Report # 97 Aqaba, Jordan April 6, 2016 Wednesday Mostly sunny & 84 degrees Part #1 of 2 82 Pictures

Sent: Wednesday, April 6, 2016 9:38:45 PM
Subject: Report # 97  Aqaba, Jordan   April 6, 2016   Wednesday   Mostly sunny & 84 degrees     Part #1 of 2       82 Pictures

Today's port of call was Aqaba, the only sea access of Jordan to the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea.  The city and surrounding area has a total population of about 95,000 people who are ruled by King Abdullah the 2^nd.  It is located at a very unique spot of the country where it is east of the Sinai Peninsula and west of the Arabian mainland.  It is also situated at the crossroads of three continents:  Asia, Europe, and Africa.  Jordan is linked with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Israel….all of which can be seen from this city.  How cool is that?

The currency is the Jordanian dinar, and at this moment it is .70 to the $1. US dollar.  Everything we priced, including food, was reasonably an equal value.

The climate is dry, but considered tropical-continental with a hot, breezy summer above 30C (about 90 degrees) and  warm winter at 20 C ( 70 degrees).

Everyone arriving in Aqaba is granted a free visa for Jordan.  It is good for one month from the time of arrival.  We believe the ship gets a blanket visa for Jordan.

Originally named Ayla in 610, this city was a trading post between India and the Mediterranean.  Earthquakes and the Crusader attacks leveled the city around 1116.  Remaining a fishing village, this city became prominent in World War 1 when TE Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) and local forces took it back from the Ottomans.  Now a resort area for Jordanians from the capital Amman, they come here to snorkel and dive the coral and many wrecks deliberately sunk to create "reefs". 

Other huge attractions here begin with Petra, The Rose Red City, or the "lost city" from 312 BC.  It was part of the trade route for the caravan trade from Egypt to Persia (Iran).  Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Petra has incredible monuments, the Treasury, a Greek Theater, and Royal Tombs, and so much more. 

Wadi Rum is an ancient desert stop, where nomadic Bedouin people still live and thrive today.  In the ancient times, these tribes raised camels, sheep, and goats, herding them as needed to graze them.  Modern nomads are not nomads at all, since they prefer to send their children to school.  You have to stay in one place in order to do that.

Our day began with the ship sailing into the port of Aqaba around 7am.  The local authorities cleared the ship well before 8am, when many folks off loaded to join the many tour buses headed out for Petra, Wadi Rum, and Shobak Castle.  After we ate breakfast, we watched people leaving for the tours which would last from 5 hours to as much as 13 hours. 

We were quite happy to stay here in town, and check out what the city had to offer.  The local port authority offered complimentary shuttles…..one was a bus, while two were the Ho-Ho buses.  They began at 8am and would run until 9pm.  It was only a 15 minute ride to the center of town, dropping us all off at the convenient tourist information center.  This area had a dedicated parking lot with a large trailer as the info center.  Inside, there was a wall full of excellent brochures on all of the sites we wished to see along with maps of the city.  There were also booklets on Petra and Wadi Rum, probably better than you would get when going to those sites.  Right near the trailer, there were a few stands where local tours and excursions could be booked.   And as you might expect, there were dozens of taxi drivers willing to give us a city tour for one hour for $10 each.  We said no thanks, since we were here to get in some walking and exercise as well as site-seeing.

Following the map, we began our tour by heading towards the nearby mall, where most of the people we rode the bus with were headed.  Not exactly a mall, this was a store similar to perhaps Kmart, with modern day clothing.  We wanted to see "souk" type shops, so we went a little further, and we were right in the middle of local shopping.  In fact, it was a shopper's paradise up here on the side streets of Aqaba.  There was block-to-block shops of mostly shoes, clothes, housewares, toy stores, nut shops, and spice, tea, and coffee shops. 

