Dispatch #4 from the far Eastern Med, dated June 25, before the current conflict escalated: Ended the the Mideast adventure a day ago and departed Port Said (Suez) Egypt bound for Crete. Trip so far - 15 ports, 10 overnight passages and 7 countries in 6 weeks...exhausting, strange, on the edge, mucho history and well worth it. The Eastern Med Yacht Rally was well organized and a terrific venue for visiting countries we could have never seen on our own. We traveled with an international cast of characters from 22 countries, very free spirits. Countless tours, visited a dozen Unesco World Heritage Sites. Endless cocktail parties, "anchor-down" happy hours and elaborate dinners. A leaky head, frayed fan belt, a discovered finger zinc in the water maker line, wet-vac gone bad (boat parts - Adam), two and half cases of TP (there are 4 women on board!), 4/5/6? cases of Efes beer (Turkish tall boy special! - oops! discovered they contain 9% alcohol...purchased in a Muslim country...go figure), 3 cans of Braun's special beer nuts (i.e. boat parts, Layne), every possible Mediterranean olive sampled, combined crew bruises - too many to count, one bum toe (Lorna)...from dancing - not tripping around the boat! Yep...long on fun and adventure, short on boat issues...what can I say...it's a Nordhavn :) Back to Israel for a sec...it is complicated and has taken awhile to wrap my head around it. For me, Israel was the "highlight" country of the many we visited. Best to leave your religious, cultural and political baggage at home - any militant preconceptions picked up during a lifetime of media exposure is bound catch you off balance. Most surprising is the effects this small country leaves you with long after you've left. In fact, I'm not so sure I can put it in words! Haifa, Israel - Serious Bible territory, Sea of Galilee with its lush scenery, looked surprisingly as I imagined when Jesus was there and, boy oh boy was he there, walking on water, multiplying loaves of bread, turning water into wine and, so on and so on. Right on the same spots we visited. I couldn't resist asking our Israeli tour guide what the Jewish people thought of Jesus...was he thought of as a "prophet", "disciple"? Especially after a full day's tour expounding on Jesus and the many miracles he performed. The response was rather slow in forthcoming...she said they thought "Jesus was a very smart man". Oh yes, Sea of Galilee is also the main source of Israel's water supply - water is always in short supply in the Mideast, very obvious in Syria, Lebanon, etc. but you would never know it in Israel as you encounter so very many crops and forests. Their irrigation system is remarkably efficient and effective. Switching gears - went to the Golan Heights, a chain of high peaks that rise to form a tense barrier between the fertile Jordan Valley and more arid plains of Syria, to the east, and occupied by Israel. The military presence was chilling. Nazareth - The childhood home of Jesus has given way to being more modern than I expected - certainly worth the visit. Seventy percent Muslim population. Jerusalem - Israel's capital, The Holy City, is bursting with architectural, historical and spiritual wonders drawing pilgrims for centuries. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all claim this city as one of their most holy. We were dizzy after visiting all the religious sites. Walked the Stations of the Cross to Calvary, saw the slab where He lay and the tomb He arose from. Wow! Dead Sea - Leaving Jerusalem, 800 meters above sea level and descending to minus 400 meters below sea level, the lowest point on earth, the Dead Sea lures with promises of health restoration and a relaxing float in the water, like sitting in a chair - it's pretty cool. Yep, had to buy the "anti-aging, anti-wrinkle lotion from the Dead Sea" just because... it's been working overtime, I might add. Masada - A desert mesa rising high above the Dead Sea with extraordinary panoramic views from which King Herod the Great built a massive mountaintop fortress and palace...he had great taste! The story of Masada is chilling...extremist Jewish Zealots made a desperate stand against the Romans 72-73 AD that ended in a mass suicide (close a 1,000 people) rather than surrender to the Romans. A short clip of the movie, 'Masada' filmed there some years ago with Peter O'Toole and Peter Strauss was featured before we toured the sight, very impressive. A couple more notes about Israel - The young state of Israel is thoroughly modern, progressive and so very environmentally conscious. We were amazed at how westernized and first world it is. Same rocks, same desert, same Med. sea as all its neighbors. Military service is compulsory. Upon completion of high school men (boys) serve three years women (girls) serve close to two years. Over lunch one afternoon in Jerusalem's old quarter, Braun & I spoke with the Israeli tour guide. She remarked that she along with each of her