Day 10 Cairo Revisited

Tuesday March 29^th

The train arrived in Cairo about 9:00 and got picked up and taken to our hotel, same one as last time. Dropped off our bags and then back on the van for a tour of the Coptic section of Cairo. Sam had arranged for us to have a different guide for this trip. Her name was Dalia (that's her with me in the photo). The Coptic region is in the old part of Cairo. We saw the remains of the old fortress that was built here. It's also of religious significance because it's a very Christian area. The area is sealed off from traffic and the streets are narrow. We visited a mosque, a Christian church called the Hanging Church (because it's built on top of the remains of the fortress) and a Jewish synagogue. All three are quite close to each other, they are all very old dating back to the 5^th or 6^th century and all three have been rebuilt several times because of damage caused by earthquakes and fires. The synagogue is now a museum because there are almost no Jews living in Cairo, and you can't take pictures in it.

She gave us good information about Islam and then I asked her if western media and movies are changing women's attitudes towards wearing the head scarves and long gowns. She didn't think so. She said that women wear them because they like wearing them and they are tradition. Where she did express frustration was the fact that single women have to sleep at their family home every night, which excludes her from travelling. She was very envious of our travels in her country and around the world.

Then we had an hour to walk around the bazaar. I spent my time trying to take photos of people, as I wasn't really interested in shopping and they were very in your face and very pushy. The girls enjoyed it and wanted to say there longer. So we grabbed a quick shwarma and then I headed back to the hotel with the guide and van.

I had told Sam how much I enjoyed Turkish rice pudding and he told me Egyptian pudding was excellent. In order to prove his point he ordered two for us to have at the hotel. It was really good, maybe a bit less rich and came with ice cream on top.

This evening Sara, Claire and I hired a cab and went to Giza to see the Sound and Light Show on the pyramids. The drive there was amazing. Traffic here is chaotic and there are cars, pedestrians and horse or donkey carts all competing for lanes or crossing in front of you. I would never drive my bike here! Sam says you need three things to drive here: good brakes, a good horn and good luck!

The show was hokey, but it was good to see the pyramids at night and lit up. Then back to the hotel for another early night.

Day 9 Karnak Temple and the Luxor Museum

Monday March 28^th

We started out this morning at 7:00 and drove a short distance to the Karnak Temple. This is the largest temple built in Egypt. Luxor is built on the site of the ancient city of Thebes. Every king of Egypt came here and added something to it, either another gate, or sphinx, or statues or another smaller temple on the grounds. It is massive. Sam gave us another history lesson and then we had an hour of free time to wander around and explore it.

From there we went to the Luxor Museum. This is a new museum that houses a set of beautiful almost perfect statues that were uncovered at the Luxor Temple a few years ago. It also houses a few items from King Tut's tomb including one of his chariots. The museum is beautifully laid out and, unlike the Archeological Museum in Cairo, it doesn't hold too much and can be viewed easily in an hour or two.

Next we drove to visit the ACE (Animal Care in Egypt) site. This is a non profit animal protection agency set up by two women who visited Egypt and were upset by the state of the working donkeys and horses and the treatment they received. They decided to do something about it. The result is a care and education facility. They have a couple of Egyptian vets and bring in other vet volunteers from around the world to treat and care for the animals. In addition they education the owners of the animals and have a classroom where they bring in classes of local children to educate them too. The lady told us they believe that the Egyptians aren't deliberately cruel to the animals they are just ignorant of proper treatment. Inspiring place.

Then we went to a local Luxor woman's house for lunch. She is a well educated Egyptologist and a local guide. She used to work for Intrepid too, until Intrepid decided to only have one guide and not include a local one as well. She was very interesting to talk to and the food was very fresh and tasty. She is very happy about the revolution even though it has really hurt her livelihood. She says that she is willing to suffer for awhile for a better Egypt. Seems to be a common feeling here.

Spent the afternoon back at the hotel and in the internet cafe trying to catch up on some things. Then I met Sam at 7:00 and we went for dinner at Snack Time again, only this time on the fourth floor which has a better menu. The view from there overlooks the Luxor Temple which is lit up with yellow lights at night. I had a really good chicken dinner with lots of fresh vegetables! and a fresh lemon drink. Then we walked all the way back to our hotel. Temperature was perfect and it was interesting watch all the people. By the time we got back, we had a short wait for our van to take us to the train station to catch the night train to Cairo. I had my own cabin this time and after finishing my Grisham book, I had a pretty good sleep.

