Shabbath in Yiddish)” begins before sunset on Friday and ends at sunset on Saturday, the holiest day for Jews and is a “Public Holiday” akin to “Sunday” in the Western World and most Asian Country’s including India. Orthodox Jews consider the “sabbath Day”, a day of total abstinence from any form of work, even cooking and all shops are closed with towns looking deserted.We entered Tiberias at approximately 1745 hrs on the beginning of the “Sabbath day” and the entire city resembled a “Ghost Town”, absolutely quiet with no humans in sight, just a few walking on the footpaths unlike the crowded streets of Cairo . Checked in at the “Eden Hotel” in Tiberias, a small storied building with an excellent “fish Tank” at its reception lobby and was an exact replica of its “Internet advertisement” for tourists, proving the efficiency and accuracy of the “Internet” in shrinking as well as educating tourists in “world travel”.Stephen and myself were accommodated in “Room Nos 339”, spacious accommodation but with a rickety 14’’ television. After refreshing ourselves we went into the lobby and were joined by Mr Domingo.Perreira who was traveling with his wife enjoying and completing the entire “Holy land tour itinerary”, having also trekked “Mt Sinai”, the toughest part of the exhausting “Holy land tour” .Dinner was served at approximately 2000hrs, buffet style and delicious(continental style food) and after dinner I inquired about “Internet browsing” at the lobby kiosk and was shocked at the exorbitant charges of Us$’s 5 for 1/2 hr(Rs 250 for ½ hr), hence realized the reasons for India being a “First world Internet country”. Met a few young Indian and Pakistani origin British tourists at the hotel who had also come on a religious tour and inquired about the “Night-Life” in Tiberias which was almost non-existent, barring a few “pubs”. Later Domingo.Stephen and myself went for a walk to “Downtown Tiberias” , a city that resembled a typical “European city”, reminding me of Belgium and Holland, absolutely clean with small buildings and no sky-scrapers and a beautiful water-front in the form of the “Sea of Galilee”.All shops were closed being the beginning of the “Sabbath day” and hence we just walked up-to the pier end and returned to our hotel.

View of Jerusalem   from "Mt of Olives" with "Jewish Cemetery" along the hillside..

Holy Land Tour:- Day-5(Wednesday 29-10-2008) :-Qumran caves,Dead sea swim and visit to Bethlehem.

"Church of Nativity" in Bethlehem.

At "Qumran Caves". site.

Qumran Caves.

Woke up at 0500 hrs as usual, a habit that is difficult to cure, holidays or working days!Listened to the T.V channels, brushed and dressed up, ready for breakfast.Strolled around the "Kalia Hotel resort", a unbelievable artificially created forest amidst total desert sand.Clicked a few photographs which are on the blog and later went to the main dining hall for breakfast and as usual i was trumps at eating, especially the Japanese type raw sushi tinned fish.Israel is a majority "European Jewish" country, having been formed by surviving European Jews whose ancestors were the victims of Nazi Germany's genocide against the "Jewish population" of Europe, hence, a total replica of "European living standards" and i felt of being in some "First World European country" rather than in the "Middle East". 

"KALIA RESORT" at Dead Sea.

                                                                                                                     Our Israeli guide Mr Eliezer Gilboa himself was of Polish Jewish descent, spoke English fluently and an excellent guide, answering most questions and also giving the "Israeli version" of the "Arab -Israeli Conflict" akin to Mehud the Egyptian guide giving the "Arab Version".As a neutral tourist with a historical interest in politics i found it extremely uncomfortable of hearing two different versions of the "Arab-Israeli Wars" and thankfully the "Middle-East" country's of Egypt,Israel and Jordan have realized that religious tourism is a good source of income which benefits all of them mutually and hence have allowed travel of tourists within their borders, something unthinkable at the peak of the "Arab-Israeli Conflicts". Ex-Beatle Sir Paul.McCartney had visited Israel in September 2008 to perform a concert at Tel-Aviv and he faced some protests when he visited "The Church of Nativity" in Bethlehem from local Palestinians proving that politics effects everyone,World-class entertainers as well as commoners.As an Indian, i now realize the discomfort felt by neutral tourists when they travel between India and Pakistan or vice-versa, two Country's still at hostility with each other over the "Kashmir" issue.Thats my view of the political turmoil in some of the World's tourist hotspots,"The Holy Land" being one of the worst effected due to the "Palestine problem".