parents and three daughters have served in the military. She served during the Gulf War, and spoke of watching the Patriot missiles intercept the Scud missiles launched in her hometown of Haifa where several of the oil refineries are located...actually meters away from where our boat was tied up! I asked her how her children handled the war...to which she responded the children were frightened and it was troubling as a parent to send them off to school wearing a gas mask. Repeating the words she spoke at the beginning of our tour that day, "Welcome to Israel, the Holy Land, where Jews have longed to come home to their heaven/Eden on earth, however, it can also, be hell". Note - two out of four neighboring countries do not even recognize them...you will not find Israel on any Syrian or Lebanese map. When we entered other Arab counties after Israel we were cautioned not to mention that we had been to Israel and the savvy Israelis intentionally did not stamp our passports. Another highlight while in Israel: Crew from each boat should they choose, were invited to have dinner at a Haifa Yacht Club member's home. We had the wonderful pleasure of being guests at Amis and Esti's home on the upper west side of Mount Carmel in Haifa with remarkable views of the city and the wide open sea below. These people are complex and fascinating. They take every opportunity to thank Americans for their support. Where ever you see an Israeli flag flying, an American one is usually nearby. Okay...so moving onto Egypt, whoa what a difference!! We cleared out with the Israeli Navy and after a long overnight passage dodging countless poorly lit fishing boats we drew closer to Port Said and met a train of very large ships heading into the Suez Canal. The Rally organizers had for months been making arrangements for our group of pleasure yachts to enter the canal and berth at Port Said a few miles inside. We were on a very strict schedule as big ship traffic was limited to allow our entrance. The plan was that the EMYR boats would rendezvous at the basin just outside the entrance of the Suez at 5:30 am. Our boats had to be dressed with their signal flags (geez), national flag, single file procession, 25 meters between yachts with the larger boats at the end. We were near the last and quite ok with that. All was going on plan until a small sailboat's engine malfunctioned and needed a tow into the canal - the 'Pearl' came to their rescue, threw them a line started to enter but then we realized we were in trouble. Being a tow boat slowed our progress; we slipped way behind schedule - much to the irritation of the Egyptian authorities. However the Suez Pilot boats didn't get the word that we were a problem so they appeared with big banners welcoming us to Egypt, waving, taking photos, gyrating on their decks - party time!! All the while the authorities were blaring on the radio for us to hurry up and get the "H" out of the way that large ship traffic was bearing down on us. We just made it to the basin when a huge Iranian tanker roared by. We spent a several days in Cairo visiting of course, the Pyramids of Giza, Sphinx and Valley Temple, kinda, sorta enjoyed my first and only ride on a camel, the world famous Egyptian Museum that contains most of King Tut's treasures and then some, the wild Khan Kalili bazaar and a felucca (boat) trip down the Nile. Cairo is a sprawling, congested and chaotic city. Braun really enjoyed Cairo - his favorite of the trip (some tough competition Istanbul, Damascus, Palmyra, Beirut, Jerusalem) For me personally, and as a woman in a clearly male-dominated Muslim very third world-feeling country with way too many of them bearing arms - it just wore me down. So, I would try and find my zen when I returned to our lovely hotel room with a terrific view of the Pyramids, lay down on the bed to chill but HEY what's that arrow on the ceiling for??... Strange place for an exit sign?? No it's actually pointing towards Mecca so I know which way to bow when I pray. Although fascinating, I was ready to leave Egypt and when the Rally group departed for the final stop back to Israel, 'we' elected to make the long passage back to the good ole' European Union - Crete, Greece...and, BOY! Is it good to be back! The passage was wild and windy (40+ knots on the nose) but the end result was worth it. We're presently in a quaint and charming port in NE Crete, Ayios Nikolaos...yep, in search of quaint & charming and no veils from here on out! Our Grey Pearl female crew left today for Iraklion soon to be in flight for home. Their help and humor were greatly appreciated. So, now we have time to reflect on our journey and get back to the really important things like work on our tans and next big adventure...Croatia and The Dalmatian Coast. Tina & Captain Zorba Braun and Tina Jones Grey Pearl Nordhavn 62 Editor's note: Photos of Grey Pearl and her owners are posted at <http://radio.weblogs.com/0137829/2004/06/30.html>.