twelve he hated that feeling. He decided that he would keep a journal of the trip and a separate journal of his conversations with Aziz. These journals would help him to stay focused on the trip with grown men that he didn’t know. Ja’hil at least told him where he was going, but he said little else.
In the distance he could still see the green land bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The desert in Egypt didn’t look any different from the desert in Libya. It was hot and dry, but Ja’hil had brought lots of water in the truck for them to drink. Time passed slowly and Amad began to write to Aziz, who assured Amad that his father wouldn’t let harm come to him. It was a very long drive. They stopped by the side of the road for a meal, to relieve themselves, and for a short night’s sleep. Amad was awakened after only a few hours, because Ja’hil wanted an early start to their journey because of the desert heat.
Other than watching the sun rise, Amad observed nothing but an empty road. Finally they saw other vehicles on the road which became more frequent as they approached the city of Alexandria. They bypassed the city and turned south after crossing the Nile River. Soon they were actually in a long line of traffic ready to enter the city of Cairo. “You will meet up with Mohamar soon,” Ja’hil said suddenly as they took a turn off the major road. Ja’hil stopped on the side of the road about thirty minutes later, leaving Amad to wonder why as they sat in silence. A few minutes later a vehicle approached them from the rear and parked behind them. Ja’hil told Amad to get out of the truck as he unloaded Amad’s bag. The driver got out of the other vehicle, nodded to Ja’hil and shook hands with him. “I am sure that you will have a safe journey,” Ja’hil said to Amad as he handed Amad’s bag to Mohamar. Ja’hil got back in the truck and pulled away leaving Amad standing in the road looking up at Mohamar. Mohamar put his hand on Amad’s shoulder and guided him toward his truck as he threw the bag in the back and opened the door for Amad, who climbed inside suddenly realizing that there were four other boys in the truck. He nodded at them and sat down closest to the window. Mohamar got back in the truck and began to drive.
They drove in silence for a while and then Amad decided that soon he would introduce himself to the other boys. They were probably going to the same place, and they were probably just as frightened of the unknown as he was. Mohamar told them that soon they were all going to board a merchant ship that would proceed south through the Suez Canal and then northeast through the Gulf of Aqaba into Jordan. This statement caused a flurry of excited conversation among the boys. They drove almost due east to the Suez River and then north to Port Said. When they saw many ships in front of them their excitement rose. They all silently wondered which ship was the one on which they would make their journey. Mohamar continued driving and veered off the main road and into a large parking lot near the water. He told the boys to get out of the truck and retrieve their bags as he threw them out of the back of the truck and onto the ground. “Get in line and stay in line behind me,” he said. “I don’t want to lose any of you.” He walked to a small building at the water’s edge. He opened the door, and spoke to a man at a desk inside the building. Then all of them were ushered outside through a door on the far side of the building. In front of them was a ship smeared with years of weathering but a deep blue paint peered at them from underneath. A ramp stretched downward touching the dock and creating a walkway for them. The man, that had been at the desk inside the building, waved them aboard the ship.
All of the boys were very excited about being on the ship. They ran up the ramp ahead of Mohamar and went to the nearest railing looking out into the water from the side of the ship. Amad spoke to the boy who stood next to him at the railing. “Hi — I’m Amad,” he introduced himself. The boy nodded and spoke —“I’m Abdullah, but call me Abby”. They stayed in that spot talking nonstop, until the ship blew it’s horn indicating that it was leaving port. The sudden loud sound caused the boys to jump, stop chattering, and start laughing. They felt the ship lurch as it began to move. It hadn’t gone far when it slowly came to a stop. They saw that the ship was now in a line of ships that were waiting for the convoy to proceed through the canal. Finally the ship began to move again, and they watched the building fade away behind them as other buildings appeared at the water’s edge and beyond. These got larger and larger as they got closer, and then smaller and smaller as they disappeared behind them. The sun was getting lower in the sky as evening approached.
Finally Mohamar suggested that they go down to their bunk room to get settled before the evening meal. To get to their quarters, they had to climb down many narrow steps. They dropped their bags on their chosen bunks, and went to the bathroom on that level to relieve themselves and to clean up for the meal. Soon they were ready and Mohamar took them to the galley to eat. They stood in line with the ship’s crew picking up a platter of food and then bringing it to one of the large tables in the room. Each of the boys ate enthusiastically after hours of driving and hours on the ship waiting for the convoy to guide them through the canal. After their meal Mohamar wanted them back in the bunk room. “You will have a long day on the ship tomorrow,” he told them. “Get a good night’s sleep!”
“During the night we will exit the canal and pass the town of Suez, then we will be in the Red Sea. By morning we will begin to travel north in the Gulf of Aqaba. We will pass Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt on our way to the town of Haql in Saudi Arabia where we will disembark the ship.”
Abby and Amad whispered to each other before they fell asleep, ignoring the other boys. Each of them felt comfort in the fact that they had become close friends in that instant when they introduced themselves at the ship railing. They both needed that!
Mohamar woke them early in the morning as he had suggested that he would. The boys took turns using the bathroom and then they all went to the galley together to have a small amount of food before they started their day. Mohamar explained, after they went upstairs to the deck, that the ship was still in the Gulf of Suez, but that they would be entering the Red Sea for a short time, and then the Gulf of Aqaba. Looking over the railing they noticed a housing settlement on the water’s edge with guard towers and jeeps patrolling the outskirts of the settlement. They saw a few small ferry boats crossing the water from one settlement to another on the other side of the Gulf of Suez. Suddenly the shoreline opened up in front of them as the Gulf of Suez flowed into the Red Sea. Mohamar explained that this was the Red Sea in front of them. Other ships were visible to them, and they could see the activity on the shore. Soon they felt the ship make a sharp turn. Mohamar had told them to expect this as they turned north into the Gulf of Aqaba where they would be passing the port of Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt and several hours later they would be arriving at their destination of Haql in Saudi Arabia. There they would be met by Qasim who would take them on a five hour road trip to the Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan. The boys were very excited to find out that they would be flying in an airplane, even though they did not know their destination at this time. They chattered among themselves as they watched the settlements along the shore as the ship sailed onward. Mohamar stayed with the boys, but occasionally he spoke with some of the crew members that he seemed to know deliberately whispering so the boys could not hear. There was so much enthusiasm for the trip that awaited them, that the boys did not notice or were not concerned.
On the left of the ship they saw what seemed like a large port that was growing in size as they approached it. Mohamar explained that this was the Port of Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt. This meant that Haql would be only a few hours away and that they would be off the ship before the sun set. There were large cranes on the docks that were used to remove cargo from merchant ships like the one they were on. As they passed by they saw that several ships were being unloaded. Amad thought that maybe their ship would turn around and unload at Sharm El-Sheikh after the boys had disembarked in Haql. As the port disappeared behind them, Mohamar suggested that they go down to the galley to have a meal which would probably be their last meal on the ship.
They had a meal together at one of the large tables in the galley. The boys nibbled at their food as they excitedly discussed the upcoming trip and the airplane. When they were finished and had a bathroom break, they went back up on deck to watch the final leg of their journey on the water. After another two hours, Mohamar told them to go down to the bunk room, quickly gather their belongings, and meet back on the deck so they would be prepared to leave the ship when the boat docked. Within fifteen minutes, the boys had arrived back on deck. This time they saw a city on the right side