“You lose sight of things... and when you travel, everything balances out.” Daranna Gidel

Well, while I still have access to a computer, I want to sum up our experience in Egypt.


Egypt, You have a wonderful country, rich in glories of the past, monuments, and ancient history. Your mosques are geometric works of serene beauty and the pyramids are engineering masterpieces. The people are the heart of your body, the Nile River your soul, and your ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Persian, French, Turkish, and Arab past make you work in complete harmony.


Egypt and its wonderful people...

Alabaster craftsman

Shoeshine Man

Woman in Aswan

Man with umbrella

Man in charge of Felcucca

Barber giving haircuts. He's busy at 10:00 p.m.

Older Man on street

 Old Cairo-Khan El-Khalili   

Mosques & Market

Entrance to Bazaar

A touch of home

A local boutique Hotel

Yes, that's smog.

Ceiling of a Mosque

Mosque

The women of our tour group

After 12 busy days in Egypt, we were looking for a little rest and relaxation on Sunday, Jan. 16. It was also our 30th wedding anniversary. It started on a negative note at the breakfast buffet when no one would acknowledge us. I needed hot tea and my hubby, with a head cold, needed his black coffee before he started going into his caffeine withdrawals. Anywho...they could tell I was not happy when I had to finally seek the hostess for some service. Then, they practically stood by my side the entire breakfast.


The story gets better...we decided to go across the street to the Cairo Zoo.  The doorman helps people across the street because of the massive traffic! Now three descriptions about Cairo traffic...1. No rules,  2. Chaos, and 3. Horns are used liberally. As we were crossing, I came extremely close to getting hit by a car. When I say extremely close, I mean car screeching, the entire action seemed to be played out in slow motion...I'm thinking I'm about to get hit by a car and die in Cairo...how bizarre. Apparently, I made it but the doorman and my husband were both wide-eyed and stared at me in disbelief. I was the talk of the hotel because when we returned from the zoo, every employee kept asking Greg if his wife was all right.

Off to the zoo with only 8 of my cat lives left. Well, let's say if you're an animal at the San Diego Zoo you won the lottery, and not so good to be a zoo animal in a developing country. To earn extra money, zoo handlers let you pay a small"fee" to them to feed the animals from a long stick or even hold a (not so small any more) lion cub. You might lose an arm feeding a dangerous exotic animal but hey, you get a great story! We then got lost in the zoo because we couldn't read the Arabic signs, and most of the locals didn't speak much English.We finally made it out and back to the hotel.

It's ok, he never bites...

Our felucca anniversary dinner was cancelled due to weather and replaced with a dinner in a Lebanese restaurant. The dinner was kinda of a bust since we were seated right by the waiter's station and 3/4 of the menu contained 2 of the only 3 things in the world I won't eat...lamb and veal. The food was better than I expected but Rosa's chicken fajitas w/guacamole kept poppin' into my mind! Oh well, good news, I renewed Greg's marriage contract for another 30 years!


So long Egypt, you were glorious! Thank you for your hospitality!
Off to India...


Melissa  Jan. 17, 2011   11:20 pm

I have not told half of what I saw. Marco Polo's final words

More thoughts, pictures, and experiences in Egypt.


Highlights-The Pyramids, Cairo, Nile River, King Tut's Tomb, Abu Simbel, spice stall, Old Cairo-Khan El-Khalili. I've described the pyramids, the camel ride experience and the Cairo Museum, so let me give you a couple of sentences on the last three spots.


On Friday, Jan 14 we flew to Abu Simbel. Two temples built by Ramses II, Temple Ra-Harakhte and the Temple of Hathor, dedicated to his beloved wife Queen Nefertari. The temples were moved after the Aswan High Dam project began. During four years the entire site was cut into large blocks (averaging 20 tons), dismantled, and moved under the direction of UNESCO to a new location 213 feet higher. It was one of the greatest archaeological saves and engineering feats in history at a cost of $40 million in1968. After seeing the pyramids, several temples, and statues, this site made my jaw drop. It is simply a grand site.

Our Egyptologist took us to a spice stall in a local bazaar in Aswan. I kept thinking to myself, what the heck, I can get cumin at Albertsons. Every one else was really excited to go. I went because I didn't want to miss anything, so off we went. The entire spice stall was maybe 250 sq. feet on a generous day but I was completely enthralled! It was a full sensory overload.


The cities in Egypt come alive at night. They are a nocturnal people. Dinner is around 10:00 pm, most markets and cinemas stay open all night, and don't expect the city to awaken until "noonish". The bazaar was alive with the sounds, sights, smells, and hum of the city. FYI these bazaars are all outside. Commerce at its finest. The market had friendly arguments of haggling, children skipping, women shopping, children eating ice-cream, men getting haircuts, sewing, and teens looking for something to do. I so loved the sights, sounds, and smells of the markets. The daily lives of the Egyptians are just like you and me...living, loving, working, and playing. So, jump right in & enjoy the spice stall.

Ladies, add some of this to your man's coffee & thank me later...

The Spice King!

Melissa  Jan. 17   1:16 pm

 

"Egypt was the gift of the Nile" Herodotus-Greek historian

The Nile River is the reason why the mighty ancient Egyptians produced one of the most complex, prodigious, interesting, and prolific civilizations in the world. The river provided silt, farming, water, travel, and trade opportunities for over five millennia. It's still providing these very same things for the Egyptians today.


Quick Nile Facts

• The Nile River is the longest river in the world. It is about 6,650 km (4,130 miles) long. I'm not getting into the Amazon argument. The Nile is generally considered the longest river.
• The Nile flows from the mountains in the south to the Mediterranean in the north.
• Before the building of the Aswan Low & High Dams, the river flooded yearly bringing fertile soil to the farmers of ancient Egypt.

Before we left to the cruise we visited Giza (pyramids), Sakkaara (Step Pyramid), and Memphis (ancient capital). We flew from Cairo to Luxor/Thebes, which was the launching point for our cruise. We sailed on the Abercrombie & Kent Sun Boat IV.  After seeing the sights we sailed to Qena, Edfu, Kom Ombo, and then Aswan. We then flew on a chartered plane to Abul Simbel for the grand temple of Ramses II. We then flew straight from Abul Simbel back to Cairo.

Life on the river is beautiful. It almost seems unspoiled. Farming is still a large part of rural Egypt, farming like their ancestors with donkeys and canals. Except now, the farmer rides his donkey wearing his galabeyya (traditional outfit of Egypt) while talking on his cell phone. Gotta love juxtaposition of ancient and modern. Though pollution and litter are obvious problems of the Nile, especially in the large cities, further south it's beautiful and serene.

 Abercrombie & Kent Sun boat IV

I'll let the Nile do what it does best...look marvelous.

Nile-Cairo

Nile at sunset-Cairo

Nile at sunrise-Luxor

Sky reflected in the Nile water

Nile farmer/fisherman

Nile felucca-typical sailing boat

Hapi-Ancient God of the Nile

Soccer on the Nile

Typical Nile village

Temple of Philae

Sunset on the Nile


Melissa    Jan. 16  12:16 pm

Bizarre Bazaars

Time for me to check in once again. WiFi connection on the boat was weak and not very consistent. I also found very little spare time. We are kept very busy visiting one site after another with little down time other than to eat. So, here I’m typing at 11:30 pm after a long day of traveling and excursions. The internet in the hotels are expensive but I have found in Egypt the restrooms and internet are similar. The more you pay the better they are to use.

On Wednesday, January 12th we visited the Edfu after sailing down the Nile from Luxor.  We stopped at the Temple of Horus (the falcon god) built in 230 BC by Ptolemy III. 

Horus in falcon form

In the evening we visited a Greco-Roman temple dedicated to Haroeris (the sun god) and Sobek (the crocodile god). The temple built in the 3rd century BC, stands at the bend of the NIle where sacred crocodiles would bask in the sun on the Nile riverbank. Visiting ancient Egyptian temples at night is a wondrous experience. Seeing these ancient masterpieces of stone craftsmanship lit and glowing is spectacular.

