Friday 30 December
During the night just about at midnight the boat docked at Edfu. I was awake and decided to eat a plain bread roll Jarrah had brought me from dinner and to drink some water. I chatted to Jarrah a bit then we both went back to sleep.
We were awoken early again in the morning at 5.30 and Ahmed had arranged for us to have a juice drink at the restaurant at 6am. I was glad of this since I hadn’t eaten dinner the night before and I was feeling much much better. At 6.30 we left the boat for the temple. We took two horse carriages, Jarrah and Jade in one and Paul and myself in the other with Ahmed sitting with the driver. The temple was about a 15 minute carriage ride away. The town of Edfu seems to be very poor. The streets were dirty and without curbs or footpaths. Our carriage was the first to arrive at the temple and Ahmed got the guard to open the gate. The courtyard where all the carriages park had shops all on one side. Most were closed and we thanked our lucky stars that we weren’t going to have to run the gauntlet of sellers. As we passed one shop, however, I saw a scarf that I’d seen in Abu Simbel and I decided to get it. I bargained with the seller and got it for 30 Egyptian pounds—about $A9. I probably could have paid less but I’m happy with it.
The temple at Edfu has its very tall walls still standing because for hundreds of years the temple was buried in sand. This has preserved it for today. This temple also has its roof which is amazing! It is just hard to comprehend that the sculptures we are seeing are thousands of years old and if I touch them I am touching a place that someone who lived tens of generations before me touched. I should say there is absolutely nothing preventing anyone from touching the walls or columns of the temples. There are no signs or Perspex coverings over the sculptures. I guess there is too much to cover. But there is also nothing preventing the pigeons from roosting on these historic ruins.
We returned to the boat at 8.30 in time for breakfast—our first hot breakfast on this cruise—and sailed on towards Luxor. Around 12.30pm we approached the Esna lock and the fun began. I noticed one or two rowboats in our path and at one point motioned to the guys in the boat to get out of the way. Then one of the men stood up and held up a galabea for sale! OMG! The sellers were rowing out to meet the boat. Not only that but they were wrapping up items in plastic bags and throwing them up 3 floors to the boat’s sundeck. Various people were then negotiating over the items or not. Prices were agreed on or not and the items were either tossed back to the sellers or the sellers threw up another bag with clothing in it for the money to be put in and thrown back down. I bargained for several towels which were very nice but the sellers wouldn’t meet my price so I didn’t buy. Jade has seen a very nice blue and red towel with the pyramids and sphinx on it that she wants so we will have to negotiate further at Luxor tonight.
At 1.10 we were called down to lunch. This was right as the boat was going into the lock so we didn’t get to watch this from the sundeck. After lunch we returned to our rooms. I collected up clothes and did a big wash in the bathtub. Then I rested and watched some TV for a while before going up to the sundeck for tea With having been sick and also with having been on the boat for over a day when it was docked I feel that I haven't gotten as much of the shipboard life lazily cruising on the river as I would have liked.
The ship docked at Luxor about 5pm and since we had decided to go to the Sound and Light Show at Karnack Temple we got ready to leave. We met Ahmed at 6.15 and took two horse carriages to the temple for the show, which was at 7pm. The show was very good and professionally done wtih very dramatic music and recordings done by professional actors (someone said that they included Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor) presenting the history to us. We walked through the temple in stages as the lights and recordings explained each area to us and the show finished up in a benched seating area which overlooked the sacred lake (Jade called it the swimming pool). There was a lot of history to take in but it was a worthwhile experience.
Ahmed met us at the end of the show and we took the carriages back to the boat for a late dinner. Since we were eating at 8.40 we noticed that several of the tables were empty and thought that that was because we were late. However, later Ahmed said that some people left the boat already to catch flights or to continue their tours.
Friday, December 30, 2011
The Trip to Abu Simbel and Start of the Cruise
Thursday December 29
This morning we had to wake up at 5am for a 5.50am departure to Abu Simbel. We met Ahmed in the main foyer of the boat and picked up our boxed breakfasts of rolls, a boiled egg, 3 olives, a croissant and a boxed fruit juice and headed for the airport. On the way we picked up two other Peregrine tourists, both Australians who were on another cruise boat and on two other different tours.
We drove to the airport and checked in for our flight on Memphis Air. When we were handed our boarding passes we noticed that the seating was listed as ‘Free’ meaning everyone could sit wherever they wanted. Our flight was supposed to leave at 7am but didn’t leave until about 7.25. I was at a window and had a great view of the desert and of Lake Nasser, the large lake formed by the Aswan High Dam. Lake Nasser is the largest artificial lake in the world at 550 square kms. Two thirds of that is in Egypt and one third in the Sudan. The lake is full of crocodiles and this is the farthest north they can come on the Nile because they are blocked by the Aswan Dam.
The flight was only about 35 minutes and no refreshments were served. We had our breakfast boxes and we ate some of that food. I wasn’t really hungry. All of the tourists on the plane got onto large buses which took us to the entrance to the Abu Simbel temples.
