Welcome to Dubai!!  City of clean, organised and jaw dropping streetscapes.  It is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai.  Dubai is a global city and the business hub of Western Asia. It is also a major global transport hub for passengers and cargo.  Oil revenue helped accelerate the development of the city, which was already a major mercantile hub. Today, less than 5% of the emirate’s revenue comes from oil.  A centre for regional and international trade since the early 20th century, Dubai’s economy relies on revenues from trade, tourism, aviation, real estate, and financial services.  

Dubai is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates. It is rather like an independent city-state and is the most modern and progressive emirate in the UAE, developing at an unbelievable pace in the tourist and trade sectors especially. Recently Dubai won the bid to host EXPO 2020, a Universal scale Registered Exposition approved by the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE), Paris.

The Emirate of Dubai is the second largest of the seven United Arab Emirates but has the biggest population at over 2.1 million inhabitants. Size has been synonymous with Dubai as it continues to build the first, largest and the biggest constructions in the world. Dubai’s dynamics are always transient and ever-changing with its constant urge to construct something better and bigger than the previous. If there was a Palm Island, Nakheel (property developer) thought of the World Island. Burj Al Arab seemed too timid when Burj Khalifa cropped up, distancing itself to being a loner in the crowd.

Dubai constantly dwells in a suppressive competition with itself trying to magnetise tourists to a dreamy world of attractions and unheard of luxuries. The emirate’s scoring points lie in its entrepreneurial abilities to create the inconceivable found in its tourist attractions, landmarks, shopping centres, parks, nightlife and hotels. Although it strictly safeguards its traditional practices, it allows space for other religions to breathe, a rare quality amongst the conservative Arab world. Thankfully, it has been successful in shielding itself from extremism, much-needed for it to survive. Today, Dubai has emerged as a cosmopolitan metropolis that has grown steadily to become a global city and a business and cultural hub of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf region.

I started my Hop On Hop Off bus tour of the city with a dhow cruise which gave me great views of the city from the Dubai Creek.  Dhow  is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Historians are divided as to whether the dhow was invented by Arabs or Indians.  Typically sporting long thin hulls, dhows are trading vessels primarily used to carry heavy items, such as fruit, fresh water, or other heavy merchandise, along the coasts of Eastern Arabia (Arab states of the Persian Gulf), East Africa, Yemen and coastal South Asia (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh). Larger dhows have crews of approximately thirty, smaller ones typically around twelve.

I continued on my bus tour, stopping at the Dubai Museum; admiring the incredibly creative architecture of downtown Dubai and the recently opened installation, The Frame. I also checked out the Souk Madinat Jumeirah which combined a traditional Middle Eastern shopping culture of stands, barrows and stalls with a mix of boutique brands, souvenir gift shops, luxury fashion and jewellery.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and ruler of the Emirate of Dubai.  Since his accession in 2006, after the death of his brother Sheikh Maktoum, he has undertaken reforms in the UAE’s government, starting with the UAE Federal Government Strategy in April 2007. In 2010, he launched the UAE vision 2021 with the aim of making the UAE ‘one of the best countries in the world’ by 2021.

He is responsible for the growth of Dubai into a global city, as well as the launch of a number of major enterprises including Emirates Airline, DP World, and the Jumeirah Group. Many of these are held by Dubai Holding, a company with multi-diversified businesses and investments. Sheikh Mohammed has overseen the development of numerous projects in Dubai including the creation of a technology park and a free economic zone, Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, the Dubai International Finance Centre, the Palm Islands and the Burj Al Arab hotel. He also drove the construction of Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.

A keen equestrian, he is the founder of the Maktoum family-owned Godolphin racing stable and the owner of Darley, a thoroughbred breeding operation with operations in six countries. In 2012, he rode the horse Madji Du Pont 160 km to take the FEI World Endurance Championship. mHe is a recognised poet in his native Arabic.  He shares a very close and friendly relationship with Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is the Crown Prince of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. He is certainly a man of vision!!!

Being a now well experienced souk shopper, I hopped off the bus to explore the Grand Souk in Bur Dubai.  The Indian stall holders were VERY intense and gave the Moroccan and Egyptian guys a big run for their money!!!!!  It was a continuous run of “No thank you”, No thank you”, “No thank you!!!”  Lots of beautiful items for sale and I did eventually relent for a shawl and dress – but I did bargain hard!!!!!!

The Burj Khalifa did not disappoint, I have to say.  What an amazing construction!!!!!!!  It was designed to be the centerpiece of a large-scale, mixed-use development to include 30,000 homes, nine hotels, 3 hectares of parkland, at least 19 residential skyscrapers, the Dubai Mall, and the 12-hectare artificial Burj Khalifa Lake. The decision to build Burj Khalifa was reportedly based on the government’s decision to diversify from an oil-based economy to one that is service and tourism based.

According to officials, it was necessary for projects like Burj Khalifa to be built in order to garner more international recognition, and hence investment. “Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum wanted to put Dubai on the map with something really sensational,” said Jacqui Josephson, a tourism and VIP delegations executive at Nakheel Properties.  The tower was known as Burj Dubai (“Dubai Tower”) until its official opening in January 2010. It was renamed in honour of the ruler of Abu Dhabi, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Abu Dhabi and the federal government of UAE lent Dubai tens of billions of US dollars so that Dubai could pay its debts – Dubai borrowed at least $80 billion for construction projects.  In the 2000s, Dubai started diversifying its economy but it suffered from an economic crisis in 2007–2010, leaving large-scale projects already in construction abandoned.

