EGYPT | Tuesday, 7 Dec 2021 | Views [152]
THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZA are the only members of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that remain. Despite the recurring tabloid stories the pyramids were not built by Aliens! According to Herodotus the Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) took one hundred thousand ... Read more >
EGYPT | Monday, 6 Dec 2021 | Photo Gallery
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EGYPT | Saturday, 4 Dec 2021 | Views [162]
THE GREAT TEMPLE OF AMUN AT KARNAK is in a word, Amazing ! At over 200 acres it is also one of the largest. I should also note that Karnak with two “K”s has nothing to do with the Johnny Carson character, two “C” Carnac the Magnificent.... Read more >
EGYPT | Friday, 3 Dec 2021 | Views [175]
RELUCTANTLY WE MOVED OUR VIGIL from Thebes Hotel to the East Bank. Iberotel is more of a Western hotel with a great view of the Nile and within walking distance of Luxor Temple and—if you are ambitious like us—Karnak Temple. While we were ... Read more >
EGYPT | Thursday, 2 Dec 2021 | Photo Gallery
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EGYPT | Wednesday, 1 Dec 2021 | Views [202]
DENDERA AND ABYDOS ARE THE FIRST new sites we visited on this trip and we highly recommend them despite the inconvenience of getting there. Fahd arranged for his friend, Yosef, to drive us there on Wednesday, about 200 kilometers each way. Fahd even ... Read more >
EGYPT | Tuesday, 30 Nov 2021 | Views [221]
PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DYING TO GO to the West Bank of Luxor for 3500 years. The Valley of the Kings, where the sun seems to set, is where the tombs of Egyptian royalty can be found. And Thebes Hotel is the ideal base to explore ancient sites both near and ... Read more >
EGYPT | Monday, 29 Nov 2021 | Photo Gallery
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EGYPT | Sunday, 28 Nov 2021 | Views [192]
AGAINST ALL ODDS WE ARE IN EGYPT. Virtuosa didn’t run aground in the Suez Canal. The passenger mutiny never came to fruition and we weren’t boarded by pirates. So despite the fact that we docked in Dubai not Abu Dhabi, we managed to make ... Read more >
EGYPT | Saturday, 27 Nov 2021 | Photo Gallery
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OMAN | Tuesday, 23 Nov 2021 | Views [169]
FIFTEEN YEARS AGO TO THE DAY we celebrated Thanksgiving in Muscat. Coincidence? Anyway, here we are again—our first terra firma since Cyprus—and much appreciated.
Corniche in Muscat
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EGYPT | Thursday, 18 Nov 2021 | Views [189]
ON THURSDAY SAUDI ARABIA SLIPPED BY unseen on the starboard side but our disappointment remained on-board. I guess our regular appearance at Guest Services had some impact—not only did they refund the money for the tour of Jeddah, they gave us ... Read more >
EGYPT | Thursday, 18 Nov 2021 | Photo Gallery
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EGYPT | Tuesday, 16 Nov 2021 | Views [187]
WE HAVE BEEN DAWDLING ALONG hardly making a ripple in the sea. Evidently there is a rigid schedule for transiting the Suez Canal and it makes no sense to arrive early. Something woke me in the early hours and when I looked outside I realized the lights ... Read more >
EGYPT | Monday, 15 Nov 2021 | Photo Gallery
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CYPRUS | Sunday, 14 Nov 2021 | Views [176]
PAPHOS WAS A REAL DISAPPOINTMENT TODAY, unlike when we visited in 2015. One of the reasons we seldom return to a place we really enjoyed in the past is because it’s not likely to be as good the second time. But with our stop in Saudi Arabia canceled ... Read more >
GREECE | Saturday, 13 Nov 2021 | Views [161]
WE FIRST ATTEMPTED TO VISIT RHODES from Turkey in 2006 or thereabouts but it was wintertime and the ferries weren’t running, or maybe they were just avoiding Greece. Turkey and Greece have that kind of relationship.
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GREECE | Friday, 12 Nov 2021 | Views [189]
PIRAEUS IS THE BUSIEST PORT I have ever seen. And I guess it has been so for a few thousand years when Phoenician triremes vied with Roman galleys and Venetian traders for docking space. Today it’s container ships, tugs, passenger and RORO ferries, ... Read more >
ITALY | Wednesday, 10 Nov 2021 | Views [179]
EVERY CRUISE LINE HAS ITS OWN FLAVOR and Covid has turned everything upside down and all around. In addition to the cruise room/charge card that every cruise line uses, this time we have a bracelet that functions as a Covid-tracker in case someone on ... Read more >
ITALY | Monday, 8 Nov 2021 | Views [184]
I THINK I MADE A BIG MISTAKE. The Virtuosa hasn’t even left port and there’s talk of mutiny. Some of the passengers boarded in Barcelona so they’ve had more time to pile up grievances. They skipped Marseilles entirely and couldn’... Read more >
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