The Abu Simbel temples are famous because they were relocated from beneath the waters of Lake Nasser after the High Dam was built. The United Nations provided funds and expertise to move them and the work was done painstakingly with each block numbered and catalogued so that it could be put in the same location. Even the siting of the temples had to be carefully planned as they were cut into cliff faces which faced the sun at a precise angle so that twice a year on specific days the suns rays reach into the farthest reaches of the temple and illuminate three of the statues of the gods (but not the 4th—the god of darkness). The colossal statues outside the main temple are magnificent. One of them which must have been partly collapsed before restoration is shown in the same state with the head and part of the body at its feet.
We had two hours to see the temples—with Ahmed first explaining about them then leaving us to explore on our own. We then re-joined him at the coffee shop. I went to look for a book about Egypt with photos of places we haven’t been allowed to photograph. Before I could even begin browsing a seller came up to me and showed me a book. When I asked him the price he said 800 pounds—about $A130! WOW! I offered 80 and he coutinued to bargain with me coming down to 600, 500 250, offering me another book for 120, then coming down to 100—all of this while I was walking away trying to get away from him. Finally he agreed to 80 but by then I was so sick of him that I said no. I re-joined Ahmed and our group and we started walking to the busses, but the seller was waiting for me again. He sent another kid from his shop with the book I wanted plus another book and tried to sell to me again. This time he agreed to 80 pounds and I bought the book. Whew! So much work to buy anything here!
We took the buses back to the airport and then got our new boarding passes with anybody’s name on it. We were all the same group that flew over so it didn’t matter. The plane was supposed to leave at 11 but left late again at about 11.25 and it got back about noon. We were taken back to our cruise boat for lunch then I laid down for the afternoon. The air conditioning in the room wasn’t working but I didn’t really notice. Jarrah leaned over to me to give me a hug when he left the room and he commented on how hot I was. I slept off and on but thought about what he said. Then I realized I had a fever and was sick. I had been dragging myself around since the camel ride and thought I was just getting old and out of shape and that that was why I was so exhausted. It was a relief to realize that there was an actual reason I was so lethargic! I let Paul know I was sick and to tell Ahmed because I thought there might be a doctor on the boat but there wasn’t. Well this is why we brought medicines with us. I dosed myself with two Panadol for the fever, which was my main problem. Later I thought I might as well take some Lomotil for the slight stomach cramps I was having. I diagnosed myself as having gastro.
At about 5.30 pm we docked at Kom-ombo where we visited the temple which was right on the shore of the Nile about a 5 minute walk. The temple was all lit up and was very beautiful. Ahmed described the temple to us as being a double temple for both Horus the hawk god and the crocodile god. We took pictures then returned to the boat for dinner at 8pm. I went straight to my room and went to bed, having decided to give my stomach a rest and skip dinner. For the others dinner was of Egyptian food and was very good. There was a photographer circulating around the dining room taking photos of people. Later at about 9.30 they were having a galabea (Egyptian dress) party. I didn’t hear any of this and just slept through.
This morning we had to wake up at 5am for a 5.50am departure to Abu Simbel. We met Ahmed in the main foyer of the boat and picked up our boxed breakfasts of rolls, a boiled egg, 3 olives, a croissant and a boxed fruit juice and headed for the airport. On the way we picked up two other Peregrine tourists, both Australians who were on another cruise boat and on two other different tours.
We drove to the airport and checked in for our flight on Memphis Air. When we were handed our boarding passes we noticed that the seating was listed as ‘Free’ meaning everyone could sit wherever they wanted. Our flight was supposed to leave at 7am but didn’t leave until about 7.25. I was at a window and had a great view of the desert and of Lake Nasser, the large lake formed by the Aswan High Dam. Lake Nasser is the largest artificial lake in the world at 550 square kms. Two thirds of that is in Egypt and one third in the Sudan. The lake is full of crocodiles and this is the farthest north they can come on the Nile because they are blocked by the Aswan Dam.
The flight was only about 35 minutes and no refreshments were served. We had our breakfast boxes and we ate some of that food. I wasn’t really hungry. All of the tourists on the plane got onto large buses which took us to the entrance to the Abu Simbel temples.
The Abu Simbel temples are famous because they were relocated from beneath the waters of Lake Nasser after the High Dam was built. The United Nations provided funds and expertise to move them and the work was done painstakingly with each block numbered and catalogued so that it could be put in the same location. Even the siting of the temples had to be carefully planned as they were cut into cliff faces which faced the sun at a precise angle so that twice a year on specific days the suns rays reach into the farthest reaches of the temple and illuminate three of the statues of the gods (but not the 4th—the god of darkness). The colossal statues outside the main temple are magnificent. One of them which must have been partly collapsed before restoration is shown in the same state with the head and part of the body at its feet.
We had two hours to see the temples—with Ahmed first explaining about them then leaving us to explore on our own. We then re-joined him at the coffee shop. I went to look for a book about Egypt with photos of places we haven’t been allowed to photograph. Before I could even begin browsing a seller came up to me and showed me a book. When I asked him the price he said 800 pounds—about $A130! WOW! I offered 80 and he coutinued to bargain with me coming down to 600, 500 250, offering me another book for 120, then coming down to 100—all of this while I was walking away trying to get away from him. Finally he agreed to 80 but by then I was so sick of him that I said no. I re-joined Ahmed and our group and we started walking to the busses, but the seller was waiting for me again. He sent another kid from his shop with the book I wanted plus another book and tried to sell to me again. This time he agreed to 80 pounds and I bought the book. Whew! So much work to buy anything here!
