We left Mumbai and its pall of pollution seemed to follow us for at least a day.  The skies were overcast and the visibility was so poor that there was no horizon.  The morning of the third day, I tapped the top of the alarm clock to silence it, rolled and pushed myself into a sitting position and then opened the lanai door. The sharp outlines of the low mountains around Muscat, Oman, were visible and the air was soft and pleasantly warm.  I captured the unique lighting effects of the early morning sun, taking pictures of the small port city of Muttruh, where we would dock.
 
Oman is a sultanate and His Majesty Qaboos Bin Said is considered to be benevolent, moderate and modern, in contrast to his father who limited visas by personally signing them.  In common with almost all potentates, he certainly has provided himself with luxuries, such as a walled off glistening white palace and a yacht about half the size of Serenity.  On the other hand, under his direction, the country has used its oil revenues to improve infrastructure including a modern port with a grain handling facility and a bank of cylindrical storage silos.  There is an excellent roadway leading south, past the Sultan’s palace to Muscat, which is the commercial center and national capitol.  There is a modern medical care facility that attracts international patients and, most importantly, an education system that is effective.  When we were here in 2008, he had just mandated that every schoolchild would have a lap top.  Some of the history and heritage have been preserved in restored forts scattered around the port, several small museums located in the city, small boat yards that still build wooden dhows and a classic Souk.
 
We had our usual pre-breakfast and then went to the dining room where we could watch the pax file down the gangway and board busses for a shore excursion.  We had a nap and then took the shuttle into Muttruh for a short visit to the Souk.  The main street follows the curving waterfront, which is a linear park after you leave the commercial port area and the adjacent fish market, so that no buildings block the view from the near water level roadway.  Almost all the buildings in the city, which occupies a narrow strip between the water and the mountains which surround the port, are one or two stories and white, probably stucco over clay tile.  There is a mosque with two minarets in the center of the arc, next door to the Souk.  The linear park continues east of the city to a large beach, just beyond the point where the highway enters the pass through the mountains.  A large monument, that looks like a giant white golf ball on a tee, is perched on a huge rock that divides the beach.
 
We wandered through the Souk and Nancy bought a couple of glasses cases with an elephant embroidered on the side and I looked at sextants for which they were asking four times the price I paid in Mumbai.  I took more photographs as Serenity left the harbor for an easy overnight cruise to the next port.
 
As the ship approached Bandar Abbas, Iran, the visibility was less than a mile in fog but it turned out to be mostly pollution.  The rock jetties guarding the narrow entrance were all oil stained black.  A large cargo ship was moored between a buoy and the seawall on the starboard side.  It was painted navy gray and carried a small caliber gun on its bow.  Serenity was moored to the seaward end of a wharf that stretched about half a mile to the end of the narrow channel that was apparently the commercial harbor.  A small Panamanian rust bucket was unloading cargo just in front of Serenity and half a dozen fishing boats were tied ahead of that.  A white ferry, with a rusting vehicle ramp in its squared off stubby bow, was tied to the transverse dock at the end.  It listed slightly to port, probably the result of uneven distribution of its cargo.  Another navy gray utility ship with, a helicopter hangar on its aft deck, was tied up on the opposite bank, next to a large metal sheathed blue-gray building.  I assume it may have some connection with the Iranian Navy, as Bandar Abbas is naval Headquarters.  Two relatively new oil terminals with freshly painted white petro piping flanked a gravel handling facility opposite our berth.  Three gravel barges were tied next to the pile of demolished structural steel that appeared to be the remains of a materials handling facility.  The truncated end of the square metal sheath hung in mid-air while the skeleton of the conveyor angled toward the ground.  Trucks made repeated trips from a stockpile to deposit gravel on the deck of one of the barges. 
 
There was an arm leading off the right side, just inside the breakwater and I could see the superstructure of several ships, including one with a pod mounted cannon that appeared to be about a 5 inch bore.  Beyond that there were three tall pylon mounted cargo handling cranes, typical of those used in ship yards, which indicated another harbor facility there.  In the late afternoon, a small submarine was towed out to sea by a tug.
 
