Leaving Cairo or at least we hope so!

Greetings to all on our last day in Cairo!

It has been 8 days since I last put up a post and we have once again covered a great deal of ground. Hard to believe that our 25 days in Cairo is now coming to an end! We have seen so much. We are now ready to move on to a very different cultural context with our travels on to Prague and the Czech Republic.

The last few days have been a little tense or at least once we learned that there had been a volcanoe in Iceland and the skies over the UK and Europe were shut down. We weren't aware of what had happened as we were out in the desert with Maureen & Peter.

Our trip to the desert was quite simply mind blowing! The landscape is beyond words and probably the 100's of digital images that I took will not really do what we say justice. We went to the Bahariya Oasis by mini bus from Cairo, about a 5 hour drive. We were then bunked into an oasis lodge for the night. The following morning we were allowed to leave for the desert at 10:30...it is all "regulated" so we had to wait for our permit. The 4 of us and our guide, Alberto and driver, Mohi, piled into a Toyota Landcruiser for the trip into the Black and White Deserts. We started with a visit to the Golden Mummies and the Valley of the Golden Mummies. They have discovered 500 of these mummies in this valley but they believe there are many more. They are called golden mummies because of the manner in which the facial area of the mummy was covered in guilded gold and artistic ornamentation down each side of the chest. They were remarkable particularly the family of four - mom, dad, 6 year old and 6 month old child. You would not believe the "museum" that these were kept in!

Then it was off to the Black Desert where bridey and I got to climb a huge sand dune up onto the top of a small mountain. The reason this desert is black is because of the basalt from the era of the volcanoes which would have been before or after this was all at the bottom of a sea. The landscape is very black broken by large dunes of golden sand. We were then off to "Crystal Mountain" which was a small mountain entirely constituted off quartz crystal. One is not supposed to remove any but we broke the rules as would seem to be the case with everyone who stops.

Next up was our dramatic entry into the White Desert! Honest to god, neither bridey or I could have been prepared for the landscape. Breath taking to say the least. This desert is white because of limestone. This is again from the time when this area was at the bottom of the sea. We drove through the desert in the setting sun and then we stopped to set up camp for the night at the base of one of the formations. Another Landcruiser joined us for the night with a young American couple. This was the night of our desert BBQ and the night visitors...yes, the camp was visited overnight by dozens of desert fox (proper name is Fennec Fox - look them up on Wikipedia). Bridey and I chose to sleep out from the enclosure that the guides had built in between the two Landcruisers and slept under the desert sky - We could not believe the stars! During the night and moreso in the early morning there were apparently as many as 2 dozen fox busily looking for scraps from our BBQ. The others who awoke at 4:30 said that the fox were running back and forth across bridey and I in our sleeping bags. We had no idea until I stuck my head out around 5'ish because I heard funny little noises. I guess it didn't help that we slept right beside the BBQ grill...duh!!!!

Morning saw the day greeted by the most incredible sunrise and of course, the landscape was such a different colour from the sunset the day before! We had a quick breakfast and were on our way by 5 am 'ish. The driver Mohi was crazy and gave us a thrill of a lifetime roaring across the desert. When we got back to the lodge we were given a room for a shower which was a real treat. We ended up delay for a 3 hours as the mini bus had blown a tire on the way our of Cairo...probably did not have a spare either! This turned out to be a blessing. Mohi, our driver, (who Peter and Maureen know really well from ther trips they have taken) invited us into his family home where his wife prepared our lunch. Our guide told us this was a real honour and he did not think that this had happened before.

We then headed out with Mohi who drove us to the edge of Cairo in the Landcruiser. He was a bit of a wild driver. Another long ride back to the city but the good news was that the vehicle was air conditioned.

The next day we headed off to Alexandria on the fast train. 2.5 hours later we found ourselves in a very different community from Cairo. The hotel porter first showed us a side view room when we had in fact booked a front room over looking the Mediterranean Sea. As usual, Bridey got us our room! and what a view. We were right on the sea and the Corniche.

We found Alexandrians to be very friendly. As we typically do, off the tourist track, in the 2 days we were bought our falafal lunch by a businessman, then it was a free pastry offering in another shop and the next morning an offering of free pita fresh from the communal oven. We also had our first taste of Egyptian ice cream a popular treat in Alexandria we learned. That evening we went off for dinner at a local favourite that offered Egyptian pizza.

