Reflections on the trip.
Marvelous trip. Trips, really. The combination of places we saw makes me feel as if we were on several different journeys. The only comparable experience was our trip to the Galapagos and to Peru, 8 or 9 years ago, which felt like two separate vacations. It's a nice way to travel, if you have the time.
And "marvelous" is really the word for it, too, because we saw marvels of many types. In Ghana, we saw the marvels of simplicity, and the ability of people to be joyous with what they have. We had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the work we've heard about from the Kipharts for many years and to appreciate exactly how their work had enriched their lives, while also enriching the lives of those they were helping through their work. While the work they are doing could be rewarding and commendable if it were done merely through writing checks, it is their deep personal involvement and obvious connection and true partnership with the people that makes it truly enriching.
Dubai showed the marvels of oil money, creating a glittering, modern city out of a desert. Spending a day there allowed us to see this firsthand.
Petra is certainly a magical place, by day as well as by night. And the Roman ruins of Jerash were also well worth visit. The brief visit to Mt. Nebo, imagining Moses being able to see, but not enter, the Promised Land, was emotional. And seeing the King, or more accurately, waiting with the crowd to see him, was great fun.
And Egypt showed us the marvels of history and civilization, made us appreciate how US history is a brief moment by comparison. The enormity of what they created and left behind is overwhelming, and humbling. Being in the area gave us a far greater appreciation of the political realities we read about daily in the papers. Squeezing in a day of diving in the Red Sea was a great treat. And cruising the Nile or sailing it briefly in a felucca was a wonderful experience. I think it's not possible to consider that you've traveled the world if you haven't seen Egypt.
We were fortunate to have excellent guides and accommodations (particularly Taybet Zaman in Petra and Al Moudira in Luxor and, I guess I'd have to add our ship, Alexander the Great). The logistics went remarkably well overall, with only very minor glitches. As always, it is the people--particularly those we met in Ghana--but also, Ossama in Aswan, Ahmed and his friends in Cairo, and our guides that make the trip particularly memorable.
I'd give the trip an "A," and rank it right up,with the best we've had. And that's high praise. Makes me appreciate the incredible privilege we've had in being able to travel as much as we have and how enlightening, broadening and humbling that experience has been.
October 25
Last day of the trip, and we opt for a rather late, 10:30, start so as to avoid a lot of dead time before our late night flight.
Kimo meets us at the hotel to check on plans for the day, then our guide, Henry, arrives. Henry is the third of ten children, three of whom are physicians, three engineers, three teachers and him. His five brothers all work in Kuwait, because of the money they can earn. We're very pleased with Henry, who is extremely knowledgeable and has a good sense of humor.
We visit the Gayer Anderson Museum, the home of a 19th century British Army officer and great collector of all sorts of things that fill his 17th century home. Worth seeing how he lived. From there we went to the 9th century Ibm Tulun Mosque, holiest sight in Egypt built by the leader who both ruled Egypt and was the religious head. Climbed the minaret for views of Cairo.
We strolled briefly through the Arab town of Cairo, from the Bab el-Futuh (North Gate) to the Bab Zuwaila (South Gate), lined with mosques and shops. From there we continued through the Khan el Khalili Bazaar, which was loaded with touristy things and the sort of market we've seen many times elsewhere.
We drove to the only functioning synagogue in Cairo, Shamayim, and, after passing fairly heavy security went through the building, home to some 200 congregants. Very sad to see what's become of a once large and vibrant Jewish community. Apparently, there's an even smaller congregation in Alexandria.
We move on to the fabulous Egyptian Museum, where the two and a half hours we spend is not nearly enough, but as much as we can absorb in a visit. Henry is a fount of information. Highlights of our visit include the Narmer Tablet, some 5000 years old, depicting the exploits of King Narmer, who unified Egypt, the mummy room, with mummies of some eight or ten kings, and the overwhelming collection from the tomb of that minor king, Tutankhamon. It boggles the mind to think of what might have been held in the tombs of more important kings, had they not been stolen and melted down by tomb robbers. The famous mask of Tut, his chair and two of his coffins are just a few of the fabulous treasures we see. We continue for a while to other parts of the museum, but are too tired to continue after about two and a half hours.
We return to our hotel, though, we checked out in the morning and hang out in the lobby, the bar and a restaurant, before being picked up at 8 for our 11:30 flight home. Heavy traffic, but we make it by about 9 and are shepherded expertly through the airpot maze by Kimo. We make it into one of the lounges, where I am writing this blog, which I'll post shortly.
Kimo meets us at the hotel to check on plans for the day, then our guide, Henry, arrives. Henry is the third of ten children, three of whom are physicians, three engineers, three teachers and him. His five brothers all work in Kuwait, because of the money they can earn. We're very pleased with Henry, who is extremely knowledgeable and has a good sense of humor.
We visit the Gayer Anderson Museum, the home of a 19th century British Army officer and great collector of all sorts of things that fill his 17th century home. Worth seeing how he lived. From there we went to the 9th century Ibm Tulun Mosque, holiest sight in Egypt built by the leader who both ruled Egypt and was the religious head. Climbed the minaret for views of Cairo.We strolled briefly through the Arab town of Cairo, from the Bab el-Futuh (North Gate) to the Bab Zuwaila (South Gate), lined with mosques and shops. From there we continued through the Khan el Khalili Bazaar, which was loaded with touristy things and the sort of market we've seen many times elsewhere.
We drove to the only functioning synagogue in Cairo, Shamayim, and, after passing fairly heavy security went through the building, home to some 200 congregants. Very sad to see what's become of a once large and vibrant Jewish community. Apparently, there's an even smaller congregation in Alexandria.
We move on to the fabulous Egyptian Museum, where the two and a half hours we spend is not nearly enough, but as much as we can absorb in a visit. Henry is a fount of information. Highlights of our visit include the Narmer Tablet, some 5000 years old, depicting the exploits of King Narmer, who unified Egypt, the mummy room, with mummies of some eight or ten kings, and the overwhelming collection from the tomb of that minor king, Tutankhamon. It boggles the mind to think of what might have been held in the tombs of more important kings, had they not been stolen and melted down by tomb robbers. The famous mask of Tut, his chair and two of his coffins are just a few of the fabulous treasures we see. We continue for a while to other parts of the museum, but are too tired to continue after about two and a half hours.
We return to our hotel, though, we checked out in the morning and hang out in the lobby, the bar and a restaurant, before being picked up at 8 for our 11:30 flight home. Heavy traffic, but we make it by about 9 and are shepherded expertly through the airpot maze by Kimo. We make it into one of the lounges, where I am writing this blog, which I'll post shortly.
October 24
Picked up at 7, after breakfast at the hotel. We head straight out to the pyramids, at Giza, about half an hour from the hotel. We need to get there early, as we are to get two of the 150 tickets available daily to go inside the big pyramid, Cheops.
Henry, who is a real expert on this stuff, about to publish a book on it, briefs us outside about the pyramids. The pyramid of Cheops contains over 2,300,000 limestone stones, weighing from several tons to nine tons each, quarried from the Giza area. The pyramid is larger than St. Peter's and St. Paul's combined, and took 10,000 men twenty years to complete. Most astounding, to me, was the statement that, from the time it was built, in 2600 BC, until the Eiffel Tower was built in the 19th century, or for some 4,400 years, the Great Pyramid of Cheops was the tallest structure in the world.
We walk a little ways up to the entrance, the, inside the pyramid, crouch very low and climb the narrow, sloping path up to the burial chamber. It's a bit challenging and gets warm and tight, especially squeezing past the other 148 coming down, all of whom appear to be Japanese. After we descend, we drive a short distance for views of all three Great Pyramids, including Chephren and Mykerinos. Another short drive takes us to the sphinx, half man and half lion, with faces of the incumbent king or of noblemen.
We visit the boat museum, where we see an absolutely fabulous wooden boat that was found not long ago, and which took 29 years to reconstruct. Made of cedars from Lebanon, it days to the time of Cheops. It is marvelously displayed, elevated high above the ground and surrounded by a walkway.
We stop at a cotton place, but do not buy anything, as there's fixed prices, and so no fun for Carol.
We lunch at Mena House, an Oberoi Hotel, at the Kahn el Khalili Restaurant, enjoying an excellent Indian meal in view of the pyramids. After lunch, we continue to the old Egyptian capital of Memphis, where the principal attractions are a great reclining and two standing statues of Ramses the Great (II) and an alabaster sphinx. We end our day at the step pyramid of Zoser (2700 BC), the oldest stone structure ever built.
Given our short night's sleep, we are happy to return to the room to rest. We have dinner at Al Azhar Park, which, though it affords lovely views of the lit Muhammed Ali Mosque, is very disappointing in both food and service. Return to the hotel, where I blog in the bar, and Carol reads in the room.
Cairo is something of a surprise to me. We'd heard of the horrific traffic and filth, and certainly that reputation is not made out of whole cloth. Traffic is very heavy and, as Kimo said to us, the lane markers appear to be "for decorations.". And, yes, Cairo is dirty. A canal we drove along was filled with garbage. People throw trash out of the windows of their vehicles. But I don't think that I would have made traffic and dirt the cornerstones of my description of Cairo. While there are certainly donkey drawn carriages along the roads, Cairo has a modern flavor to it that contrasts strikingly with the antiquity of the pyramids. And the Nile, particularly at night, is quite beautiful.
Henry, who is a real expert on this stuff, about to publish a book on it, briefs us outside about the pyramids. The pyramid of Cheops contains over 2,300,000 limestone stones, weighing from several tons to nine tons each, quarried from the Giza area. The pyramid is larger than St. Peter's and St. Paul's combined, and took 10,000 men twenty years to complete. Most astounding, to me, was the statement that, from the time it was built, in 2600 BC, until the Eiffel Tower was built in the 19th century, or for some 4,400 years, the Great Pyramid of Cheops was the tallest structure in the world.
We walk a little ways up to the entrance, the, inside the pyramid, crouch very low and climb the narrow, sloping path up to the burial chamber. It's a bit challenging and gets warm and tight, especially squeezing past the other 148 coming down, all of whom appear to be Japanese. After we descend, we drive a short distance for views of all three Great Pyramids, including Chephren and Mykerinos. Another short drive takes us to the sphinx, half man and half lion, with faces of the incumbent king or of noblemen.