Serenity’s gangway led from deck five to the wharf.  A line of old warehouse buildings lined the entire length of the wharf, excepting a gap opposite Serenity, where there was a yellow brick building that appeared to be the offices of customs and immigration.  A hundred cars, that appeared to be recently imported, were impounded inside a fenced area and two rows of used trucks were lined up behind one warehouse.  There were a dozen truck mounted cranes, all either new or well cared for, parked behind another warehouse and four stacks of used semi-trailer frames, 5 trailers in each stack, near the cranes.
 
This was Crystal’s first call in Iran and they offered interesting shore excursions.  The big attraction was a tour of the ancient Persian ruins at Persepolis and the nearby city of Shiraz.  Two hundred 200 people were taking a chartered flight early in the morning.  Most would return that evening while 21 would continue on to Tehran, rejoining ship in Kuwait, three days later.  There was an all day tour to the city of Isfahan with an option to continue on to Tehran, a half day tour of the city of Bandar Abbas, and another to see the island of Qeshm, a present day nature preserve and thought by some scholars to be the site of the Garden of Eden.
 
Although the vast majority of Iranian people would be friendly and welcoming, the country is ruled with a heavy hand by a group of religious extremists that has proven itself to be untrustworthy.  I did not want to risk some orchestrated or impromptu incident on a tour.  Nancy and I stayed aboard ship.
 
From the comments of our friends, we didn’t miss much on the local trips.  Two security men rode on each bus in addition to the driver and a guide.  The purpose of the guards seemed to be to keep the tourists under tight control.  Only the tour busses were available.  We were told that there were no taxis at the port gate and the one couple that told the guide that they wanted to take a taxi and do independent touring were told that they could not leave the group.  The 200 or so that took the flight to Persepolis were thrilled with the tour of the ruins but told tales of poor organization, conflicting instructions and unexplained delays.  The group that went to Tehran enjoyed the visit to the city but were not pleased with delays that resulted in arriving at the hotel at 11PM.  Furthermore they were told at the airport, departing for Kuwait, that they had no visas in their passports and the local immigration officials would not let them leave the country without the paperwork.  Fortunately, after an hour or so of intensive negotiation, the panjandrums relented and they were allowed to board an ancient Russian plane that was chartered to take the 21 of them to Kuwait.  They arrived at that hotel around 2AM. 
 
Certainly my decision to stay on ship proved to be overly cautious and I was pleased that there were no serious incidents with any of the passengers who went on shore excursions.
 
We enjoyed a pleasant day on a calm sea on the way to Kuwait.  The Gulf is fairly shallow, with few areas deeper than 30 meters.  The channel into Shuwaikh Port starts about 20 miles to sea and passes only a mile offshore from Kuwait City, so we had a picture-post-card view.  The harbor is compact, affording Capt Glenn barely enough room to turn the ship end-for-end and back into the finger pier dock.  As we left the cabin at 6:30, I noticed that there was no activity on the dock other than the half dozen men in orange overalls that manhandled the heavy hawsers over the mooring bollards.  Because our tour was scheduled to leave at 9AM, we opted to have breakfast in the Lido, and go to the gangway a few minutes early.  9AM and no busses!  I could see the shore excursion manager on the dock with a cell phone on his ear and soon there was a rumor that the busses were at the port entrance.  We boarded 45 minutes late.  The exterior of ours was rather inexpertly repainted but the interior was good, excepting the dirty windows.  We learned that Serenity was the first large cruise ship ever to visit the port, so they had a bit of an organization problem that we will excuse.  First stop was the Heritage Museum from which the Iraqi Army stole all the dioramas and displays.  The museum staff did a wonderful job of recreating the exhibits.  Then we drove half an hour along the Gulf coast road with views of the city on our right.  There were dozens of new low rise buildings, many of interesting design utilizing curving exteriors. 
 
We stopped at the roadside and were told it was a photo opportunity.  Other than the buildings, there wasn’t anything of interest to photograph.  We stayed there 20 minutes and drove halfway back, stopping at the Kuwait Towers.  One is a tapering spire about 80 meters tall.  We were told it was the “Electricity Tower” but the guide didn’t know why.  The second had a 10 meter diameter ball halfway up and was about 130 meters to the tip.  The third had a large ball containing a restaurant at 50 meters and a smaller spherical observation platform at 120 meters.  The top of the tapering spire was at 187 meters.  All three spires were poured reinforced concrete with the outline of the forms clearly visible underneath a coat of white paint.  The topmost sections were silver painted metal. The balls were covered with 6 inch diameter disks of various shades of blue and green.  We were deposited by the bus driver in front of the street level lobby.  When the elevator arrived, a uniformed operator got out ahead of about 20 passengers.  Nancy and I managed to get into the ride carrying the first of our group.  We walked around the observation deck, took some pictures, used the lavatory, went down, found a seat in the lobby and watched people.  A Kuwaiti man and woman entered.  He was dressed in flowing white robes with a headgear topped by a multi-color round rope, sort of like a large throwing quoit.  The woman wore a full length black dress with a black Abaya, a long rectangular scarf that enclosed her head but left her face fully exposed.  They stood, sort of in line with the others, waiting for the elevator.  When the operator saw the couple, he brushed back the horde of cruise passengers, motioned to the Kuaitis, and took them up alone in the elevator.  You can invent your own scenario.
 
Our last stop was the fish souk.  Whooppie!  It was a large light brown concrete building, about half the size of a football field, and had a colonnaded frontal exterior.  It was surprisingly clean and not fishy smelling.  In the central hall, where the 10 meter high ceiling was supported on regularly spaced round columns, dozens of vendors displayed artful arrangements of crab, shrimp, eel, octopus, squid and a wide variety of fish.  It was all packed in tons of ice, which accounted for the lack of smell, unlike a few of the fishmarkets we have visited.  The local favorite is Homour, which is typically about 5 kilo and 75 centimeters long.  Its off white skin is covered with quarter sized light brown spots.  Other vendors’ stalls, in the front vestibule and side wings, offered almost anything you might find in a supermarket. 
 
Kuwait has recovered remarkably from the devastation inflicted by the Iraqi Army in the 1990 invasion.  There are a few buildings that remain from that era, most of which are abandoned and fenced off.  The roads are in excellent condition and, excepting a film of sand dust, are remarkably free of trash.  About 20% of the population are Kuwaiti citizens and almost all of those that work, are employed by the government.  The rest comprise the immigrant workforce.  An immigrant visa, with working privileges, costs $700 U.S. and must be renewed annually.  A non-working family member must pay $300.  They receive free medical care and education for their children, who cannot be Kuwaiti citizens, even if born in the country.  There are no taxes.  So far, oil revenues cover everything.  Interestingly, there are no internet cafes.
 
What a difference between Kuwait and Bahrain.  Kuwait City seems concentrated.   Manama and adjacent Muharraq are essentially one city and spread out almost endlessly on the desert sand, much of it enhanced by man-made fill.  The government just completed a 3 mile long rock breakwater behind which they pumped a wide strip of sand.  At the end is a brand new commercial harbor that handles containers.  We didn’t see oil tankers in Kuwait but there were half a dozen big ones at the original port facility in Bahrain, three miles across the huge harbor.  The U.S. Navy has a large presence in Manama and uses the new facility for its ships and I expect that there is a U.S. Air Force base at the large commercial airport.
 
Serenity docked at the new port facility directly in front of a U.S. Navy fleet oiler.  Two armed patrol boats cruised back and forth, about 200 yards off the dock.  Our busses were waiting for us on the opposite side of the new terminal building, complete with airport style check-in counters and baggage handling conveyors (which we didn’t use, of course).  Our guide was a young twenties lady completely enveloped in a black dress and Abaya that framed her face.  She said she preferred to wear the traditional dress, emphasized the history of Bahrain noting that archaeologists have found evidence of settlements as far back as 8000BC.  She proudly pointed out the first public school ca. 1905 and that they had the first airport in the area in 1923.  Ancient Islamic text refers to the large island in 1345, it was conquered by the ubiquitous Portuguese in 1521 and by the Persians in 1602.  The Al-Khalifa dynasty has ruled since 1783.  The British had a strong presence until the country became independent in 1971.  Like Kuwait, only about 40% of the population are Bahrani citizens.  They receive all benefits tax free and many of those who are wage earners, work in high levels of government. 
 
First visit was the historic fort in Maharraq, a crumbling brown combination of local rock and mortar made from the brown desert sand.  Circular towers on each corner provided a higher firing location than the main walls, which were barely 10 meters high, and allowed fire to be directed against attackers at the side walls.  There wasn’t much left of the original interior as recent renovation had added concrete steps and level platforms at the battlements, to accommodate tourists.  Bolted steel doors closed off small rooms that might have been barracks or ammunition storage.  The original well, with a waist high square stone surrounding enclosure, still had water in it, 20 feet below a protective steel grating.  In the parking lot, a police band, dressed in cherry red full length tunics over white pants that were tucked into combat boots, marched to the accompaniment of several nasal sounding reed instruments and large drums.  Their formations were crisp and they looked sharp but we didn’t appreciate the music.
 
We drove past the international airport and stopped at Sheikh Isa Bin Ali house.  At one time it was probably the finest residence in town but age has taken its toll and the city has engulfed it with stores and other small buildings, although a beautiful small mosque was immediately next to it.  The blank stone and stucco exterior walls were extensively decorated with dentil and similar detail.  A single low door and passageway led to an interior courtyard from which several rooms could be accessed.  The main feature of the house was the wind tower that caught the faintest desert breeze.  The tower extended well above the roof line and was about 5 meters square with an opening immediately below the closed off top.  Crossed masonry panels were molded inside the tower to create four triangular ducts.  One or more carried the breeze down through the ceiling of what was probably the main living room.  It was remarkably effective.  The doors were all small, requiring almost everybody to duck to pass through.  The windows, fitted with interior wooden shutters behind heavy steel bars, were at floor level and only a couple of feet high.
 
The final stop was at a souk.  ‘Seen one souk, ‘seen ‘em all!
 
We enjoyed a quiet day while Serenity sailed south at an unusually slow 10 knots.  The alarm jangled at 6:15 and I opened the opaque drapes that keep the ship’s perimeter night lights from flooding the room.  The morning was obscured by dense fog, the surface of the sea was flat calm and Serenity was dead in the water.  Very unusual!  After breakfast, the captain announced over the ship’s P.A. system that that the port was closed because of the fog and we would have to wait for clearance to enter harbor at Abu Dhabi.
 
The city has grown, sometimes frenetically, from dusty unpaved streets in 1961to wide boulevards lined with steel, glass and concrete towers that unquestionably make it the prime jewel in the crown of the United Arab Emirates.  It sits on about 10% of the entire world’s known reserves of crude oil.  It isthe wealthiest city in the world where the national worth is estimated at $17mil for each citizen.  Our guide, born in Miami of Peruvian parents, attended University in Miami, met her Abu Dhabi born husband there, and has been married for 14 years.  After 12 years of marriage, having produced at least one son, she was eligible to become a citizen.  No taxes, all social benefits paid for and a wonderful environment in which to live, albeit a highly modified desert.  Wonderful if you are a citizen, maybe not so wonderful if you are one of the 80% who are the non-citizen underlying workforce.
 
Our first destination was the new Mosque, second largest in the world.  The delayed docking made it imperative that we visit there first because it would be closed to visitors at 11:30 in preparation for noon prayers.  To call it large, would be a severe injustice.  It is, at least, immense.  The primary building, all white Italian marble, is probably 400 feet long and 200 feet wide.  Three large white domes dominate the roofline.  The exterior walls, arranged in a rectangle, incorporate the main building on the west (facing Mecca) and create an interior courtyard that is about 400 feet square.  Round Minarets rise from the eastern corners, each probably 150 feet tall, with circular balconies, from which the Muezzin traditionally calls for prayer.  Sadly, no matter where you are in the world, all the minarets seem to be equipped with loudspeakers which broadcast taped messages.  The white marble perimeter walls are about 50 feet tall with columned arches along the floor level and three domes spaced along each exterior wall.  Did I mention that it is immense? 
 
At the corner of the parking lot, a man in a small kiosk issued black cover dresses to women who were wearing shorts or less than ankle length dresses.  Men were issued white gowns, if needed to cover their Bermudas.  We walked along the approach walkway, which was white marble (what else?), past the tomb of Zayed the First, who is revered by the faithful.  No photographs of the tomb were permitted.  At the entrance to the mosque, the women were issued black Abayas which they wrapped to cover all hair and expose only the face.
 
