Maltese Knights of St John, echoes of Alamein, and the timeless profile of the Pyramids preface a passage through Suez. Avenues lined with sphinxes in Luxor, Petra's mysterious Siq that draws you to its Treasury, Yemeni desert drives and camel trails, souks fragrant with frankincense, all lead on to colonial grandeur and Viceroy legacies rising serenely above the frenzy of Mumbai.