We visit the boat museum, where we see an absolutely fabulous wooden boat that was found not long ago, and which took 29 years to reconstruct. Made of cedars from Lebanon, it days to the time of Cheops. It is marvelously displayed, elevated high above the ground and surrounded by a walkway.
We stop at a cotton place, but do not buy anything, as there's fixed prices, and so no fun for Carol.
We lunch at Mena House, an Oberoi Hotel, at the Kahn el Khalili Restaurant, enjoying an excellent Indian meal in view of the pyramids. After lunch, we continue to the old Egyptian capital of Memphis, where the principal attractions are a great reclining and two standing statues of Ramses the Great (II) and an alabaster sphinx. We end our day at the step pyramid of Zoser (2700 BC), the oldest stone structure ever built.
Given our short night's sleep, we are happy to return to the room to rest. We have dinner at Al Azhar Park, which, though it affords lovely views of the lit Muhammed Ali Mosque, is very disappointing in both food and service. Return to the hotel, where I blog in the bar, and Carol reads in the room.
Cairo is something of a surprise to me. We'd heard of the horrific traffic and filth, and certainly that reputation is not made out of whole cloth. Traffic is very heavy and, as Kimo said to us, the lane markers appear to be "for decorations.". And, yes, Cairo is dirty. A canal we drove along was filled with garbage. People throw trash out of the windows of their vehicles. But I don't think that I would have made traffic and dirt the cornerstones of my description of Cairo. While there are certainly donkey drawn carriages along the roads, Cairo has a modern flavor to it that contrasts strikingly with the antiquity of the pyramids. And the Nile, particularly at night, is quite beautiful.
October 23
Short flight from Sharm el Sheikh was on time. Met at the airport and driven to the Old City, where we meet our guide, Henry, an expert on the Coptic Religion, who lectures in the US and Canada. "Coptic" is a bastardization (my word, not Henry's) of the islamic words for the former Egyptian capital of Memphis and the Arabic name for Egypt itself. The art is characterized by a particular focus on the face, and on large eyes.
We visit the Hanging Church, built by Christians on the walls of a fortress abandoned by the Romans, and one of the oldest churches in Egypt. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by an earthquake and so much of it is rebuilt. Also visit the 10th century Abu Serge Church, reputedly above the spot where the Holy Family rested when fleeing King Herod. We stop at the Ben Ezra Synagogue, built on the site of a 4th century. Severely damaged by theArabs after the 1967 war with Israel, it has been renovated, but is no longer used as a synagogue.
We see the Coptic Museum, which is full of all kinds of religious and secular artifacts from the 300-1000 AD Christian era, and shows the influences of Pharaonic, Greco-Roman and Islamic art. Much of it is very impressive, including some wonderful old frescoes from the Jeremiah Monastery and old manuscripts. Some of the carved and painted wooden ceilings are fabulous. There are also textiles, pottery, metal work and more. This would have merited more time than we gave it.
From there we move on to the Citadel, a fortress on a cliff, built to defend against the crusaders. The Citadel contains the famous mosque of Muhammed Ali, the Albanian who came to lead Egypt (who were weary of Turkish rule) in the early 19th century and who established a dynasty that lasted through King Farouk in 1952.
Ali, like the rest os the Arab world, except Iran and Iraq, was Sunni. The Sunnis differ from the Shiites in that the former believe that Muhammed was the sole messenger of God, while the latter believe that it was Muhammed's son-in-law, Ali. This difference, like other such seemingly kin or differences, has led to much bloodshed in the world.
We're driven to our hotel, The Four Seasons Nile Plaza, which is quite spectacular, in the Four Seasons' tradition. They're we're met by our man, Muhammed (nickname Kimo), who checks us in, while we sit in the lobby. Our room on the 27th floor has a spectacular view of the Nile, which is much more beautiful than I'd anticipated.
We relax in the room and then I go down for the felucca ride on the Nile that we'd booked, Carol passing. It's chilly enough that I'm glad to have taken a jacket. What a refreshing difference from Aswan and Luxor.
We shower and relax, awaiting dinner with Dick Kiphart's friend, Ahmed Alfi. So far, the dirt and impossible traffic we've been told to expect in Cairo has not materialized. But we have two more days.
Ahmed booked dinner at Spice, the Chinese restaurant in our hotel. I'd expected that it would be the three of us, but, in fact, the were nine. Ahmed and his wife, a business associate of his, Frank, who lives in LA, and his wife, Mona. Both Ahmed and Frank were lavish in their praise of Dick and William Blair. Of the others, Sherif Waheed Rasfat was the most interesting. From a family of prominence, his father a well-known lawyer, who was imprisoned in the 50s, when Sherif was ten, (and later fled the country)he had been in various businesses, including running Kidder's London office, being the head of the stock exchange in Cairo, being involved in a high-end Eco-tourism business with an environmentalist partner and currently running half a dozen or so funds. He had strong and well- thought-out views of modern Egyptian history and economics, and was not reluctant to share them. Carol and the two other women were seated at the other end of the table, and held their own conversations. At our end discussions ran from iPads to business, politics and travel. Ahmed seems passionately interested in new ideas and is committed to helping develop entrepreneurs. The other two men were a business friend of Ahmeds who had traveled in South and East Africa, and attended Bradley University in Peoria and a fellow named Sammy, who was a friend of Frank's that Ahmed did not know. Ahmed was a very kind host and the dinner itself was excellent.
We did not finish until after midnight, which made for a short morning before our 6 AM wakeup call.
We visit the Hanging Church, built by Christians on the walls of a fortress abandoned by the Romans, and one of the oldest churches in Egypt. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by an earthquake and so much of it is rebuilt. Also visit the 10th century Abu Serge Church, reputedly above the spot where the Holy Family rested when fleeing King Herod. We stop at the Ben Ezra Synagogue, built on the site of a 4th century. Severely damaged by theArabs after the 1967 war with Israel, it has been renovated, but is no longer used as a synagogue.
We see the Coptic Museum, which is full of all kinds of religious and secular artifacts from the 300-1000 AD Christian era, and shows the influences of Pharaonic, Greco-Roman and Islamic art. Much of it is very impressive, including some wonderful old frescoes from the Jeremiah Monastery and old manuscripts. Some of the carved and painted wooden ceilings are fabulous. There are also textiles, pottery, metal work and more. This would have merited more time than we gave it.
From there we move on to the Citadel, a fortress on a cliff, built to defend against the crusaders. The Citadel contains the famous mosque of Muhammed Ali, the Albanian who came to lead Egypt (who were weary of Turkish rule) in the early 19th century and who established a dynasty that lasted through King Farouk in 1952.
Ali, like the rest os the Arab world, except Iran and Iraq, was Sunni. The Sunnis differ from the Shiites in that the former believe that Muhammed was the sole messenger of God, while the latter believe that it was Muhammed's son-in-law, Ali. This difference, like other such seemingly kin or differences, has led to much bloodshed in the world.
We're driven to our hotel, The Four Seasons Nile Plaza, which is quite spectacular, in the Four Seasons' tradition. They're we're met by our man, Muhammed (nickname Kimo), who checks us in, while we sit in the lobby. Our room on the 27th floor has a spectacular view of the Nile, which is much more beautiful than I'd anticipated.
We relax in the room and then I go down for the felucca ride on the Nile that we'd booked, Carol passing. It's chilly enough that I'm glad to have taken a jacket. What a refreshing difference from Aswan and Luxor.
We shower and relax, awaiting dinner with Dick Kiphart's friend, Ahmed Alfi. So far, the dirt and impossible traffic we've been told to expect in Cairo has not materialized. But we have two more days.
Ahmed booked dinner at Spice, the Chinese restaurant in our hotel. I'd expected that it would be the three of us, but, in fact, the were nine. Ahmed and his wife, a business associate of his, Frank, who lives in LA, and his wife, Mona. Both Ahmed and Frank were lavish in their praise of Dick and William Blair. Of the others, Sherif Waheed Rasfat was the most interesting. From a family of prominence, his father a well-known lawyer, who was imprisoned in the 50s, when Sherif was ten, (and later fled the country)he had been in various businesses, including running Kidder's London office, being the head of the stock exchange in Cairo, being involved in a high-end Eco-tourism business with an environmentalist partner and currently running half a dozen or so funds. He had strong and well- thought-out views of modern Egyptian history and economics, and was not reluctant to share them. Carol and the two other women were seated at the other end of the table, and held their own conversations. At our end discussions ran from iPads to business, politics and travel. Ahmed seems passionately interested in new ideas and is committed to helping develop entrepreneurs. The other two men were a business friend of Ahmeds who had traveled in South and East Africa, and attended Bradley University in Peoria and a fellow named Sammy, who was a friend of Frank's that Ahmed did not know. Ahmed was a very kind host and the dinner itself was excellent.
We did not finish until after midnight, which made for a short morning before our 6 AM wakeup call.
October 22
Up for breakfast, then down to the dive center. My dive master, Patrick, is German, and learned to dive in Grand Cayman, where his uncle, Martin, has managed the Grand Old House restaurant for twenty-five years. I told Patrick that we'd tell Uncle Martin that he'd said that we'd get special attention in December, if we mentioned his name.
Patrick proposes that we do our first dive off the shore at the hotel, but I nix that, telling him that, after 30 years of diving, I don't need a check-out dive. He inquires, and says that we can go out in a zodiac, but we'll have to share with some other people, though he and I will dive together, alone. This is fine with me and, after I'm outfitted with gear, we bounce over waves at high speed, our rubber boat propelled by two 200-horsepower motors.
Rolling backwards into the sea at wood house Reef, I find that the current and inadequate weight on my belt requires some adjustment, but within a few minutes, with Patrick's help, I'm fine. Our second dive, at Ras Nasrani, it's just me, Patrick and the boat driver. The first dive had a maximum depth of 68' for 52 minutes, the second, 84' for 55 minutes. Diving was terrific, the water clear and warm. The reefs of hard coral were vibrantly colorful and in great condition.
Among the creatures we saw (not divided by dive) were mushroom coral, red amenome (sp?), clownfish, checkerboard wrasse; crown, exquisite and threadfin butterfly fish; regal and yellow bar angelfish; peppered and giant morays; fluted and common clams (which were beautiful), lion fish,Red Sea bannerfish, common reef squids, varicose wart slug, pajama chromodroids (sp?), and Picasso triggerfish. In short, the experience lived up to expectations, and I wish I could have done a few more days of diving.
