WEEKLY LEAVE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Down the Hatch, Issue 8, 19 February 1944, Page 2

WEEKLY LEAVE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Those going on leave in the Middle East fall into two main divisions, on the one hand there are those keen on seeing things, and on the other those definitely out for a good time.

For the latter Cairo will hold many attractions. Firstly there is no long tiring journey to get there, and again hotels, bars and cabarets are all plentiful, and.eager to cater for the pleasure seeker. However Cairo has also much for the earnest sight-seer, of which mention was made in our last issue.

For lovers of bathing, Alexandria, with its popular Stanley Bay, has a great attraction, and once more there are plenty of bars and cabarets for those on pleasure bent.

Those who seek a quiet restful holiday could not do better than go to Assuit, 200 miles up the Nile from Cairo, where the American hospitality is well known and has been so favourably commented on by all New Zealanders who have visited there.

Luxor and Aswan still further up the Nile are best visited in the wintertime. Luxor is the site of the finest collection of antiauities in the world, and across the Nile at Thebes are the Valley of the Kings and Queens, where the ancient Pharoahs are buried. Aswan Dam is one of the largest in the world.

Suez, Port Said and Ismailia all on the Suez Canal offer limited attractions for either class of troops, but boating and swimming can be indulged in.

But no matter what class of leave men are seeking I would advise them to go at least once to Palestine. It is an opportunity that will not come again to most of us.

The journey across the Sinai Desert is a tiring one but well worth the trouble. For those seeking pleasure Tel Aviv is the mecca of their desires, with Haifa second on the list. Jerusalem offers little attraction for them. Those who have come to see the Holy Land cannot do better than to proceed at once to Jerusalem.

There it is well to go on one of the organised daily trips to such places as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dome of the Rock (site of Solomon’s Temple), The Wailing Wall of the Jews, Via Dolorosa, Solomon’s Quarries and the Garden of Gethsemane. Half-day trips

can be arranged to Bethlehem; or to Jericho, the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. A round trip well worth taking is from Jerusalem to Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, Tiberius, then to Haifa and to Mt. Carmel, to Tel Aviv and back to Jerusalem. Most New Zealanders are amazed at the commercialisation of the Holy Places. To see Palestine fully and take time over the trips one really requires a fortnight.