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AFRICA: Stage 8 - Cairo to Damascus |
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7th to 19th April 2009 This etapa begins in the heart of Ancient Egypt and ends in the beautiful city of Damascus, continuously inhabited for the last 7,000 years. This is a cultural journey through the history of this turbulent area, where ancient wisdom and modern conflict rub shoulders.
Cairo is Africa´s largest city and a bustling, noisy rush of activity. The Egyptian Museum is almost a wonder in itself and contains stunning displays including Tutankhamun´s Treasure and the Mummies of the Pharaohs. The Sphinx and The Pyramids at Giza are the sole survivors of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and will take your breath away before you catch sight of a more modern wonder, the Suez Canal. Control of the canal has played an important part in history from World War II to the subsequent Suez crisis in 1956.
On the other side of the Gulf of Suez is the Sinai Peninsula which reaches down to the Red Sea. Some of the world´s best scuba diving can be found at Sharm el Sheikh with amazing coral reefs, plentiful fish populations and rarely spotted turtles. The wreck of the Thistlegorm is also reachable if you plan to stay for a day or two. Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments, stands just back from the coast along with St Catherine´s Monastery which dates from the 6th century.
At the top of the Gulf of Aqaba the borders of Egypt, Israel and Jordan converge and The Great Rift Valley helped to shape the dramatic landscape. The incredible hidden city of Petra is reached through a narrow cleft in the rocky surface, it was famously described as "a rose-red city half as old as time" in a sonnet by John William Burgon. A range of ancient sources describe Petra, originally known as Rekem, as the capital of the Nabateans who controlled the trade routes that crossed here. The city declined under the Romans and then sank into ruins after an earthquake crippled the complex water system which the city needed to survive.
The Dead Sea divides Jordan and Israel and is officially the lowest point on earth. On the western shore close to the town of En Gedi is the historic fortress of Masada. Set upon the top of an imposing escarpment it is an evocative memorial to the mass suicide which took place in 73BC, when the Jewish defenders chose death over rule by Imperial Rome. The small town of Bethlehem lies between here and Jerusalem. The divided city serves to demonstrate the timeless battle between Islam, Judaism and Christianity, it is here that all three religions meet and repeatedly clash. However, this should not distract from the incredible cultural wealth that is to be found here, including the Dome of the Rock, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre the Wailing Wall and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
On the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea there are further treasures including Ma´daba an early mosaic making centre and Jarash an important Greco-Roman town that still holds chariot races in the reconstructed hippodrome. Finally you will arrive in Damascus, the Syrian capital is beautiful and you will want to spend time exploring the Umayyad Mosque which is justifiably famous for its golden mosaics.
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