Came back to the room and lost two of three games of gin rummy, despite wearing the ring I'd been given by the monk at St. Catherine's. Disappointing. After a rest, we went down to the lovely pool area and lay on some lounges, an experience marred somewhat by loud children, egged on and uncontrolled by a grandfather in the pool. A great relief not to have to deal with the excessive heat we've encountered elsewhere in Egypt. Hope that Cairo will not be oppressively hot. Took the funicular up to the room and relaxed a bit before dinner.
Excellent Indian dinner outside by the pool, cool breeze and nearly full moon. Back to the room to prepare for tomorrow's departure to Cairo, our last stop, and something that's likely to be dramatically different from anything we've experienced on the trip.
Patrick proposes that we do our first dive off the shore at the hotel, but I nix that, telling him that, after 30 years of diving, I don't need a check-out dive. He inquires, and says that we can go out in a zodiac, but we'll have to share with some other people, though he and I will dive together, alone. This is fine with me and, after I'm outfitted with gear, we bounce over waves at high speed, our rubber boat propelled by two 200-horsepower motors.
Rolling backwards into the sea at wood house Reef, I find that the current and inadequate weight on my belt requires some adjustment, but within a few minutes, with Patrick's help, I'm fine. Our second dive, at Ras Nasrani, it's just me, Patrick and the boat driver. The first dive had a maximum depth of 68' for 52 minutes, the second, 84' for 55 minutes. Diving was terrific, the water clear and warm. The reefs of hard coral were vibrantly colorful and in great condition.
Among the creatures we saw (not divided by dive) were mushroom coral, red amenome (sp?), clownfish, checkerboard wrasse; crown, exquisite and threadfin butterfly fish; regal and yellow bar angelfish; peppered and giant morays; fluted and common clams (which were beautiful), lion fish,Red Sea bannerfish, common reef squids, varicose wart slug, pajama chromodroids (sp?), and Picasso triggerfish. In short, the experience lived up to expectations, and I wish I could have done a few more days of diving.
Came back to the room and lost two of three games of gin rummy, despite wearing the ring I'd been given by the monk at St. Catherine's. Disappointing. After a rest, we went down to the lovely pool area and lay on some lounges, an experience marred somewhat by loud children, egged on and uncontrolled by a grandfather in the pool. A great relief not to have to deal with the excessive heat we've encountered elsewhere in Egypt. Hope that Cairo will not be oppressively hot. Took the funicular up to the room and relaxed a bit before dinner.
Excellent Indian dinner outside by the pool, cool breeze and nearly full moon. Back to the room to prepare for tomorrow's departure to Cairo, our last stop, and something that's likely to be dramatically different from anything we've experienced on the trip.
October 21
A different sort of day. No Egyptian ruins with confusing names, symbols and dates. And no excessive heat, for the first time since we hit Egypt. Quite a relief, that.
After an early breakfast at the Four Seasons, we're picked up by Ahmed and our driver. We're surprised to have a third occupant of the car, a young, tall guy, dressed rather nattily in a mafioso-looking striped black suit and tie.
He's our personal security guard, occasioned by some attacks that took place in Sharm and nearby Nahab, seven and six years ago. As a result all American tourists are assigned a police guard with them.
We start our three and a half hour drive to St. Catherine's Monastery, through rugged sandstone and granite mountains set off by desert. A striking landscape.
After an hour and a half or so, we com me upon vehicles stopped by the side of the road, viewing and trying to help the occupants of what, judging from the look of the overturned crushed car, was a terrible accident. While the driver and two occupants are hurt, they appear, somewhat miraculously to have escaped what looked like am extremely grim site.
After a half hour delay, we proceed to the monastery, the site where Moses saw the burning bush, where he first saw Miriam at the well and where he returned from Sinai to see the golden calf that the people had built. Ahmed tells us these stories and the exodus story (in which he places Ramses II as pharaoh), referring to "prophets" Moses, Jacob and Joseph. Being at the places where these biblical events supposedly took place is oddly moving, and brings the stories to life, by putting you at the spot they occurred.
In the temple of St. Catherine, we find ourselves primarily among devout Russian worshipers and in the par of the sanctuary reserved for orthodox Christians (though, apparently, Reconstructionist Jews qualify, too. Waiting for the monk, the blessing, the incense and a gift of a small ring, I wish we were permitted to take photos, not because I want photos of the church and iconography, but because I would lo e to photograph the rapt, devoted faces and colorful scarves of the worshippers.
Out tour does not include the museum there, which is closed at noon anyway, but Ahmed gets us in and we see some marvelous sixth century paintings and very old bibles in Greek and Arabic, some of them illustrated, as well as other religious objects donated to the monastery over the centuries. The museum is a little gem and we are very happy to have seen it.
Afterwards, we relax with one of Ahmed's very close friends, also named Ahmed, a guide and a very funny, jovial fellow, together with four Aussies he is guiding, James and Maria, their son, Tim, and his girlfriend, Jess. Turns out that this Ahmed is a dive instructor, knows the people at The Four Seasons and offers to set up a private trip for me, which he does by making several phone calls.
Both Ahmeds have been married three times, our Ahmed engaged again to a Dutch woman, having already tried Italian, French and Norwegian. His father was a diplomat, so our Ahmed lived in various places, including Mexico and DC. He clearly had his wild days, but professes now, at 35, to want to have a family.
Both of our groups decide to drive on to Nahab to have lunch at a restaurant right on the sea. We do that, enjoying both an excellent lunch, some pleasant conversation and cool sea breezes. After lunch, we stop briefly for unsuccessful shopping, before driving back to the hotel arriving after 6 PM, a long but very enjoyable and scenic day.
After resting a bit and showering, we go down to the Observatory Bar for a drink and light dinner before retiring.
After an early breakfast at the Four Seasons, we're picked up by Ahmed and our driver. We're surprised to have a third occupant of the car, a young, tall guy, dressed rather nattily in a mafioso-looking striped black suit and tie.
He's our personal security guard, occasioned by some attacks that took place in Sharm and nearby Nahab, seven and six years ago. As a result all American tourists are assigned a police guard with them.
We start our three and a half hour drive to St. Catherine's Monastery, through rugged sandstone and granite mountains set off by desert. A striking landscape.
After an hour and a half or so, we com me upon vehicles stopped by the side of the road, viewing and trying to help the occupants of what, judging from the look of the overturned crushed car, was a terrible accident. While the driver and two occupants are hurt, they appear, somewhat miraculously to have escaped what looked like am extremely grim site.
After a half hour delay, we proceed to the monastery, the site where Moses saw the burning bush, where he first saw Miriam at the well and where he returned from Sinai to see the golden calf that the people had built. Ahmed tells us these stories and the exodus story (in which he places Ramses II as pharaoh), referring to "prophets" Moses, Jacob and Joseph. Being at the places where these biblical events supposedly took place is oddly moving, and brings the stories to life, by putting you at the spot they occurred.
In the temple of St. Catherine, we find ourselves primarily among devout Russian worshipers and in the par of the sanctuary reserved for orthodox Christians (though, apparently, Reconstructionist Jews qualify, too. Waiting for the monk, the blessing, the incense and a gift of a small ring, I wish we were permitted to take photos, not because I want photos of the church and iconography, but because I would lo e to photograph the rapt, devoted faces and colorful scarves of the worshippers.
Out tour does not include the museum there, which is closed at noon anyway, but Ahmed gets us in and we see some marvelous sixth century paintings and very old bibles in Greek and Arabic, some of them illustrated, as well as other religious objects donated to the monastery over the centuries. The museum is a little gem and we are very happy to have seen it.
Afterwards, we relax with one of Ahmed's very close friends, also named Ahmed, a guide and a very funny, jovial fellow, together with four Aussies he is guiding, James and Maria, their son, Tim, and his girlfriend, Jess. Turns out that this Ahmed is a dive instructor, knows the people at The Four Seasons and offers to set up a private trip for me, which he does by making several phone calls.
Both Ahmeds have been married three times, our Ahmed engaged again to a Dutch woman, having already tried Italian, French and Norwegian. His father was a diplomat, so our Ahmed lived in various places, including Mexico and DC. He clearly had his wild days, but professes now, at 35, to want to have a family.
Both of our groups decide to drive on to Nahab to have lunch at a restaurant right on the sea. We do that, enjoying both an excellent lunch, some pleasant conversation and cool sea breezes. After lunch, we stop briefly for unsuccessful shopping, before driving back to the hotel arriving after 6 PM, a long but very enjoyable and scenic day.
After resting a bit and showering, we go down to the Observatory Bar for a drink and light dinner before retiring.
October 20
Very good and different day today. The places we saw were less spectacular (though still pretty terrific), but much more accessible because there were virtually no crowds.
Picked up at Al Moudira after breakfast by our guide, Katrin, a diminutive and very cute young lady, with English that is clearly a cut above what we've had with our other Egyptian guides (though their English was quite good, too). When we asked Katrin about it she attributed a good deal of her English to her devotion to TV, in particular to "Friends," her favorite. Clearly, we had a bond.
Our first stop was the temple of Ramses III, at Medinat Habu, with it's excellent hieroglyphs and the adjacent remains of his palace. Though not as spectacular as Karnak, the lack of crowds makes exploration enjoyable, and Katrin is able to explain at a leisurely pace.
In the car, we ask what Katrin's favorite places are, and she says that she loves the village of workers. At our request, she calls and adds it to our schedule. We are able to see the remains of the houses that the workers on the temples lived in. These people were employees, not slaves, and many of hem were artists. In fact, they gave Ramses III considerable trouble, organizing to form the first strike, when they were not treated well. We go into the steep tombs of two of the workers, which have strikingly bright colored decorations. After that, we walk out to the interesting small temple. This stop was well worth making (and adding $40) in cost for.
We stop for a cold Coke, necessary because of the continuing heat, en route to visit the mortuary temple of Ramses II, the Ramasseum, perhaps the most stunning feature is the broken monumental statue of Ramses II, which would have been 25 meters tall, and which inspired Shelley's My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look upon my work, ye Mighty, and despair!"
We go to visit the Tombs of the Nobles, where wealthy men were buried and, in particular, the tomb of Ramose an assistant to Achnatum, whose unfinished tomb affords a ready glimpse into how the tombs were constructed. Katrin takes us through all the steps and points out many of the features and details of the carvings and paintings.
The West side of the river seems to be a farming area. We pass through rather dirty village areas, though not dirty like India. Donkey drawn carts carry food for animals and some produce.