The best find was the Vegetable and Meat Market, with many stalls of lamb and goat butcheries, fish shops, and multiple veggie and fruit stands.  Mixed with these stalls, were spice and coffee/tea shops.  The vendors also sold some souvenirs of magnets, incense burners, beaded jewelry and silk scarves.

Also big stores here are the gold shops, selling up to 21 carat gold jewelry.  Their windows were brilliant with their bracelets, necklaces, and rings or earrings.  We did not price any of it, but the general rule is that it is sold by the gram, not the piece.  The store vendors tried to welcome us inside when they spotted us looking at the glitter, but we were happy with just some photos.

We made our way to a small central park by the name of Princess Salma Park.  It was full of kids, mostly girls, more than likely coming from a girl's school up the hill from the park.  They were chaperoned by their teachers and also other women. 

Making our way down towards the main road, we passed by the Al-Hussein Bin Tala Mosque.  Not sure if it was opened to the public, we only took photos of the outside. 

When the bus drove us to the center of town, we had spotted some ruins near the waterfront.  Making our way back that way, we came upon the ruins of The Aqaba Castle, the fort, and the museum.  Going on a self-guided tour, we entered the gated courtyard of the fort to find that it was closed for renovations. This fort dated back to the 14^th century, but has been re-built in 1516 by a sultan.  It was used for those who needed a stop for their pilgrimage to the holy lands in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.  Later, it was used as a military base. 

Also at this spot is the house of Sharif Hussein Bin Ali, the great-great grandfather of King Abdullah 2^nd, who lived here for 6 months after World War 1. 

Right off of this complex is the Great Arab Revolt Plaza, and the place for the 5^th largest flagpole in the world….the 137 meter tall pole with a 20x40 meter flag flying from the top.  It commemorates the Great Arab Revolt.  This huge plaza is also used these days for concerts and other special affairs.

From here, we walked the main road above the tree-lined park where there was a seawall.  There were a few young boys selling seashell necklaces, and we bought one for $1.  They wanted 1 dinar, but they were happy to take the US bill.  Also from this point, we could watch the motorboats, sailboats, wind surfing, and parasailing activities in the Gulf of Aqaba. 

Also popular here are diving and snorkeling.  The water temperature is about 22.5 Celsius, about 72 degrees, and several reefs have been created for the divers to discover.  Typical creatures to see are butterfly fish, parrotfish, lionfish, moray eels, lobsters, and Spanish Dancers.  Sharks can be seen as well.  One good reason you won't see us in the same water.  Besides, it's too cold.

By the time we reached the north end of the seaside park, we were back at the Info Center.  From there, we walked to McDonalds to use their restrooms, always free and always clean.  We had spotted a sign for the Royal Yacht Club and a restaurant there by the name of Romeros.  They advertised their menu, which included margherita pizza.  All right, that sounded great to us.  A side street led us down to a gated guardhouse, where we were told we could enter.  It was the only access to the yacht club. 

For a yacht club, this one was relatively small, but very nicely done.  The restaurant was not crowded yet, and we were lead to a nice table for two at the window.  There was patio dining, but most of it was not in the shade.  We suspect their main mealtime would be dinner, and this outdoor venue would be quite nice. 

A 1.5 liter bottle of water was placed on our table, and that was perfect, since it was ice cold.  Of course, we placed an order for the pizza and also one cheeseburger to share.  We were not disappointed, since the food was more than ample for the price, we thought.  And tasted so good.

After relaxing for an hour, we headed back to the bus stop, and we were back to the ship by 3pm.  My room key did not work this morning when we left the ship, so it was no surprise that it still did not record on the way back.  Had to go to the front desk and have a new one made.  It was simply worn out, with the barcode unreadable.  Oddly enough, Bill's stopped working to open our door in the late afternoon.  Very strange. 

We watched a movie while downloading photos until around 5:30pm.  Knowing there was a BBQ on the Lido Pool deck, we went to deck nine and took some photos of the buffet.  Two young roasted goats had been brought out to be served.  They appeared to be rather overdone, as the outside was almost black.  Resembling a nomadic meal, the other BBQ items included kebabs of lamb and chicken, some grilled fish, and a nice salad bar.  The dessert offerings included baklava and some fig and date delicacies.  We did not dine here, but took many photos before the buffet got destroyed. 