Day 8 Valley Of The Kings

Sunday March 27^th

Up at 4:30 for a 5:00 start. We loaded up in a van for a short ride to the harbour where we got on a boat for the trip across the Nile from the east side to the west. They served us tea and a Twinkie! Then we got in another van for the ride to the balloon launching site. Yup again! It was offered here at a cheaper price, and the girls wanted to do it and rather that sitting and waiting for them, I went too.

The ride was fantastic, the weather much warmer, the sky sunny and we were up in time to see the sunrise. We floated over fields of crops and farmers and could see the various sites of the Valley of the Kings. There were about twelve other balloons floating about. We rose to 2500 metres for a spectacular view of the whole area.

When we came down for a landing we landed in a farmer's field, but not quite where the ground crew wanted, so they ran out and pulled and guided our balloon to the right place while the pilot kept us about two feet off the ground. Precision flying. The flight lasted forty-five minutes. After that we were given our certificate and an ankh keychain and charm (the symbol for long life). Then we were taken a short distance to met up with Sam and our van.

Next stop was a donkey ride. We each had our own donkey and went for a forty minute ride along a road through the fields and a small village. It was fun riding my donkey and trying to steer him and stop him from eating the crops.

Back in the van for a short ride to the Valley of the Kings. Sam purchased a ticket for us that entitled us entrance to three tombs, Rameses the III, IV and Mernptah. The three of us purchased two more, Rameses the VI and Tutankhamen. Sam gave us a history lesson about the site and what we were about to see. He told us that they New Kingdom Egyptians decided not to build pryamids because of the expense and tomb raiders still found their way in. So they decided to bury their dead in a valley on the west bank where they would be out of sight and reach of most people. They chose the valley because it was hot and dry (good for preserving mummies), it was well hidden and the mountain shape looked like a pyramid. No one is allowed to bring a camera into the site, they must be left in your vehicle. So I bought some postcards and photographed them to make sure I had some memories.

We explored all five tombs and marvelled at the precision engineering of the entrances, walls and the depth of which they dug into the mountain with primary basic tools. One tomb goes in 150 metres! The tunnels all have square corners and are quite wide and tall. The amount of work that went into the digging, the carving of hieroglyphics and the painting of the stories is absolutely amazing. The tombs were overwhelming and incredible. All of this was done to protect their kings from vandals and to assist them in their journey to the afterlife. Then it was all walled up to be seen by no one ever again (except that tomb raiders did find and loot most of the tombs). King Tut's mummy still remains in his tomb.

Then we decided on another option and drove ten minutes to Habu Temple. This is another temple similar to Philae, but larger. It was built by Rameses the III. He built his palace right beside it made out of mud bricks. The temple is special because when the Christians arrived and set up a church in the temple they covered up most of the carvings and paintings. As a result some of the original colour of the paintings has survived to this day. It must have been gorgeous when it was fully painted!

That was the end of our west bank tour and we returned to our neighbourhood. Sam and I returned to the Snack Place for lunch and the girls headed off somewhere else. After lunch Sam took me to a place to have a cartoush made of silver. Then back to the hotel for some chill out time, blog updating and reading. Went to the internet cafe for an hour.

At 7:00 met up with my group and we went next door to a little restaurant for an Italian dinner. Food was quite good and I had a pizza. Back at the hotel we met up with the other Intrepid group that was just leaving for the night train back to Cairo. Had a chance to say goodbye to Peter and Tarla. Then to room for a well deserved sleep.

Day 7 Felucca and Van to Luxor

Saturday March 26^th

We were up early for a final tea and biscuit with our hostess, before walking to the felucca for a short sail down the Nile. It was much less windy today and sailing was very pleasant. We sailed past the agricultural areas and through the desert.

We docked on the east bank and loaded into our minivan for the three hour drive to Luxor. The road follows the Nile north. I would have loved to just sit on the side of the road and photograph the goings on. I've included three photos of things you won't see on Canadian roads, but there was lots more: donkey carts carrying wide loads of sugar cane, a woman carrying a plastic bag with three live ducks clasped to her chest, a pickup jam packed with calves, another with a huge black cow and three men sitting on the tailgate, and so on. This is not to mention the video game feel of the drive as we drove on whatever side of the road that the driver felt like as we dodged all the various animal carts, on coming cars that are also in the wrong lane, motorcycles, and people who are walking down the road.

