Jeddah, SAUDI ARABIA.. We didn’t find Aladdin or his lamp, but something much better

 Happy Easter morning as we sail into the Jeddah Islamic Port, Saudi Arabia!

 I must admit I know next to nothing about this country, except the media reports and the idea that it controls how much I pay for my gasoline.  I have many preconceived ideas concerning the Islamic religion, the treatment of women and the secretiveness of the country itself. I know there is a very big number of highly US educated youth,very big royal family and a King that rules it all. Oh, and they have gobs of oil…

Today my friend Susan and I have elected to do our included tour in a wonem’s only group … only women of the bus and a woman tour guide. Supposedly the guide will give us a “Woman’s” perspective. There have been many differing opinions on shipboard about the validity of this tour.. from complaints of propaganda spreading to outright refusal to go ashore in the country. Susan and I decided we would go into this with an open mind and open hearts and save our impressions and judgement until the tour is over. So join me through pictures of the city of Jeddah, particularly the Old city.

The port is a distance outside the city, as is most of the ports we stop at.  It will be a scenic? 40 minute drive into the old city UNESCO area.Along the way we see a very long thin park like area with beautiful sculptures. This is an area for the public to use for recreation. Owned by the government, of course.

A mosque along the roadway 

The park contains lots of innovative sculpture by various artists 

The gold cube in the middle of the picture is the base for the largest fountain in the world.

 The fountain is called King Fahd’s fountain. It is in the Guinness World records as the highest fountain of its kind in the world. The height is 260 meters ( 853 feet) It’s design is based on the mabkhara, an incense burner which symbolizes Arabian culture. The water is drawn from the sea and filtered many times to remove dirt and sediment to make the flow of water continuous. It is surrounded by 500 led lights. The fountain comes on at 6pm in the evening so we may not be able to see it as we will be leaving port around 5pm.

Our guide is showing us the incense holder that is the inspiration for The fountain. modern city heading into the old city.

A very modern Mickey D’S.

Somewhere over there is the old city!

 Our travel coin is still with us, bringing us good travels.

Heading through the narrow streets of the Old town area.Many of the buildings are leaning, unoccupied and are in need of lots of renovation.

The brown wooden house has been renovated

One of the oldest Mosques. Reminds me of the Orthodox Jewish synagogues where the men and women are separated. There are roles for each and rooms for each gender to pray. 

One of the windows of the mosque 

Peeking through the window to see the inside.. since I would never be able to go into this room.

Below is as partially renovated home. Al was in a group that got to enter inside.. Our group did not have time to enter.

The design of each home is to provide privacy for the family and yet provide air flow to keep the home cool. These building were from the 3rd century forward. 

This home is currently going to be turned into a boutique hotel in the future. This house stands at the major cross roads for travelers who are starting their pilgrimage to Mekka (Mecca). Mecca is three days walk from Jeddah and hence Jeddah is know as the gateway to Mekka. In today’s world our guide told us that pilgrims still come to the old city to gather supplies for their pilgrimage but of course instead of three days walk it only takes 45 minutes by car.. why do it the hard way!

A side view of the building

An incense machine.. I kid you not… this box routinely has incense smoke coming out of the two holes on the top. There were several around the old city. Certainly helps give the vibe of old Arabia!

Not sure how this one will be saved!

Or this one!

The walls of these buildings are leaning forward towards each other. This was a sight I saw frequently. There were many braces up the side of buildings to keep them upright. The project to completely renovate Old Jeddah is to be completed by 2030…I can’t imagine the billions of dollars and only 7 years left to finish this into a viable profitable area!

In 1920s the building below was the back of the US Embassy. It was abandoned in the 80’s when the embassy was moved to the capital city of Riyadh

The front entrance of the embassy

There were many open areas that were for public use. Usually they had a tree or greenery.

The old city was surrounded by a city wall for safety. There were eight gates to enter the area. Above is the remaining wall and below is the remaining main gate. The king order all the gates to be opened and permanently kept.

 The minaret is a common architectural feature throughout the region.

