World Cruise: Aqaba, Jordan

Leaving Salalah, Oman, we traveled south entering the Gulf of Aden and rounded the southern tip of Yemen into the Red Sea. We sailed north in the Red Sea past Yemen and Saudi Arabia on the east side of our ship and past Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt on the other side of our ship. We left the Red Sea and sailed up an inlet called the Gulf of Aqaba headed to Aqaba, Jordan. Our stop in Jordan was a much anticipated highlight of our world cruise because visiting the nearby ancient city of Petra was a Bucket List item for us.

Our sail through the notorious waters of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea was very interesting. Seabourn took added security measures during this leg of our cruise. These precautions are understandable in light of the fact that in 2005 the Seabourn Spirit was attacked by Somali pirates and suffered damage from RPGs and small arms fire. Fortunately, the Spirit escaped the pirates and no injuries occurred. Our ship is equipped with water canons, high frequency sound deterrents and an extra propeller for boosted speed. In spite of all the defensive equipment, in Oman four armed security guards boarded our ship to accompany us through this region. The extra guards were private security guards that regularly patrol these waters protecting cruise ships and cargo ships from pirates or other security threats. We spoke to a couple of the guards while they were on board ship. The two guards that we met were former British commandos now working private security in this region. They were dressed in black uniforms and looked very much the part. These highly trained and physically fit experts took their jobs very seriously. Once the ship reached a point where we were 24 miles beyond the point of the last attempted attack, the guards were picked up by a zodiac to return to their headquarters, a small ship in the middle of the Red Sea, where they await their next assignment to accompany the next ship requesting security through the area. It was all very James Bond like and entertained us passengers. Our captain told us that the "boys" enjoyed their 2 day stay aboard our luxury cruise ship because they typically spend their time on cargo ships. They were well fed by Seabourn and the captain gave them a bottle of champagne to take back to their headquarters.

Zodiac coming to pick up our

Security Team in the Red Sea

Off loading the weapons

The Security Team exiting our ship

Leaving us in the "safe zone" of the Red Sea

We arrived in Aqaba, Jordan on Saturday, April 19th. As we sailed into the port, we could see Egypt, Israel and Jordan from the front deck of the ship since their borders all come together at this point on the Gulf. Jordan has only a small waterfront border on the Gulf. Early that morning, 8 tour buses loaded with passengers and crew members traveled to the ancient city of Petra which was a 2 hour drive from the port. As we drove through the barren countryside, we saw the tent villages of the Bedouins, an Arab nomadic tribe that still exists today. The Bedouins mainly exist by herding livestock so they must migrate to areas where they can find water for their herds of goats, sheep, camels, horses and cows. It is hard to believe the migratory lifestyle of the Bedouin people is still in existence. Our tour guide was from a Bedouin Village and gave us a lot of insight into their unusual way of life.

We spent the day hiking through the spectacular red, white and pink sandstone canyons in the prehistoric city of Petra to see the amazing ancient ruins dating back to the 2nd Century, B.C. Petra is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has been designated as one of the new seven wonders of the world. The area flourished under an ancient Arab tribe called the Nabeteans who controlled this link in the trade routes between Arabia and Syria and charged the traders a fee for safe passage through the route. The tribe faded away during Roman and Byzantine rule. Petra came to be occupied by the Bedouins. In the early 1800s, the area was rediscovered by a European who disguised himself as a Bedouin. Hiking through the high walled canyon area called the "Siq" reminded us of the hiking we have done in Utah's red rock slot canyons. The highlight of the hike is the famous ancient monument called "The Treasury" featured in the Indiana Jones movie.

This Corinthian columned façade which is 130 feet high presents itself dramatically as you come out of the narrow Siq section of the hike -- a "WOW" moment. We explored other magnificent features of this ancient city which goes for miles and miles, but only saw a small part of it all. In addition to the spectacular natural beauty of the area and the ruins, we also enjoyed the action around us with the colorful Arabian cowboys guiding tourists on horseback or camels or carriages through the canyons at breakneck speed narrowly missing tourists along the way. It was a true Arabian experience. After a few hours in the canyon, we hiked out then enjoyed a great buffet lunch of Middle Eastern cuisine and cold Jordanian beer before starting the drive back to the ship.

Our long drive back to the ship was broken up by a stop at a shop located on a hillside overlooking the vast valleys and hills of the Jordanian countryside. To our surprise, Seabourn sent a crew out to meet us to serve us champagne and caviar in true Seabourn fashion. It was a great treat to cap off our memorable visit to Petra. We can check Petra off the Bucket List!