Anyway we arrived safely in Luxor, checked into our hotel and had a couple of hours to relax. Then we gathered again for a briefing of the activities for the next two and a half days here, before heading out for an orientation walk and lunch. We ate at an Egyptian fast food place and then took a cab to the Luxor museum, only to find that the hours have changed, due to lack of tourists, and we missed the time to buy the last entry tickets. So we headed back to the hotel.

I went back to the room, read for a bit and then had a nap. Met the group in the lobby for dinner, but the girls had eaten and didn't want to come. So Sam and I teamed up with the Peter and Tarla's Intrepid group who is also staying at our hotel, and we all went to a local restaurant in an old house. It was good to be with a big group. Had a chicken stew type meal with garlic and cumin. Very good. Then walked back to the hotel for an early bed for another early rise.

Day 6 Too Much Wind For the Felucca

Friday March 24^th

Woke up this morning, read for awhile and then wrote up yesterday's blog while I waited for everyone else to stir. I went for a short walk around the house just to see what was happening. Breakfast was felafels, flat bread, omelette, french fries, tomato and cucumber. We were to get underway sailing on the felucca by 11:00 but unfortunately, the captain Moustafa deemed it too windy for sailing. It be fair it would have also been quite cool on board. So the girls pulled out a couple of books and settled in to read. Me, I've still got FOMO (fear of missing out) so I went for a walk to take more photos of the village, and I'm really glad I did.

I wandered around taking photos of the village mosque, which was broadcasting prayers from the minaret, the pastel coloured houses and the surrounding desert. I climbed up a sandy slope in order to get some photos above the town. As I was walking a woman further down the hill yelled “hello” to me a couple of times. I responded and kept going. She yelled some and gestured at me. I wasn't sure what she wanted, and remembering the dogs from yesterday I thought that perhaps she was warning not to go further up. So, I started down the hill along a path that was parallel to the one she was on. When she could see I was going to pass her as I descended down to the Nile, she started yelling “hello” again and signalling for me to go there. I didn't know what she wanted and my western suspicious mind was starting to think of different possibilities.

When I got to where she was another woman with a young child in her arms came around the corner. Now there were two women in their twenties, dressed in traditional robes with head scarves. One invited me into the house that was right there for a cup of tea! With my mind still trying to figure out the difference between what seemed to be happening and what might be happening, I decided to see where it led. So, I entered through the door and came into another sandy courtyard, and another number of doors. Inside there was an older woman all dressed in black, obviously their mother. They invited me into a small room with a mat on sand and two beds in it. One told me to sit down and then went out to get me a tea. In the meantime another woman came in with a small daughter. So now there were a total of four women and two children. The mother sat on the floor and cut up some picked plant into small pieces. The two other women sat on the other bed and giggled to each other obviously about me. The children were fascinated and kept staring. They tried to say a couple of things to me but conversation was difficult.

I told them I was from Canada and that I was travelling on a felucca. The tea showed up – one cup! I was served a cup of hibiscus tea. They offered food too, but I declined. My mind was wondering what kind of water was used, would I get sick, but it was very hot, so I assumed it was well boiled. Besides, at this stage how could I refuse to drink it? I tried it and they asked me if I wanted sugar. I declined as there was already enough sugar in it to rot your teeth.

I told them I was a teacher and would love to take a photo of the three of them sitting on the bed and the children. One woman had the total body covering with only the eyes not covered, the other two were totally covered but they weren't wearing their head scarves. They wouldn't let me, but put the children down telling me I could photograph them. The littlest one didn't like that and cried. The other one, prompted by mom, started counting to ten in English. So, I counted with her and then walked her through doing it in reverse, something she'd obviously never done before. Then I asked her if she knew the alphabet, and she could recite about the first ten letters.

I was a bit uncomfortable and aware that Sam the others didn't know where I was. Then I heard a male voice in the courtyard and the two women scrambled to cover their heads. Oh, oh, now what. My western mind was racing again. So I determined to make my exit and stood up. I was the farthest back in the room with the door at the other end. The man came in all dressed in white, looked at me in surprise and then offered his hand, said “hello” followed by “welcome”. Another man came in. Both men had obviously just returned from prayer. Even though everyone was friendly I was outnumbered, cornered and felt somewhat uncomfortable. So, I excused myself and said I had to get back to the felucca. The man seemed to understand, and allowed me to pass, but I had to ask his help in finding the right door out.