The Burj Khalifa set several world records, including:

• Tallest existing structure: 829.8 m
• Tallest structure ever built: 829.8 m
• Tallest freestanding structure: 829.8 m
• Tallest skyscraper (to top of spire): 828 m
• Tallest skyscraper to top of antenna: 829.8 m
• Building with most floors: 163 
• World’s highest elevator installation (situated inside a rod at the very top of the building)
• World’s longest travel distance elevators: 504 m 
• Highest vertical concrete pumping (for a building)
• World’s tallest structure that includes residential space
• World’s highest installation of an aluminium and glass façade: 512 m
• World’s highest nightclub: 144th floor
• World’s highest restaurant (At.mosphere): 122nd floor at 442 m
• World’s highest New Year display of fireworks.
• World’s largest light and sound show staged on a single building.

Having recovered my equilibrium, I ventured downwards to the fabulous Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo.   The Aquarium consists of a large tank measuring 51 metres long, 20 metres deep and 11 metres high.  The 10-million litre Dubai Aquarium tank, located on the Ground Level of The Dubai Mall, is one of the largest suspended aquariums in the world.  It houses thousands of aquatic animals, comprising over 140 species. Over 300 sharks and rays live in this tank, including the largest collection of Sand Tiger Sharks in the world.  The Underwater Zoo showcases a variety of marine species in their natural habitats, and I thoroughly enjoyed the many and varied exhibits.

A couple of past educational coachees are currently working in the Victorian International School of Sharjah.  VISS was established as a strong collaboration between the Victorian Government and the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, based on shared education goals.  The Victorian school model in was chosen as an international leader by the Emirate.  The school began operations on 2 September 2007.  A premium, not-for-profit international school which offers a rigorous academic programme for girls and boys aged 3-19. Victoria International School of Sharjah has a history of excellence in STEM, international studies, the arts, and community action. It provides a globally recognised international curriculum, ongoing assessment for continuous personal development, and, a rock-solid foundation that challenges and inspires students to make contributions to today’s interconnected world.

The Government of Sharjah owns and runs the school, which was built on land donated by His Highness Sheik Dr Sultan Bin Mohammed Al-Qasimi, Ruler of the United Arab Emirate of Sharjah.   Though it is not a Victorian school, VISS is an outstanding endorsement for Victoria and highlights the international standing of the Victorian education system.  The VISS operates according to the Victorian model of school education, including curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and reporting, and school accountability and improvement practices.  The design of the learning environment at the VISS reflects contemporary Victorian practices in learning and teaching. It incorporates world-class school design and cutting edge facilities.

Victoria is a major source for teaching staff, as they’re highly respected for their teaching approach. All staff are directly employed by the Government of Sharjah.  Victorian teachers can take advantage of a valuable professional development opportunity through working at the school and bringing their experience back into the Victorian system.  I had a generous offer from past coachee and VISS Assistant Principal Lee Reich to take me out touring for the day.  We stopped off at the VISS which is a very spacious and extremely well resourced C21st school.  Fantastic facilities!!  Even a swimming pool!

Lee drove me to Abu Dhabi which is the capital and the second most populous city of the United Arab Emirates (after Dubai). It is the largest of the UAE’s seven emirates and also capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi city is on an island in the Persian Gulf off the central western coast, while most of the city and Emirate reside on the mainland connected to the rest of the country. As of 2019, Abu Dhabi’s urban area has an estimated population of 1.45 million, out of 2.9 million in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, as of 2016. 

Abu Dhabi houses local and federal government offices and is the seat of the United Arab Emirates Government and the Supreme Oil Council. The city is home to the President of the UAE, who is a member of the Al Nahyan family. Abu Dhabi’s rapid development and urbanisation, coupled with the massive oil and gas reserves and production and relatively high average income, have transformed it into a large, advanced metropolis. It is the country’s centre of politics and industry, and a major culture and commerce centre.  Abu Dhabi accounts for about two-thirds of the roughly $400 billion UAE economy. 

The Louvre in Abu Dhabi was an impressive architectural design as was the The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque which stands out as one of the world’s largest mosques, and the only one that captures unique interactions between Islam and world cultures. Sheikh Zayed’s vision for the Grand Mosque was to incorporate architectural styles from different Muslim civilizations and celebrate cultural diversity by creating a haven that is truly diverse and inspirational in its foundation. The mosque’s architects were British, Italian and Emirati, and design inspiration was borrowed parts of Turkey, Morocco, Pakistan, and Egypt among other Islamic countries, revealing a glistening architectural marvel with an astonishing capacity of 40,000 worshippers and visitors. 

Well, Dubai certainly did not fail to impress.  It is a city of forward planning and vision where the word impossible is irrelevant.  Creativity of building design was gobsmacking and I loved the organisation and cleanliness of the place.  There are lots of things to see and do.  This city has many cultural and historical highlights, as well as all the glamorous modern add-ons and there is more to this city than just its flashy veneer.

