Yanbu, Petra and Wadi Rum

Yanbu Al-Bahr, Saudi Arabia 

After leaving Jeddah, the Viking Star headed north to dock at Yanbu Al-Bahr (Spring by the Sea).  Yanbu was a much smaller port city, in a much more industrial area.  The city was a "planned community" with a large industrial/refinery area, and living quarters provided by the King for all the workers.  

The excursion there took us to a local park that served as a buffer between the industrial and residential areas.  They were very proud of their "lake", and spent a lot of time describing it.  I was surprised at how small it was, and I heard several comments on the bus about how this was just a "pond".  I had to remind myself that Saudi Arabia has no rivers, and this man-made lake is the only fresh water lake the residents have ever seen.  It is a very popular recreation area for the residents. 

The Viking Star was parked right next to the local souk (market), and from our balcony I counted at least 6 minarets of local mosques.  As we were relaxing on our balcony in the middle of the afternoon, the call to prayer began.  The sound of these multiple mosques calling people to prayer was very interesting.  This was also the first day of Ramadan, so the prayer time was extremely important to them.

We were seated at dinner when we left Yanbu, and the moment we cleared the breakwater of the harbor, our waiters came out offering wine with the meal.  They couldn't offer any alcoholic beverages while we were in Saudi Arabian waters.  

Aqaba, Jordan

After leaving Yanbu, the Viking Star headed north in the Red Sea, and entered the Gulf of Aqaba.  We had a sea day to relax and enjoy the warm sun.  

Our first day in Aqaba, Jordan we took the Excursion to Petra.  Petra was made famous by the Indiana Jones movie where they gallop off up the wadi from the Treasury.  We didn't gallop away on horseback, but we had a lovely day walking down through the wadi to the city.  It was a beautiful walk down, and the ruins of Petra are fascinating.  I'm glad we made arrangements for a cart ride back up!

On day 2 in Aqaba, we went to Wadi Rum which is where Lawrence of Arabia served, and where the movie was filmed.  The landscape is barren, ethereal and beautiful.  We rode a train in order to see a reenactment of the Arab Revolution against their Turkish occupiers.  First are the pictures from our excursion there.

The train ride was great fun!  We sat on a flat car so that we could get the best view.  When the action started, I recorded the event.  It was so exciting to see the great horsemanship and camel riding.

More to come soon!