Last week's speaker: Graeme Isaacson - From UAE to Israel to Greece
Posted by Franz Huber
on Jun 05, 2016
OK, so I have used one of the most profound German proverbs before: "Wenn einer eine Reise tut, so kann er was erzählen" (When somebody has done a journey, he can tell a story). And so was it certainly with Graeme Isaacson (picture on left, still a little bit jetlagged...), freshly returned from a cruise starting in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), going on to Jordan, Israel and Greece. Wot?? Deliberately going near the hot spots of the Middle Eastern war zones? The UAE (yes, "crimes" such as alcohol consumption and pre-marital sex are punished by flogging) is just across the Strait of Hormuz from Iran, Syria is to the West of Iraq, Israel doesn't need further comment. And Greece... ok, not as physically dangerous. Only that the nation's debt problems have already become history there, whereas Australia's population is hoping it will go away all by itself, and their refugee crisis makes Australia's look like a Sunday afternoon walk in the park...But the ship Graeme and Anne selected is, according to Graeme, "on the standard of the Versace Hotel". Except that everything is included, from cocktails, 'vintage' wines and of course a cuisine which would be the equivalent of the Versace Hotel. And, in contrast to most cruises, with this one there were 2-day on-shore stays, so one could not just sight-see but also "experience" the localities.
From Dubai to Jordan where one could see the Ruins of Tetra, now under UNESCO Heritage, onwards towards Israel. Whether one is interested in religion or not, a visit to Jerusalem would have to be of major interest: the three primary 'Abrahamic' religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam are represented there (not necessarily living in peaceful harmony though...).
Then on to sailing the Suez Canal. Considering that Napoleon already considered building it (he didn't proceed because they were of the opinion that the sea levels on the Mediterranean side would be different to the Red Sea side), the concept only came to fruition 100 years after Napoleon's birthday, in 1869. That despite the fact that the British opposed it. From 1967 to 1975, whilst Egypt was at war with Israel, the canal was blocked by Egypt, leaving several ships stranded for the whole of 8 years.
Then on to Greece, where "not to pay tax" is a national tradition. So, the country has 23% of GST - more effective indeed!
What about security, in particular potential attacks by pirates? Well, the ship had 8 Commandos on board, "for the comfort of passengers"...