VISITING PHILAE TEMPLE, RETURN TO CAIRO, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION, RETURN TO KANSAS, part 13, the end.

Apr26

Breakfast is in the Palace Wing in what is called the 1902 Restaurant. There is a huge buffet laid out and you can have eggs made to your order. Hussein told us yesterday when he showed us this restaurant that if you eat here for lunch or dinner you must dress in “appropriate” attire. That leaves Paul and I out since all we have in our suitcases are hiking type clothes and a pair of blue jeans.

Speaking of clothes, I forgot to write in my last blog that Hussein had a call from the Captain of the Aida a day or two after we left that wonderful ship. The captain reported to Hussein that his new clients from OAT were shivering in their cabins because it was so cold. Man were we lucky on having warm weather, and to think we questioned why OAT had advised us to bring warm clothing.

We leave the hotel at nine o’clock and our bus driver drops us off at the entrance of the pier where our boat is waiting to transport us to the temple. Hussein must purchase the tickets for Philae before we board the motorboat so while waiting for our guide, several men vendors try to sell us items, particularly Egyptian style clothing. The salesmen have no luck with anyone in our group purchasing anything. When Hussein returns, he calls out his familiar “follow me” and we trail him down a long wooden dock. We must walk in the middle of the pier as both sides of the dock are packed with vendors displaying their wares. We reach our boat, climb on board, and find a seat on the padded benches.

Before we can begin our journey to the island, we must escape the crowded mooring area. As soon as our boat begins to back away from the dock, other boats begin vying for the place our boat is leaving. It is complete pandemonium. The small boats all have tires attached on the sides of their vessels and it is soon apparent why, because they bump into other boats. As one aggressive “captain” begins to push his way toward the spot we are trying to leave, Hussein tells everyone to lean forward. He gives this advice so you will not get hit by the protruding tires. Paul does not react quick enough and gets thumped in the back by the tire of the encroaching boat. Paul says the tire did not hit him very hard and he is fine. Jeez, this is crazy. The stench of diesel fumes is the icing on the cake.

Boat dock pandemonium. One member of our group trying to block the diesel fumes.

We finally break free of the Nile version of bumper cars, (boats), and make our way to Agilkia Island where Philae Temple is located. Hussein has invited a jewelry salesman to make the trip with us, musing that he felt dealing with one man instead of being waylaid by dozens would be less stressful. Our personal jewelry salesman has success on our trip as various members of our group purchase necklaces and/or bracelets. I do not wear jewelry, (nor does Paul), so as it was in the spice market, we are not one of the fellows’ customers. We are a souvenir sellers’ worst nightmare!

When we arrive at the temple, Hussein schools us in the history of Philae. The temple is dedicated to the goddess Isis and Egyptians worshipped her here along with Osiris and her son Horus. