With all the mix up with the Suez Canal and missing Sharm El Sheik, Princess thought we would be better off sailing half way down the red sea then turning around backtracking and moving back up the gulf of Aqaba. Guess they thought we were better off being a moving target rather than a stationery one.. If we had our way we would have sailed up the Gulf in the morning as the vistas on both sides of the ship are quite spectacular, stopped in Aqaba in the afternoon and overnighted in port. After spending the day in Aqaba the people are lovely and I am sure the restaurants and nightlife come to life. Aqaba is a bit of a tourist mecca where it can be the safest gateway to many attractions such as, Petra, wadi rum, Jerusalem, Dead Sea, great snorkelling and Hiking. Ashraf described Jordan as the Switzerland of the middle east, a peaceful country amongst crazy neighbours.
It seems that the king of Abu Dhabi sees it potential and has purchased a vast amount of land (mountains) along the coast and within 5 years will see a new cruise ship terminal, Hotels and apartments. Work has already started and when we drove down to the Saudi Border you could see the bill boards that surround the area go for ever.. I am sure Aqaba will more than double in size.
Anyway as we had been to Petra before we decided to do a full day tour with Via Jordan, another one of those companies that I would highly recommend. Ashraf was our guide for the day... A born Bedouin he gave up a day of taking a tour to his beloved Petra and instead took us around Aqaba.
Ashraf did a great job and always made it known that whatever we wanted he would try to fulfil. His father was a tour guide before him so it has been in his blood all his life. This was evident as it felt every time we turned a corner he knew and shook hands with someone.
We hopped in the van and were taken straight over to the Aqaba Fort area. Dotted throughout are these community gardens, handed down from generation to generation by the original inhabitants of Aqaba. Here farmers grow vegetables and take them up to the markets sell. Jordan has very little rainfall so irrigation is accomplished by digging down deep enough to reach one of the natural springs.
After taking our photo’s of the fort, passing these gardens we walked down to the water where the fishing boats come and go. A small boat had just come in so Ashraf was straight down there and chatted to the gentlemen and soon they were showing us their haul. Fish from the red sea seem to sparkle in colour and from what we have been told taste really good too.
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