I also had the pleasure of catching up with another coachee, Sabe Gnanam, who is currently teaching at VISS.  He has recently become an Apple Distinguished Educator and is doing really creative and engaging iPad activities with his students.  He also became a dad to little Kaaviya very recently.  He and Shiv are very proud parents.  It was fabulous to see Sabe and hear all his exciting news, both personal and professional.

And so ended my six week Middle Eastern adventure.  Lots of incredible sights and sounds mixed with some quite challenging aspects.  I was ready to head back to Aus and feel very privileged and fortunate to be living where and as I do.  It was certainly an eye opening trip as to how so many people in the world live their life and as Australians, we are indeed living in a very lucky country.  Let’s look after it!!!   Cheers  Kim

On arrival in Jordan my room mate and I were not disappointed. Clean airport, clean roads, vehicles that stayed in their lanes and no incessant beeping of car horns.   We were met and transferred to our Amman hotel, where our Jordanian Group Leader was waiting for us.  There were also new group members joining the trip in Jordan and we ended up with 12 participants of mixed nationalities. Welcome to Jordan, cosmopolitan and contemporary, yet steeped in biblical history.  There was a group meeting to discuss the next seven day stage of our itinerary.

The Amman streets were tidy with plenty of eager shopkeepers ready to haggle. As Middle Eastern cities go, Amman is a relative youth, being mostly a creation of the 20th century. But though it lacks the storied history and thrilling architectural tapestry of other regional capitals, there’s plenty here to encourage you to linger awhile before making for Petra, the Dead Sea or Wadi Rum. In fact, Amman is one of the easiest cities in which to enjoy the Middle East experience. 

Downtown Amman was a must-see.  We enjoyed an exploratory walk around the shops and enjoyed some traditional food – falafel, tabouleh and the traditional very sweet and creamy kanafeh.  Shopkeepers were very keen to garner a sale and prices were not as inflated as those in Morocco and Egypt.  Bargaining was a little more challenging!!

Kanafeh – very rich, sweet and creamy! Total indulgence!!

I was very impressed with the detailed beauty of the shell inlaid work in boxes and furniture.  Incredibly detailed craftsmanship.

We followed in the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia with a journey to the extraordinary desert scenery of Wadi Rum, a rugged moonscape of huge sandstone mountains (approximately 5 hours). A 4-hour jeep safari took us through some of the most beautiful and sublime desert scenery on the planet, a true highlight of this trip. Wadi Rum was full of weird and beautiful lunar-like rock formations, and traces of ancient civilisations could be seen in the many carved inscriptions found throughout the area, from pictographs to Thamudic, Nabataean and Arabic texts.

The most enduring monuments in Wadi Rum were those carved by nature – the natural rock bridges, towering rose-coloured sand dunes and scattered rocky peaks. We slept in a simple Bedouin desert camp and enjoyed a delicious dinner cooked in an earthen oven by our Bedouin hosts.  The Bedouins have realised that tourism has a lot to offer in terms of financial rewards and there are 150 such desert camps runs by various tribal families  throughout Wadi Rum.  It was a very pleasant set up with dual sleeping tent rooms, a common gathering tent and a dining tent plus bathroom facilities.  The two night stay was a very pleasant reprieve from city touring.  Food was great too.

Wadi Rum is probably best known for its connection with the enigmatic British officer T.E. Lawrence, who was based here during the Great Arab Revolt of 1917-18. We spent another memorable night in the desert camp with our new Bedouin friends. Meaning ‘Desert Dwellers’ in Arabic, the Bedouins are a semi-nomadic people, and in Jordan up to 40 per cent of the general population is thought to have Bedouin ancestry. This might explain the legendary hospitality of the Jordanians – in traditional Bedouin culture, a huge onus is placed on taking in and feeding any visitor, and so we enjoyed brilliant hospitality while we were in this incredible place. We survived a 10km trek in the sand and were very happy to return to camp and put our feet up!!!! Felt like 20kms because of the sand.

We continued our journey to the fabled city of Petra (approximately 2 hours) by private minivan. The entrance fee to Petra included a ‘free’ ride on various forms of animal transport and as such we were offered this transport by a number of local Bedouin on the walk into the ancient city. While free to ride, there was a strong expectation that you would need to tip the animals’ owners.

In 2018 the animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) launched an international campaign highlighting the mistreatment of working animals in the ancient city of Petra. The animals – horses, donkeys and camels – carry both tourists and supplies to the city and through it.

The situation is a complex one – Jordanian organisations and their international partners are trying to improve the conditions for the animals, and for many local Bedouin this activity provides their only income yet issues around animal cruelty are raised on a regular basis. UNESCO themselves have stated that switching to motorised transport is not the preferred option in the ancient city.   As a responsible travel company Intrepid believes that – until conditions improve – their travellers should avoid using any form of animal transport in Petra, and if asked at the ancient city we should politely decline which we certainly did.

The site remained unknown to the Western world until 1812, when it was discovered by Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, a Swiss explorer. It was once described as ‘a rose-red city half as old as time’ in a sonnet by John William Burgon and UNESCO has described it as ‘one of the most precious cultural properties of man’s cultural heritage.’ In 1985, Petra was designated a World Heritage site. So we knew we were in for an amazing experience there.

One of the world’s most visually stunning archaeological sites, Petra (meaning ‘the rock’ in Greek) is an abandoned necropolis of temples and tombs cut into towering cliffs of red, pink and orange sandstone.  Primarily known as a commercial and ceremonial center of the Nabataean culture during the centuries before and after the time of Christ, the region of Petra was inhabited in far greater antiquity. Archaeological excavations have revealed a rock shelter of the Upper Paleolithic period, dating to around 10,000 BC, and a Neolithic village from the 7th millennium BC. While evidence of habitation during the Chalcolithic and Bronze ages has not yet been found, the region of Petra was again occupied in the early Iron Age, around 1200 BC, by the Edomite culture of the Old Testament (Edom, meaning red, is the Biblical name for this region of the Middle East).

During the 6th –4th centuries BC, the Nabataeans, a nomadic tribe from the northwestern part of Arabia, entered and gradually took over the lands controlled by the Edomites. The first historical mention of the Nabataeans is in a list of the enemies of the King of Assyria in 647 BC, during which time Petra was still occupied by the Edomites. There are several reasons, religious and economic, suggested for the Nabataeans selection of Petra as their capital. The city of Petra is situated at the beginning of Wadi Musa, meaning the Valley of Moses, and this site had long been venerated as one of the traditional sites where Moses struck the ground and the water gushed forth. The region was also revered by the Nabataeans as the sacred precinct of their god Dushara.

Petra’s prominence also derives from its proximity to ancient caravan routes, its easily defended location, stable water resources and proximity to rich agricultural and grazing lands. The Nabataean capital was strategically situated only twenty kilometers from the crossroads of two vital trade routes; one linking the Persian Gulf (and thereby the silks and spices of India and China) with the Mediterranean Sea (and the empires of the Greeks and Romans), the other connecting Syria with the Red Sea. In their early years, the Nabataeans probably only plundered these caravans but as they grew more powerful they seem to have levied tolls as a guarantee of safe conduct. By the third and second centuries BC, the city of Petra had developed into a rich and powerful center of the caravan trade.

We squeezed through a mile-long narrow path, known as the Siq, through huge towers of rock and got our first glimpse of the iconic Treasury – it was impossible not to imagine the armies and traders who made their way down here in the ancient times. It was amazing to think that this awesome, intricate building entrance was hand carved out of the rock.  We were suitably impressed.

The Treasury was probably constructed in the 1st century BC. As its design has no precedent in Petra, it is thought that it was carved by Near-Eastern Hellenistic architects.  The purpose of the Treasury remains something of a mystery. One thing that is fairly certain, however, is that it was not a treasury. In reality, the Treasury is generally believed to be a temple or a royal tomb, but neither conclusion is certain.

The tomb/temple got its popular name from the Bedouin belief that pirates hid ancient pharoanic treasures in the tholos (giant stone urn) which stands in the centre of the second level. In an attempt to release the treasure, Bedouins periodically fired guns at it — the bullet holes which are still clearly visible on the urn.  When the first Western visitors arrived at Petra in the 19th century, a stream ran from Siq and across the plaza. The stream has since been diverted and the plaza leveled for the sake of tourists.

The Treasury’s façade has two levels, decorated with columns, classical rooflines and badly weathered sculptures. Perched atop the façade is an eagle, a Nabataean (and Greek) male deity symbol.  The central figure on the upper level tholos may be the fertility goddess of Petra, El-Uzza (associated to the Egyptian goddess Isis). The vertical footholds on either side may have been made to aid the sculptors.

The portal on the bottom level is reached by small flight of steps, and is flanked by mounted figures believed to be Castor and Pollux, sons of Zeus.  Inside, a colossal doorway dominates the outer court and leads to an inner chamber of 12 square meters. At the back of the chamber is a sanctuary with an ablution basin (for ritual washing), suggesting that the Treasury was a temple or some other kind of holy place. The chamber can no longer be entered, but it is possible to look in from the doorway.

In 106 AD, the entire Nabataean kingdom came under the control of the Roman Empire. During the ensuing centuries Petra continued to prosper as the Romans carved many buildings as well as a great theatre capable of holding 3000 spectators. While the political and economic power was completely in the hands of the Romans, the Nabataeans continued to adhere to the practices of their own religion. With Emperor Constantine’s proclamation of Christianity as the religion of the Roman Empire in 324 AD, Petra and the lands of the Nabataeans came under the sway of the Byzantine Empire for the next three hundred years. An inscription in the so-called Urn Tomb indicates that the interior was converted to a Christian church in the fifth century.

The Christianization of the Roman Empire signalled the end of the golden era of Nabataean culture and the magnificent city of Petra. Decline slowly set in. With the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus in 661 the region of Petra fell under the control of Islam and the commercial importance of the city plummeted. A series of earthquakes in the 7th and 8th centuries destroyed many of the cities in the region, further weakening the agricultural and commercial infrastructure. Following the establishment of the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad in 750, the region of Petra was neglected and thereafter virtually disappears from the historical record. Abandoned to time and the elements, Petra was unknown to the outside world – with the single exception of an insignificant Crusader fortress built in the 12th century – until its ‘rediscovery’ in 1812.

Moving on from Petra, we travelled the King’s Highway to the historic crusader castle of Kerak, which stood on a cliff commandingly overlooking Wadi Karak and the Dead Sea in the distance (approximately 2.5 hours).  Kerak Castle is a typical example of Crusader architecture, with Romanesque-style stone vaults, numerous corridors, and strong doorways. The Crusader parts of the ruins are mostly on the upper level and can be identified by their dark volcanic tufa; later Arab additions are in white limestone.  Through a massive door, steps lead down to vast, dimly-lit, vaulted rooms and corridors underground.

The upper courtyard includes the remains of a Crusader chapel and provides excellent views over the Jordanian landscape to the Dead Sea.  The west wing of the complex is home to the small Kerak Archaeological Museum, which displays artifacts excavated at the site.  We had time to explore the evocative ruins and discover the legends of the 12th-century battles between the Crusaders and the Muslim armies led by the Arab hero, Saladin.  The small areas of prisoner retention made one realise what it was like to be kept in such small areas for long periods.

Moving on, we drove to the shores of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth (420 metres below sea level). This isn’t actually a sea but a super-salty lake (dead because of the lack of life in it) where the density of the water means participants went for a float, not a swim.   With a salinity of 342 g/kg, or 34.2% (in 2011), it is one of the world’s saltiest bodies of water – 9.6 times as salty as the ocean – and has a density of 1.24 kg/litre, which makes swimming similar to floating.  This salinity makes for a harsh environment in which plants and animals cannot flourish, hence its name.    The Dead Sea has attracted visitors from around the Mediterranean Basin for thousands of years. It was one of the world’s first health resorts (for Herod the Great), and it has been the supplier of a wide variety of products, from asphalt for Egyptian mummification to potash for fertilisers.

The Dead Sea is receding at a swift rate; its surface area today is 605 km², having been 1,050 km² in 1930.  This sea has shrunk by 30% and scientists say we may only have 50 years to float in these healing waters. The recession of the Dead Sea has begun causing problems, and multiple canals and pipelines proposals exist to reduce its recession. One of these proposals is the Red Sea–Dead Sea Water Conveyance project, carried out by Jordan, which will provide water to neighbouring countries, while the brine will be carried to the Dead Sea to help stabilise its water level. The first phase of the project is scheduled to begin in 2018 and be completed in 2021

We spent some time relaxing here and got some classic floating pictures. The mud here is supposed to have healing properties, and some participants covered themselves from head to toe for a nutrient-rich natural mineral mud bath. I passed!!

We continued to Mt Nebo, the spot where the prophet Moses is said to have seen the ‘promised land’ and where he’s supposedly buried. We explored this sanctuary and viewed the remarkable mosaics of the 4th century church.

30 minutes down the road was the historical town of Madaba, famous for its Ottoman-style houses and beautiful Byzantine-era mosaics, including the famous 6th-century mosaic map of Jerusalem and the Holy Land at St George’s Church. Other mosaic masterpieces found within churches and the Archaeological Museum depict a rampant profusion of flora and fauna, as well as scenes from mythology and daily life. Literally hundreds of other mosaics from the 5th to 7th centuries are scattered throughout Madaba’s churches and homes.

Then we left Madaba for a short drive north (approximately 75 minutes) to Jerash, once one of the grandest ancient Roman cities in the world. These are some of the best preserved Greco-Roman ruins around. Renowned worldwide for its archaeological treasures, Jerash boasts an as unbroken chain of human occupation dating back more than 6.500 years. The city’s golden age came under Roman rule and the site now generally acknowledged to be one of the best-preserved Roman provincial towns in the world.

It reveals a fine example of the grand formal provincial Roman urbanism that is found throughout the Middle East, comprising paved and colonnaded streets, soaring hilltop temples, handsome theatres, spacious public squares and Plaza baths, fountains and city walls pierced by towers and gates. Beneath its external Greco – Roman veneer, it also preserves a subtle blend of east and west. Its architecture, religions, and languages reflect a process by which two powerful cultures meshed and coexisted, The Greco – Roman world of the Mediterranean basin and the ancient traditions of the Arab Orient.

The city thrived due to its position on the route of the spice and incenses trade, and it reached its zenith as a favourite of the emperor Hadrian around AD 130. The ancient walled town that survives today is a remarkable evocation of life 2,000 years ago.  During the Roman period, Jerash was part of the Decapolis, a league of ten cities along the eastern border of the Roman Empire. Its strategic position at the crossroads with the ancient trade route connecting the Mediterranean with the East was a crucial factor to its economic growth.

Until the end of the Umayyad period in the 7th century AD, Jerash remained a lively provincial city. Afterwards, it was struck by the devastating earthquakes of the 6th century AD and lost importance, gradually disappearing under the sand. Abandoned for centuries, it was repopulated only in the 19 century by Circassian, who were forced to resettle from Russia to the Ottoman Empire. It was around this time that the first archaeologists acquired an interest in the area and started exploring its ancient ruins. Their intense work of investigation, conservation, restoration, and reconstruction over the past two centuries, has brought back to light the ancient city remains. Excavations are continuing to these days to restore, and expose new monuments. Meanwhile, Jerash continues attracting every year a greater number of visitors from all nationalities and is now the second-most popular touristic place in Jordan.

During our visit a crane came to a sticky and broken end as it was lifting rubble out of the Temple of Artemis.  The driver scrambled out of his cab and was OK.  Not so for the actual crane which hit the ground with a very loud crash!!!!