We took the buses back to the airport and then got our new boarding passes with anybody’s name on it. We were all the same group that flew over so it didn’t matter. The plane was supposed to leave at 11 but left late again at about 11.25 and it got back about noon. We were taken back to our cruise boat for lunch then I laid down for the afternoon. The air conditioning in the room wasn’t working but I didn’t really notice. Jarrah leaned over to me to give me a hug when he left the room and he commented on how hot I was. I slept off and on but thought about what he said. Then I realized I had a fever and was sick. I had been dragging myself around since the camel ride and thought I was just getting old and out of shape and that that was why I was so exhausted. It was a relief to realize that there was an actual reason I was so lethargic! I let Paul know I was sick and to tell Ahmed because I thought there might be a doctor on the boat but there wasn’t. Well this is why we brought medicines with us. I dosed myself with two Panadol for the fever, which was my main problem. Later I thought I might as well take some Lomotil for the slight stomach cramps I was having. I diagnosed myself as having gastro.
At about 5.30 pm we docked at Kom-ombo where we visited the temple which was right on the shore of the Nile about a 5 minute walk. The temple was all lit up and was very beautiful. Ahmed described the temple to us as being a double temple for both Horus the hawk god and the crocodile god. We took pictures then returned to the boat for dinner at 8pm. I went straight to my room and went to bed, having decided to give my stomach a rest and skip dinner. For the others dinner was of Egyptian food and was very good. There was a photographer circulating around the dining room taking photos of people. Later at about 9.30 they were having a galabea (Egyptian dress) party. I didn’t hear any of this and just slept through.
Camel Ride and Nile cruise boat
December 28 Wednesday
Morning Camel Ride
This morning we left the hotel about 9.30 for a camel ride. We walked to the open ferry boat and rode the Nile downstream and across to the place where we picked up the camels. I was quite nervous about riding a camel because I thought it would sway and give me motion sickness so I took a Dramamine before I left the hotel. At the camels Jarrah was the first one to mount his, then Jade, Paul and finally it was my turn. Ahmed gave me a hand up as I couldn’t swing my leg over the camel and I was just inching my way forward on the saddle when the camel decided to stand up. WOW!!!!!!!! When camel stands up their hind quarters go up first making you fall forward then their front legs stand up rocking you backwards. I wasn’t ready for it at all and I screamed loudly. The camel drivers laughed at me but I was so terrified that I didn’t even notice. I was so high sitting on the camel—much higher than on a horse—and I didn’t know what to expect next so I was both crying and laughing at the same time. Tears were running down my cheeks and the camel driver and Ahmed were asking me if I was OK. I said I was but that I wanted the camel to take a few steps so I could see what its motion was like. The driver led me for a few steps and it was fine so we headed off. My camel was named Lulu, Jade was on Flower, Paul’s we can’t quite remember and Jarrah was on Cuckoo at first but then another driver came along and he changed to another camel named Lulu. It was magical riding camels in the sand dunes. Jade and Jarrah had full charge of their camels, but Paul and I were both led by the drivers who walked beside their camels. For most of the time my camel’s rein was hooked into the saddle of Jade’s camel. The driver was behind us giving each camel a whip on its flank and saying ‘Yella’ which means ‘Let’s go’. Jade loved this and kept telling her camel, ‘Yella Flower!’
We got to the ruin of St. Simeon’s Monastary and Ahmed wasn’t there so we were a bit confused about how we were going to get tickets to go into the monastery. The camel drivers were also asking us if we wanted to take the camels back to the boat. We said no because we thought we were walking back. Anyway, it seemed that Ahmed had arranged for our tickets to the monastery so that was fine and one of the men who was there at the entrance took us in and with his limited English showed us around. He showed us where the monks slept, made bread, where visitors including Muslim visitors passing through stayed, where they made wine, etc. At the end of the tour he asked for money. I guess we should have expected this. I gave him one pound as this is what I’d given the camel drivers each. He was not happy. Later Ahmed told us that a tip should be a minimum of 5 pounds—that’s less than $A1. It is hard to know whether to tip since many of our tips are covered by the tipping kitty we’ve given Ahmed. Anyway, when we came out of the monastery our camels were still there and we were asked again if we wanted to ride them to the boat. We pointed to where the river was so that they knew not to take us back the way they came. We took the camels to the boat not knowing whether we were supposed to or not but I guess we were. Ahmed met us there and we took the ferry across the river, returned to our hotel to pick up our bags and transferred to the Nile cruise boat. We had lunch on the boat—all of our meals are covered for the three days we will be on board. The rest of the day was free. At night Paul and I returned to the market to make other souvenir purchases. We bought some keychains, t-shirts and I picked up some additional pashminas.