At  the "DEAD SEA"..Lowest point on planet earth.

After breakfast, boarded the "Israeli Tourist Bus" and made our way to the Qumran caves where the "Dead Sea Scrolls" were discovered.Replica's of the "Dead Sea Scrolls" were kept for display to tourists and after visiting these ancient caves purchased some local souvenirs at the "Tourist gift shop". After touring the "Qumran Caves" we drove to the "Kalia Dead sea beach resort" and we all rushed towards the water after changing into swimming costumes.Since school days i have always wondered about the peculiarity of not being able to "DROWN" in the Dead sea and finally at the age of 48 i experienced it personally and not from geographical study.The salinity of the "Dead Sea" could "KILL" you and not "DROWNING" according to my personal opinion as the water was just unpalatable even in minuscule amounts as happens in swimming pools or sea-swimming when water is accidentally gulped while swimming.Sinking is impossible and i experimented it myself by laying flat in the sea on my back without splashing of arms or feet and head just above the water surface, unbelievably true.Later had the famous "Dead sea mud Bath" by splashing its dark soft mud all over my body and the same is reputed to have therapeutic curing powers, especially for my skin colour pigmentation which was turning white akin to "Leucoderma".The Dead sea has no aquatic life as its high salinity makes it impossible for living life to survive and its very true, its salinity if ingested in large quantities could either sicken or worse kill a human.After swimming in the "Dead sea", a cherished wish we then made our way to "Bethlehem" also called the "West Bank" and under "Palestinian Jurisdiction".As a tourist i got to understand the complicated politics of "Palestine" as the Israeli Guide Eliezer was not allowed to enter "Bethlehem" being a Jew and hence after the "Border Check-post" between "Israel/Bethlehem" we were met by the Bethlehem guide Mr Jaber Sadeh, an old man.Strangely, both the Israeli and Palestinian guides were aged people past the normal Indian retirement age of 60 while the Egyptian and Jordanian guides were young individuals something which i observed.We drove through Jericho , considered the World's oldest city and the difference between the "West Bank Palestinian " standard of living and the Israeli standard of living was glaringly obvious even to the casual tourist,totally unaccustomed to "Middle-East politics and living Standards".Stopped at the biblical Sycamore tree and took some photographs later visiting the "Church of Good Shepherd".Plucked some dates from the date palm trees situated in the church garden complex and later visited the "Mount of Temptation" which we viewed from the bottom through binoculars.Lunch was at "Nissan Hotel" in Bethlehem, a large hotel doing excellent business on religious tourism ,serving "Buffet style" Arab food.After a sumptuous lunch we visited a curio and antique shop dealing in "Religious icons" and was surprised to note the expensive costs of some of these religious relics of Christianity.Travel educates and i was surprised to know that i had a treasure trove of religious handicrafts at home in Mumbai, collection of my parents who were devout Catholics and a few my own collection during my first foreign visit in 1983 to a seamens chapel in the port of Ghent in Belgium.Today , my view on religion is the tolerance of various faiths and being a practicing catholic the "Holy Land Tour" made me realize that "Christianity" as a religion has become a "Tourist Attraction" in its own birth place with the original "Palestinian Arab Christian" who were the original followers of Jesus Christ becoming almost extinct, having migrated to other Country's due to the turbulent "Middle-East Politics and conflicts ".Later after visiting the Chapel of Shepherds fieldsds in Bethlehem we entered Christianity's holiest church,"The Church of Nativity".The "Church of Nativity" which is the birthplace of Jesus is huge and enormous with ancient church columns dating back to the crusader era and a myriad of candle chandeliers.The church was packed with tourists of various nationalities and wonder if there were were any local "Palestinian Christians" amongst them, explaining the tragic demise of the local christian population of the "Holy land".The Queue to visit the crypt of Jesus within the church was long and after some time got into the crypt chamber,one of the holiest shrines in Christianity.The church of Nativity is on the international world news during Christmas when the "Christmas Midnight Mass" is celebrated with the Palestinian leadership attending the mass as protocol , most famous being late Yasser Arafat during the turbulent "Palestinian-Israeli conflicts" when the "Holy Land" was closed to pilgrims and tourists a total "war Zone".History and religious nostalgia are interlinked to the "Holy Land", a region always in eternal conflict since biblical times.It was drizzling in Bethlehem, my first experience of rainfall in the dry arid middle-east and hence after a brief shelter in the Church of Nativity portico we boarded the bus after stoppage of rains and proceeded towards Jerusalem.Our Palestinian guide Mr Jaber Saddeh explained me the rigid "Border restrictions" between "West Bank(Palestine)" and Israel, a city within a city where he couldn't visit his son residing in Israel a few kilometres away without the necessary permits which was time consuming ,akin to Israeli guide Eliezer unable to visit Bethlehem, a tragic but true story of politics and conflict.On arrival at the "West Bank/Israel border", the Palestinian guide Mr Jaber departed and we were met by the Israeli guide Mr Eliezer and taken to the "Park Hotel" in Jerusalem.The "Park hotel" was situated in prime modern Jerusalem, a city with broad roads, clean and "First World " in its outlook, the hotel itself packed with a majority of Russian tourists.Stephen and myself were allotted "Room Nos 707" in the hotel, a comfortable room with television.Dinner was "Buffet style" and there was a huge queue for dinner as the hotel was jam packed with tourists, mostly Caucasians.After dinner had a walk outside the hotel and later returned to our room for a good nights sleep.