Smiling to myself and thinking what an interesting adventure that was, I walked out the front door and saw a beautiful view of the village and the Nile. So I took a photo and then took another of the outside of the house to show my hostess to see if she knew them. I heard another voice call out “hello, welcome”. I turned around and there was another man dressed in white coming along the path from the mosque. He asked where I was from (in very good English), where I was staying and then told me that there was a beautiful house to take photos of down the hill. He tried to point it out, but when I couldn't see it, he said he'd take me there. Again, my mind was going, but at least he was leading me in the direction I needed to go.

When we got there the house was painted a sky blue with a checkered pattern. He pointed out that the wall had a painting of a woman dressed traditionally carrying a tray of welcoming tea. As he was unlocking the door, I asked if this was his house, and of course it was. It was actually his guest house and he hosts tourists there. Inside the courtyard were lots of old Nubian artifacts and more beautiful paintings on the wall. He had set it up as a museum of traditional Nubian life. He also had a cafe in there, cages with two small Nile crocodiles, rabbits, and doves. He showed me the guest rooms, his craft/market room, and the kitchen with old traditional cooking methods. He was really nice, proud of his place, didn't pressure me or try to get me to buy anything. He just wanted to show me around, and then gave me a couple of his cards and told me to give them to tourist friends. I think his business was really slow because of the revolution.

I'd already told him I couldn't stay and why, so I excused myself and he walked me out. I hurried down to the main road and headed back to the homestay. En route I met Moustafa whom Sam had sent out to find me. On my return I told Sam about my experiences and he told me it was part of the Nubian heritage of welcoming people to their villages and homes. There was no hidden or overt agenda. So all in all a very interesting walk!

As a group we headed down to the felucca for lunch that Mohammed had made for us. Food was good and we relaxed on the boat for awhile. I went and visited a group that were travelling with another company, Oasis from the UK, and were also stranded by the wind. They were a group of fifteen twenty somethings who were hanging out, drinking and hoping to sail. We had a good time swapping travel stories for a couple of hours. Then I returned to our felucca and talked with Sara who was alone on the boat and then we walked back to the homestay. Shortly afterwards another Intrepid group arrived on their felucca and were also stranded. Sam knew the guide and invited the group up to stay at our homestay. They walked up and joined us. In the group was Peter the Vancouver teacher I'd met in the airport pickup I had in Cairo. We laughed at meeting each other again. Their group decided to sleep on the felucca, because they want that experience, whereas we are happy to sleep at the homestay again.

All of us went down to the felucca again for dinner and then all the felucca captains lit a bonfire and we had a party. The captains all had bongos and they played them and sang while some of us danced and others stood around chatting. I talked to Peter, who gave me a beer, and a woman named Tarla from California. We swapped stories and she regaled me with her world tour forty years ago!

We headed back to our homestay about 10:30.

Day 5 Nubian Homestay

Thursday March 23^th

Up really early this morning with things in my head. So I spent a relaxing morning in my room planning and trying to figure out what I still want to see, where I want go, how I want to do it, and what I'll have to leave for another time. Went for a walk around the streets and the market area around the hotel to get money from the ATM and to pick up some fruit for breakfast.

Met Sara, Claire and Sam in the lobby and we carried our kit a short way down the road to the wharf where our felucca was docked. We met JJ, who owns it (he's the same guy we dinner with the other night at his sister's house), and our 'captain' Moustafa and the cook Mohammad. We set sail north towards Luxor. Our destination today is a Nubian village where we will stay at a homestay.

The weather is warm but quite windy and even though the current in the Nile is quite strong and flowing in the direction we want to go, the wind is blowing in the opposite direction. As a result we have to tack back and forth across the river to make headway. We past a number of empty river cruise ships including an old Mississippi style rear paddle wheeler from 1917. Our first stop was just out of town at a checkpoint where Moustafa had to check in and the official had to give us permission to continue. There was some concern that perhaps the wind was too strong, but thankfully we go the go ahead.