By now we are withering again from the 107-degree heat and happy to return to Al Moudira for lunch, shower and rest. By 4:30, we have recuperated enough to prepare for our pick up by Tony and travel to the East Bank, where we are met at the Luxor Museum by Katrin.
The Luxor museum is small, modern and terrific, containing some fabulous pieces that have not been sent to the Cairo museum. Among them is a hall of some twenty-nine statues in excellent repair found buried at Luxor Temple in the late 1980's, and displayed together. Katrin, in a bright, pink Mickey and Minnie Mouse t-shirt shows us around and is not at all bashful about pointing out her favorites. She loves the off-beat people like Hatsheput and Achnatum (need to go back to check some spelling). We have only about an hour and a quarter, and would happily have spent twice that amount of time.
We say good-bye to Katrin, who has been a wonderful guide, and drive on with Tony to make a quick visit to the grand Winter Palace Hotel that had one belonged to King Farouk. While the common areas and garden are very lovely, we're not at all sorry to have stayed at the Al Moudira, instead. We go to the restaurant Tony has recommended, but leave quickly, because the air conditioning has not bee turned on. Instead, we wind up at the Hussein Restaurant near Karnak Temple where we both have a really quite excellent meal.
On the way to and from our restaurants, we drive through parts of Luxor that seem to be alive at night. We really have not gotten a sense of either Aswan or Luxor as cities, because it's been far too hot to even consider exploring them. On the way to the airport, Tony tells us that his second daughter, Holly was born only eight days ago (which nets him an extra tip).
We've cleared all the Luxor Airport hurdles and are awaiting our flight to Sharm, which should board in fifteen minutes. Forty-five minute flight is uneventful, and we are met at the airport by our man in Sharm, Ahmed. We check in to our upgraded sea view room at The Four Seasons, which appears to be as spectacular as everyone has told us it is.
Picked up at Al Moudira after breakfast by our guide, Katrin, a diminutive and very cute young lady, with English that is clearly a cut above what we've had with our other Egyptian guides (though their English was quite good, too). When we asked Katrin about it she attributed a good deal of her English to her devotion to TV, in particular to "Friends," her favorite. Clearly, we had a bond.
Our first stop was the temple of Ramses III, at Medinat Habu, with it's excellent hieroglyphs and the adjacent remains of his palace. Though not as spectacular as Karnak, the lack of crowds makes exploration enjoyable, and Katrin is able to explain at a leisurely pace.
In the car, we ask what Katrin's favorite places are, and she says that she loves the village of workers. At our request, she calls and adds it to our schedule. We are able to see the remains of the houses that the workers on the temples lived in. These people were employees, not slaves, and many of hem were artists. In fact, they gave Ramses III considerable trouble, organizing to form the first strike, when they were not treated well. We go into the steep tombs of two of the workers, which have strikingly bright colored decorations. After that, we walk out to the interesting small temple. This stop was well worth making (and adding $40) in cost for.
We stop for a cold Coke, necessary because of the continuing heat, en route to visit the mortuary temple of Ramses II, the Ramasseum, perhaps the most stunning feature is the broken monumental statue of Ramses II, which would have been 25 meters tall, and which inspired Shelley's My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look upon my work, ye Mighty, and despair!"
We go to visit the Tombs of the Nobles, where wealthy men were buried and, in particular, the tomb of Ramose an assistant to Achnatum, whose unfinished tomb affords a ready glimpse into how the tombs were constructed. Katrin takes us through all the steps and points out many of the features and details of the carvings and paintings.
The West side of the river seems to be a farming area. We pass through rather dirty village areas, though not dirty like India. Donkey drawn carts carry food for animals and some produce.
By now we are withering again from the 107-degree heat and happy to return to Al Moudira for lunch, shower and rest. By 4:30, we have recuperated enough to prepare for our pick up by Tony and travel to the East Bank, where we are met at the Luxor Museum by Katrin.
The Luxor museum is small, modern and terrific, containing some fabulous pieces that have not been sent to the Cairo museum. Among them is a hall of some twenty-nine statues in excellent repair found buried at Luxor Temple in the late 1980's, and displayed together. Katrin, in a bright, pink Mickey and Minnie Mouse t-shirt shows us around and is not at all bashful about pointing out her favorites. She loves the off-beat people like Hatsheput and Achnatum (need to go back to check some spelling). We have only about an hour and a quarter, and would happily have spent twice that amount of time.
We say good-bye to Katrin, who has been a wonderful guide, and drive on with Tony to make a quick visit to the grand Winter Palace Hotel that had one belonged to King Farouk. While the common areas and garden are very lovely, we're not at all sorry to have stayed at the Al Moudira, instead. We go to the restaurant Tony has recommended, but leave quickly, because the air conditioning has not bee turned on. Instead, we wind up at the Hussein Restaurant near Karnak Temple where we both have a really quite excellent meal.
On the way to and from our restaurants, we drive through parts of Luxor that seem to be alive at night. We really have not gotten a sense of either Aswan or Luxor as cities, because it's been far too hot to even consider exploring them. On the way to the airport, Tony tells us that his second daughter, Holly was born only eight days ago (which nets him an extra tip).
We've cleared all the Luxor Airport hurdles and are awaiting our flight to Sharm, which should board in fifteen minutes. Forty-five minute flight is uneventful, and we are met at the airport by our man in Sharm, Ahmed. We check in to our upgraded sea view room at The Four Seasons, which appears to be as spectacular as everyone has told us it is.
October 19
Last breakfast on the ship. Bags transferred to the car, waiting on the other side of three ships that we climb through.
We take off for the west side of the Nile, crossing over a bridge. Tombs are on the West side, as people, like the sun, when they/it dies go to the West. First stop are the Colossi of Mennon, 75-foot high, 1000 ton statues that once guarded the entrance to the now-completely-eroded mortuary temple of Amenhotep III. They are massively impressive.
We continue on to the temple of Queen Hatchesput at Deir el-Bahri, which is magnificently situated at the foot of sheer sandstone cliffs. The temple stands out against these cliffs, but is restored so that it looks almost modern, which is rather disappointing. Magdi tells us of the most interesting features, located on the second floor of the three-story temple, and we pretty-much limit our exploration to those. We have been carrying umbrellas to shade us from the blisteringly hot sun, which, again today, raises the temperature well above 100 degrees.
A quick stop at an alabaster "factory." Alabaster is a big product here and the "factory" is the type of place you see all around the world, designed to tell you a little bit about the product, but primarily to sell. Thus far, we've avoided damage at papyrus, perfume and alabaster factories in Egypt. Carol apparently is driving too hard a bargain on white cotton blouses, and so has come up empty-handed, despite having indicated a willingness to pay as much as four dollars for one. But she remains undaunted.
We drive next to the Valley of the Kings, which houses the tombs of so far about 65 kings, all built into the mountainside. The visitor's center contains a neat plastic model of the valley that shows the terrain, and, underneath the plastic contains small boxes showing location of the tombs. Magdi explains the construction of the tombs--the carving of the mountainside, polishing of the walls, carving of the figures set out in square grids and finally the painting. Construction of tombs began with the ascendancy of the king to the throne, but completion was delayed until after death, when the workers had the 70 days of the mummification process to complete the work. The length of the king's reign would determine the amount of work that could be done in a tomb.
Our entrance ticket entitles us to enter three of the tombs, and we pay $20 extra to see the tomb of Ramses VI, which we've heard is quite impressive. The graves that people can visit are rotated on an annual basis, to minimize the damage caused to any tomb by visits. Just the breathing of large numbers of people can cause damage over a period of time. Cameras are now not allowed at all in the Valley, because people did not abide by the restrictions on flash. While this is a bit disappointing, it does cause rungs to move more quickly. Guides are not allowed in the tombs (this was the case in some other places, as well). While this limits what one can see and understand, again it has the positive affect of moving things along. Given the very large crowds and the hear, this is really a blessing. Seeing the tombs was terrific, and paying to see Ramses VI was well worth it, both because it was the most impressive of those we saw and because the substantial extra fee meant that there were very few other people in the tomb.
We are driven next to our hotel on the West side, the Al Moudira, a beautifully-decorated old boutique hotel owned by a Lebanese woman.
Little known, it is favored by our tour planner, Jim Berkeley, who insisted we stay there after Dick Kiphart's friend recommended a change to the Winter Palace. We are completely done in by the heat, so we order cold drinks to go with the box lunches prepared for us by our ship and spend the afternoon relaxing. Grounds here are quite lovely. Went out to the pool around 5:30, and probably would have stayed and swum, except that there were bugs, and Germans, so came back to the room for a pre-dinner game of gin rummy. Actually, English is decidedly not the principal language one hears spoken among tourists, and the English that is heard comes mainly from people from the UK, who can pop down to Egypt in four hours for a holiday, something that many of them appear to do multiple times. There is a good deal of Spanish, Italian, German and French, as well as many Russians, who come for inexpensive vacations. Also people from various parts of the Orient. So, being from the US is a bit exotic.
Excellent dinner tonight in lovely courtyard setting at our hotel.
We take off for the west side of the Nile, crossing over a bridge. Tombs are on the West side, as people, like the sun, when they/it dies go to the West. First stop are the Colossi of Mennon, 75-foot high, 1000 ton statues that once guarded the entrance to the now-completely-eroded mortuary temple of Amenhotep III. They are massively impressive.
We continue on to the temple of Queen Hatchesput at Deir el-Bahri, which is magnificently situated at the foot of sheer sandstone cliffs. The temple stands out against these cliffs, but is restored so that it looks almost modern, which is rather disappointing. Magdi tells us of the most interesting features, located on the second floor of the three-story temple, and we pretty-much limit our exploration to those. We have been carrying umbrellas to shade us from the blisteringly hot sun, which, again today, raises the temperature well above 100 degrees.
A quick stop at an alabaster "factory." Alabaster is a big product here and the "factory" is the type of place you see all around the world, designed to tell you a little bit about the product, but primarily to sell. Thus far, we've avoided damage at papyrus, perfume and alabaster factories in Egypt. Carol apparently is driving too hard a bargain on white cotton blouses, and so has come up empty-handed, despite having indicated a willingness to pay as much as four dollars for one. But she remains undaunted.