Our second day we visited a couple of Greco-Roman sites and then when our plans got completely misunderstood by our taxi driver, we abandoned those plans and headed to the Alexandria Library which we were going to give an hour later in the day. We timed our visit perfectly as we got in on the only English language tour of the day. We were so in awe of this complex and what it had to offer, so we abandoned all other plans, went off for a seafood lunch at a local favourite of residents of Alexandria. Small street side restaurant in a back lane with buckets and racks filled with seafood where you could choose what you like or go for the seafood platter. They were so generous that bridey and I bought only the one platter and were glad we did as between the two of us we had trouble finishing all of the seafood...white fish, prawns, clams, calamari, seafood kafta, salad, pita, etc. With a full belly we headed back to the library and finished our day in the library looking around and visiting the permanent exhibitions. This is a library on a whole other scale than anything we could have imagined! We headed back to Cairo on the fast train for our last 2 days in the city.

Yesterday was spent trying to determine whether or not we were going to be able to leave for London and then on to Prague. After 2.5 hours going back and forth to various airline companies, I don't think we really were any clearer on our options. So we abandoned the mission and headed off to the Island of Zamalek - which is in the middle of the Nile where most of the embassies are located.

Today we visited the last of the pyramids with a guide recommended by Peter and Maureen. These pyramids are the oldest in Egypt. We actually went down into the heart of two of these pyramids and one was 140 steps into the heart of the structure. Hot, hard to breathe and a smell like ammonia. But what an experience!

As I have been posting bridey has been re-packing our bags for our flight tomorrow. It very much looks like we will fly. We are keeping our fingers crossed that Denise & Ed also fly seamlessly to meet us in Prague.

And so the Egypt chapter of our travels comes to an end! It has been marvellous from start to finish. When reflecting with Maureen and Peter this afternoon when they arrived home from work, we have identified our top 3 highlights - Abu Simbel (historical) , the White Desert (natural landscape) and the library in Alexandria (mo. I think we have seen far more than any tour would cover - I have close to 2000 photo images to prove it and many moments we have experienced.

Farewell to Egypt! hugs from us...bridey and laurie

Back in Cairo

Greetings from Cairo!

Bridey and I have now been back in Cairo for a couple of days. Arrived on Monday evening after a 10+ hour train trip from Luxor. The train was for Egyptians only or so they say, but our hotel bought us the tickets. At the station we did have to use a little bagsheesh with the tourist police to get on the train without any fuss.

Luxor was amazing given the sites that the city is surrounded by. Bridey had booked us into a 3 star hotel on the West Bank of the Nile where a good number of the historical sites are. The city of Luxor is on the East Bank. We were delighted to find that the West Bank is also the quiet side and it is also considerably cooler than the east side. Given that every day had temperatures over 30 and closer to 40 it was much appreciated to be just off the Nile and have the benefit of the breeze. The hotel also had a swimming pool and our room was right on the pool level. Every day was broken up with pool time in the afternoon and this was a salvation from the heat. The hotel price included a very good buffet breakfast so that too worked out very well. In fact we could lunch every day from take away from the buffet. They also sold beer and wine and this too was a good deal.

Luxor is the heart of much in the way of ancient Egyptian history for any who are history buffs. Karnak Temple which is actually the site of many temples on the one 2.25 acre site is amazing and almost overwhelming. You could easily spend a whole day there but the tour groups move through like a frenzy of feeding baracuda. We were approached by an older gentleman who offered to guide us through. We worked out a price and took him up on his offer. He had a guides badge so was legit.

Michael turned out to be 70 years old but had been guiding since the 70's. Needless to say we did not speed around the site as he was pretty slow. He was however a font of knowledge about the site. After our 2 hours with him we worked back through the site on our own. The heat was intense by the time we finished. When we finished with Michael he asked if we wanted a guide for the Valley of the Kings, Toombs of the Nobles, Workers Toombs, Queen Hatshepsut's Temple, etc. He recommended a friend who was an archeologist and once again Bridey negotiated a good price. Then of course it was pool time!

The next day was taken up with being guided by Hamdan who had also booked an air conditioned cab for the 6 hours of site seeing. He was an excellent guide and worked us through the sites in an order that made sense to him so that we worked from one style of architecture to another and from great wall paintings to brilliant wall paintings. We were totally pleased and were in awe from the beginning to the end. The 6 hours were followed by...yes of course, pool time. That evening we visited the Luxor museum, one of the best we have been in.

The next day we were on our own and rented bikes to make our way to the one remaining site on the West Bank that we wanted to see, the Temple of Ramses III. After this it was...pool time. And then we were off to Luxor Temple for the afternoon which brought us to the end of our site seeing.