We settled in and relaxed on the roomy, padded deck under a canopy that shaded us from the sun, as the boat pitched from side to side as we tacked our way down river. As we set out the strong wind off the water added a chill to the air and we found spots along the side of the boat to lay in the sun. The scenery changed from cityscape to country and we could see the pumping stations that provide water to the irrigation ditches that allow the Nubians on the west bank and the upper Egyptians on the east bank, to grow crops and date trees in the desert.

Sam sat under the bow in a little room doing 'work' while the three of us enjoyed the cool windy ride. We talked about travelling and shared some stories and experiences. Claire has travelled quite a lot on similar trips through Asia, while Sara is just starting out.

We stopped a ways up and tied up to have lunch, which was rice, veggies and potatoes. We could have opted for a swim, but the wind and temperature weren't quite inviting enough.

Moustafa set sail again and we crisscrossed the river as we continued to the village. I was interesting watching him as he tacked back and forth leaning with his whole weight on the rudder handle to stay the course.

When we arrived at the village we carried our day packs up to the house. As we walked we were met by the village children who all shouted 'hello' and and the little ones wanted to hold our hands and walk with us. When we arrived we met our hostess, Wadad, and her mother and sister. The two sisters live in houses across the path from each other. She is a widow who has raised three children, two girls 18 and 14 and a son with some help from the Intrepid foundation. She is a primary teacher is another village. All three are enrolled in schools and are doing well. The eldest is in high school which is a taxi ride, a boat ride and another taxi ride away.

Traditional Nubian homes are built from mud and cow dung and painted pastel colours. They have high walls that surround an large inner courtyard full of sand. Actually the whole village is full of sand. Sam had Moustafa take us on a walk through the village and then through part of the desert to where we could climb a small mountain for a panoramic view. The village has small narrow sandy paths and many colourful homes and lots of kids. The desert is bone dry and we kicked up clouds of dust. As we walked we were followed by a number of barking dogs who were not happy with us being there, but they kept their distance. The climb was fairly easy up the sand and loose stone slope, reminded me of the last part of Kilimanjaro. The view from the top was beautiful, blue sunny sky, dark blue Nile, green crops and date palms along the shores and the sand brown of the desert just past that. We stayed up there for an hour watching the large river cruise boats plowing through the water and the sun setting behind us over the desert.

When we left we climbed down the other side of the hill to the road along the river bank in order to bypass the dogs who were still barking in the distance. When we got back we stopped at the sister's house and she spread out a carpet on the sand for us to sit on and then brought out some homemade crafts for us to look at. I bought a little orange and blue striped hat. We returned to our hostess and she invited us to sit on another carpet for dinner, which was rice, mixed green salad, vegetable soup, chicken pieces, and a baked pasta dish. After dinner Moustafa excused himself and went back to the felucca to sleep there with the cook and watch both the boat and our backpacks.

We played UNO and another card game with the two daughters for awhile and then the family retired. We sat and talked for two hours, about the revolution, troubles in the Middle East, different homestays, and the problems of the world. Good evening. Then we went to our rooms. Sam has his own room and the three of us are sleeping on mattresses on the sand with mosquito netting around us.

Day 4 Abu Simbil and Philae Temple

Wednesday March 23^rd

I was up at 3:30 for a 4:00am start. Picked up my boxed lunch and headed with the group to our minivan. We drove to a place where we met all the other buses and tour groups that were going on Abu Simbil. For some mysterious reason all the vehicles are grouped into a convoy for the three hour drive through the desert. I think it has something to do with safety because there are no services en route, but I didn't totally understand the rationale.

Anyway, we departed en mass at 4:30 and arrived about an hour after sunrise at 7:30. We walked to the site around a hill. The first view of the temple was from the side as the heads appeared, really amazing. Sam gave us a briefing of the site and its history.

Abu Simbil refers to two massive rock temples in Nubia on the west bank of Lake Nasser 230 km south of Aswan. They were ordered and built in the Thirteenth century BC as a lasting monument to Ramesses II and his queen Nefertari, by Ramesses.

When the Egyptians built the new High Dam to help control the Nile and provide electricity, Abu Simbil and other temples in the area were going to be flooded. The international community and UNESCO came to the rescue and cut the whole temple into pieces, thousands of blocks averaging twenty tons, moved it to higher ground and reassembled it! The temple was reconstructed 65 metres higher and 200 metres back from the river. Parts of the temples are rooms carved into the hill and after moving them they actually built a new hill on and around it to replicate the original.