Entrance to the "CHURCH OF NATIVITY" in Bethlehem.

"Holy Land Tour-Day 4"- Mt Sinai Trek,St Catherine Monastry visit, crossing "Taaba Border" into Israel.Arrival at "Kalia Kibbutz Resort" at Dead Sea.

St Catherine Monastery as seen from Mt Sinai

Arid and dry Sinai Mountain topography.

Mountain in Sinai shaped like a "Human Face".

Mount Sinai also known as Mount Horeb,Mount Musa, Gebel Musa and Jabal Musa(Moses Mountain) by the Bedouins is the mountain in Saint Katherine City , the biblical mount as portrayed in the old Testament. Islamic Culture suggests another name for Mt Sinai, the name being Koh-e-Toor or al-Toor(Mountain of toor). Sinai Mountain is 2285(7,497 feet) meters high in St Katherine city and the entire range of nearby mountains called the "Sinai Peninsular mountains".Got the "WAKE-UP CALL" at the room at 0100hrs on Tuesday morning and woke up groggily due to lack of sleep.I put on 3 warm chest clothing and 2 trousers to protect me from the chill breeze of the Sinai Mountains. Ambient temps were from 0 to 5*C and inspite of my classic "Addidas Warm Jacket" i could still feel the chill wind as soon as we stepped out of our warm hotel lodge.Stephen and myself reported at the "New Morgan hotel reception center" where Mr Domingo.Pereira and Mosiac tour conductor Nicola .Phillips were waiting, finally joined by Egyptian tour guide Mr Mehud.The 5 of us boarded the "Tour Bus" which took us to the foothills of Mt Sinai and i was surprised to find the place packed with trekkers, some of them pilgrims and some ordinary trekkers, all belonging to different nationalities, mostly of Caucasian descent.The traditional tribals of this area are the "Jebeliya Bedouin" who have been living here since the construction of the Monastry of St Katherine,the oldest residents of the Sinai much before the arrival of other Bedouin Tribes and the spread of Islam as a religion.Through the centuries they intermingled with other Arab tribes and became Muslims as in the present era. Mr Mehud introduced us to the local "Mt Sinai Bedouin guide" who would guide us through the entire trek, a frail looking Arab who seemed "High" on some intoxicant as he kept on muttering gibberish throughout our ascent and ironically, many a times, we had to guide him! There are 2 routes to ascend the peak of Mount Sinai from St Katherine Monastery, we took the longer and shallower route "Siket El Bashait", the common route of pilgrims since camels can also trek this path upto the "Steps". The second route called "Siket Sayidna Musa" in bedouin is steeper and more direct up 3750 "steps of penitence" in the ravine behind the monastery.