We did our falucca float on the Nile late afternoon on our last day. This is an Egyptian sail boat. Of course we picked the least windy day of our whole stay. So the captain and his one man crew tried to pole us up the Nile and eventually got us stuck on the bottom. They then had to phone for a tow from a motor boat so we made our way down the Nile being towed. However we were able to float back down as the current carried us but it was taking too long so out came some rather rudimentary oars to speed us on our way (more or less). Nonetheless Bridey and I enjoyed a bottle of wine and a float on the Nile!

Found a great sea food restaurant where all of the fare came from the Red Sea. Had a couple of great dinners which was a nice change.

Since returning to Cairo we spent a day wondering around Islamic Cairo home to dozens of mosques. We also walked for miles through market street after market street. Almost overload for all of the senses. Today was our meeting with the pyramids at Giza and of course the big pussy cat...the Sphinx. We did the site on our own - 4 hours in all. Not too hot either so that was great. We saw everything to see although we choose not to go into the pyramid. WE choose instead to put out the money for the barque museum... the Pharoahs boat all 30 metres of it that had been buried next door to the toomb to take him on the ride in his next life.

Tomorrow we are off to the White and Black desert with Peter and Maureen our two friends who teach in Cairo. This is a 3 day trip which will take us to one of the famous oasis and through the two deserts. This is a camping trip so we will sleep out under the stars! We can hardly wait!

After the desert we will be off to Alexandria overnight for a 2 day visit and then back to Cairo for our last 2 days in Egypt. We are still having a great time and have really experienced very little conflict in spite of the heat. We are appreciating the drop in the temperature here in Cairo. We continue to have amazing little adventures each and every day when we get lost of turned around.

Greetings to all from B & L

Bad News folks....yes it is the same old story...I have tried for the past hour to upload digital images and have had now success. I have sent an email to Kieran to see if he can point me in the right direction to overcome the problem. Sorry to disappoint you all!

Laurie

LUXOR

We are now on day two in Luxor...actually only day one as yesterday was a travel day. Spent the day on Karnak Temple site. Just simply overwhelming. We used a 70 year old guide to take us around the site and then went around again on our own after some lunch. We have our guide booked for tomorrow for the Valley of the Kings, etc. It will be a 6 hour day and no doubt hot as we will be out in the desert.

We are trying to insert a mid-day break into each day where we swim in the pool and cool down. Having the pool is a real blessing.

I am not going to text more at this time as I am trying to get photos up...so hopefully tonight will be successful?????

Still having a great time and had one of our best meals tonight...seafood (fish) from the Red Sea.

Hello to all who are following!

B & L

You will need to look at the bottom of the posts as I did not get these two photos in the right spot. Will try again over the next couple of days and place them differently.

Abu Simbel to Aswan Week Two

hello: it is still hot!!!!!

Abu Simbel Temple at sunrise was incredible!!! we got up at 5 and walked out to the site of the ramses and nefereteri temples. the colour on the temples was amazing and there were hardly any tourists - only two buses with tourists had arrived before us. the temples are on such a grand scale that it is hard to believe that people built these with simple hand toools. the detail in the carving into the sandstone was incredible. going out to the site fo sunrise really paid off as we were even in ramses tomb by ourselves for the longest time.

the eskaleh hotel aka nubian cultural centre was an awesome place to stay for the night. had a great evening meal the night before our walk out to the temple. tripped around the small village as well and ended up trading our pen for a small loaf of bread. this was not quite a transaction we had planned.

middle of the day we took a 5 hour local bus...Upper Egypt Bus Co along with 6 other foreign travellers and local egyptian / nubian folk across the desert to get us back to aswan. the bus was "air conitioned"... not really. it was unbelievably hot but we did get a pit stop in the middle of the desert. we were both exhausted by the time we got to aswan. a couple of the other travellers even told us where to get off the bus so that we did not have to take a taxi from the bus station to the hotel.

it was great to get checked into such good accommodation at such a low price! we have spent the last 4 days visiting sites in the morning and then taking a break in the middle of the day on the roof top where they have above ground pool and then hitting the streets in the evng. we, along with other travellers, have not been overly impressed with the food and sometimes the service. aswan is a major tourist site with thousands of people getting on and off tour boats that are travelling up and down the nile. at times we have felt overwhelmed by the sellers. have found the markets to be nicer in the morning when there are no tourist. we - or should we really say, bridey...has the bargaining down to an art. mostly we/she gets what we want for a fair price. however, there are some times when one just doesn't know what is a fair deal. lots of laughs at the end of a day comparing notes about who paid how much for what...one night we buy 3 falafel for 20 pounds...next day we go back for lunch to same place...and we pay 6 pounds for 2 falafel...go figure. today he said we were his friends!