We had a couple of hours of free time to wander around the site and explore the temples. They are absolutely amazing and massive. Inside Ramesses temple there are six more large statues lining the path to the interior chambers. At the back of the fourth and last chamber are four more seated statues, three are gods and the middle one is Ramesses (interesting that he has himself sitting with the gods). Three of these four statues are lit by the rising sun peaking through the four chambers on two mornings of the year. No one knows why those two days were special. All the walls are covered in Egyptian art telling stories of Ramesses II life, victories and conquests.

Ramesses temple has four large statues of himself on the outside. The temple he had built for his beloved Queen Nefertari has two large statues of her on the outside and four of him! Her temple also has interior chambers covered in beautiful Egyptian pictures.

There were more tourists here, but still way less than normal thankfully, as usually they have two or three convoys of buses arriving daily.

The Arab in the photo is one of the con men who try to pose for you or with you for you can take a photo but then charge you for it. I got this one from a distance.

We loaded back on our bus and did the return journey through the barren and beautiful desert. I think this is the driest desert I have yet seen, with nothing growing except in a couple of places where there was obviously water underground. We drove past a couple of mining sites. Eventually we crossed the top of the Aswan Dam as we headed to our optional tour of Philae Temple. It too was relocated because of the flooding caused by the new High Dam. It was relocated from an island where it was already half submerged to a nearby island that was enlarged in order to house the temple and reshaped to resemble the original island! There were only a handful of tourists here and we had the site more or less to ourselves.

Philae Temple has been used by Christians living in the area hundreds of years ago and they vandalized parts of it, defacing the carvings and building their own church inside the temple. When the Greeks discovered it they remodelled it and added a large number of beautiful columns in the courtyard. Nevertheless it still contains walls full of Egyptian art depicting offerings to the gods, and scenes from daily life.

After that we returned to our hotel for a couple of hours of free time. At 7:00 I met up with Sam and he took me to a local restaurant for dinner. The girls had gone and eaten somewhere else. He ordered the food and we had a variety of small dishes of meats, salads, veggies and dips. It was delicious. Having a guide to take you to a good local restaurant and explain the menu is another reason I like these trips.

Returned to the hotel and read and watched Aljazeera News (the local Arab news channel in the style of CNN) and all the news of the world, Libya, Japan, etc.

Day 3 Aswan

Tuesday March 22^nd.

We arrived in Aswan by 10:30, whereupon I said goodbye to Christian, my Peruvian friend and went straight to our hotel. Our rooms weren't ready so we decided to go to the Nubian Museum today rather than tomorrow. This museum documents the history of the Nubian people who have lived in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. They had lived through the Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilizations that have all sought to conquer them. What I found most interesting was the section that was dedicated to the world wide effort lead by UNESCO to save and move a number of ancient sites before they were flooded by the building of the High Dam (which was built after the Aswan Dam and further up river, when it was realized that the Aswan wasn't enough to control the flooding of the Nile). Abu Simbel is one of these temples that was dismantled and moved out of the way of the new man made lake. We are going there tomorrow.

Then we came back to our hotel, checked in and had a couple of hours to relax and clean up. This hotel is much nicer than the one in Cairo, cleaner, newer, with a large wide screen TV, an internet cable and two interesting features: I have a great view of the Nile from my balcony and in my room, I have a glass window in the shower so I can see into the bedroom. Very interesting for a conservative country!

At 3:00 we gathered again in the lobby and headed down to the harbour to catch a boat for a tour of this part of the Nile and around the Elephantine Island. We landed on the island where we could climb a large sand dune for a better view of the river and Aswan city. The colours here are striking, with the blue water, the beige sand and the green trees. After staying up there for awhile we headed down to the boat again and relaxed at a coffee/tourist cafe there. They had a tank with three two foot long Nile crocodiles.

Just after sunset we went back across the river to have dinner at a typical Nubian family home. It was a delicious meal with lentil soup, rice, fried chicken and fish, a tomato and vegetable sauce and another dish of okra and tomatoes. Afterwards we were told about the Nubian culture and told we would hear more in the next couple of days as we sail on his felucca sailing boat and have a home-stay visit as his sister's house. Then it was back to our hotel again to get a good night's sleep for an early morning tomorrow.