Tour Manager Nicola,Tourists Domingo, Stephen & self on the steep pilgrim trek to Mt Sinai summit.

                                                                               Among us Domingo,Nicola and myself were veteran trekkers with room-mate Stephen being the "Green trekker", absolutely unused to treks, besides being a bit overweight.Domingo was the "live wire" among the 4 of us, very energetic and fast, a total outdoors-man and tour operator Nicola surprised me by her stamina and prowess at trekking, a young lady whose physical prowess belied her petite feminine looks.The proverb that women are the stronger sex was amply proved by Nicola.Phillips with the ease with which she completed the entire trek.Stephen was the plodder who really found it difficult and strenuous, slowing down our ascent pace while i was worried about my "Knee Pain" relapsing due to the steep climb.The Bedouin "Mountain Guide" was hilarious in his partly undecipherable language of Arabic/Bedouin/English and most bothered about his "Tips".This was one of the toughest treks of my entire trekking career for the simple reason that psychologically i was afraid of the "Knee Pain" ruining my entire tour, besides, it was chill cold even with 3 overalls and a jacket.The entire trek was packed with tourist trekkers and on hindsight it seems a "Mountain guide" was unnecessary as simply following the "Trek Queue" would have landed a pilgrim/trekker on the summit of Mt Sinai. I had carried my dad's "Ever-ready Torch" for the trek , purchased from Mombasa(35 yrs old) which was lying dormant in our house for decades, torches being as outdated as the "Typewriter" in 21st century Mumbai.The torch proved extremely useful during the ascent but as usual my "absent-mindedness" got the better of me and i forgot to collect it at one of our "Rest-Stops( Bedouin Dhaba style shops)" while ascending the mountain and that was the last of one of the "Antique torches" of our house-hold.

"REST STOP HUT" while trekking to Mt Sinai.

                                                                                                    A consolation is that at least this torch would be put to good use by its finder in helping trekkers find their way through the dark.The climb to the peak consists of a series of "Rock carved stairs" akin to a normal building staircase and Stephen took the help of a "camel ride" to reach upto the summit of the steps.Aged pilgrims and others who find it difficult to trek upto the "Sinai Mountain Steps" can take the assistance of "Camel rides" with an attendant Bedouin camel guide, a costly ride to the top.Ultimately, trekking reflects a individuals fitness and mental toughness and age is no criteria for completing a trek unless it is extreme old age where the human body is in natural decline.I was surprised to note that my uncle and aunt who had done this "Holy Land Tour" a few months before me with "Mosiac holidays " had actually completed the entire "Mt Sinai Trek" inspite of being in their 60's!Ultimately we climbed the stair which seemed endless and finally reached the peak of Mt Sinai at approx 0500 hrs, a long journey of 3 hours.There was a Orthodox chapel and a mosque at the summit. It was still pitch dark at the summit and it was already packed with trekkers and pilgrims awaiting for the first rays of the Sun to show itself through the "Sinai mountain chain".The first rays of the sun showed itself and the entire mass of trekkers went trigger happy with their camera's including me and there are some memorable photographs for posterity.Climbing "Mt Sinai" is a once in a life-time affair and although i have been a "Tour-Name-dropper", the trek of Mt Sinai will always be etched in my living memory.The descent from the peak was easier as we were now traveling in early morning sunlight and it was just a simple downward journey towards the foothills ,following pilgrims and trekkers ahead of us with our "Bedouin mountain guide" following our footsteps! After reaching the foot of the mountain near St Katherine Monastery we boarded our "Tour Bus" and went back to our hotel,showered and later reported for breakfast.

"ST CATHERINE MONASTERY" as seen from the road.

