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The brilliant blue waters of the Red Sea are a meeting point between North Africa and the Middle East. Heading north the sea begins to narrow rapidly in the Gulf of Suez, before finally coming together at the Suez Canal. The coastal peoples of the region in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and to the north Israel and Jordan can gaze across the water at the others' communities. This unique region in Egypt attracts tourists in droves for the quality diving on offer. Otherwise one can enjoy a relaxing visit to the resort towns in Sinai to wash all cares away, surrounded by the dramatic backdrop of the harsh, jagged peaks of the Eastern Desert.

It's time for a brief recap, dear reader, to bring you up to speed. We left off in Luxor at the end of a cruise on the River Nile. After parting company with my excellent guide I boarded a bus for a very long journey from Luxor to Dahab in Sinai. The only way to get there was to hug both sides of the Gulf of Suez heading north, and then back south before arriving in Dahab nearly twenty four hours later. It's been a while since I've pulled off a bit of a bus epic, but it's an inevitable part of travelling in large continents. My trusty formula for long distance travel includes just picking at some food, and taking rare sips of water like a sparrow. It works a treat as twenty four hours isn't much in the scheme of things, as there's always your chosen destination as the reward. The journey was uneventful, aside from me being the only foreigner, and the fact that there was not a single female onboard during the entire journey. That was a first on a bus journey! There are serious checkpoints to negotiate near the Suez Canal before getting into Sinai, and I must've flashed the old passport four or five times when asked by the friendly soldiers.

Dahab is a true resort town, clean and uncluttered with restaurants and cafes lined along the beach for a couple of kilometres. A perfect spot for a bit of rest and recreation, and I was booked into the excellent Bishbishi Garden Village beach resort on the main strip. I woke around midnight on the first night feeling decidedly queasy, then made a dash for the toilet, but before even getting to the bowl I projectile vomited twice. An earlier meeting between myself and a seafood meal ended in violent disagreement, and I was concerned as last time this happened was a decade before in Sumatra, where I was down for the count for five days. However, on this occasion the good doctor back in Oz ensured I pack antibiotics, which I began to take immediately as prescribed. They had an immediate effect as I quickly brushed off the food poisoning, and thank goodness for that. The next day I was chilling with the guests and staff, mainly chatting about the cat and her new charges, as she had given birth to four kittens right next to me the previous night on the couch. She just popped them out over an hour or so, broke and ate the placenta, licked them dry and let them suckle. The process of giving birth was that easy!

Anyways, I digress. So there I was at the resort when I saw a sign advertising day trips to the legendary Petra in Jordan. This is something I've always wanted to do, so I signed up for the next day's tour. And what a day it proved to be! We rose at 5:00am and were on the bus north while picking up tourists along the way to Taba Heights. From there we went through customs formalities, before boarding a high speed ferry across the Red Sea to Aqaba in Jordan. They grabbed a boat load of passports on arrival, and our English speaking guide turned out to be quite the wag. After all the passports were stamped he began to hand them out by calling either our name, nationality or number which was stickered on by immigration. He looks at one, then calls out 'Gaddafi?' That had over a hundred people in stitches, except for the poor owner of the passport. We piled on to a Jordanian bus or two, and journeyed through Jordan for three hours to Petra, after stopping off near our destination for a buffet lunch at the Marriott Hotel.

When you enter the sight it's a two kilometre walk downhill through the mighty canyon know as Siq, before the ancient city of the Nabateans comes into view in all it's glory. The Treasury suddenly appears carved in to the rock in front of your eyes, and it's a magical experience after winding down narrow paths for up to an hour. Petra is up there with the best sights the world has to offer. There's plenty more to see including the Ampitheatre, several wonderful tombs carved into the mountain, including the massive Urn Tomb accessible via a stairway up into the mountain. Petra has captivated travellers for thousands of years, and is a unique destination in the holy land of Jordan.

It took us an hour to climb back out of the canyon to the bus, and after a fast rewind of the outward journey a bunch of exhausted but happy travellers arrived back in Dahab at 11:00pm. The tour to Petra was a long but rewarding day. I was up early the next day for a morning bus back to Cairo, and the day after I was booked on a day tour of Alexandria out of Cairo. The ancient North African capital has several wonderful attractions, including The Catacombs, the Pillar of Pompey, the Citadel and the new Library of Alexandria built on the site of the ancient library. Alexander the Great couldn't begin to contemplate the ancient city he founded growing to become the bustling city of four million it is today. Alexandria is situated on the mediterranean sea, and has been a strategic location for thousands of years. It's time, however, to wrap up this marvelous trip to Egypt including an unforgettable day spent in ancient Petra where, basically all of you should be here now!

Announcing your plans is a good way to hear God laugh." Deadwood, TV Series

As I continue my travels, until next time it's signing off for now

Tom

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Photos

Al Khazney at Petra
The dramatic sight of the Treasury of Petra greets travellers at the end of the Siq.

The Citadel, Alexandria
This impressive structure is right on the mediterranean sea.

Urn tomb, Petra
A stairway leads up to this magnificent rock tomb carved into the mountain.

Petra canyon
The winding Siq rises up to 380 metres above as travellers for thousands of years have made their way down to the site of the temples.

Baby you can ride my camel
The timeless life of the Bedouins on both sides of the Red Sea.