Day 2 The Giza Plateau and the Great Pyramids

Monday March 21^st

This morning the three of us embarked on our first excursions with Sam. We boarded a private mini bus for the 40 minute drive through the chaotic traffic of Cairo. We saw a number of animals pulling carts or carrying people in the heart of this huge city, donkeys, horses and camels. Also saw two herds of goats and sheep feeding at a trough right on the side of the road. It certainly doesn't help the traffic situation.

This morning was foggy and gloomy. It didn't look good for pyramid viewing, I mean who gets foggy pictures of pyramids? We're in a desert man! Indeed our first view of them as we drove through Giza was pretty bleak. When we arrived Sam gave us a history lesson about the Egyptian civilization and as he was talking the sun tried to peak out. It never cleared totally, but at least we had some blue sky to go with the haze.

We wandered around taking photos and following Sam's two pyramid rules: don't talk to strangers and nothing is free! The recent revolution has severally curtailed the tourist industry here. It's been really hard on anyone who relies on it, guides, hawkers, camel riders, all of them. As a result they are pretty eager to get your business. It's good for us though, in that there is no one here. We were one of three vans that were parked in a big parking lot that I am sure is usually full of buses and tour groups.

The Great Pyramids were built for three kings. The largest is for the Pharaoh Khufu who is the father of Pharaoh Khafre who has the second largest, and the smallest of the three is for Pharaoh Menkaure. As a sign of respect a son could not build a pyramid larger than the one built for his father. Hence the oldest is the largest.

After our wandering and exploring time we got back in the van for the short trip to the panoramic view point. From there you can see all three pyramids. We also had a half hour camel ride from there. Getting on the camel is interesting. It complains and groans as it's forced down on it's knees. Then once you get on it lurches up, back end first, which would pitch you off the front if you weren't holding on. The guide took us to another point where we the three pyramids were lined up one in front of another. At that view point we dismounted for photos. Getting off it fun too, as again you almost go over it's head. For some reason he had me stand on the back of the camel while it was down, and jump off.

Next we a short drive to the Sphinx. It is a little smaller than I imagined, but very impressive. It must have been amazing when it was complete and it's face perfect. That completed our tour of the Giza plateau. When we left we stopped at a local restaurant for take out lunch. I had a falafel and a shawarma.

We drove back through the crazy traffic, where white lines are only suggestions for lanes, and arrived at the Egyptian Archaeological Museum. This is a huge museum housing thousands of artifacts. Inside are items from all three kingdoms of ancient Egypt, but the most spectacular exhibit is most of the collection from King Tutankhamun's tomb. Here were his masks, coffins, jewelry, personal items and everything that was buried with him for use in the afterlife.

I was disappointed that all cameras had to be left outside as we were not allowed to take photos inside. I don't understand this and it seems to be happening more and more. Nothing I can do about it, I will just have to raid the internet again! Sam gave us a guided tour of some of the more important and interesting things, including the Rosetta Stone, before we had free time to wander around. I liked the room where they had dozens of sarcophagi. They were beautifully painted and decorated.

I found the museum to be somewhat dirty and dusty inside. It could really use a coat of paint and better lighting. I was surprised that even the label identifying items were only computer print outs on card stock under glass. Not nearly as fancy as museums elsewhere.

After our tour we drove back to the hotel for some free time. I used mine at the internet cafe to catch up with some e-mails.

Then it was time to take the van to the train station. After braving the traffic again, we arrived an hour early, because even though there is a schedule, Sam says that timing is approximate. So we waited an hour before it arrived. The train was quite old and tired but we had sleeping compartments that were quite nice. Only two to a room this time, instead of four like in Turkey. I shared a room with a Peruvian soldier. He was a captain in the army and now is doing a years service with the UN in Liberia. He and two friends are on holiday here in Egypt. He is reading a book about Rwanda, called the Bishop of Rwanda, so we talked about that. He told me that he took a course in Nova Scotia in 2008 and all his friends there were asking him about Machu Picchu. He'd never been to it. So when he went home he took a trip there.

We talked for a while and then the porter came and made the beds. I slept very well with the rocking motion of the train and thankfully it didn't stop as often as the other.

