Sailing the eastern Mediterranean is a voyage of contrasts rich in ornate temples, opulent palace ruins and sacred legends celebrating ancient deities. Broken statues commemorating mythological might and cracked Ionic columns dot desolate ruins across isolated and forgotten islands.

To the south, enshrined in formidable Ottoman walls stands Jerusalem, Western Civilization’s contemporary crossroads of faith, where Muezzin calls to prayer reverberate off foot-polished limestone streets, intermingle with church bells and dissipate into the din of rumbling buses, bustling pedestrians, and rasping scooter engines. Despite extensive security measures with walls, wires, and fences to divide inhabitants, the irony of a shared sense of reverence for humanity’s most profound and timeless mysteries is not lost.

Further south in Jordan’s Dead Sea basin are Petra’s etched ruins and religious relics, which serve as stark reminders that theological beliefs and even the richest human habitations are transitory, a permanence limited to the integrity of stone against wind, water, and time. Here visitors gather in the cool predawn hours, waiting in anticipation for the first rays of dawn to radiate across ancient rose-pink sandstone set against a cerulean morning sky. It’s a collective sense of awe and wonder likely shared by former Nebataean inhabitants thousands of years ago.