Holy Lands & Arabian Routes

The airport for Puerto La Cruz in northeast on the Caribbean. Isla de Margarita is off the coast.

Dubai is the Arabian Peninsula’s most cosmopolitan city-and the second largest of the seven United Arab Emirates. Unlike other Gulf statess, Dubai’s thriving economy is fueled not by oil, but by trade, which may explain its laissez-faire attitude. And if you like to shop this is THE PLACE, especially if you’re in search of electronics, gold, antiques and carpets. The souks in Dubai and nearby Sharjah vary from tiny stalls to covered malls. Don’t forget to haggle-it’s expected. More pastimes in Dubai are a dhow excursion on the tidal creek which winds through the city, a game of golf on the only real grass links in the Emirates, a tour of Sharjah, an evening safari inot the desert for a barbeque and traditional dancing and a thrilling demonstration of theancient Arabic art of falconing.

Jerusalem, (je-r¡´se-lem) city (1991 est. pop. 535,000, including East Jerusalem), capital and largest city of Israel, on a high ridge W of the Dead Sea and the Jordan R. A holy city for Jews, Christians, and Muslims, Jerusalem is an administrative, cultural, and tourist center. Manufactures include cut and polished diamonds, plastics, and clothing. The eastern part of Jerusalem is the Old City; the New City, to the south and southwest, has been largely developed since the 19th cent. and is the site of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. Archaeology indicates that Jerusalem was already settled in the 4th millennium B.C. David captured it (c.1000 B.C.) from the Jebusites (Canaanites), and after Solomon built the Temple there (10th cent. B.C.), Jerusalem became the spiritual and political capital of the Hebrews. The city fell to many conquerors, e.g., Babylonia (586 B.C.) and Rome (63 B.C.), and it was the scene of Jesus’ last ministry. The Roman emperor Titus destroyed the rebuilt (Second) Temple (A.D. 70) to punish rebellious Jews. The Muslims, who believe that Muhammad ascended to heaven from the city, treated it well after they captured it in 637. It was conquered by the Crusaders in 1099 and was recaptured (1187) by the Muslims under Saladin. Jerusalem was the capital (1922-48) of the
British mandate of Palestine.

During the Arab-Israeli Wars, the city was divided (1949-67); the Old City became part of Jordan and the New City became the capital of Israel. In 1967 Israel captured the Old City and formally annexed it. Israel reaffirmed its annexation of the Old City in 1980, an action not accepted by many nations. The Old City contains many holy places of Christianity, e.g., the Church of the Holy Sepulcher; of Islam, e.g., the Dome of the Rock (688-91); and of Judaism, e.g., the Western (or Wailing) Wall (part of the Second Temple

Luxor was built on the site of the ancient city of Thebes, and the magnificent monumental architecture and its excellent condition make Luxor one of Egypt’s greatest tourist destinations. For many hundreds of years people have been visiting the temples of Luxor, Karnak, Hetsgepsut and Ramses II. The Nile has feluccas and old barges that shuffle between the luxury hotel ships of the Hilton and Sheraton that cruise between Cairo and Aswan. Luxor Temple was built by Pharaoh
Amenophis III on the site of another Thebian temple and added to by Tutankhamun, Ramses II, Nectanebo, Alexander the Great and various Romans. Excavation work has been underway since 1885. The Temples of Karnak are a series of monuments that were the main place of worship in Thebian times, and they can be divided into the Amun Temple
Enclosure, which is the largest; the Mut Temple Enclosure on the south side; and the Montu Temple Enclosure. The Amun and Montu enclosure were once connected by canals to the Nile providing passage for sacred boats during festivals. Luxor is accessible from Cairo by buses or trains which run every day.

Muscat (mùs´kàt´) or Maskat, city (1993 pop. 329,842), capital of Oman, SE Arabia, on the Gulf of Oman. It has a fine harbor, dominated by two 15th-16th-centtury Portuguese forts, and exports dates, fish, and mother-of-pearl. Portugal held it from 1508 to 1648, and Persian princes until 1741, when it became Oman’s capital.

Port Said lies on the northeastern coast of Egypt, on the Mediterranean Sea. Join fellow passengers on an overnight excursion to Cairo, where the treasures of Tutankhames await in the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. Continue your Egyptian adventure with an afternoon visit to the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx at Giza.