 Sobek

Afterward we visited the shopping bazaar/souvenir stands. The Egyptian souvenir vendors are an experience all in themselves. Never have I been aggressively sought out as a customer. VERY serious bizznacks here! Plus, they are hagglers. It takes a bit getting used to, like running through a gauntlet of aggressive bees while covered in honey and pollen. I ask for a price, get a ridiculous price...refuse their offer & walk away....only to be followed and offered a better price and the bargaining dance starts all over. We finally settle on a price, with me probably still overpaying. 

Here’s a typical souvenir dance.

ME...(Look at a vendors stuff for a milli-second but continue to walk.)

VENDOR...Great bargain lady...$10 (for a tiny snow globe w/pyramid in it)You American? Welcome to Alaska...After while crocodile

ME...No thanks

VENDOR...Ok $8 for you, cause you have pretty eyes.

ME...My eyes are prettier than that...no thanks

VENDOR...but it’s glass snowglobe, no plastic..$6 dollars

ME...No thanks

VENDOR...What you pay? 

ME...No thanks

VENDOR...Ok $4 

ME...silence

VENDOR...Ok $2

ME...hands him $2 & take snow globe w/pyramid

VENDOR...shoukran (thank you) 

My husband has a different approach...he pays what they ask, and makes the vendor ecstatic and me bewildered. You can even negotiate in souvenir stores/snack/coffee stores in the airport.


Melissa  Jan.15  8:45 am

I hate computers...

My apologies for disappearing for three days but on Sunday, we departed Cairo by plane to Thebes/Luxor. When we landed, we were quickly dispersed to Karnak Temple, where I summoned up Johnny Carson's spirit. If you don't get that then you are younger than 40, and I don't have time to explain. After Karnak, we checked into the boat, the Sun Boat IV, and we were off again to Denderah to visit the wonderful Ptolemaic temple of Goddess Hathor. With internet a hit & miss, iphoto problems, hectic schedule, and belly dancing-(more on that later) it is difficult to find time to pontificate. So, here it goes...

Quick Fact...Karnak is an enormous open air complex and the largest ancient religious site in the world.

                                           
I call these my wicked angle shots of photography...learned from my daughter-Jenny!!

After Karnak we visited the temple of Hathor close to sunset, had it virtually to ourselves. It was a beautiful temple and I will let the pictures explain this place. But that seems to be a major problem because I can't get my iphoto to open-it keeps saying server rejected on my pictures!

On Tuesday, we started the day early with a trip to the funerary temple of Queen Hatshepsut (Hot-cheap-suit).  One of Egypt's true pharaoh queens to rule as a true pharaoh & not just Chief Wife. This Queen was one of the first to work hard to bring home the bacon (oops, I mean chicken, since I'm in a Muslim country) & fry it up in da pan, all while carrying her crook & flail.

We visited the Valley of the Queens...where we saw tombs of the Queens. Then, we proceeded to the Valley of the Kings. No photography was allowed, and all cameras had to stay on the bus. I have two pictures from a distance of the valley before we entered, and one of Howard Carter's house outside the valley. We explored the tomb of Seti I, The tomb of Tuthmosis III, two other tombs, and of course the boy-king-Tutankhamun. In all his royal boy glory. He looked pretty good for a 3,335 year old mummy.

Valley of the Kings

Howard Carter's House

Off to an alabaster workshop, then home again jiggety-jig.

Not really getting the connection of Father Christmas/Noel & Bob Marley but I'm not a marketing expert.

We ended the day with a night visit to the Temple of Luxor. It was lit up which set a glorious mood with a colonnade of Amenhotep III's 14 papyrus-headed columns, 50 feet in height & 32 feet in circumference. These guys know how to build a temple. All without the wheel or pulleys!

Melissa   Jan. 11   10:22

So sorry, computer problems. Can't seem to open my iphoto!