After breakfast we boarded the bus and were taken for a tour of St Catherine Monastery at the foothills of Mt Sinai.This monastery is one of the oldest christian monastery's in continuous existence since its construction, details of which can be read on the encyclopedia search engines as it would be too complicated to blog its history.Toured the entire St Catherine Monastery in one hr, absolute short stay for a "Monastery" that has historical records which akin to the "Pharaohs museum" would require months of study for a history buff, let alone a theology student .We later boarded our "Egypt Tour Bus" and made our journey towards Israel reaching the "Egypt/Israel Taba Border Crossing" at approximately 1300 hrs.After bidding good-bye to our "Egyptian tour guide" Mr Mehud we took our luggage from the "Egyptian tour Bus" and entered the departure lounge of "Egypt Customs" into the arrival lounge of "Israel customs".After the necessary "Immigration formalities" we were met by our "Israeli tour guide" Mr Eliezer Gilboa, a elderly man in his 60's and a veteran ex-Israeli soldier as everyone in Israel is forced into compulsory military training and service.The difference of average living standards between Egypt and Israel was obvious just by observing the "Taba Border" and entering into Israel, a country with "First world living standards", absolutely clean and disciplined and courteous to tourists.Honestly, as a tourist i couldn't believe that this country was and is constantly in political turmoil with its Arab neighbors, something which is the root cause of "International world Terrorism".After exchanging some dollars into the local "Israeli Currency" at the "Taba Border Exchange" we all boarded the "Israeli Tour Bus" and made our long journey towards the Dead Sea resort , passing through the port of Eliat and marveling the "Greening" of the desert by Israeli agriculturists.There were numerous "Date Palm fields" created in the midst of barren desert sand as well as "Green House horticulture", Israel being the World exporter in "greenhouse plantation technology".Finally we reached "Kibbutz Kalia" our hotel residence in the "Dead sea" resort, an excellent beautiful cottage accommodation hotel complex with natural landscaped greenery, akin to living in the midst of natural forests. Stephen and myself checked into "Cottage Nos 4" a totally independent single storey cottage with excellent television and air-conditioning facilities.The "Kibbutz" culture, an invention of Israel is a form of housing akin to our Mumbai's "Co-operative housing societies" with a common "Control center",only difference being the "communal outlook", as these "Kibbutz's" have an entirely "Jewish population" with their own religious customs and way of living.Dinner was "self-service" at the common "mess-Room" in the main "Community hall" and was more "European" in taste with a form of "Sushi" being served.I personally relished the food , especially the tinned raw salted fish, something new on the average menu.Israel uses "Desalinated water" for its daily consumption which is also edible to tourists unlike in Egypt where tourists are advised to drink distilled bottled water, although the river Nile is a perennial fresh water source, something which puzzles my reasoning of "Water Technology" and its usage.
After dinner, crashed to sleep in our cottage after brushing up the latest "Stock exchange News", little realizing that my "Stock Portfolio" was just experiencing the beginning of the World's greatest financial meltdown after the "Great Depression of 1929".

ON THE PEAK OF Mt SINAI ( 2285 or 7,497 feet). Photo:- Co-Tourmate Mr Stephen.Lewis.

Holy land Tour:- Day-3(Monday 27-10-2008) Road travel to St Catherine Monastery(Sinai Mts)..