Morning Camel Ride
This morning we left the hotel about 9.30 for a camel ride. We walked to the open ferry boat and rode the Nile downstream and across to the place where we picked up the camels. I was quite nervous about riding a camel because I thought it would sway and give me motion sickness so I took a Dramamine before I left the hotel. At the camels Jarrah was the first one to mount his, then Jade, Paul and finally it was my turn. Ahmed gave me a hand up as I couldn’t swing my leg over the camel and I was just inching my way forward on the saddle when the camel decided to stand up. WOW!!!!!!!! When camel stands up their hind quarters go up first making you fall forward then their front legs stand up rocking you backwards. I wasn’t ready for it at all and I screamed loudly. The camel drivers laughed at me but I was so terrified that I didn’t even notice. I was so high sitting on the camel—much higher than on a horse—and I didn’t know what to expect next so I was both crying and laughing at the same time. Tears were running down my cheeks and the camel driver and Ahmed were asking me if I was OK. I said I was but that I wanted the camel to take a few steps so I could see what its motion was like. The driver led me for a few steps and it was fine so we headed off. My camel was named Lulu, Jade was on Flower, Paul’s we can’t quite remember and Jarrah was on Cuckoo at first but then another driver came along and he changed to another camel named Lulu. It was magical riding camels in the sand dunes. Jade and Jarrah had full charge of their camels, but Paul and I were both led by the drivers who walked beside their camels. For most of the time my camel’s rein was hooked into the saddle of Jade’s camel. The driver was behind us giving each camel a whip on its flank and saying ‘Yella’ which means ‘Let’s go’. Jade loved this and kept telling her camel, ‘Yella Flower!’
We got to the ruin of St. Simeon’s Monastary and Ahmed wasn’t there so we were a bit confused about how we were going to get tickets to go into the monastery. The camel drivers were also asking us if we wanted to take the camels back to the boat. We said no because we thought we were walking back. Anyway, it seemed that Ahmed had arranged for our tickets to the monastery so that was fine and one of the men who was there at the entrance took us in and with his limited English showed us around. He showed us where the monks slept, made bread, where visitors including Muslim visitors passing through stayed, where they made wine, etc. At the end of the tour he asked for money. I guess we should have expected this. I gave him one pound as this is what I’d given the camel drivers each. He was not happy. Later Ahmed told us that a tip should be a minimum of 5 pounds—that’s less than $A1. It is hard to know whether to tip since many of our tips are covered by the tipping kitty we’ve given Ahmed. Anyway, when we came out of the monastery our camels were still there and we were asked again if we wanted to ride them to the boat. We pointed to where the river was so that they knew not to take us back the way they came. We took the camels to the boat not knowing whether we were supposed to or not but I guess we were. Ahmed met us there and we took the ferry across the river, returned to our hotel to pick up our bags and transferred to the Nile cruise boat. We had lunch on the boat—all of our meals are covered for the three days we will be on board. The rest of the day was free. At night Paul and I returned to the market to make other souvenir purchases. We bought some keychains, t-shirts and I picked up some additional pashminas.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Afternoon Felucca Sail
Tuesday 27 December
We spent the early afternoon at the hotel. Jade was determined to go swimming so she and Jarrah suited up for a freezing cold swim. The pool is just gorgeous but the water isn't heated so I just went and sat by the pool while they dared each other to get in.
We met up with Ahmed in the hotel lobby at 4 to go for a sunset felucca sail on the Nile. We had only a short 5 minute walk to the river from our hotel where we boarded the boat. Because I get motion sick I was a bit nervous about sailing but the river looked smooth so that calmed my nerves. The boat was manned by two men, one on the tiller the other handling the sails and also looking over the bow at the depth. The men were both darker Nubian Egyptians. We sailed upriver for a short way then turned downriver which was against the breeze so the boat had to tack. It was so quiet, calm and beautiful. The sun was beginning to set towards the end of our trip. We sailed for an hour and I could have sailed for longer. Just as we landed another felucca full of East Asians was leaving the shore. As they got out into the river they were led into singing and dancing on their boat by one of the boatmen. Ahmed said they were singing a traditional Nubian song. On seeing that I was very glad that we had had a quiet peaceful sail.
After sailing we visited the Nubian Bazaar, a street of market stalls selling souvenirs. We walked along being pestered by people trying to get us into their stall. There was also a little boy of about 8 following us trying to sell us Egyptian bookmarks. He was only has high as Jarrah’s elbow. After looking at many stalls and bargaining we came away with some goodies. I got a gorgeous aqua and black pashmina and Jade bought gifts for some of her friends. We have some free time Wednesday afternoon so we may go back.
After bagging our bargains we met up with Ahmed again and he took us to a restaurant where we had a wonderful dinner of lamb, beef and chicken with pita bread, tomato and cucumber salad, vegetable stew, tahini and rice. Everything was delicious. We shared the dishes in the centre of the table and I liked that because we could try many things without feeling we had to finish anything. Instead of getting a taxi back to the hotel we walked back and visited the Coptic cathedral just near the hotel. The cathedral is gorgeous outside but the inside was certainly very plain and disappointing. Perhaps they are still raising funds to finish it.
We spent the early afternoon at the hotel. Jade was determined to go swimming so she and Jarrah suited up for a freezing cold swim. The pool is just gorgeous but the water isn't heated so I just went and sat by the pool while they dared each other to get in.
We met up with Ahmed in the hotel lobby at 4 to go for a sunset felucca sail on the Nile. We had only a short 5 minute walk to the river from our hotel where we boarded the boat. Because I get motion sick I was a bit nervous about sailing but the river looked smooth so that calmed my nerves. The boat was manned by two men, one on the tiller the other handling the sails and also looking over the bow at the depth. The men were both darker Nubian Egyptians. We sailed upriver for a short way then turned downriver which was against the breeze so the boat had to tack. It was so quiet, calm and beautiful. The sun was beginning to set towards the end of our trip. We sailed for an hour and I could have sailed for longer. Just as we landed another felucca full of East Asians was leaving the shore. As they got out into the river they were led into singing and dancing on their boat by one of the boatmen. Ahmed said they were singing a traditional Nubian song. On seeing that I was very glad that we had had a quiet peaceful sail.