And so my five weeks in Morocco, Egypt and Jordan came to an end.  Thankfully Jordan was a more positive experience with Petra and Wadi Rum the standouts.  Yazan, our Jordanian tour guide, was very enthusiastic in sharing his knowledge of the country and overall, the weather was very pleasant, averaging 25 degrees C.  Throughout the Middle East, the smoking culture is very strong and that was very challenging, especially around food.  I found breakfasts to be quite savoury with a major focus on white bread so I became very savvy at locating fresh fruit and yoghurt throughout the trip.  As they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!!!  Onwards to Dubai for my final five days.

The next part of my Middle Eastern adventure took me to Egypt, land of amazing ancient antiquities. We only had six in this Intrepid group, mainly Aussie women, for eight days.

The journey commenced in Cairo and I have to say the traffic was manic!!!!! With Cairo’s 25 million inhabitants, I have never seen anything like it. Lanes and lanes of noisily beeping vehicles just all over the place, taking no notice of lane markings and coming within millimetres of our minivan. Pedestrians constantly took their lives in their hands as they wove their way across the highway, dodging everything in their path. It was a nightmare!!!

Our private van transported us to Giza, the home of some of the world’s most iconic sights. Instantly familiar yet retaining a mystique and power, getting up close to these incredible pharaonic tombs was surreal and amazing. We explored these structures that have stood tall for 4,500 years. I was in awe. The whole engineering challenge of constructing these tombs was overwhelming. The size of the granite blocks was impressive. The inside thoroughfares of the pyramids were very small and very warm but well worth exploring to get a real sense of the amazing construction. The Sphinx was of course impressive and fun photos were taken.

Ancient Egyptians used to bury a “solar barge” near the tomb of their pharaoh because they believed that their ruler needed transportation in the afterlife. In 1954, the parts of a cedar-wood barge were found in five pits near the Great Pyramid of Khufu. The barge was restored and assembled out of 1200 pieces of wood and it is displayed, since then, in a glass museum near the Great Pyramid in Giza.  It too was very impressive.

Afterwards, we made our way to the Egyptian Museum, home to one of the world’s great collections of antiquities. We wandered the treasure-filled halls of the museum, and made sure to check out the Mummies Hall for a close encounter with some of the country’s most important queens and pharaohs. They were in very good condition for their significant age.

Later in the evening, we met our leader and travelled to Giza station, where we boarded a sleeper train to Aswan (approximately 13 hours). Bedding and air-conditioning were provided. Accommodation was in two berth cabins which converted to bunk beds. The Nile, Elephantine Island and white-sailed feluccas: welcome to Aswan, Egypt’s southernmost city. Its easy-going charm was due in no small part to its large Nubian population. We visited the beautiful Temple of Isis (the Goddess of health, marriage and wisdom) that was rescued from the rising waters of the Nile and relocated on Philae Island. It was a marvel of decorative pylons featuring some of Egypt’s finest carvings – definitely one of the real gems of Upper Egypt.

We enjoyed a terrific glass blowing demonstration and a wide range of essential oil perfumes at a local Aswan store.  We also joined a family for a tasty buffet dinner on Elephantine Island.  The lady of the house had been very busy cooking!

The next day we headed out of Aswan and visited stunning Abu Simbel. With the four gargantuan statues of Ramses guarding the Great Temple, carved directly out of the mountain on the west bank of the Nile, this was one of Egypt’s most memorable sights. The journey by land was 3 hours each way, with an early departure from Aswan at 7am. Carved out of a sandstone cliff on the west bank of the Nile, south of Korosko (modern Kuruskū), the temples were unknown to the outside world until their rediscovery in 1813 by the Swiss researcher Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. They were first explored in 1817 by the early Egyptologist Giovanni Battista Belzoni.

The 20-metre seated figures of Ramses are set against the recessed face of the cliff, two on either side of the entrance to the main temple. Carved around their feet are small figures representing Ramses’ children, his queen, Nefertari, and his mother, Muttuy. Graffiti inscribed on the southern pair by Greek mercenaries serving Egypt in the 6th century BC have provided important evidence of the early history of the Greek alphabet. The temple itself, dedicated to the sun gods Amon-Re and Re-Horakhte, consists of three consecutive halls extending 56 metre into the cliff, decorated with more Osiride statues of the king and with painted scenes of his purported victory at the Battle of Kadesh. On two days of the year (about February 22 and October 22), the first rays of the morning sun penetrate the whole length of the temple and illuminate the shrine in its innermost sanctuary.

In the mid-20th century, when the reservoir that was created by the construction of the nearby Aswan High Dam threatened to submerge Abu Simbel, UNESCO and the Egyptian government sponsored a project to save the site. An informational and fund-raising campaign was initiated by UNESCO in 1959. Between 1963 and 1968 a workforce and an international team of engineers and scientists, supported by funds from more than 50 countries, dug away the top of the cliff and completely disassembled both temples, reconstructing them on high ground more than 60 metres above their previous site. In all, some 16,000 blocks were moved. In 1979 Abu Simbel, Philae, and other nearby monuments were collectively designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The next day we boarded a felucca and spent a day out on the river, watching rural Egyptian daily life play out on the banks, then spent a night under the stars. Our Nubian sailing crew provided all the meals, which were hearty and delicious. Being a traditional wooden boat with broad canvas sails, our felucca offered some shade and protection from the elements. However, there was no cabin or enclosed section. We slept outside on the deck of the felucca on a mattress.