We drive next to the Valley of the Kings, which houses the tombs of so far about 65 kings, all built into the mountainside. The visitor's center contains a neat plastic model of the valley that shows the terrain, and, underneath the plastic contains small boxes showing location of the tombs. Magdi explains the construction of the tombs--the carving of the mountainside, polishing of the walls, carving of the figures set out in square grids and finally the painting. Construction of tombs began with the ascendancy of the king to the throne, but completion was delayed until after death, when the workers had the 70 days of the mummification process to complete the work. The length of the king's reign would determine the amount of work that could be done in a tomb.
Our entrance ticket entitles us to enter three of the tombs, and we pay $20 extra to see the tomb of Ramses VI, which we've heard is quite impressive. The graves that people can visit are rotated on an annual basis, to minimize the damage caused to any tomb by visits. Just the breathing of large numbers of people can cause damage over a period of time. Cameras are now not allowed at all in the Valley, because people did not abide by the restrictions on flash. While this is a bit disappointing, it does cause rungs to move more quickly. Guides are not allowed in the tombs (this was the case in some other places, as well). While this limits what one can see and understand, again it has the positive affect of moving things along. Given the very large crowds and the hear, this is really a blessing. Seeing the tombs was terrific, and paying to see Ramses VI was well worth it, both because it was the most impressive of those we saw and because the substantial extra fee meant that there were very few other people in the tomb.
We are driven next to our hotel on the West side, the Al Moudira, a beautifully-decorated old boutique hotel owned by a Lebanese woman.
Little known, it is favored by our tour planner, Jim Berkeley, who insisted we stay there after Dick Kiphart's friend recommended a change to the Winter Palace. We are completely done in by the heat, so we order cold drinks to go with the box lunches prepared for us by our ship and spend the afternoon relaxing. Grounds here are quite lovely. Went out to the pool around 5:30, and probably would have stayed and swum, except that there were bugs, and Germans, so came back to the room for a pre-dinner game of gin rummy. Actually, English is decidedly not the principal language one hears spoken among tourists, and the English that is heard comes mainly from people from the UK, who can pop down to Egypt in four hours for a holiday, something that many of them appear to do multiple times. There is a good deal of Spanish, Italian, German and French, as well as many Russians, who come for inexpensive vacations. Also people from various parts of the Orient. So, being from the US is a bit exotic.
Excellent dinner tonight in lovely courtyard setting at our hotel.
October 18
Went through the locks at Esna this morning and, having had breakfast, now have a six-hour cruise before we reach Luxor (Thebes, in Greek), where, by all accounts, we'll be seeing the Super Bowl of the Egyptian monuments, the temple at Karnak, Luxor Temple and more.
Set out for Karnak at 3:30, late so as to miss the biggest crowds. No longer private docks, we have to walk three other boats to reach the shore. At the public docks, our guide says that there can be as many as ten deep. Weather is still very hot, 107 degrees. Mercifully, though, as the sun goes down, it becomes tolerable.
Karnak is a massive conglomeration of temples, built over a span of some two thousand years. Most impressive is the hypostyle hall of 134 huge carved columns. I circle the giant Scarab (beetle) seven times for good luck, but Carol passes on that. As usual. Magdi has many stories and much history to relate, which he does in a rather too fast and programmed way for our taste. Still, we've had a whole lot worse guides; he's a solid B.
After Karnak, we stop for a perfume demonstration/sales effort, which is okay, but we pass on buying anything. We wait more than twenty minutes to be picked up by our car, supposedly because of a flat tire. On to Luxor Temple, which is mobbed with people, but spectacular all lit up.
A large obelisk (the other one given to France), many massive statues of the modest, Ramses II and an avenue of sphinxes are among the highlights. Hard to describe the overall impression of these incredible monuments, except to say that it's not surprising that they are regarded as wonders worthy of traveling around the world to see.
Back to the ship (climbing across three others we're docked with). After a quick shower, we're met by Tony, our man in Luxor, to plan the next two days. After dinner, we pass on seeing the belly dancers and instead pack to get ready for disembarking tomorrow. Overall, the ship was terrific and the experience of cruising on the Nile (and having one's Diet Seven-Up decanted) was great.
Set out for Karnak at 3:30, late so as to miss the biggest crowds. No longer private docks, we have to walk three other boats to reach the shore. At the public docks, our guide says that there can be as many as ten deep. Weather is still very hot, 107 degrees. Mercifully, though, as the sun goes down, it becomes tolerable.
Karnak is a massive conglomeration of temples, built over a span of some two thousand years. Most impressive is the hypostyle hall of 134 huge carved columns. I circle the giant Scarab (beetle) seven times for good luck, but Carol passes on that. As usual. Magdi has many stories and much history to relate, which he does in a rather too fast and programmed way for our taste. Still, we've had a whole lot worse guides; he's a solid B.
After Karnak, we stop for a perfume demonstration/sales effort, which is okay, but we pass on buying anything. We wait more than twenty minutes to be picked up by our car, supposedly because of a flat tire. On to Luxor Temple, which is mobbed with people, but spectacular all lit up.
A large obelisk (the other one given to France), many massive statues of the modest, Ramses II and an avenue of sphinxes are among the highlights. Hard to describe the overall impression of these incredible monuments, except to say that it's not surprising that they are regarded as wonders worthy of traveling around the world to see.
Back to the ship (climbing across three others we're docked with). After a quick shower, we're met by Tony, our man in Luxor, to plan the next two days. After dinner, we pass on seeing the belly dancers and instead pack to get ready for disembarking tomorrow. Overall, the ship was terrific and the experience of cruising on the Nile (and having one's Diet Seven-Up decanted) was great.
October 17
Good breakfast on the boat. Docked at 9:30 at Kom Ombo, where we are given a private tour by Magdi. Temple is actually two temples, one to the falcon-headed sky god, Haroeries, adjoined by a temple to the crocodile god, Sobek. The temple is very manageable in size, and so great to see. Magdi tells us about the creation of a very accurate calendar, using a ten-day week and the medical accomplishments at the time, around 300 BC. Though built during the Greek time, it is an Egyptian temple, because Alexander the Great wisely allowed the Egyptians to preserve their religion, unlike the Persian/Iranians before them. He is able to point to specific carvings to describe what they are in contrast to our wandering through Abu Simbel, guessing or not knowing exactly what we were seeing.
After about an hour, we return to the boat by 10:30, escaping any extreme heat. We continue our cruise and, at our request, Magdi tells us about modern Egyptian politics, commencing in about 1882, when the British occupied Egypt. In the early 1900s, they built the lower Aswan dam, which had only limited capacity, despite bring added to a couple times. When Egypt sought funds form the World Bank, the US blocked it, fearing that Egypt would use funds to buy arms from Russia. Though Russia promised to lend money to Egypt for the dam, funds were not forthcoming. This led to Egypt taking control of the Suez Canal to get money, and to war with England, France and Israel.
Farouk was overthrown by five military leaders, including Nasser and Sadat. After a figurehead military president, Nasser became the first real president of Egypt. Israel invaded Sinai in 1967, and the Yom Kippur War took place in 1973. Sadat followed Nasser as president and was reviled by most of the Arab world for making peace with Israel, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Mubarak succeeded Sadat and has held office for 29 years. Corruption is a huge problem, but Mubarak keeps getting elected as the devil that is known. Magdi thinks that his son may succeed him.
Time to relax before lunch, highlight of which was a Diet 7-Up, served with a glass and a small decanter into which the overflow from the 7-Up can is poured. You gotta love that.
We are picked up by car for a 3PM visit tom the Temple of Horus at Edfu, the best-preserved of the Egyptian temples, because it was buried under the sand. Very impressive facade and carvings. Again, because of the heat, our visit is shorter than it would be. Many of the ruins we've seen so far date "only" to about 300 BC. That's going to change, big time, though, tomorrow.
Back to the boat to rest and shower. Dinner is on deck, where a very welcome cool breeze makes it very pleasant . The boat is excellent and, with only twenty or so passengers, very spacious. The food and service are all great, and the thought that we're cruising the frigging NILE is pretty amazing. Finally able to access my blog, so posted a bunch of days worth.
After about an hour, we return to the boat by 10:30, escaping any extreme heat. We continue our cruise and, at our request, Magdi tells us about modern Egyptian politics, commencing in about 1882, when the British occupied Egypt. In the early 1900s, they built the lower Aswan dam, which had only limited capacity, despite bring added to a couple times. When Egypt sought funds form the World Bank, the US blocked it, fearing that Egypt would use funds to buy arms from Russia. Though Russia promised to lend money to Egypt for the dam, funds were not forthcoming. This led to Egypt taking control of the Suez Canal to get money, and to war with England, France and Israel.
Farouk was overthrown by five military leaders, including Nasser and Sadat. After a figurehead military president, Nasser became the first real president of Egypt. Israel invaded Sinai in 1967, and the Yom Kippur War took place in 1973. Sadat followed Nasser as president and was reviled by most of the Arab world for making peace with Israel, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Mubarak succeeded Sadat and has held office for 29 years. Corruption is a huge problem, but Mubarak keeps getting elected as the devil that is known. Magdi thinks that his son may succeed him.
Time to relax before lunch, highlight of which was a Diet 7-Up, served with a glass and a small decanter into which the overflow from the 7-Up can is poured. You gotta love that.
We are picked up by car for a 3PM visit tom the Temple of Horus at Edfu, the best-preserved of the Egyptian temples, because it was buried under the sand. Very impressive facade and carvings. Again, because of the heat, our visit is shorter than it would be. Many of the ruins we've seen so far date "only" to about 300 BC. That's going to change, big time, though, tomorrow.Back to the boat to rest and shower. Dinner is on deck, where a very welcome cool breeze makes it very pleasant . The boat is excellent and, with only twenty or so passengers, very spacious. The food and service are all great, and the thought that we're cruising the frigging NILE is pretty amazing. Finally able to access my blog, so posted a bunch of days worth.
October 16
Egypt is hot. Very damn hot.
Picked up after breakfast for airport, and our flight to Abu Simbel. Mervat's buddy at the airport arranges for seats on the left side, first row, so that we have views of the monuments as we land. We're able to beat the rest of the crowds out of the airport, since they are groups and need to wait for buses, and so see the temple Ramses II (The Great) built to himself, fronted by four monumental statues of himself, each over 20 meters high. Inside are incredible carvings and paintings, depicting Ramses supposedly single-handed victory over the Hittites in Syria and various scenes, intended to establish himself as a god. Every feature of these has historic and/or religious significance. In the back room are four statues that are lit by the sun only twice a year for twenty minutes, except that one of hem, the god of the underworld is not lit. The size and scope of the structure is overwhelming. The guy had an ego, and time to enjoy it, as he ruled Egypt for 67 years, the second longest reign of any king.