After sailing we visited the Nubian Bazaar, a street of market stalls selling souvenirs. We walked along being pestered by people trying to get us into their stall. There was also a little boy of about 8 following us trying to sell us Egyptian bookmarks. He was only has high as Jarrah’s elbow. After looking at many stalls and bargaining we came away with some goodies. I got a gorgeous aqua and black pashmina and Jade bought gifts for some of her friends. We have some free time Wednesday afternoon so we may go back.
After bagging our bargains we met up with Ahmed again and he took us to a restaurant where we had a wonderful dinner of lamb, beef and chicken with pita bread, tomato and cucumber salad, vegetable stew, tahini and rice. Everything was delicious. We shared the dishes in the centre of the table and I liked that because we could try many things without feeling we had to finish anything. Instead of getting a taxi back to the hotel we walked back and visited the Coptic cathedral just near the hotel. The cathedral is gorgeous outside but the inside was certainly very plain and disappointing. Perhaps they are still raising funds to finish it.
Overnight train to Aswan
Aswan
Monday-Tuesday 26-27 December 2011
We left our hotel at 7pm last night to catch the overnight sleeper train to Aswan. The train was comfortable with the 4 of us divided up into two rooms as the rooms slept two each. Jade and I shared a room with Paul and Jarrah in the room next door. It was a comfortable but not luxurious trip. Just after leaving Giza station we were served dinner on board--pepper steak, herbed vegetables, steamed Arborio rice and a bread roll. Drinks were an extra cost but we had purchased our own drinks before getting on the train. The 13 hour ride stretched out to over 14 hours as we arrived in Aswan late. In the morning as we travelled we looked out on the Nile River, fields of crops and the daily life of people going about their business. We caught a lovely view of the red sun rising in the morning.
Just after 12 noon we arrived at our hotel where we will be for one night. The Basma Hotel is absolutely gorgeous! Beautiful tiled lobby with a cool bubbling fountain. The pool is cool and enticing. Jade can't wait to go in. This afternoon we are off for a felucca ride in a traditional Egyptian sailing boat and then dinner. Aswan is beautiful and warm and much cleaner than Cairo. I think we are going to enjoy this part of our trip in southern Egypt.
Monday-Tuesday 26-27 December 2011
We left our hotel at 7pm last night to catch the overnight sleeper train to Aswan. The train was comfortable with the 4 of us divided up into two rooms as the rooms slept two each. Jade and I shared a room with Paul and Jarrah in the room next door. It was a comfortable but not luxurious trip. Just after leaving Giza station we were served dinner on board--pepper steak, herbed vegetables, steamed Arborio rice and a bread roll. Drinks were an extra cost but we had purchased our own drinks before getting on the train. The 13 hour ride stretched out to over 14 hours as we arrived in Aswan late. In the morning as we travelled we looked out on the Nile River, fields of crops and the daily life of people going about their business. We caught a lovely view of the red sun rising in the morning.
Just after 12 noon we arrived at our hotel where we will be for one night. The Basma Hotel is absolutely gorgeous! Beautiful tiled lobby with a cool bubbling fountain. The pool is cool and enticing. Jade can't wait to go in. This afternoon we are off for a felucca ride in a traditional Egyptian sailing boat and then dinner. Aswan is beautiful and warm and much cleaner than Cairo. I think we are going to enjoy this part of our trip in southern Egypt.
The Pyramids, Sphinx and the Cairo Museum
Monday 26 December 2011
This morning we met Ahmed Helmy who is to be our guide during our tour of Egypt. Ahmed is a lovely young guy, who with his degree in Egyptology and perfect English, is extremely well qualified to take us on our tour. He's the sort of guy you immediately warm to and his openness in telling us that we can ask him absolutely anything is refreshing.
Today we left the hotel at 8.15 for a full day of sightseeing. The first stop was the pyramids which were only about 10 minutes from our hotel. They are right in the suburbs of Cairo. We first saw the largest pyramid of Cheops. BTW we have been learning quite a bit about Egyptian history from our guide Ahmed but don’t expect me to relate any of this accurately in this blog.
Straight out of the van we stand in front of the Great Pyramid of Cheops
It was an amazing experience to be at the pyramids. For most of us we’ve learned about them in history and seen documentaries about them on TV all of our lives. So to actually see them in real life is unreal. We walked all the way around the Grand Pyramid skirting past the many vendors and then re-joined our guide and driver for the drive to a lookout viewpoint where we could see the three pyramids. Then we drove to the smallest pyramid where we had the chance to go in. No cameras were allowed so I can only describe what it was like inside. We walked down a steep ramp to the interior. There were several open chambers at the bottom of this ramp. The farthest one was the burial chamber and I imagine the one before it was for items to be taken into the afterlife by the deceased. Being inside the pyramid was like being in an Indiana Jones movie. It was an experience of a lifetime.