some of the sites we have seen while in aswan have been totally amazing! the nubian villages and nubian museum have been very special. also the temple of isis was very impressive. thankfully unesco saved them when the aswan high dam was built. you can see 4 of the other temples from the flooded area in museums around the world...interesting trade off ???? we have used the local ferry on several occasions....paid 5 pounds first trip...but then figured out the real fare is one pound. bridey has had lots of interesting interactions with nubian women and their children. lots of egyptian children wearing canadian flag pins.

tomorrow we are heading to luxor (down the nile) via a mini bus with stops at 2 temple sites. we were going to hire a private taxi but have decided to save a bit of money and go with a group with fewer stops.

having a good time...no major problems....and very much in the rhythm of travelling...washing socks, etc at night and taking time to stop and absorb everything.

Egypt / Sudan Border

We are now in Abu Simbel which is forty kilometers from the Sudanese border on Lake Nasser. IT IS NOW REALLY HOT...COULD NOT EVEN GO WALKING AFTER WE GOT SETTLED IN. We had to have a cold (??) beer and a nap! Even bridey had some beer...obviously no cider here!

We got here by overnight train from Cairo to Aswan. One hour before the train arrived in Aswan bridey phoned to Egypt air to see if by chance we could get on a plane to Abu Simbel (we had tried to buy tickets in Cairo on Thursday but they were insistent that we could not make it from the train station in Aswan to the airport in time).

Then we lucked out because bridey was told that there were tickets and we could make it in time. Even with the train being 15 minutes late, we hopped into a taxi anxi0us to get our business and headed for Egypt Air. He waited with me while bridey went in and bought tickets that were cheaper then any price previously quoted... go figure! Mohammad Ali then sped us to the airport arriving in time to sit down and have a coffee. You need to understand that the whole point of this was to be able to fly over lake Nasser. Turns out there were about 15 people on a plane that could have held approx. 200 passengers.

So instead of a 3.5 hour bus trip in an escorted convoy we arrived in 45 minutes. We did see the lake and the UNESCO temple site, which is our destination.

We were greeted at the hotel by the owner and ushered in with great gusto. We were then offered our courtesy drink of hibiscus...ice cold. This hotel is the Nubian Cultural Centre and is built in a traditional style. There are only 5 rooms in the whole place. It is very well cared for and laid out.

Tomorrow we will get up very early in the morning and go out to the site when it is still cool and before the bus loads of tourists arrive from their convoys. Once we have toured the site, we will go back to the hotel and rest up before we head off to catch a bus for the trip back to Aswan.

Now back tracking over the past couple of days. Contrary to what we had posted our plans unfolded differently. We did not go to the pyramids. We will do this later. We did spend a half day (Thursday) in the Egyptian Museum when it was not crowded with tourists. We spent Thursday evening trying to figure out Peter & Maureen's washing machine. It had the longest cycle ever and then did not want to let us in. There was a long wait for it to open...next morning!

On Friday which just happened to be Good Friday we had chosen to visit Coptic Cairo. For any who do not know who the Coptics are, they are an early Christian church...part of the eastern orthodox tradition. Needless to say all of the Coptic Christians were out in their finery and were in the many churches in the process of worship. We did not just look at architecture but experienced the real thing.

We have wandered the streets for many hours, frequently lost but have always had help from friendly Egyptians. We have mastered the Metro and it works so well...there is an exception to the mastery. On Friday bridey and I jumped on the train turns out we were in the female only car and I only realized this when I took a look around. I jumped off tried to get in the next car but it too was a female only car...the doors closed and off bridey went with the women. The women in her car were very concerned that I was left behind. They tried calling me on Peter's cell...but I had it turned off. When bridey was getting off they were worried about what she would do. She told them she would be fine...and she was. She just waited for me and I came on the next metro train. bridey has since taken a picture of the "women only" sign for me and I have been studying it!

We will try to post some photos when we get to Aswan where we will be for 4 days.

Having Maureen and Peter's place was such a great base for us to get our "travel legs".

Having an amazing adventure!!! New sights, sounds and smells every moment of every day in this amazing culture!! Hard to believe we have been on the road almost a week now.