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| Port of Call - Suez Canal and Port Said |
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| Passengers take in the sights of Suez |
Reaching the mouth of the Suez Canal around 11pm
on September the 27th, Peace Boat anchored with a bevy of other cargo
ships and liners awaiting the early morning go-ahead. On deck the
night was clear, the lights of Port Suez shining between the bulk
of the surrounding ships, while in the reception areas beneath, Egyptian
souvenir sellers haggled with insomniac passengers. Early risers joined
those that stayed up all night to witness our entrance into the historic
canal and the sedate pace of the fifteen ship convoy gave passengers
plenty of time to take in the views of yellow sand dunes broken by
the occasional glimpse of towns and date palms heavy with fruit. Completed
in 1869, the Suez Canal created a trade channel between East and West
and is bordered by the Arabian and Sinai deserts. A cool breeze across
the green waters belied the strength of the sun but on the sheltered
rear deck many jumped into the pool to cool off after the deck lunch.
Later, as Peace Boat approached the Mediterranean, passengers thronged
to the deck to watch the sunset over the minarets of Port Said. |
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| Sunset over buildings in Port Said |
Most of the tours in Egypt gave passengers the chance
to tour the famous sights of Cairo. However, not all the programmes
focused on sightseeing. In Port Said, a group of participants visited
a Coptic Christian community consisting of a church, orphanage, houses
and facilities for the handicapped residents. After a welcome speech
in the church, the adults and young children of the community took
passengers on a tour around the compound, with small groups breaking
off the play games and chat with the residents. In present-day Egypt,
Christians form about twenty percent of the population, with the majority
of the population following the Islamic faith. Due to a history of
conversion to different faiths over the centuries, however, there
is a strong culture of tolerance and the area does not suffer from
the religious and territorial conflicts afflicting other parts of
the region. |
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| GET teacher Toby and IS Rishi try their hand
at camel-riding |
Passengers who travelled to the capital got to experience
Islamic Cairo such as the crenellated walls of the citadel, domes
of the Turkish-style Mosque of Mohammed Ali and maze of Khan-al-Khalili
market. Others contented themselves with boat trips down the river
Nile before getting down to some serious bargaining in the bazaars.
The Egyptian museum featuring Tutankhamun's treasures amongst other
ancient relics and statuary proved popular for first-time visitors
and of course the pyramids and Sphinx were not to be missed! Passengers
tried to imagine the pyramids as they would have been in the time
of the pharoahs, with gleaming white limestone offsetting the hieroglyphs
carved into the massive faces. As well as providing inside information
on tourist spots, the guides introduced Egyptian history and contemporary
culture, giving a commentary on the lives of every-day people as we
passed through the poorer areas of the city. Passengers returning
to Peace Boat compared souvenirs and prices, heads filled with memories
of the pyramids and images of hazy smog hanging low over the buildings
of Cairo, Africa's biggest city. |
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| Peace Boat's
39th Voyage index |
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PEACE BOAT is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. |
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