Jade & Jarrah in front of the 3 Pyramids
We’re actually very lucky to be visiting Egypt at this time because this is normally the tourist high season with the largest crowds. Instead, because of the Egyptian revolution, hardly anyone is here. We can take our time with everything and see everything clearly without having to jostle crowds.
After visiting the pyramid we again joined Ahmed and drove to the Sphinx. The Sphinx is in a hole where it’s been excavated. It’s not on the surface as you might expect. It is also quite damaged. We can only view it from above but it is nonetheless a wonderful structure.
The Sphinx
The 4 of us taken in front of the Sphinx by an American family
From the Sphinx we left the pyramids area and drove to some nearby shops where we had a lunch of pita bread stuffed with either beef or chicken and onions with a yogurt sauce. I’ve forgotten the name of this Egyptian food but it was delicious and only 5 Egyptian pounds each as well! In revising this blog I've recalled it is called a Shawarma--sort of a type of Arab fast food!
Our next and final stop for the day was the Egyptian Museum on the other side of the Nile in the main part of Cairo. Ahmed took us through and described some of the artifacts to us. There was so much there that it isn’t possible to read the tags for all the exhibits and take it all in. The highlights were visiting Tutenkhamen’s room of artifacts. Included there was his golden death mask—which didn’t travel with the exhibit we saw in Australia. I noticed that one of his 4 canoptic jars which were in his image done in a white alabaster, was missing and I remembered seeing this in Australia. We saw so many things of his—funeral pallets with the 4 corners shaped like lionesses, another with hippopotamuses and another with spotted cows. I wish I could put up some photos of these items but cameras were not allowed in the museum. Finally we visited the Mummy Room with 18 mummies all on display in separate glass cases. Most of the mummies were partly exposed—most with heads, hands and partial feet uncovered. Several still had hair on their heads. They were all quite dessicated—dried out—of course and most of their skin had turned black but to think that they were thousands of years old was incredible.
Now we are back at the hotel resting until we go to our overnight train at 7pm. We are watching men’s gymnastics on TV—Jade is in heaven! It is the World Championships which were held in Tokyo in October. If only we could understand the Arabic commentary!
This morning we met Ahmed Helmy who is to be our guide during our tour of Egypt. Ahmed is a lovely young guy, who with his degree in Egyptology and perfect English, is extremely well qualified to take us on our tour. He's the sort of guy you immediately warm to and his openness in telling us that we can ask him absolutely anything is refreshing.
Today we left the hotel at 8.15 for a full day of sightseeing. The first stop was the pyramids which were only about 10 minutes from our hotel. They are right in the suburbs of Cairo. We first saw the largest pyramid of Cheops. BTW we have been learning quite a bit about Egyptian history from our guide Ahmed but don’t expect me to relate any of this accurately in this blog.
Straight out of the van we stand in front of the Great Pyramid of Cheops
It was an amazing experience to be at the pyramids. For most of us we’ve learned about them in history and seen documentaries about them on TV all of our lives. So to actually see them in real life is unreal. We walked all the way around the Grand Pyramid skirting past the many vendors and then re-joined our guide and driver for the drive to a lookout viewpoint where we could see the three pyramids. Then we drove to the smallest pyramid where we had the chance to go in. No cameras were allowed so I can only describe what it was like inside. We walked down a steep ramp to the interior. There were several open chambers at the bottom of this ramp. The farthest one was the burial chamber and I imagine the one before it was for items to be taken into the afterlife by the deceased. Being inside the pyramid was like being in an Indiana Jones movie. It was an experience of a lifetime.
Jade & Jarrah in front of the 3 Pyramids
We’re actually very lucky to be visiting Egypt at this time because this is normally the tourist high season with the largest crowds. Instead, because of the Egyptian revolution, hardly anyone is here. We can take our time with everything and see everything clearly without having to jostle crowds.
After visiting the pyramid we again joined Ahmed and drove to the Sphinx. The Sphinx is in a hole where it’s been excavated. It’s not on the surface as you might expect. It is also quite damaged. We can only view it from above but it is nonetheless a wonderful structure.
The Sphinx
The 4 of us taken in front of the Sphinx by an American family
From the Sphinx we left the pyramids area and drove to some nearby shops where we had a lunch of pita bread stuffed with either beef or chicken and onions with a yogurt sauce. I’ve forgotten the name of this Egyptian food but it was delicious and only 5 Egyptian pounds each as well! In revising this blog I've recalled it is called a Shawarma--sort of a type of Arab fast food!
Our next and final stop for the day was the Egyptian Museum on the other side of the Nile in the main part of Cairo. Ahmed took us through and described some of the artifacts to us. There was so much there that it isn’t possible to read the tags for all the exhibits and take it all in. The highlights were visiting Tutenkhamen’s room of artifacts. Included there was his golden death mask—which didn’t travel with the exhibit we saw in Australia. I noticed that one of his 4 canoptic jars which were in his image done in a white alabaster, was missing and I remembered seeing this in Australia. We saw so many things of his—funeral pallets with the 4 corners shaped like lionesses, another with hippopotamuses and another with spotted cows. I wish I could put up some photos of these items but cameras were not allowed in the museum. Finally we visited the Mummy Room with 18 mummies all on display in separate glass cases. Most of the mummies were partly exposed—most with heads, hands and partial feet uncovered. Several still had hair on their heads. They were all quite dessicated—dried out—of course and most of their skin had turned black but to think that they were thousands of years old was incredible.