Day 1 Egypt Travel Day Istanbul to Cairo

Sunday March 20^th

I was up at 5:15 to eat my rice pudding and grapefruit breakfast and finish packing. Down to the lobby for a 6:00 am pickup, but it came and went apparently without coming into the hotel to get me. So, my hotel called a cab for me and charged it the company that was supposed to pick me up. The drive to the airport was about forty minutes along mostly deserted early morning streets.

The flight was about half full and uneventful. It was another cloudy drizzly day, so visibility was zero from up in the air. Arrived in Cairo by 1:00 after a two hour flight. Getting the visa was no problem, $15, but I can't change the last of my Turkish money, about $35. I was met at the airport by an Intrepid representative and we had to wait for a half hour for the company van to come and collect us.

I had a good talk with the rep. We talked about the vote yesterday on the constitution changes and about the strife between Christians and Muslims after the Christian church was burned. He thinks it's going to get much worse. He also told me he is Christian and showed me two small cross tattoos he has on his right hand. I think he was telling me that all Christians have to have them! I'm going to check into that, because that is scary.

When the van did arrive we were teamed up with another teacher from Vancouver who is starting a different Intrepid trip and staying at a different hotel. Nice guy and we had a good talk about travel for the hour long ride to our hotels. He is very jealous of the 4 over 5 plan I am on, as his board doesn't offer it.

Arrived at the hotel and they told me there was a man there this morning who was trying to give me a package but wouldn't leave it to anyone else. Of course my new hat!! Had the hotel call him back and he is going to bring it round at 7:00. If you remember I lost the hat that Ken, Dorothy and my Toronto friends gave me as a send off at the beginning of my trip. Unfortunately it blew off my head in Cappadocia. Ken heard about it, knows how much I appreciated and how much I wore it, and offered to get me another. He bought it in Toronto and had it delivered to my hotel here in Cairo! Thank you very much Ken and Dorothy. I will get you a picture of me wearing it in front of the pyramids tomorrow.

This city is enormous, 23 million, congested, noisy, and dirty. Doesn't help that it is a grey overcast day, but it certainly is not attractive. After checking into my room, (I'm on the eighth floor and have a Nile River view, from a very old tired hotel), I went for a short walk to see the Nile up close and to buy some water. Three things happened in fairly quick succession. I got to a roundabout and when traffic stopped a man got out of his driver's seat and came across the road and put some money into an old hunched over woman who was walking down the street. She looked taken aback but kept it. Then as I was trying to figure that out, an older man walked up to the same roundabout and just keeled over. His things fell on the ground and he lay sprawled on the sidewalk with his head at an awkward angle on the road. I honestly thought he'd died. He lay there for a bit before a crowd gathered and sat him up, but couldn't revive him. Then a lady came over and sprayed him in the face with some perfumed thing. That woke him up, and he seemed totally confused. After watching that for a bit I continued walking. I was met by a man who started talking to me and asking where I was from, my name, how I liked Cairo, all that stuff. He showed me a couple of shops in the area where I could buy water or fruit and then told me to follow him so he could show me a market. I hate this shit and I'm suspicious as hell, but he seemed really nice and told me he'd lived in Montreal for a bit. Anyway, you guessed it, he led me to his “market” where he wanted to show me his art. I told him I wasn't buying anything but I looked at his stuff. He became more insistent and trying to pressure me, so I decided to clear out, and had to push past him to get out the door. Welcome to Cairo.

As I am typing this on my eighth floor balcony I just watched a rowing team go down the Nile. Two two man skulls and an eight man one. Not exactly dragon boats because they are rowing not paddling. I hope you know the difference Carol, or you'll be going the wrong way!

When I came back from my walk, the delivery guy had come early and dropped off my hat (so much for only giving it to me!). So, thanks Ken, I now have a new lid. Very much appreciated!

At 6:00 we had our group meeting. The group consists of Sam (Hossam) our Egyptian guide, two English sisters, Clara (a dentist) and Sara (a dietician) and me. Means I get my own room for the whole tour! Sam gave us the talk about responsible tourism, the itinerary and some info on the revolution.

Then we went our for dinner. I had a special kind of pizza that Sam recommended. It's got a thin pastry on the top and bottom, kind of a pizza pie. Very good. Then I went to the internet cafe, because there is no wi-fi here. Then to bed to get ready to see the pyramids tomorrow!