I just returned from seeing the treasures of Jerash and Petra in Jordan and the pyramids and Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt. I cruised down the Suez canal and the Red Sea from Athens to Dubai.Two weeks of amazing ports of call. The differences between Cairo and Dubai were astonishing. While Cairo and Jordan hold some of the world’s greatest treasures, Dubai is a newly built up country rich in oil with no poverty. Lunch at the Burj al Arab hotel, famous for it’s look like a sail (it actually is a ship on its side coming from the ground) offered the best views of the city and of the new “world creation” where they have made land formations of the globe out at sea. They have a mall with all the name brand high end stores and a giant ski slope inside, including ski lifts and a sledding run for kids. Surreal!
They are also building Dubailand which will be miles of theme parks from all over the world and will employ and house 2.5 million people. It is like a fairy tale land. We took a safari in the desert with a 4×4 and had dinner under the stars with the sand as our scenery. Quite cool, but the ride up and down the dunes did me in! Too fast and too much motion for me to enjoy dinner.
Most things are about 30% more expensive than in the US, except gold which is a bargain. They have a gold market that is a shopper’s paradise! A trip to this part of the world is an amazing experience.
Nancy Yale, Cruise Resort & World Travel 203 254-3339 www.bookavacation.com
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