Nearby is a considerably smaller, but still very impressive temple that he built for his favorite wife, Nefartari, the beautiful queen.
This could have been even more interesting and enjoyable, had we been given a book with pictures and descriptions to study in advance, which we could have carried around as we viewed the site. Even without that, though, an incredible experience. We brought the fans we bought in Ghana with us today, which helped a bit with the heat inside the temples, but not in the hot sun.
We ate a box lunch, and then Carol did more bargaining for a few things on the way from lunch to our car. Short flight back to Aswan, then driven to the huge dam built to create Lake Nasser and generate electrical power with the help of the Russians, who sided with Egypt when they seized the Suez Canal in 1956, provoking first hot and then cold war. The dam is impressive, but we were too wiped out by the heat (108 today) to do more than jump out and take a photo. The heat also did us in at the unfinished obelisk, and we survived only a minute or two after watching the 10-minute video, much of which I could not understand.
We were driven to our luxurious ship, Alexander the Great, where we said good-bye to Mervat, who we enjoyed greatly. We were shown to our suite on the top level, which will serve as a most comfortable home for the next three nights. Relaxed for a couple of hour in air conditioned comfort, before being picked up for an evening sound and light show at Philae Temple, to which we are taken by car and boat.
Show at the Philae was much better than either of us anticipated. We both rated the show a B+ and the overall experience of the show and seeing Philae lit up either an A- (Carol) or an A (me). Boat and car back to the boat, saying good-bye to Luke, who was quite helpful, if rather stiff.
Drinks in the lounge of the boat. Met our guide, Magdi, who is a friend of Mervat's, seems cute, and may be all ours, something we did not anticipate. Buffet dinner on the deck was quite good, though we'd both have preferred indoors, because of the heat. Going to try to send this blog, then retire.
Picked up after breakfast for airport, and our flight to Abu Simbel. Mervat's buddy at the airport arranges for seats on the left side, first row, so that we have views of the monuments as we land. We're able to beat the rest of the crowds out of the airport, since they are groups and need to wait for buses, and so see the temple Ramses II (The Great) built to himself, fronted by four monumental statues of himself, each over 20 meters high. Inside are incredible carvings and paintings, depicting Ramses supposedly single-handed victory over the Hittites in Syria and various scenes, intended to establish himself as a god. Every feature of these has historic and/or religious significance. In the back room are four statues that are lit by the sun only twice a year for twenty minutes, except that one of hem, the god of the underworld is not lit. The size and scope of the structure is overwhelming. The guy had an ego, and time to enjoy it, as he ruled Egypt for 67 years, the second longest reign of any king.
Nearby is a considerably smaller, but still very impressive temple that he built for his favorite wife, Nefartari, the beautiful queen.
This could have been even more interesting and enjoyable, had we been given a book with pictures and descriptions to study in advance, which we could have carried around as we viewed the site. Even without that, though, an incredible experience. We brought the fans we bought in Ghana with us today, which helped a bit with the heat inside the temples, but not in the hot sun.
We ate a box lunch, and then Carol did more bargaining for a few things on the way from lunch to our car. Short flight back to Aswan, then driven to the huge dam built to create Lake Nasser and generate electrical power with the help of the Russians, who sided with Egypt when they seized the Suez Canal in 1956, provoking first hot and then cold war. The dam is impressive, but we were too wiped out by the heat (108 today) to do more than jump out and take a photo. The heat also did us in at the unfinished obelisk, and we survived only a minute or two after watching the 10-minute video, much of which I could not understand.
We were driven to our luxurious ship, Alexander the Great, where we said good-bye to Mervat, who we enjoyed greatly. We were shown to our suite on the top level, which will serve as a most comfortable home for the next three nights. Relaxed for a couple of hour in air conditioned comfort, before being picked up for an evening sound and light show at Philae Temple, to which we are taken by car and boat.
Show at the Philae was much better than either of us anticipated. We both rated the show a B+ and the overall experience of the show and seeing Philae lit up either an A- (Carol) or an A (me). Boat and car back to the boat, saying good-bye to Luke, who was quite helpful, if rather stiff.
Drinks in the lounge of the boat. Met our guide, Magdi, who is a friend of Mervat's, seems cute, and may be all ours, something we did not anticipate. Buffet dinner on the deck was quite good, though we'd both have preferred indoors, because of the heat. Going to try to send this blog, then retire.
October 15
Early breakfast and 7:30 pick up to try to beat the 110% heat. Motor boat and then cross the Sahara by camel (well, maybe not completely cross it) up to the San Simeon Monastery, built as a refuge from the Romans in, let's say, the fifth century. Sahara can use trash clean up in parts, but less noticeable if you don't look down to closely in spots. Mervat gives us a good tour, then we recross the Sahara to our motor boat. Camels rank among my least favorite forms of transportation. Getting up and down is an adventure, even if you lean way back, as instructed. Walking down hill is particularly terrifying. It's possible I've taken my last lifetime camel ride, which would be okay by me. I'd rather walk a mile than have a camel.
We boat to a Nubian village, where we have a drink and are given a tour of the house. Our early start paid off, as we appear to be about half an hour ahead of the crowds.
On the boat ride back, we learn about Mervat's family. She is the fourth of six children, most of wham appear to be successful and well-educated. She says that her parents are crazy. We are fortunate to be 3 for 3 in excellent guides so far. And it's terrific to be a group of two, as we recognize each time we see one of the larger groups go by.
We are back at the hotel by 11:30, and out of the heat. Work on paring down photos, have a delicious lunch of a large, cold Stella beer and nuts, then nap, blog and leave to meet Mervat at 3 PM on the other side of the river.
Waiting for the boat, we meet an English couple from outside Oxford, Leo and Antony, who are also headed for Philae Temple and offer to share a taxi. We invite them to join us in our car, and they turn out to be excellent companions for the afternoon. They have been to Egypt before, and it turns out that we will overlap, but only very slightly, at the Four Seasons in Sharm.
We are driven to a motor boat that takes to Philae Temple, one of the monuments that was saved miraculously by UNESCO. The Greek temple, later converted by the Christians to a Coptic Church, has wonderful carvings and is in a lovelynsetting. The Greeks in the 4th Century BC chose to build essentially an Egyptian temple, with few Greek elements, thus assuring the people they were conquering that they would honor their gods. Mervat gave us interesting explanations in extreme heat.
From Philae, we made a short stop at a place where they demonstrated the making of papyrus and tried unsuccessfully to peddle some paintings to us. We made a brief stop at a large modern Coptic church, inaugurated around 2000 by the pope and now the home of the archbishop who holds sway over all Nubian Coptics. The ceiling, painted with a bright picture of Jesus, was particularly impressive.
We were driven to the taxi/ferry and said goodbye to Leo and Antony when we reached the hotel. Went up to the Panorama Bar on the 13th floor for a drink and a view of Aswan. Then back to the room to clean up and rest a bit. We'll have dinner at the hotel, before preparing for another rather early start tomorrow.
We boat to a Nubian village, where we have a drink and are given a tour of the house. Our early start paid off, as we appear to be about half an hour ahead of the crowds.
On the boat ride back, we learn about Mervat's family. She is the fourth of six children, most of wham appear to be successful and well-educated. She says that her parents are crazy. We are fortunate to be 3 for 3 in excellent guides so far. And it's terrific to be a group of two, as we recognize each time we see one of the larger groups go by.
We are back at the hotel by 11:30, and out of the heat. Work on paring down photos, have a delicious lunch of a large, cold Stella beer and nuts, then nap, blog and leave to meet Mervat at 3 PM on the other side of the river.
Waiting for the boat, we meet an English couple from outside Oxford, Leo and Antony, who are also headed for Philae Temple and offer to share a taxi. We invite them to join us in our car, and they turn out to be excellent companions for the afternoon. They have been to Egypt before, and it turns out that we will overlap, but only very slightly, at the Four Seasons in Sharm.
We are driven to a motor boat that takes to Philae Temple, one of the monuments that was saved miraculously by UNESCO. The Greek temple, later converted by the Christians to a Coptic Church, has wonderful carvings and is in a lovelynsetting. The Greeks in the 4th Century BC chose to build essentially an Egyptian temple, with few Greek elements, thus assuring the people they were conquering that they would honor their gods. Mervat gave us interesting explanations in extreme heat.
From Philae, we made a short stop at a place where they demonstrated the making of papyrus and tried unsuccessfully to peddle some paintings to us. We made a brief stop at a large modern Coptic church, inaugurated around 2000 by the pope and now the home of the archbishop who holds sway over all Nubian Coptics. The ceiling, painted with a bright picture of Jesus, was particularly impressive.
We were driven to the taxi/ferry and said goodbye to Leo and Antony when we reached the hotel. Went up to the Panorama Bar on the 13th floor for a drink and a view of Aswan. Then back to the room to clean up and rest a bit. We'll have dinner at the hotel, before preparing for another rather early start tomorrow.
October 14
Reflections on Jordan. Well-pleased with our time there. Three or four days is hardly adequate to do justice to a country, but we knew that going in. Petra was the highlight we expected, Jerash ruins were terrific (by the way, Jerash is said to be the place that Jacob wrestled with the angel and became Israel), seeing the king was a special treat, the crusader castle was worth the visit, our guide was excellent and our character-filled lodgings were very cool. So, give it an A- (if you're a tough grader).
Flight to Egypt of a bit over an hour. At the suggestion of Dick Kiphart's Egyptian business friend, we splurged significantly and arranged for VIP treatment at the Cairo airport. As we descended the stairs from the plane, we were greeted by a woman carrying a sign with our names on it. We were greeted warmly, our hand luggage taken by a guy and literally whisked into an air-conditioned vehicle and driven to the terminal. The woman asked for our passports and baggage claim checks and asked us to describe the bags. At the terminal, we were ushered into a large luxury lounge of which we were the sole inhabitants. Somebody came in to offer us food and drinks.
After a while, our man in Cairo from the travel agency, Muhamed, came in, introduced himself, handed each of us a Mars bar and told us about what would be happening. If we needed him, we could call him 23 hours a day (he needed one for sleep). In a short time, the VIP service delivered our bags and stamped passports. Muhamed a young, personable bundle of energy and efficiency, wheeled all of our bags to a waiting car and we drove the long distance to the Egyptian Air terminal, where Muhamed got us through all the steps in record time, pointed us towards the gate and said he'd see us in a week or so.