Since the all aboard time was 10:30pm, there was no sail away party on the aft deck, or anywhere else.  

Dinnertime found some of us there, some missing.  Initially, we all fit at the big table, but when Sharon arrived and there was no chair for her, three people got up to join her at the table for six.  That's when Barb got up, and left the table for elsewhere, no explanations, just bye.  At that point, everyone came back, and we all ate together, but without Barb.   Gosh this has gotten confusing.

We ordered the beef shish kebab, and found that it was skewered filet mignon with onions and bell peppers….absolutely delicious.  Sometimes it pays to experiment with different entrees.  One of us had the Denali chocolate brownie with ice cream, and the other had lime jello with the fruit plate.  Both of us were happy with the choices.

The show tonight was not a show, but a movie, Kingsman: The Secret Service, a new film we think.  Most everyone except Sharon decided against going, since it had been a long day with tours and walking.  Sharon had brought a furry shawl with her to go to the Wajang Theater, because she said it gets freezing in there.  Guess we will wait for the movie to come to the TV.

Tomorrow should be a sea day as we head towards the Suez Canal.

Bill & Mary Ann             

Arriving to the Gulf of Aqaba

Other ships in the industrial port

Very busy commercial port

Buses for the shore excursions

Two types of complimentary shuttles bus

A tower in the port

The Amsterdam docked in Aqaba

The shuttle stop

Nice place to stop

Downtown Aqaba

Many shops on the gentle hillsides

Entrance to the Princess Salma Park

The park

Central fountain in the park

Side gardens

Back to town

Lots of shops for the kids

Radishes at the veggie market

Spice jars at the meat market

Fresh goats and lamb for sale

Goat heads

Potatoes

Extra-large cabbages

Fresh red tomatoes

The vegetable market

Lamb or goat

Plastic jars of marinated green olives

Assorted pickled olives, little pickles, and lemons

Loose spices, coffee, and tea

Colorful and aromatic spices for sale

A pet cockatiel

Meat/fish market

Large fish market

Meat market

Food shops

Bananas were from Ecuador

Small jewelry and souvenir shop with our crew looking for bargains

Lamb or goat meat

Al-Hussein Bin Talal Mosque

Many treasures

One of many hotels in downtown

Ice cream and fresh juice  -  Aqaba Ruby

The gold souk – up to 21 carat gold

Many streets of similar shops

Underwear shops were numerous

Nuts for sale

Another big item - shoes

Traditional robes  -  one for daytime (black), one for evening (pink sequined)

Getting lost in the side alleyways

Women's wear

Barbers and tailors for the fellows

Lots of traffic in the morning

The flea market

More cars, not a lot of parking places

Entrance to another mosque

Heading towards the lower end of town

Few tourists, but many locals shopping

Street stalls of clothing

Just opening around 11 am

Where are we???

A hotel

Ruins of the Aqaba Castle, museum, and the fort

Built around 1501 to 1517 possibly

A new minaret near the fort

The fort was part of the pilgrimage stop to Arabian holy cities

Currently under restorations

Old accommodations for passing caravans

The Castle history

Old gated entrance

Some of these chambers were used as barracks for the military

The Aqaba Flagpole – 130 meters high – symbol of the Great Arab Revolt of 1916

The fort walls

Noor Al-Hussein Foundation – now closed

The great Arab Revolt Plaza

Aqaba Flagpole is the 5^th largest unsupported flagpole in the world

A much appreciated tree for shade

Bill at the base of the giant flagpole

Surrounding plaza buildings

A place to rest (probably in the evenings)

Many metal pipe benches on the plaza

Jordanian ladies on the sea wall

Mary Ann resting briefly on the metal bench

A restaurant on the plaza