The lobby was about 100 feet square with a vaulted ceiling.  The two white marble side walls were decorated with a simple green and blue pattern that resembled a grape vine.  The columned arches, of the outside wall, were fitted with single pane glass panels while the interior wall had four doorways into the main hall, which they said could hold 40,000 worshippers (but I did the math and it doesn’t compute, so that must be the total capacity using additional areas, such as the courtyard).  The guide said the carpet, an olive green background with a repetitive pattern of white, blue, gold, and orange symbols, was woven in Iran by 1000 workers taking several years to complete.  It weighed 10 tons and was transported in pieces.  The original weavers were brought to Abu Dhabi to reassemble it.  It is stunning, to say the least.  A series of parallel raised pile strips are woven to define the position for worshipers to stand facing Mecca, for the initial position for prayer.  Gold chandeliers, with crystal elements reflecting and refracting white and colored light, hang from the apex of each of three marble domes.   Our guide said each one weighs 4 tons and cost $10mil.  There was a circle of support columns under the periphery of each dome.  Each column started as a quad of three foot diameter marble shafts 30 feet high, topped by a 20 foot diameter capital.  A brilliant white light flooded from the underside of each capital.   Marble arches, with extensive gold inlays, completed the structure to the domes.  Similar column systems supported the ceiling between the domes.  The side walls of the hall were white marble with gold inlay patterns above 20 foot high doors, windows or gold decorated purplish-brown carpet panels, all capped with Islamic arches.   On the center of the far wall, there was a six foot wide wooden stairway that terminated at a simple wooden platform, about 10 feet off the floor, from which the imam preaches.  At strategic locations within the hall and lobby, there were six foot, sort of octagonal, ornate gold panels with bright yellow lights displaying the current time, the Islamic year (which starts in the Christian year 622 AD) and other information in Arabic characters.  Our guide explained that there are five pillars to the faith: Shahadah is the acceptance of the Islamic faith; Salat is the commitment to pray five times daily, during which the supplicant assumes the three postures of prayer indicating complete submission to God; Zakat is giving of alms to the needy; Sawm is fasting during Ramadan; Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, performed at least once in a Muslim’s lifetime (there are alternatives for those who cannot do so). 
 
One interesting fact is that the mosque is located only about a quarter mile to the side of the approach path for the international airport, with aircraft only 300 feet or so above ground as they pass by.
 
The other three locations that were on the tour were closed by the time we arrived.  It is not uncommon in Muslim economies to close businesses to accommodate noon prayer.  They usually open later in the afternoon and continue into the evening.
 
At 5PM the world cruisers boarded busses for a 20 minute ride, which actually took an hour, to Yas Marina Circuit.  As part of the overall diversification plan for the economy, the Emir approved developing nearby land for recreational purposes.  One of the projects was to create a world class race track for Formula I cars.  These open wheel (no fenders) designs, are campaigned world-wide, typically achieving 220 mph on long straight-aways but often having to brake to 60 mph or less, to negotiate small radius tight turns, both to the left and to the right.  Courses are typically 3 to 5 miles long.
 
Our six busses arrived at the track and were escorted, at a sedate 30 mph, around the circuit.  We entered on the pit straight, which is flanked by parallel opposing grand stands, each of which can seat 20,000.  Pit lane is on the outside of the course with the pits immediately below the spectators.  The garages are enclosed under the grand stand with lounges for the drivers, beyond a service road.  An enclosed walkway connects the lounges to an adjacent hotel, certain to be rated 5-star, which can accommodate pit crews and owners.  Another U-shaped grandstand is halfway around at the sharpest turn, where the cars have to brake to 60 mph, and the final grandstand is at the end of the long straightaway, where speeds are the fastest, but the drivers typically slow only to 120 mph to negotiate the corner.  There are multiple intermediate s-curves that can be incorporated in the course by merely repositioning lightweight barriers.  The entire project, including a 10,000 sq ft media center and multiple service facilities for the fans is enclosed in a futuristic structure with swooping curves surfaced with reflecting panels to help control the desert heat.  Because of the heat, most of the activities will be held at night.  When we were there, and the only group there, the entire 3.5 mile track and all adjacent facilities were lighted as if in daylight.  The power bill must have been mindboggling. 
 
They are proud that they were able to complete the project in only 33 months, from the time the first bulldozer started moving the sand of a barren desert to the inaugural race in November 2009.  Oh yes, did I mention that Crystal did it again?  This was the first time any group had been to the track!  The inaugural race was a closed affair for owners, crews and drivers.  Only local officials and VIPs were in the stands.  The first “biggie” was scheduled for two weeks after our event.
 