I've gone on at such length about this arrival process, because it really was an incredible scene. Carol is embarrassed by this sort of thing; I totally groove on it. We'll be landing pretty soon in Aswan. It's been a long day, and a rest will be very welcome.
Transfer to the hotel via car and boat, as we are at the Movenpick Elephantine Island. Our representative, Luke, is nice enough, but somewhat hard to understand. He's proposing changes in our itinerary that I've told him I want to review with him in detail tomorrow, when we are awake. Hotel is modern and rather unexceptional, though certainly first class. We wait too long to be shown up to our room, which does not have a double bed. Requested adaptor plug is more than half an hour in coming, and we're awakened, despite the do not disturb sign. Not a great start.
Breakfast at the hotel, and manage to change our room to one with a double bed. Meet our guide, Mervat, in the lobby, who is accompanied by Luke, at this point a supernumerary. We call the Batts' friend, Ossama, the director of the Nubian museum, and arrange to meet him there between 6:30 and 7 this evening. Review the rest of our plans, on which we're now in sync.
We set off in our felucca, a small sailing vessel and head down the Nile to Kitchener Island, named after Lord Kitchener, who created a beautiful botanical garden with trees and plants from around the world. Kitchener was a 19th century Brit who quelled the revolution in the Sudan. Nice stroll down and across the island, which affords views of Agha Khan's mausoleum and the green banks of the Nile, contrasted with the sand behind it. Khan was an Islamic leader and brother of Ali Khan, who married Rita Heyworth.
From there, our felucca takes us back to elephantine Island, where we tour the rather well-preserved temple to the god Khnum, creator of human beings from clay and gatekeeper of the very important annual Nile flood, and his consort, Satet. The temple was built by Thetmosis II, father of Queen Hatshbsut, in the 18th Dynasty, around 1330 BC. Some of the paintings have remarkable amounts of their original color. The fort around the temple was built much earlier. We see the Nile-o-meter, used to measure the height of the river, on which the amount of taxes were based, the assumption being that a given river height should produce a certain amount of crops.
Mervat is quite a delightful guide, knowledgeable and with very good English. The weather is rather warm, 102 degrees, so we are quite happy to retire to our air conditioned hotel for a cold beer, nap and shower. Walking back to the hotel, we ran into a couple we'd met and chatted briefly with in the elevator this morning. Edy is American, Uli is German. They met when she studied in Germany and now live in Connecticut. It took us only a few minutes of conversation this afternoon to discover that Edy was a cousin of my former law partner, Ed Rothschild, who I loved dearly. We exchanged memories of Ed and his wife, Annie. This sort of coincidence happens all the time all over the world.
Around 4:45, we take a ferry over to the other side, where we are met by Mercat and our driver and tacked to the fabulous Nubian Museum. Opened in 1999, the museum houses wonderful works from all periods, very nicely displayed and explained. Mervat shows us around, explaining much about the pieces and Nubian history. Most of the Nubian people remain in Sudan today, but the two Nubian tribes in Egypt formed the Southern half of the Egyptian country, having been merged with the North by SonisertbI in the Middle Kingdom, 2100 BC, in the 12th Dynasty. .
The scope of Egyptian history is overwhelming. For starters, there's so damn much of it. And the references to dynasties and to ancient, middle and modern periods are daunting. Add to that the names of pharaohs, gods, kings and cities (some of which have two well-known names, i.e. Thebes is the Greek name for Luxor) and all of the various countries and religions that have ruled Egypt during different periods and, well, you've bitten off quite a chunk. No wonder there are legions of Egyptologists trying to explain this all. For novices like us, unwilling to invest the time to try to sort it all out (and, perhaps, incapable of doing so), the best we can hope for is that repetition will bring some familiarity, and that we'll retain a small amount of it.
After our tour of the museum, we had the treat of meeting with the museum director, Ossama Abdell Magruid, Marilyn and Charlie Batts friend. He was most gracious and friendly, and we spent most of the time talking about the absolutely astounding international cooperation that led to the moving of many archeological treasures that would have been washed away or covered forever because to the construction of the new Aswan Dam. The work that was done over decades is well-documented in the museum and is a testament to what can be accomplished by people focused on a common objective, uninhibited by politics. In thanks for their help, five or six nations were given parts of saved temples, including the Met in New York.
After our meeting, we were driven to the marketplace in Aswan, where Carol astounded Mervat with her bargaining prowess.
Carol and I had a very good dinner at an Egyptian seafood restaurant in the marketplace that Mercat recommended. We were then driven to the river, ferried across the river and returned to our hotel.
Flight to Egypt of a bit over an hour. At the suggestion of Dick Kiphart's Egyptian business friend, we splurged significantly and arranged for VIP treatment at the Cairo airport. As we descended the stairs from the plane, we were greeted by a woman carrying a sign with our names on it. We were greeted warmly, our hand luggage taken by a guy and literally whisked into an air-conditioned vehicle and driven to the terminal. The woman asked for our passports and baggage claim checks and asked us to describe the bags. At the terminal, we were ushered into a large luxury lounge of which we were the sole inhabitants. Somebody came in to offer us food and drinks.
After a while, our man in Cairo from the travel agency, Muhamed, came in, introduced himself, handed each of us a Mars bar and told us about what would be happening. If we needed him, we could call him 23 hours a day (he needed one for sleep). In a short time, the VIP service delivered our bags and stamped passports. Muhamed a young, personable bundle of energy and efficiency, wheeled all of our bags to a waiting car and we drove the long distance to the Egyptian Air terminal, where Muhamed got us through all the steps in record time, pointed us towards the gate and said he'd see us in a week or so.
I've gone on at such length about this arrival process, because it really was an incredible scene. Carol is embarrassed by this sort of thing; I totally groove on it. We'll be landing pretty soon in Aswan. It's been a long day, and a rest will be very welcome.
Transfer to the hotel via car and boat, as we are at the Movenpick Elephantine Island. Our representative, Luke, is nice enough, but somewhat hard to understand. He's proposing changes in our itinerary that I've told him I want to review with him in detail tomorrow, when we are awake. Hotel is modern and rather unexceptional, though certainly first class. We wait too long to be shown up to our room, which does not have a double bed. Requested adaptor plug is more than half an hour in coming, and we're awakened, despite the do not disturb sign. Not a great start.
Breakfast at the hotel, and manage to change our room to one with a double bed. Meet our guide, Mervat, in the lobby, who is accompanied by Luke, at this point a supernumerary. We call the Batts' friend, Ossama, the director of the Nubian museum, and arrange to meet him there between 6:30 and 7 this evening. Review the rest of our plans, on which we're now in sync.
We set off in our felucca, a small sailing vessel and head down the Nile to Kitchener Island, named after Lord Kitchener, who created a beautiful botanical garden with trees and plants from around the world. Kitchener was a 19th century Brit who quelled the revolution in the Sudan. Nice stroll down and across the island, which affords views of Agha Khan's mausoleum and the green banks of the Nile, contrasted with the sand behind it. Khan was an Islamic leader and brother of Ali Khan, who married Rita Heyworth.
From there, our felucca takes us back to elephantine Island, where we tour the rather well-preserved temple to the god Khnum, creator of human beings from clay and gatekeeper of the very important annual Nile flood, and his consort, Satet. The temple was built by Thetmosis II, father of Queen Hatshbsut, in the 18th Dynasty, around 1330 BC. Some of the paintings have remarkable amounts of their original color. The fort around the temple was built much earlier. We see the Nile-o-meter, used to measure the height of the river, on which the amount of taxes were based, the assumption being that a given river height should produce a certain amount of crops.
Mervat is quite a delightful guide, knowledgeable and with very good English. The weather is rather warm, 102 degrees, so we are quite happy to retire to our air conditioned hotel for a cold beer, nap and shower. Walking back to the hotel, we ran into a couple we'd met and chatted briefly with in the elevator this morning. Edy is American, Uli is German. They met when she studied in Germany and now live in Connecticut. It took us only a few minutes of conversation this afternoon to discover that Edy was a cousin of my former law partner, Ed Rothschild, who I loved dearly. We exchanged memories of Ed and his wife, Annie. This sort of coincidence happens all the time all over the world.
Around 4:45, we take a ferry over to the other side, where we are met by Mercat and our driver and tacked to the fabulous Nubian Museum. Opened in 1999, the museum houses wonderful works from all periods, very nicely displayed and explained. Mervat shows us around, explaining much about the pieces and Nubian history. Most of the Nubian people remain in Sudan today, but the two Nubian tribes in Egypt formed the Southern half of the Egyptian country, having been merged with the North by SonisertbI in the Middle Kingdom, 2100 BC, in the 12th Dynasty. .
The scope of Egyptian history is overwhelming. For starters, there's so damn much of it. And the references to dynasties and to ancient, middle and modern periods are daunting. Add to that the names of pharaohs, gods, kings and cities (some of which have two well-known names, i.e. Thebes is the Greek name for Luxor) and all of the various countries and religions that have ruled Egypt during different periods and, well, you've bitten off quite a chunk. No wonder there are legions of Egyptologists trying to explain this all. For novices like us, unwilling to invest the time to try to sort it all out (and, perhaps, incapable of doing so), the best we can hope for is that repetition will bring some familiarity, and that we'll retain a small amount of it.
After our tour of the museum, we had the treat of meeting with the museum director, Ossama Abdell Magruid, Marilyn and Charlie Batts friend. He was most gracious and friendly, and we spent most of the time talking about the absolutely astounding international cooperation that led to the moving of many archeological treasures that would have been washed away or covered forever because to the construction of the new Aswan Dam. The work that was done over decades is well-documented in the museum and is a testament to what can be accomplished by people focused on a common objective, uninhibited by politics. In thanks for their help, five or six nations were given parts of saved temples, including the Met in New York.
After our meeting, we were driven to the marketplace in Aswan, where Carol astounded Mervat with her bargaining prowess.
Carol and I had a very good dinner at an Egyptian seafood restaurant in the marketplace that Mercat recommended. We were then driven to the river, ferried across the river and returned to our hotel.
October 13
Early start after breakfast at the hotel.