Now we are back at the hotel resting until we go to our overnight train at 7pm. We are watching men’s gymnastics on TV—Jade is in heaven! It is the World Championships which were held in Tokyo in October. If only we could understand the Arabic commentary!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
The trip to Cairo via Abu Dhabi and our hotel
The Trip to Cairo
Sunday 25 December 2011
Jarrah taking advantage of a free game while we killed 7 hours waiting at Abu Dhabi Airport.
We’ve made it to Cairo after travelling about 25 hours. Our flights on Etihad Airways took us from Melbourne, Australia to Abu Dhabi, UAE to Cairo. Both flights were in Airbus planes. This was our first time on a Middle Eastern airline. The plane and the service were good but next time travelling this way I would fly another airline for comparison. The rows of seats were fairly close together, the seat back pockets, which I rely on to hold my various books, needlework and water bottle for the trip barely stretched open so I wasn’t able to put much there. The underseat storage also wasn’t commodious and having recently flown Qantas, Air New Zealand and V Australia which all have large underseat storage I was underwhelmed by this. The food was very nice though.
Detail of the ceiling in the Abu Dhabi terminal.
What did surprise us was the behavior of our fellow passengers, though. On both flights, there were about a dozen young children each and they all behaved terribly. Crying, screaming, refusing to sit in their seats for take off (and the parents supporting them with this). On the way to Abu Dhabi one child behind us was crying saying they wanted to go home. At least one or two were vomiting. One was coughing loudly and disgustingly with phlegm. On the flight to Cairo there were two kids behind Jarrah & Jade kicking the seats, letting their tray tables fall and bounce, pulling the plane remote controls out of the seat back and once even touching Jade’s head. At least 3 parents on that flight were holding screaming crying kids in their laps and refusing to place the kids in their seats for take off. They also refused to follow the instructions of several flight attendants. One kid age 3 worked herself up into such a state that she peed on her mother’s lap. I’ve never heard so much noise from such a small number of kids behaving badly on a flight before. One woman was talking on her phone after the plane doors closed—ignoring normal flight procedure to switch phones off. Her son was playing a console game at the same time and I could hear the sound effects of the game three rows back as he wasn’t using headphones. No one said anything to him at all. Our flight from Abu Dhabi to Cairo was delayed by about an hour and a quarter due to firstly an alarm going off after we left the gate so the plane had to go back to the gate and shut the engines down. And then they announced that there needed to be a change in catering. The flight went smoothly but on landing everyone burst out into loud applause and cheering. I’ve never had this before. Then while we were still taxiing a number of people unbuckled their seats, stood up and started getting their bags down from the overhead lockers. The poor flight attendants who didn’t appear to be enjoying their jobs were going up and down the aisles trying to get people back into their seats. We heard text messages pinging also while we were taxiing. As I left the flight I asked the attendant if people normally cheer when they land but she said their reaction depends on the location but they don’t normally do it. Walking through the plane door for some reason I had assumed that we were at the terminal so I was surprised when I stepped onto stairs and a breeze told me I was outside. There was a bus waiting to take us to the terminal at the bottom of the stairs.
The Cairo arrivals building is a step back in time to the 1960s or thereabouts. As we got off the bus there were a number of people holding signs waiting to meet people. I was surprised about this because we hadn’t cleared immigration yet. Our guide Mohammad was among them and he guided us into the immigration hall where we cut across at least 4 lines to get to the line on the far side of the hall. There were no signs for various passport holders to line up anywhere in particular so it was just totally disordered. The lines stretched the length of the smallish outdated room. When it came our time to go up to the immigration desk we were allowed to go up together. The official didn’t say anything to us when he was processing our papers. He probably didn’t speak any English. He spoke Arabic to two other officials also in his booth who were entering details on their computers. I thank Paul for getting Egyptian visas for us in Melbourne as this made everything go smoothly.
After we completed immigration we met Mohammad at the baggage carousel. He had already collected two of our bags which he identified by the Peregrine tags and we found the last two and headed outside. The parking area for the airport is just a ground level car park. Amazing for a city of 20 million people! Mohammad called our van and we loaded in for the trip to the hotel which was on the opposite side of Cairo.
My impression of Cairo gleaned in the dark during that trip is that it is similar to Bangkok in terms of chaotic crowded driving conditions. There are a lot of unfinished concrete medium rise apartment buildings. The streets are dirty with broken concrete and rubbish on the edges. There are some beautiful mosques which were well lit up as we passed them.
Our hotel, the Oasis, is nice, set in a garden area. We have two separate but attached bungalows which are well appointed with two double beds each. The beds are comfortable and they allowed us to spread out a lot. We were all pretty tired after 25 hours of travel and slept well.
Today (Christmas Day) we are relaxing at the hotel prior to meeting our guide Ahmed this afternoon. Tomorrow we have a big day visiting both the Cairo Museum and the Giza plateau with the three pyramids and the Sphinx. We can’t wait!
Sunday 25 December 2011
Jarrah taking advantage of a free game while we killed 7 hours waiting at Abu Dhabi Airport.