Got up as usual at 0500hrs, had a quick shower and quietly put on my "Track suit" without disturbing room-mate Stephen and strolled out of the hotel on my normal morning walks , a habit since youth either in India or any part of the globe! In Mumbai i normally jogged at the race-course early in the morning or otherwise swam at M.G.M.O pool(Shivaji Park) or simply cycled around my locality,a physical fitness freak since childhood.The Maadi area of Cairo was extremely plush reminding me of the plushest Mumbai localities with the beautiful Nile river flowing alongside akin to Mumbai's sea-face localities.As it was early morning, i was one of the few "Joggers"or "Walkers" alongside the river roadway.The weather was extremely pleasant,cool but not chill, and after about half an hours walk returned back to the hotel and reported for a hearty breakfast, a real food feast compared to my normal "Solo Backpackers food budget" . After breakfast we packed our luggage and boarded our "Home - on - Wheels", the luxury "Tour Bus" on our way to St Catherine Monastery in the Sinai Mountains. We were accompanied by Egyptian tour guide Mr Mehud , the overall- in-charge of the local tour guides on the Egyptian leg of the tour.Lunch was had on the bus itself from "Lunch Hampers" served by hotel Carvary near Giza as the total journey was approximately 6 hrs, the longest road tour of our entire 12 day "Holy Land Tour" through three different country's of the "Middle-East".The road journey to Sinai was long and arduous through desert sand dunes and on arrival at "Port Suez" we crossed the tunnel below the "Suez Canal" reviving me of my nostalgic shipping days when we transited this canal up-teen times on to and fro voyages between Europe and India and vice-versa.On entering the Sinai desert we stopped at a religious well where Prophet Moses was supposed to have struck water while leading his people out of the Egyptian Pharaohs bondage into the Sinai mountains.Religious tourism has created employment amongst the nomadic Bedouin tribes and some Bedouin curios and religious handicrafts were on sale at this religious location and i purchased a "Faberge egg" replica as a souvenir, adding to my world-wide curio collection.I have a huge collection of "Egyptian Curio's" since most of my overseas voyages consisted of "Suez-Canal transits". The "Suez-Canal transit" was infamous for the "Dukaans(Slang for shops) set up by Egyptian hawkers on the ships alleyway for the ships staff during the long passageway between Port Suez and Port Said or vice-versa. Shipping Industry and ships have changed drastically since 1995, the last time i had a transit voyage in the Suez Canal hence i use the word "Dukaans" in the past tense, wondering if they are still allowed on ships in 2009, post 9/11 and International terrorism hysteria.These "Dukaans" were a unique part of "Shipping folklore" for generations of sailors with these local Egyptian hawkers being literate in "Hindi language" in order to transact business as most of the crew barring "Officers" spoke Hindi on Indian ships and were not as literate as the present generation of shipping crew.A negative aspect of these Egyptian "Dukaan Hawkers" was their habit of pilfering any object that lay "UNCLAIMED" on the ship, hence during the "Suez Canal Transit" every machinery space and personal cabins were kept either under a "Watch- keeper " or locked.Honestly, these "Suez-canal Transits" by ship were a unique experience,although hectic and tense for "Shipboard engineers" and crew, a part of our job as "International seafarers".

Entering the "SUEZ CANAL UNDERSEA TUNNEL".Ocean ships sail above this tunnel.