During our tour we were free to ask our guide any questions concerning her life. She filled us in on the educational system, the social programs for citizens, particularly women and what her life is like. I would guess she was in her mid thirties, well educated ( a masters degree) ad very independent. She was wearing the customary cover and scarf.  In her opinion, she enjoys the dress because she can wear whatever she want under it. There seems to be a sense of security to the outfit. She enjoys most of the freedoms that we have in the US. She owns her own car and can drive, if she wanted she can own her own home and nowadays women are moving into all occupations not just education or medicine. In her lifetime she has now more opportunities than her mother had and feels good about that. She was asked what else she would see as a needed change in Saudi Arabia for women… He reply was” if you had asked me that question 5 years ago, I could have given you a list, however in today 2023, I would have to reply, I can’t think of a single thing to change anymore. “ “my world in my country is very good now”

As far as the tour itself, she was a very strong, knowledgeable woman who held her own alongside her male colleagues. I came away from meeting her and her assistant feeling that the kingdom now seems to understand the importance of women and is trying to slowly redefine some of Islam’s strict view of women to meet the needs of the future.The kingdom is starting to be interested in supplementing its oil income with tourism and it needs to at least give the allusion of equality. Our guide did mention that its in the cities that you see the biggest changes and that in rural areas there can still be strong push back concerning women. 

What’s my impression? 

Well, Im certainly glad I got off the ship and went into the city. It was good to have a woman as a guide and I never felt that she was trying to give me an untrue picture of her life.  The government is still authoritarian as ever and Im not sure the poor women or uneducated women receive the same benefits of life that our guide does. Hopefully the  kingdom will continue to encourage freedom and equality for women. If they continue going forward, things will be good. For those who don’t see improvements and continue to think that women in Saudi should get everything we have as women here in the US, I would remind you to look at the recent state of healthcare for women in our country, the censorship of school boards and libraries and the government intervention in curriculum in the public school system and show me how it is any different than in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Authoritarianism can take many shapes…

 In regards to this tour, the worst thing to endure for me was the extreme heat and little water. It is Ramadan here and from sunrise to sunset all faithful are required to fast from food and drink… For a group of old tourists who did not want to be rude and drink in front of others, it was a a terrible combination! We seemed to drop like flies! Luckily for us, our guide encouraged us to take our water bottles and drink.. her comment was “ you are not bound by the Islamic traditions of our faith.. I’m a big girl and I will not be offended by you drinking water in front of me... Unfortunately ,many of the other guides did not offer such an offer and many found the extreme heat robbed them of the joy of seeing the old city. 

Would I encourage a visit to Jeddah? Yes… every experience is a learning opportunity. Will I return? Maybe, if Im given enough time in this life. 

As we pulled away from the dock this evening, we saw the faint line of the King Fahd Fountain in the distance! 

The sunsets as we leave our Arabian adventure. I think this may be one of my favorite pictures .. the distinctly unique light house in front of the sun setting…  

Its not Aladin’s lamp, but a good substitute.

More sea days mean more learning, fun and eating @Viking Neptune

 

When the sun sets on another port and we leave it often times means we will be at sea for a couple of days to get to our next destination. This time, after leaving Mumbai, we will travel 5 sea days before reaching our next stop.. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The biggest challenge for the crew and hotel staff is how to keep 900 passengers who have been traveling for 106 days occupied and contented….The plan includes lectures to keep our minds engaged and learning, cooking demonstrations and lessons, art lessons, bridge lessons and play, and of course great food…

I have been continuing my art lessons and gone from watercolor playtime to calligraphy, to decoupage rip and paste to another more organized water color class. Here’s a few catch up pictures of my attempts 

These are my rip and paste pictures.  This was a fun class and I think it would be fun to continue (I foresee a problem with collecting paper stuff just like fabric -may not be a good idea)

New water color class.. each painting was done in one day

Well, all I can say is Im trying and having fun… no worries about needing a gallery to display my work😂

Next up a report about cooking: We have on board a guest chef this week and he gave a demonstration of Indian cooking. 

Our executive chef on the right and the guest chef. 

The finished products.. I couldn’t get too close to get better pictures but believe me they looked tasty

 Along with cooking and food demonstrations there are several wine tastings. This week was South African wines new to the wine list.

I have to take pictures because by the time I’d like a glass at dinner , I can’t remember the name!

I wonder if Apple knew just how we olddies would use our phones to supplement our memories!

One night the evenings entertainment was a group that sang Opera. I really enjoyed listening to them while Al stayed in the room and watched a lecture on space or something… He’s not really a fan of Opera.. but bot did I enjoy the program and look forward to their next concert. Usually our performers manage to preformed twice. 

Lunch specials abound also.. this was a chili cheese fries that was delightful! I didn’t realize how much I was missing junk food till this showed up! Kinda like a southwestern poutine….

Tonight we will have Lobster dinner by the outdoor pool and an evening of dancing under the stars. The Band on board is a group of incredible musicians and they always play and sing a variety of music for us to listen or dance to.  

All in All, the crew and staff are going out of their way to entertain and delight us. Especially this few days as we are heading into the Bay of Arden which calls for extra security on board.. lets just say I never dreamed my trip would include razor wire and the A-Team….enough said.  Today is Thursday for us and Sunday we dock in Saudi Arabia.. 

