Sharm el-Sheikh - October 29

Sharm el-Sheikh is a holiday destination on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula.  There was nothing much there until 1968 when the tourist trade made it a popular spot.  It is also a place where international conferences often take place.  Next month there is going to be one on climate.

We were supposed to get in at 7am and our group (an excursion set up on Cruise Critic) was supposed to meet at 7:30 so I got up at 5:45. I wasn't sure about lunch so I went to the Lido and had an orange juice and a very good pancake.  As it turned out we did not get into port until 7:30 and were not cleared by the Egyptian authorities until 8:30.  

We were finally let off the ship and had to put our things through the x-ray machine (binoculars were not allowed) and were patted down.  The vans finally set off at 9:30.  

The first stop was at the Ras Mohammad National Park.  The entire area looks like a moonscape but at the park there were some beautiful bodies of water as well as small plants popular with the wild camels that populate the area.  We had a short stop for tea and a bathroom break at a Bedouin camp.

After about two hours at the camp we returned to the city where we visited a Coptic Orthodox Cathedral.  It was built recently and the entire interior was painted with Bible stories by two artists.

Lunch at a seafood restaurant was next and we had a huge meal for $20.

We walked by the large Mosque but could not go in because it was prayer time.  Instead, we were given time to shop and then returned to the ship.

I went up on deck and read before time for sail-away.

At dinner we all talked about our day.  Judy and Bob had gone snorkeling and Pete and Sherry had gone on a glass-bottomed boat.

I did not go to the show because I needed to finish the blog, we lose an hour tonight to get on Jordanian time, and my tour meets at 7am!

Smooth sailing until next time!

most of the inland area looks like this

Mangrove trees in the National Park

a cleft, open underground to the sea, caused by an earthquake hundreds of years ago

Hidden Lake was popular for swimming

 ???

Two of the wild camels (which were smaller than most camels) that live in the park and eat those little bushes

swimming and boating in the park

the Bedouin Camp shere they had put little cushions on the ground for us (I sat in a chair)

One of the WCs in the park

entrance/exit of the park

 

a building that housed Israeli soldiers when they controlled the area

???

the logo of "Sharm" which is what they use for advertising

we saw lots of these made with rocks (anybody read Arabic?)

murals along the side of the highway

How the other half lives - top picture is the low rent district and bottom picture is the high rent district

one of the many Beach Clubs along the waterfront

the beautiful Coptic Orthodox Cathedral

above and below are interior shots of the cathedral

the plates of ?? (I think one was hummus) on the table, the seafood soup and the salad

the seafood main course

tasty citrusy drink for dessert

seafood display at the restaurant

???

Two views of the mosque (above) and the area around the mosque (below)

note the man making the mosaic sidewalk

at the mosque

two of the four kitties I saw today

the view at the harbor at sail-away