The reader can excuse me for being nostalgic and sentimental about the Suez-canal while traveling by land on a "Tour Bus" as memories are difficult to erase,good or bad, profit or a loss.
Egyptian tour guide Mehud educated us on a bit of "Egypt-Israel politics "as the entire "Sinai Desert" was occupied by Israel and later handed over to the Egyptians as a "Peace deal", explaining the "Egyptian side" of history of the "Arab-Israeli wars". Honestly, politics interests me only as a student of history, hence i was totally neutral about the local politics of the "Middle-East" as it didn't concern me although do have a thorough knowledge of the subject, being self-taught on world history. I have associated Egypt with actor Omar Sharif and Prince Tutankhamen, Israel with Uri Geller and its financial dominance of "world wealth", and Jordan with being the most  liberal "Middle-eastern country" besides their religious significance towards Christianity.
Reached Mount Catherine at approx 1830 hrs and checked into the "New Morgan Hotel", a classic hotel resort with one of the longest swimming pools i have seen , surrounded by the hotel single storied tourist lodges.There was a classic "Bedouin Tent" complete with "Hookah and Kaava(local black coffee)" next to the main tourist dining hall building, straight out of a "Filmi Set",but, this was real and not artificial. Sincerely wanted to take a dip in the crystal clear pool but the near freezing temperatures of +5*C to +10*C deterred me, hence just tried the "Hookah and Kaava" at the Bedouin tent in majestic "Arabian Nights Style" which cost only a dollar(Rs 50approx), something terribly cheap considering the classic ambiance.Ironically "Internet usage" was terribly expensive with charges being US$'s 5/hour(Rs 250/hr!) whereas in Mumbai it wouldn't exceed Rs 60/ hr at the plushest "Internet Cafe".Moral of the price comparisons,"Have Seesha(Hookah) in Egypt and browse the "Internet" in Mumbai", and this is the definition of profiting from "Economic Globalization".After a sumptuous dinner Tour Conductor Nicola inquired as to the number of pilgrims intending to trek "Mt Sinai", the biblical journey undergone by prophet Moses, a very tedious trek in the cold Sinai mountains and also famed for its classic sunrise view at dawn from its peak.Ultimately only four of us agreed to climb the torturous Mt Sinai, they included Mr Domingo Agostino Pereira, a bakery proprietor from "New Mumbai", room mate Stephen Lewis,Tour conductor Nicola Phillips and myself. As for Stephen, this was his first hectic trek and hence very nervous. As for me, i was worried about completing the entire ascent and descent of Mt Sinai for the simple reason that prior departure Mumbai i had developed an excruciating pain in my knee cap akin to arthritis, the reason being constant ascent and descent of "Engine-room staircases" during a shore job that i had undertaken on a repair ship in Mumbai.The pain had eased prior departure Mumbai after quitting my shipping job but it could relapse while climbing the Sinai mountain as it was a steep torturous climb akin to constant steep staircase climbs and descents on ships.I took the gamble and decided to trek the Sinai ,for in hindsight, i wouldn't want to regret the fact that having traveled all the way to Egypt i avoided trekking "Mt Sinai".Trekking and touring are my main back-bone of natural entertainment and leisure.
Stephen and myself checked into Room N0 507, a small cozy room set in a single story building having numerous "tourist rooms", surrounded by the majestic beautiful swimming pool.Stephen purchased a thermal jacket for the climb from the adjoining "Tourist store" as we were told that it would get colder as we climbed towards the peak and in peak winter this entire locality receives snowfall.
The "Great Mt Sinai trek" was planned for 0130 hrs on Tuesday and hence we could only sleep a few winks since this trekking was done only during the cool night as it was easier and less strenuous.Crashed off for a quick nap ever eager to ascend the World famous Mt Sinai.

Classic "NEW MORGAN HOTEL" with its swimming pool  in St Catherine in Sinai. Notice the Sinai mountains.

Holy Land Tour: Day-2 (Sunday 26-10-2008)Cairo(Visit to Pyramids,Hanging Church,Abu Serga Church and Khan-El-khalil Bazaar)

"SHIPS OF THE DESERT" and the Pyramids of Giza:- One of my best photographs popular on travel sites.

As usual, woke up at approximately 0500hrs, had a shower and just lazed around in the room watching T.V mostly all local Arabic programmes with "C.N.N" being one of the few International channels.Later Stephen and myself dressed and went for breakfast on the 2nd floor, good and delicious "5-Star food " compared to the normal "Budget Food" i have on my "Solo Backpacker Tours", but so also are the "Tour Charges"! After a sumptuous breakfast, boarded the bus ,also getting more acquainted with my fellow pilgrims/tourists and realizing that Mumbai is a small place in social networking, someone knowing someone else, although meeting for the first time.Mariano.Remedios.Fernandes and his wife Mathilda.Fernandes lived near Portuguese church close to my residence in Mumbai, besides ,he was a professional photographer and clicked the maximum photo's on tour also making a personal video-tape which he later distributed to us in Mumbai. Mosiac Tour Manager Nicola.Phillips and room-mate Stephen .Lewis also clicked up-teen photos which were later distributed and some of these photo's with the majority being mine are featured on these blogs of the "Holy Land Tour.(Egypt,Israel,Jordan)".

Road to the "PYRAMIDS OF GIZA COMPLEX".

The bus ride from hotel Maadi to the pyramids gave us a tour of Cairo city and realized that the "Maadi area" of Cairo was a posh locality with modern skyscrapers and broad paved roads running parallel to the Nile river akin to Mumbai's swank sea-facing localities, plush and clean, compared to the crowded and dirty streets in downtown old Cairo city. The approach locality near the pyramids resembled a sea of incomplete concrete buildings akin to the infamous 28 year old incomplete building opposite my house in Prabhadevi in Mumbai.On inquiries with guide Waleed i was informed that these incomplete concrete buildings were occupied by "Squatters" since their builders had either gone bankrupt or unable to complete their buildings due to the "Global Financial Meltdown" , hence a source of "Free Housing" to some of Cairo's poor and corrupt, akin to the infamous "Graveyard housing locality".
The approach to the "Cheops pyramid" reminded me of the "Taj Mahal" in Agra, something to be personally seen rather than read or viewed through the media.