Stopped at 12th century crusader castle called Shobak, which we'd substituted, at Suliman's suggestion, for Kerak. Located high on a hill, the castle/fortress affords views from narrow windows, in all directions. Later, the castle was taken over by the Muslims, as shown by Arabic writing carved into the stone. We have the castle to ourselves. Quiet and peaceful, we can hear goat bells clanking from the hill across the way (something we rarely hear in Chicago).
On the road to the Roman ruins at Jerash, I enter the above in my blog, including the photo, which I've downloaded from the camera to my iPad. We subject Suliman to grandchildren pictures and photos from our entire trip, all of which he seems to enjoy.
Jerash, an incredibly well-preserved Roman city, dates from the first century AD. Gates, streets of columns and temples cover an extensive area, which takes an hour and a half to traverse in the hot sun.
We stop to see a performance of a 3-piece drum and two bagpipes band. Also, stop to see a small, interesting museum (and cool off a bit in the process. Well worth the visit.
We pick up a bag for under $10 to replace the one that was ripped en route to Jordan. Lunch at a very nice Lebanese restaurant. Linger there to work on the blog before setting off for the Amman airport.
Writing this from Amman airport lounge. Will report tomorrow on rest of our travels to Cairo and then on to Aswan later tonight.
Stopped at 12th century crusader castle called Shobak, which we'd substituted, at Suliman's suggestion, for Kerak. Located high on a hill, the castle/fortress affords views from narrow windows, in all directions. Later, the castle was taken over by the Muslims, as shown by Arabic writing carved into the stone. We have the castle to ourselves. Quiet and peaceful, we can hear goat bells clanking from the hill across the way (something we rarely hear in Chicago).
On the road to the Roman ruins at Jerash, I enter the above in my blog, including the photo, which I've downloaded from the camera to my iPad. We subject Suliman to grandchildren pictures and photos from our entire trip, all of which he seems to enjoy.
Jerash, an incredibly well-preserved Roman city, dates from the first century AD. Gates, streets of columns and temples cover an extensive area, which takes an hour and a half to traverse in the hot sun.
We stop to see a performance of a 3-piece drum and two bagpipes band. Also, stop to see a small, interesting museum (and cool off a bit in the process. Well worth the visit.
We pick up a bag for under $10 to replace the one that was ripped en route to Jordan. Lunch at a very nice Lebanese restaurant. Linger there to work on the blog before setting off for the Amman airport.
Writing this from Amman airport lounge. Will report tomorrow on rest of our travels to Cairo and then on to Aswan later tonight.
October 12
Breakfast at the hotel before the 9:30 pick-up for a full day at Petra. By day, it's clear what's so fabulous about Petra and why it's regarded as one of the wonders of the world. While the Treasury (which is actually a tomb) is the focal point, what's fabulous about Petra is the beautiful setting and the vastness of the caves (homes), tombs and religious sites constructed by the Arabic, Nabatean, people in the second century BC. The ruins show, Greek and Egyptian and later Roman influences.
There are many visitors and guides can be heard speaking many different languages. It does not seem overly-crowded (at least until the way back in the afternoon), because of the vastness of the site. Suliman does a good job of guiding and, at not quite 29, is impressively in touch with his clients. He came with cough drops for me this morning and, when he heard it was my birthday, arranged for a small gift with my name and the date on it. He is open about his life (at one point he was studying to be a priest in Israel, then worked in Dubai for a couple of years). He married, Maram, who he'd met in first grade, and won over many suitors. They have a seven month old son, Sanad.
We have lunch outdoors at a pleasant, shaded restaurant. We opt not to climb over 800 steps to a monastery and, at Suliman's advice that it is dangerous, did not take a donkey up. This turns out to be a wise decision, as by the time we've walked back, we are hot and tired from our six mile walk.
We return to the room for a nap and shower, then a quite good buffet dinner at the hotel restaurant. Over dinner, we muse about how we'd rank Petra, as compared to the Great Wall and theTaj. We both put the Great wall first, but disagree on what's second. I would choose Petra; Carol the Taj. What an incredible privilege to be able to rank these. We visit some of the shops in the souk at the hotel, but make no purchases. We return to the room to prepare for an early start and a long day tomorrow.
There are many visitors and guides can be heard speaking many different languages. It does not seem overly-crowded (at least until the way back in the afternoon), because of the vastness of the site. Suliman does a good job of guiding and, at not quite 29, is impressively in touch with his clients. He came with cough drops for me this morning and, when he heard it was my birthday, arranged for a small gift with my name and the date on it. He is open about his life (at one point he was studying to be a priest in Israel, then worked in Dubai for a couple of years). He married, Maram, who he'd met in first grade, and won over many suitors. They have a seven month old son, Sanad.
We have lunch outdoors at a pleasant, shaded restaurant. We opt not to climb over 800 steps to a monastery and, at Suliman's advice that it is dangerous, did not take a donkey up. This turns out to be a wise decision, as by the time we've walked back, we are hot and tired from our six mile walk.
We return to the room for a nap and shower, then a quite good buffet dinner at the hotel restaurant. Over dinner, we muse about how we'd rank Petra, as compared to the Great Wall and theTaj. We both put the Great wall first, but disagree on what's second. I would choose Petra; Carol the Taj. What an incredible privilege to be able to rank these. We visit some of the shops in the souk at the hotel, but make no purchases. We return to the room to prepare for an early start and a long day tomorrow.
October 11
Very little sleep. Picked up and driven to the Dubai airport, where passage through the various stages is easy and efficient, made so by the novel concept of having sufficient staff at each step of the way. Isn't oil marvelous? We manage to get into an airport lounge. When we energy at 6:30 and head for our gate, the huge, modern airport is bustling with crowds and activity.
Our Emirates flight to Amman, Jordan is just under three hours. Unfortunately, when we pick up our luggage, we discover that one of our duffel bags has been ripped to the point that it can't be used. After an hour or so of waiting, forms and discussions, I convince the local Emirates agent to give us cash for the bag.
We are met by our guide, Suliman, and driver, Anton. Suliman will be with us for our entire stay in Jordan. He's young, good-natured, helpful and speaks English well, so we'll be well looked-after. Both Suliman and Anton are Christian, though the country is 95% Muslim. Anton is one of millions of Palestinians who have full Jordanian citizenship.
Water is a big problem in Jordan. The Dead Sea is dying and Jordan is the fourth poorest country in the world. As we leave Amman, we see many signs for the elections that are coming up next month.
We stop at Mt. Nebo, where Moses looked into the Promised Land before he died. Actually standing there and looking out over Jeruselum, Bethlehem, Jericho, etc. Is actually quite an emotional experience. The land on mount Nebo is owned by Frasiscans. The church in Moses honor is being renovated, so the mosaic church floor has been moved and is under tent cover.
From there we drive to nearby Madaba, where we are to see a famous mosaic map in a church. A very large crowd has gathered to line the streets, as their beloved King Abdullah II is visiting and will be passing by in five minutes. Banners line the streets, school children, out of school, chant and wave flags. It's a very fun and festive scene and, while there are police and some army present, the security is all very low-key and pleasant. We spend an hour waiting for the 5 seconds that the king will ride by, waving, but it's fun and memorable.
We do go on to see the map mosaic, which is fine, but a bit anti-climactic after the king. After that, we go to a restaurant, where a much too large lunch has been ordered, most of which we do not eat.
Continue on several hour drive to Petra through arid land, trying to doze off a bit to offset lack of sleep last night. Arrive at charming Taybet Zaman, styled in the form of an old village, with windy stone streets. This place was suggested by our friend, Karen Carlson, and is a definite find, differing from the no-doubt-nice, but standard fare that we'd otherwise had. Taybet is not close to the archeological site, but the ambiance is very much worth the distance. Our room, a junior suite, has great character and comfort.
After a very short rest, we are picked up for transport to Petra by night, a walk down candlelit paths through the stone gorges, over uneven terrain that culminates at the Treasury, the centerpiece of the Petra site. One cannot really see anything along the way, though the walk is quite pleasant and the Treasury, imposing. The show at the end was rather hokey, and we could have done without it. Overall, the walk was worth the effort, though not quite the magical experience that I'd anticipated. We'd overdressed for the expected chilly walk and so were hot.
Shower and collapse for much-needed rest.
Our Emirates flight to Amman, Jordan is just under three hours. Unfortunately, when we pick up our luggage, we discover that one of our duffel bags has been ripped to the point that it can't be used. After an hour or so of waiting, forms and discussions, I convince the local Emirates agent to give us cash for the bag.
We are met by our guide, Suliman, and driver, Anton. Suliman will be with us for our entire stay in Jordan. He's young, good-natured, helpful and speaks English well, so we'll be well looked-after. Both Suliman and Anton are Christian, though the country is 95% Muslim. Anton is one of millions of Palestinians who have full Jordanian citizenship.
Water is a big problem in Jordan. The Dead Sea is dying and Jordan is the fourth poorest country in the world. As we leave Amman, we see many signs for the elections that are coming up next month.
From there we drive to nearby Madaba, where we are to see a famous mosaic map in a church. A very large crowd has gathered to line the streets, as their beloved King Abdullah II is visiting and will be passing by in five minutes. Banners line the streets, school children, out of school, chant and wave flags. It's a very fun and festive scene and, while there are police and some army present, the security is all very low-key and pleasant. We spend an hour waiting for the 5 seconds that the king will ride by, waving, but it's fun and memorable.
We do go on to see the map mosaic, which is fine, but a bit anti-climactic after the king. After that, we go to a restaurant, where a much too large lunch has been ordered, most of which we do not eat.
Continue on several hour drive to Petra through arid land, trying to doze off a bit to offset lack of sleep last night. Arrive at charming Taybet Zaman, styled in the form of an old village, with windy stone streets. This place was suggested by our friend, Karen Carlson, and is a definite find, differing from the no-doubt-nice, but standard fare that we'd otherwise had. Taybet is not close to the archeological site, but the ambiance is very much worth the distance. Our room, a junior suite, has great character and comfort.
After a very short rest, we are picked up for transport to Petra by night, a walk down candlelit paths through the stone gorges, over uneven terrain that culminates at the Treasury, the centerpiece of the Petra site. One cannot really see anything along the way, though the walk is quite pleasant and the Treasury, imposing. The show at the end was rather hokey, and we could have done without it. Overall, the walk was worth the effort, though not quite the magical experience that I'd anticipated. We'd overdressed for the expected chilly walk and so were hot.
Shower and collapse for much-needed rest.
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