We’ve made it to Cairo after travelling about 25 hours. Our flights on Etihad Airways took us from Melbourne, Australia to Abu Dhabi, UAE to Cairo. Both flights were in Airbus planes. This was our first time on a Middle Eastern airline. The plane and the service were good but next time travelling this way I would fly another airline for comparison. The rows of seats were fairly close together, the seat back pockets, which I rely on to hold my various books, needlework and water bottle for the trip barely stretched open so I wasn’t able to put much there. The underseat storage also wasn’t commodious and having recently flown Qantas, Air New Zealand and V Australia which all have large underseat storage I was underwhelmed by this. The food was very nice though.
Detail of the ceiling in the Abu Dhabi terminal.
What did surprise us was the behavior of our fellow passengers, though. On both flights, there were about a dozen young children each and they all behaved terribly. Crying, screaming, refusing to sit in their seats for take off (and the parents supporting them with this). On the way to Abu Dhabi one child behind us was crying saying they wanted to go home. At least one or two were vomiting. One was coughing loudly and disgustingly with phlegm. On the flight to Cairo there were two kids behind Jarrah & Jade kicking the seats, letting their tray tables fall and bounce, pulling the plane remote controls out of the seat back and once even touching Jade’s head. At least 3 parents on that flight were holding screaming crying kids in their laps and refusing to place the kids in their seats for take off. They also refused to follow the instructions of several flight attendants. One kid age 3 worked herself up into such a state that she peed on her mother’s lap. I’ve never heard so much noise from such a small number of kids behaving badly on a flight before. One woman was talking on her phone after the plane doors closed—ignoring normal flight procedure to switch phones off. Her son was playing a console game at the same time and I could hear the sound effects of the game three rows back as he wasn’t using headphones. No one said anything to him at all. Our flight from Abu Dhabi to Cairo was delayed by about an hour and a quarter due to firstly an alarm going off after we left the gate so the plane had to go back to the gate and shut the engines down. And then they announced that there needed to be a change in catering. The flight went smoothly but on landing everyone burst out into loud applause and cheering. I’ve never had this before. Then while we were still taxiing a number of people unbuckled their seats, stood up and started getting their bags down from the overhead lockers. The poor flight attendants who didn’t appear to be enjoying their jobs were going up and down the aisles trying to get people back into their seats. We heard text messages pinging also while we were taxiing. As I left the flight I asked the attendant if people normally cheer when they land but she said their reaction depends on the location but they don’t normally do it. Walking through the plane door for some reason I had assumed that we were at the terminal so I was surprised when I stepped onto stairs and a breeze told me I was outside. There was a bus waiting to take us to the terminal at the bottom of the stairs.
The Cairo arrivals building is a step back in time to the 1960s or thereabouts. As we got off the bus there were a number of people holding signs waiting to meet people. I was surprised about this because we hadn’t cleared immigration yet. Our guide Mohammad was among them and he guided us into the immigration hall where we cut across at least 4 lines to get to the line on the far side of the hall. There were no signs for various passport holders to line up anywhere in particular so it was just totally disordered. The lines stretched the length of the smallish outdated room. When it came our time to go up to the immigration desk we were allowed to go up together. The official didn’t say anything to us when he was processing our papers. He probably didn’t speak any English. He spoke Arabic to two other officials also in his booth who were entering details on their computers. I thank Paul for getting Egyptian visas for us in Melbourne as this made everything go smoothly.
After we completed immigration we met Mohammad at the baggage carousel. He had already collected two of our bags which he identified by the Peregrine tags and we found the last two and headed outside. The parking area for the airport is just a ground level car park. Amazing for a city of 20 million people! Mohammad called our van and we loaded in for the trip to the hotel which was on the opposite side of Cairo.
My impression of Cairo gleaned in the dark during that trip is that it is similar to Bangkok in terms of chaotic crowded driving conditions. There are a lot of unfinished concrete medium rise apartment buildings. The streets are dirty with broken concrete and rubbish on the edges. There are some beautiful mosques which were well lit up as we passed them.
Our hotel, the Oasis, is nice, set in a garden area. We have two separate but attached bungalows which are well appointed with two double beds each. The beds are comfortable and they allowed us to spread out a lot. We were all pretty tired after 25 hours of travel and slept well.
Today (Christmas Day) we are relaxing at the hotel prior to meeting our guide Ahmed this afternoon. Tomorrow we have a big day visiting both the Cairo Museum and the Giza plateau with the three pyramids and the Sphinx. We can’t wait!
Our adventure begins
It's been two years sincere we had a family holiday overseas as last year we spent the New Year break in Sydney. This year we are off on a new adventure to Egypt and Dubai! Why Egypt? Well there were several factors involved with this. Firstly, we'd had enough of cold winter destinations and we wanted somewhere warm. Secondly, while looking at various African destinations we came across a Peregrine brochure featuring group holidays geared towards families. The Egypt trip in particular appealed because of the history and culture as well as the varied nature of what was involved in the trip. With it being a guided tour with such a reputable company we felt safe to explore a slightly edgier destination than we've been to before.
So here we are now in Cairo in our hotel waiting to meet the guide at 4pm today! Come along with us and enjoy a trip to the ancient in Egypt and the ultra modern in Dubai!
So here we are now in Cairo in our hotel waiting to meet the guide at 4pm today! Come along with us and enjoy a trip to the ancient in Egypt and the ultra modern in Dubai!
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