SPHINX AND THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZA

As usual, all of us went camera crazy and i also took a video-clip.We removed a group photograph with the pyramids as the background, memories to cherish for a life-time.The Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza have still maintained their mystique inspite of crass commercialization akin to the Taj Mahal, real wonders of the World. Climbed the step stones of Cheops up to the entrance to the "Funerary chamber" but didn't enter inside due to the "Group tour time constraint" as well as the exorbitant charges for just creeping through a tunnel to view an empty chamber inside the pyramid, something common in my shipping days of "Tank inspections" and "Bilge pipe tracings"! The "Funerary room treasures" and all "Mummies" are kept in the "Cairo Museum" which we had visited earlier and so we just strolled around the Pyramid complex, a huge area, and some of us took the famous "Pyramids camel ride" with photographs as memories for posterity.One of the photographs that i clicked of the camels with the Pyramids in the background is one of my best photos and had gone viral on "Internet Sites".

"Mounted Camel Guard" at the Pyramid of Giza complex.

A pyramid Bedouin arab guide, one of the numerous that sell their talents to tourists removed an excellent photograph of myself touching the "Cheops pyramid tip", a classic display of "Subject positioning" and not "camera or computer gimmickry" as most people might think if they view this particular photo. The same Bedouin also removed a photo of Stephen and myself against the backdrop of the pyramids proving the fact that "familiarity of terrain" is more important than being either a "world class photographer" or owning the "world's costliest camera"! I have posted these photos in this blog and i am sure that even the best photographers would get confused about its "origin", camera,computer graphics or superimposition? Later visited the "Hanging Church" and the "Abu Serga Church" in Cairo and an abandoned Jewish Synagogue, well preserved buildings, now a source of tourism income. Honestly, my internet self- study of all these religious sites prior to the tour made me competent enough to become a local guide, besides, study of history is my passion, hence the habit of maintaining "Diaries" prior to invention of "Internet Blogs".
Later attended a private mass at the "St Francis Church" in Cairo and then began our journey back to the world famous "Khan El Khalil Bazaar" founded in 1382 once called the "Turkish Bazaar" of Cairo, one of the oldest and largest markets in the Middle-East. Strolled through its narrow shopping alleyways, typical of "Middle-east Bazaars" and finally myself and Stephen had a "Shisha(hookah)" in one of the Bazaars numerous "Coffee Shops on the main street close to the historic Husseini Mosque.Having been a "World city tourist name-dropper" the habit of comparing International city's with city's in India has been a habit and honestly, the 650 year old "Khan El Khalil " bazaar of Cairo is an amalgam of "Muhammad Ali/Bhendi Bazaar/Chor Bazaar and Crawford market" localities of Mumbai.
After touring the "Khan El Khalil" locality of Cairo we next visited a "
Perfume manufacturing Factory" and given a demonstration of the manufacture of various perfumes and "Attars" with some couples and Stephen purchasing some of these perfumes.
Reached Maadi hotel at approx 2015 hrs, a frustrating journey through peak "Cairo traffic jams" and after a quick dinner a few of us proceeded by the bus to the "Pyramids of Giza" to view the spectacular "Sound and Light show".
The "Pyramids and Sphinx sound and light show" cost us each US $'s 30 and began at 2130 hrs on a chill Cairo moonless night, a beautiful historical tour in sound and light of the Pharaohs and construction of the pyramids.Got back to the hotel at approx 2230hrs after the show and crashed to a sound sleep in bed, a hectic day and night of continuous walking and touring.

In "Bedouin Headgear" at Pyramid of Giza. This photo was taken by a local Bedouin using "Camera Angle" to get this amazing photo.A common tourist attraction at the pyramids of Giza.