Tuesday, March 29, 2022 – Photo of the Day – Aqaba, Jordan

TUESDAY, 29 MARCH 2022 AQABA (PETRA), JORDAN Arrival: 8:00AM Overnight stay
TODAY’S WEATHER Partly Cloudy High: 89°F 32°C Low: 64°F 18°C
DRESS CODE: CASUAL
For Ladies: DRESSES OR BLOUSES AND PANTS
For Gentlemen: SPORT SHIRTS AND SLACKS
No shorts or flip flop type footwear after 6:00 PM in indoor venues

AQABA (PETRA), JORDAN – GATEWAY TO PETRA
Improbably carved into the rusty-red rock of the Jordanian desert the ancient city of Petra has been mesmerizing visitors since being rediscovered by Westerners in 1812. Siq Canyon provides a suitably grandiose welcome cutting a deep track through layers of fiery sandstone and building up the suspense before you first set eyes on the Lost City’s majesty.

An early start is best to explore this UNESCO World Heritage Site giving you chance to beat the crowds and avoid the brunt of the heat. The Treasury is perhaps Petra’s best-known structure having featured in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as the mystical hiding place of the Holy Grail.

Imprinted deep into the sheer sandstone it’s a dramatic spectacular achievement of human endeavor. Petra developed as the capital of The Nabataean Kingdom and the sophistication of the Rose Kingdom’s rock-hewn buildings is matched only by the elaborate and advanced water collection and transportation system that quenched its thirst and provided the means to thrive despite its remote location and the intense burn of the sun. Look out for the delicate water channels that lace the city as
you explore.

High above the city – up a daunting 800-step climb – stands the Monastery. The High Place of Sacrifice is an even tougher hike with only occasional electric-blue lizards scattering from your footsteps as you rise but the views of the remarkable city embossed into the mighty sandstone cliffs below will last a lifetime.
SHOPPING
Look for Bedouin rugs and tapestries created by local women. Brass and copperware are also popular. Small bottles of colored sand from Petra with intricate patterns make nice souvenirs. Ladies may want to get some of the Dead Sea beauty products.

SIGHTS
• Aqaba Archaeological Museum
• Aqaba Fortress
• Petra
• Wadi Rum Desert
• Sharif Hussein Bin Ali Mosquee
• Aqaba Aquarium

Today’s Schedule

GOOD MORNING
7:00 Fab Abs Class with Personal Trainer Nemanja Aerobics Room (10)
8:00 Silver Whisper is scheduled to dock in Aqaba, Jordan
8:30 Today’s Silver Quiz & Sudoku are available on request. Please ask at reception
9:00 Shuffleboard is available for your enjoyment throughout the day
10:00 The Library is open with a selection of books.
10:00 Board Games are available on request – please ask at reception Reception (5)
GOOD AFTERNOON
2:00 Cards & Board Games are available on request – please ask at reception
2:00 Bridge Play with your fellow Guests (unhosted) Conference Room (7)
4:00 Afternoon Teatime The Bar (5)
4:45 Team Trivia with Cruise Director Fernando and International Hostess for fun and prize points Panorama Lounge (8)
5:30 Golf Putting Challenge with The Voices of Silversea. Prize points to be won!
GOOD EVENING – DRESS CODE: CASUAL
6:30 Piano Vocalist Remon captivates you with beautiful music The Bar (5)
6:30 Cocktail Pianist Alex plays for your listening pleasure Panorama Lounge (8)
7:00 Solo Travellers – Get Together with fellow guests and Gentlemen Hosts David and Tom Panorama Lounge (8)
7:00 Join us at the pool deck for Cocktails and Live Music with The Whisper Trio
7:00 Dinner Under The Stars Pool Deck (8)
8:30 Cabaret: “Simply Divine” with The Voices of Silversea Pool Deck (8)
As the title suggests – a luscious, but a simple nod to some of the most ‘Simply Divine’ songs of all time
Followed by Dancing Night with DJ Gabor and the Voices of Silversea. Let’s dance the night away!
9:15 Classic Movie Night: “West Side Story” 1961 | NR | 1h51min | Musical/Romance The Show Lounge (6)
Director: Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise; Stars: Natalie Wood; Richard Beymer; Russ Tamblyn; Rita Moreno; George Chakiris
9:30 The Whisper Trio plays for your listening and dancing pleasure Panorama
9:30 Cocktail Pianist Alex and Piano Vocalist Remon play enchanting melodies for your listening and dancing pleasure The Bar

Today’s Excursion – Morning Wadi Rum Safari

We started our morning adventurously with a drive in the Wadi Rum desert which made for an exciting and memorable half-day excursion. Departing the port by coach a one-hour drive on the Desert Highway took us to Wadi Rum Visitors Centre. Here we switched to simple 4×4 open-air pickup trucks with two benches in the pickup bed. We were driven by local Bedouin drivers for the trip into the Wadi Rum desert.

Wadi Rum

As we entered the Wadi Rum region its captivating and mystical beauty astounded us. Black wind-sculpted hills stand like sentinels upon pale sands, interspersed with dramatic rock formations. We drove past the Wadi Rum Rest House and a small Bedouin community with its prized possession camels. Farther into the desert we spotted a few of the traditional black tents dotting the arid landscape.

This trip into the desert provided awesome and ever-changing vistas of multi-colored granite and limestone cliffs rising amid the vast expanse of sand. Parts of Wadi Rum resemble a lunar landscape, aptly called the ‘Valley of the Moon’.

Here the legend of Lawrence of Arabia was born. A rock formation known as The Seven Pillars of Wisdom was immortalized in the book and film about the legendary figure including several portraits of Lawrence carved into the stone in 1918. Aqaba was captured by Lawrence leading the Bedouins to attack from the Wadi Rum desert since all Aqaba’s cannon defenses faced the sea.

The Martian was also filmed in the Wadi Rum desert. It is easy to see how Hollywood transformed the landscape into the surface of Mars.

This Wadi Rum adventure concluded at a Bedouin tent in the desert where we enjoyed a cup of coffee or tea before heading back to Aqaba and the ship by coach.