Elephanta Caves…Mumbai part 2

 

Heading towards the Gate to India. Today we will board a ferry and take a one hour board trip to Elephanta Island to view the UNESCO world heritage site of a Hindu cave temple dedicated to the God Shiva. There are five caves but I imagine we will concentrate on the main large cave. Today the tour is listed as demanding… we will see. You know I’m not much into caves, in fact really can’t begin to enter a cave, but I have read so much and seen so many picture that I’m going to force myself to get inside. I have a medical box of anti-anxiety drugs with me and I’m bound and determined I will see this cave.

First obstacle is getting on the ferry. Susan and I are hesitant 

But we move forward as best we can.. there are 6000 people getting on and off ferries daily here…we find that to get to our ferry, we need to climb into one boat, walk across the deck and climb into another boat ( using old tires and big gaps over the water) to get to our boat. All the while angry ferry passengers are stuck waiting for us instead of going to their destination… But WE MADE IT!! Onto our boat and headed to the next adventure…boarding a little train  to get to the 120 steps up to the temple. Our ferry ride was uneventful and when we arrived the train was waiting… its just a little thing with two little engines and a few open cars to take us from the dock to the entrance gate to the steps up. AHHHH the steps… certainly not 120 all in a row…no,one or two with a huge long ramp in between. The vertical rise was unbelievable and after just a couple of them I decided the Sultan chairs carried by four men was the lesser of the two evils.. either I’ll fall out and break a hip while riding or Ill collapse from fatigue while climbing the steps on my own…the possibility of a broken hip won out and into a chair I climbed…we had to travel through a gauntlet of shops and sellers while also going up steps… no easy feat, but of course all I had to do was sit and think light thoughts…

The blue flavor is due to the rates lining the walkway to provide shade.The Sudan chair rocked and rolled and I held on for dear life but we made it to the top! Both Susan and I are glad we took the chairs… most of those who walked were red faced and puffing from exhaustion when they reached the top of the stairs. 

This woman was waiting at the top and for just a dollar you could take her picture… I waited till someone else took hers then grabbed a side shot.. 

walking up to the cave. Very ornate opening.

OMG! 

THE MOST INCREDIBLE TEMPLE EVER!

The sheer size and beauty of the carvings takes my breath away!

When the Portuguese came they desecrated and destroyed many of the carvings. Around the sides were the histories and stories involving Shiva and always seemed to point to a life lesson learned by others..My understanding of Hinduism is limited, of course, so please excuse any falsehood… Shiva is know as the Destroyer, but also as “the protector” He is also the creator and is part of the Holy trinity of God along with Brahma & Vishnu. This temple is dedicated to Shiva and each panel or fresco has a definite moral issue to impart. I was absolutely awestruck by each panel.the following are just a few of the pictures I took and Im afraid I can’t recall all of the stories.. But please enjoy the magnificence of each one.

Looking at the smooth detail and intricate stone work and realize that current archeological thought is that they were carved during the 5th-7th century CE and most scholars  feel they were completed by 550 CE. 

These statues are all in the main hall. Inside the main hall is a smaller temple where you can go in and worship.  We did not go in but could see inside. It held an alter in the center and was very plain compared to the outsides!

Looking through east to west in the main hall

This might help give you an idea of size.

Main hall and western hall

Entrance to another of the five temples on this site.

As in much of Asia, there were the dreaded monkeys. These also know how to grab and run…

And drink from water bottles they steal…

And grab chips

And I guess they like stolen candy bars too.

And another lesson I”m learning… never become so absorbed in your solitaire game on your phone while waiting for the tour to resume that you look up startled to see this walk by you, narrowly missing your feet…

Just doing a little shopping on his way around town!

Returning to the Gate of India and the Taj Mahal Hotel by ferry

We returned at rush hour and this is what we had to walk through to find our bus…

This was a fabulous day and Im so very glad we were able to visit Elephanta Island. I found it to be one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited.

Once we returned to the ship we quickly got refreshed and headed out to a Viking event: Mumbai Mela..a festival of India and Mumbai. This was an added event to give us a fun and exciting time . 

We were taken to a local event space where we experienced getting Henna tattoos, learned to wrap a Sari,learned how to wrap a turban, watched how bangles were made, watched fabulous dancing and music concerts and had appetizers and a full Indian Buffet. It was three more hours of fun and discovery. Below are some pictures in no particular order:

Tomorrow we leave around noon so will only have time to run out briefly to do a little shopping and then complete our face to face immigration departure interview. Next five days will be sea days while we travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.