There was one small, probably unavoidable, hitch.  Access to the partitioned off third level in the grandstand, normally reserved for the Emir and his chosen guests, was limited by two small elevators, so it took quite a while for all the busses to transfer their passengers.  All the canapés were gone by the time we exited the elevators and we barely had time to sit and find a glass of wine before the welcoming speeches were made, after which we all adjourned to the VIP grandstand and watched.  A pace car, painted in the sky blue and white colors of the Circuit, was positioned ahead of two red Porsche sedans on the starting grid.  When the race control lights turned green, they were off to make two high speed circuits of the track, stopping at the end of the third for us to witness two helmeted passengers, in racing driver’s coveralls, emerge from the right seats.  They were Rick and Stacy, the cruise director and WC hostess.  Next there was an ear deafening roar as a formula I car left the pits for two circuits, finally stopping below us to allow the hotel director to exit from a cramped seat behind the professional driver.  He had a boyish grin that won’t disappear for weeks.  The final act was a stunt driver in an open top vehicle that had a large cockpit.  He did the customary, tire squealing acceleration runs and sharp turns in the wide straight away below us, finishing with a dozen or so doughnuts with the protesting tires belching white smoke.  Then he stationed a couple of people on the tarmac and proceeded to perform smoking doughnut figure eights, with his inside front tire nearly motionless and less than a foot from the immobile standees.  In the final act, he stabilized the car in a doughnut, locked the controls and stepped on to the track, allowing the driverless car to complete two turns before he nonchalantly placed a foot on the equivalent of a running board, sat down and stopped the car.
 
Nancy thought the evening was nonsense.  I was euphoric!
 
Dubai was all but obscured by the early morning haze, a condition that persisted all day.   John Clark had organized a golf outing so 27 of us met in the Crystal Lobby at 11AM and followed the bellboys pushing the hand cart loaded with golf bags.  Two Costa Cruises ships occupied the premier berths so we were demoted to a large white tent that was fortunately only a hundred yards away.  The bus driver negotiated the traffic successfully but stalled the engine trying to make the final turn to the bag drop.  On the second try, he rolled over something that ruptured the tire with a bang and great whoosh of escaping air.  We played golf and he went to replace the tire.
 
We played Dubai Creek.  It was perfect testimony to what money and water can accomplish.  The fairways were lush, the greens were perfect and Stimped about 12, fairly fast. The landscaping was beautiful and, like Pebble Beach and Harbortown, there were both fresh and salt water hazards.  The clubhouse had flowing rooflines reminiscent of the Sydney Opera House and the staff was unobtrusive but exactly where they should be, when they should be.  We discovered the 19th hole bar and I ordered a Guinness on tap, which was $10.  We had a good time.
 
One interesting comparison between the cities we have visited around the gulf is the height of the buildings.  Bandar Abbas had buildings that were about four stories high.  Kuwait had buildings that were about 10 stores high.  Buildings in Bahrain were 30 stories high, 80 stories in Abu Dhabi and over a hundred in Dubai.  Of course there were exceptions, vis-à-vis the paired structures in Bahrain that had stacked windmill electrical generators between them; the trio of Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi each of which had a scimitar-like curving side; and the Burge Dubai needle that reaches 2500 feet above the desert sands on which it was built.  It was re-named the Burge Khalifa after the Emir of Abu Dhabi, who essentially bought it for $10Billion to rescue Dubai from imminent default on loans.  Interestingly, one of my friends told me of a conversation with the head waiter of a rooftop restaurant where he and his wife had dinner.  The waiter said the situation in Dubai was completely misrepresented by the media, which portrayed the Emirate as on the brink of bankruptcy.  The waiter said that the personal wealth of the Emir of Dubai was three times the amount reported to be involved and that the contribution from Abu Dhabi was made as an investment with full expectation of a suitable return thereon.  Of course, the story is hearsay and there is a difference between insolvency and bankruptcy.
 
At two minutes past 5PM, Serenity’s throaty fog horn sounded three blasts of about five seconds each and slowly gained momentum astern.  When she cleared the end of the dock, the bow swung toward the open sea.  Two hundred passengers had left and nearly the same number anticipated the voyage, through pirate infested waters to the Red Sea, and a transit of the Suez Canal on the way to Athens.
 
 
Duke and Nancy Harrison