After farewelling our felucca crew, we took our private van to the open air museum of Luxor (approximately 3.5 hours). From the spectacular temple complex of Karnak to the Valley of the Kings, Luxor was full of wonderfully preserved reminders of the Pharaohs.

We also visited the Intrepid Foundation’s local project ACE (Animal Care in Egypt). It was a great chance to see the holistic approach the project takes towards animal welfare, and to raising awareness among the locals.  ACE is a veterinary hospital which gives free veterinary care and treatment to all neglected and abused animals. ACE also runs an educational programme where local school children learn that animals should be treated with respect.

We travelled on to discover the many wonders of ancient Thebes. Our first stop was the Colossi of Memnon, two 17 metre-high statues on Luxor’s west bank. Carved from granite blocks, they represent the Pharaoh Amenhotep III and were once part of an impressive colonnade.  The original function of the Colossi was to stand guard at the entrance to Amenhotep’s memorial temple (or mortuary temple): a massive construct built during the pharaoh’s lifetime, where he was worshipped as a god-on-earth both before and after his departure from this world.  In its day, this temple complex was the largest and most opulent in Egypt.  Covering a total of 35 hectares, even later rivals such as Ramesses II‘s Ramesseum or Ramesses III‘s Medinet Habu were unable to match it in area; even the Temple of Karnak, as it stood in Amenhotep’s time, was smaller.

With the exception of the Colossi, however, very little remains today of Amenhotep‘s temple. It stood on the edge of the Nile floodplain, and successive annual inundations gnawed away at its foundations – a famous 1840s lithograph by David Roberts shows the Colossi surrounded by water – and it was not unknown for later rulers to dismantle, purloin, and reuse portions of their predecessors’ monuments.

We continued on to the spectacular royal burial site of the Valley of the Kings. Buried under the arid hills here are over 60 richly decorated tombs of pharaohs. We explored this sprawling and spectacular place, where the pharaohs of the New Kingdom (16th to 11th century BC) were secretly interred for all eternity, and where discoveries are still being made.

It was the principal burial place of the major royal figures of the Egyptian New Kingdom, as well as a number of privileged nobles. The royal tombs are decorated with scenes from Egyptian mythology and give clues as to the beliefs and funerary rituals of the period. Almost all of the tombs seem to have been opened and robbed in antiquity, but they still give an idea of the opulence and power of the pharaohs.

This area has been a focus of archaeological and Egyptological exploration since the end of the eighteenth century, and its tombs and burials continue to stimulate research and interest. In modern times the valley has become famous for the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun (with its rumours of the curse of the pharaohs), and is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. In 1979, it became a World Heritage Site, along with the rest of the Theban Necropolis.  Exploration, excavation and conservation continues in the valley, and a new tourist centre has recently been opened.

The tombs inside the valley of the kings were decorated by the workers of the village of Deir el-Medina, who came from different routes over the Theban hills.   Many tombs have graffiti from the ancient tourists as the site attracted tourists from the last two centuries.  We ventured inside three of the tombs as advised by our tour leader. The amazing coloured art work was fantastic and was truly a highlight of the trip.

Returning to Cairo overnight, we travelled again on the sleeper train and headed north in readiness for our short flight to Jordan. The ancient antiquities of Egypt were very impressive and awe inspiring but I had to wonder at the current state of play in C21st Egypt. Dirty, crowded, polluted, full of litter, 80% poverty rate, government and police force corruption. I left the country feeling quite depressed and hoped that Jordan would offer a more uplifting experience.

The six week adventure began with travelling with Intrepid Travel group for 15 days around Morocco on their Best of Morocco tour, in a group of 16 people of mixed nationalities.  Overall impressions of Morocco – a great sense of hospitality and community; tasty tagines, tagines and more tagines; thousands of roaming cats and good shopping with well practised bargaining as the trip progressed.

Thanks to Google for the various information notes.

We commenced our tour at Casablanca and then travelled east through coastal Rabat and Meknes.  Rabat, Morocco’s political and administrative capital, may be short on top-drawer tourist attractions but it compensated with plenty of charm. The ville nouvelle’s palm-lined boulevards were clean, well kept and relatively free of traffic – a blessed relief for those who have spent time in Casablanca. There’s a clean central beach, an intact and evocative kasbah, and an attractive walled medina that was far less touristy than those in other large cities. All in all, the city was a good choice for a short sojourn.

Rabat’s history is long and colourful, having been host to Roman settlements, pirates and more recently the Moroccan parliament. It contains numerous fine Arab monuments, some dating from the 10th to 15th century Almohad and Merenid dynasties, and others that are far older.  We stored our luggage and spent a few hours strolling through the city’s old quarter, then walked up to Kasbah des Oudaias and enjoyed views over the Atlantic Ocean.

Afterwards, we continued to Meknes on a three-hour train. The imperial city of Meknes was built when Sultan Moulay Ismail (a contemporary of Louis XIV) set out to create his own version of Versailles, using over 25,000 slaves to construct walls, gates and over 50 palaces.

