Moale (DD 693) - Naval Cruise Book

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ADEN Situated on the southern coast of Saudi Arabia lies the port of Aden. The port lies rimmed with jagged hills seared brown and dry by the hot sun Here dark skinned Arabs and negroes ply their wares of carvings and gaudy rugs from bumboats along- side. On the beaches stand fvelf x ff' fl xrfvlli I 1 5 ll ll if l'. ,l' 'n'i'lL -fx E5 ff -Zz S .lx -FY , N x lla ,, 4 A4 B V '75- ! W' ,io 6 iv? I numerous gasoline and oil storage tanks symbolic of theimaior re- source of the country. The port is largely devoted to fueling trans- ient ships and ships of the British Navy. It was here that our group spent eight hours refueling in prep- aration forthe trip across the ln- dian Ocean to Ceylon. Though our stay was too short to permit general liberty ashore, this was more than compensated for by re- ceiving mail from home.

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SUEZ On arrival at Suez, Port Said, the city at the head of the canal, gleamed in the early morning sun. The shipping of the world lay in the harborawaiting entry into the canal, and, as we slowly passed the city itself, our transit of the Suez began. The canal stretched out a- head into the shimmering horizon as straight as an arrow. This was the fabled Suez Canal with vast stretches of sand extending to the horizon 'on one side and a fringe of vegetation to relieve the monotony of sand and sky on the other. The hot sun burned the skin and left the throat parched, the dry heat penetrated every nook and cranny of the ship, the fine air blown sand left everything gritty to the touch. Now and then we would pass an Arab dhow lying to with its triangular sails furled, or a single building or settlement left faded by the sun. The loneliness of the dessert was broken by an occasional train running on tracks that paralleled the length of the canal or by a British Army con- voy, that scurried past at a fast clip. Tension was in the air and the anti-British demonstrations of the preceding week left everyone with a sense of impending crises throughout the trip. Transit of the more than one-hundred-mile length ofthe canal took over half a day and it was not till very early next morning that the ship felt the lap of the Red Sea on its bow. S'

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COLOMBO Our first taste of the mysterious east came with our visit to Colombo, Ceylon. Here snake charmers and fakirs could be found in the streets and rickshaws drawn by thin and sometimes emaciated barefoot men werealmost as much a means of trans- portation as taxis. Among the babble of varied languages were the shrill cries of the gem 'merchants and the hawkers of lacework. Women with saris and Hindus with caste marks mingled with business men in western dress. The Buddhist temples were also a source of interest, and their 'strange- ly decorated facades were an invita- tion to the dimly lit interiors. In ac- cordance with custom, all visitors re- moved their shoes before going inside. Within the temples could be found statues of the great Buddha in many of his earthly formsp the odor of in- cense hung heavy in the air. Outside of Colombo proper lay the Mount La- vinia hotel with its beautiful beach and softly waving palm trees. Some members of the crew weretfortunate enough to visit Kandy, a city further up the coast. Here could be seen the work elephants for which Ceylon is famous. All in all, Colombo was Q port unique and unforgetable in many respects. '