many of the well-known cities and
sites; Nazareth, Galilee, the Dead
Sea, and the Negev desert. Jerusalem
with one million inhabitants was a lot
bigger than I’d expected. The desert
home of Israel´s first prime minister,
Daniel Ben Gurion, was also a must.
Whenever possible I used Abraha-
ms Hostels, a great place to stay and
meet people, although my presence
there increased the average age con-
siderably!
The bike received a service and
new rear tyre before continuing my
journey south to Aqaba in Jordan.
From Aqaba, a ferry ride across
The Red Sea to Nuweiba in Egypt,
where I would face the biggest chal-
lenge of the entire trip.
Clearing immigration, I was re-
quested to present the Carnet for the
bike, only to be told that I needed
confirmation from the Automobile
Club of Egypt that it was authentic!
No amount of persuasion and ex-
plaining could change their mind.
The whole episode took place in the
middle of the night, with morning
I had to take a bus across the Sinai
Peninsula to Cairo to obtain the letter.
Until I returned, the X-Country was
impounded.
Three days later I was back in
Nuweiba, letter in hand. A few hours
TRAVERSE 40
with customs and several Egyptian
Pounds later, I was free to leave.
Despite everything, I have to say
that the customs officers were very
helpful and supportive. The night I
arrived, I was offered a row of plastic
chairs to sleep on in one of the offic-
es, and later invited to share breakfast
with five or six customs people.
Crossing the Sinai Peninsular I
took the road past the famous Saint
Catherine´s Monastery at the foot
of Mount Sinai. Stopped at many
roadblocks and made to empty the
entire contents of my panniers in the
searing heat, I was also taken in for
questioning for almost an hour by