Quieter and smaller than its grand neighbour Fes, Meknes feels rather overshadowed and receives fewer visitors than it should. It’s more laid-back with less hassle, yet still has all the winding narrow medina streets and grand buildings that it warrants as an imperial city and one-time home of the Moroccan sultanate.  We tried a camel burger for lunch at a friendly local restaurant in the medina and it was very tasty.

Later we boarded our minibus and travelled for one hour through rolling hills and olive groves to the archaeological site of Volubilis. World Heritage-listed Volubilis was once a provincial Roman capital, a distant outpost of the empire, and the remains make an undeniably impressive sight.  Sitting in the middle of a fertile plain, the ruined Roman city of Volubilis is the best-preserved archaeological site in Morocco. Its most amazing features are the many beautiful mosaics preserved in situ, and it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997.

Onwards, we made the two-hour drive to Fes, where we spent the next two nights. Fes is the spiritual and cultural heart of Morocco; vibrant, noisy, fascinating and overwhelming – a visual and pungent feast for the senses – with a huge, well-preserved medieval old city that’s the mother of all medinas.  In its heyday, Fes attracted scholars and philosophers, mathematicians and lawyers, astronomers and theologians. Craftsmen built them houses and palaces, kings endowed mosques and medersas (religious schools), and merchants offered exotic wares from the silk roads and sub-Saharan trade routes.

Although Fes lost its influence at the beginning of the 19th century, it remains a supremely self-confident city whose cultural and spiritual lineage beguiles visitors. Something of the medieval remains in the world’s largest car-free urban area: donkeys cart goods down the warren of alleyways, and while there are still ruinous pockets, government efforts to restore the city are showing results.  We embarked on a full-day tour around the Medina of Fes. While we were on our feet for at least five to six hours, we enjoyed exploring the souks with a local guide and spent time learning about the creation of local decorated pottery and beautiful soft leather goods at the rather malodorous tannery.

We boarded our minibus and left the intensity of the city behind for the simplicity of the scenic Middle Atlas Mountains (approximately 4 hours). Drove south, inland through a variety of spectacular scenery – fertile valleys, cedar and pine forests and barren, rocky landscapes. The area was populated with wandering nomadic shepherds attending to their flocks. We decided to take our picnic lunch inside a shepherd’s tent with a nomadic family.  They were very hospitable and served us mint tea – without sugar!!!

Driving on we headed towards Midelt.  Nestled in a valley, Midelt is a market town, originally built as a base for mining in the area, and surrounded by farmland and orchards. We stretched our legs as we explored the nearby Berber village of Berrem and took a closer look at local farming life.  The village houses were made of mud brick and were very simple in design.  Amazingly the villagers did have electricity which made their life a little easier.  Once again mint tea and local food hospitality was offered.

Midelt sits in apple country between the Middle and the High Atlas and makes a handy break between Fes and the desert. Coming from the north, in particular, the landscape offers some breathtaking views, especially of the eastern High Atlas, which seem to rise out of nowhere.  With around 45,000 inhabitants, this city is one of the highest elevated towns in Morocco, sitting at over 1,493 metres.

Midelt serves as the market for an agricultural area for its surrounding regions. It is a region known for apples, walnuts, plums, apricots, pomegranantes, wheat, corn, and various garden vegetables. Nomads and farmers from the local area also raise sheep and goats for their wool.

Mines near Midelt are harvested for their lead, gypsum, and several other minerals. The area between Fez and Erfoud is the primary mining area of Morocco. This is where the finest mineral specimens of this country originate. These minerals include meteorites, vanadinite, azurite, malachite, wulfenite, fluorite, titanite, epidote, cobalt calcite, selenite, erythrite and many other rare minerals. The town of Midelt is a good place to look for minerals and fossils.   Local handcrafts including Nomadic style carpets and blankets are also desirable from this area.

Southwards to the Erg Chebbi dunes.  It was a five-hour drive towards the mighty Sahara Desert. Since we had the convenience of our own minivan, there were many opportunities to stop and admire views of kasbahs (walled cities, fortresses) and palmeries (valleys lush with date palms, fields and orchards) along the way. We drove through changing scenery, from barren mountainsides to fertile valleys, pausing in frontier towns like Erfoud and Rissani, before reaching the end of the road at the small Saharan settlement of Merzouga. With a backdrop of the orange-coloured Erg Chebbi sand dunes, the charming Saharan village of Merzouga felt wonderfully isolated, like the modern world had left it behind.

We stored our main baggage, saddled up our daypack and mounted a camel for a one-hour sunset ride into the desert. The Erg Chebbi dunes are the most stunning in the country and an essential part of any visit to Morocco. An erg is a vast sea of shifting wind-swept sand that’s formed into picturesque, undulating crests and valleys. Located at the end of a sealed road and just 20 kilometres from the Algerian border, this really felt like frontier country. We spent the night in a desert camp under the stars. Our local friends prepared a hearty feast, so all we needed to do was sit back and relax.

We returned from our desert stay and began the drive to Todra Gorge, including the beautiful Todra Valley  which followed the foothills of the Atlas Mountains and was dotted with mud-brick villages perched on hillsides. The remarkable scenery – sprawling green valleys and rocks sculpted into stunning formations by the wind – was our home for the next two nights.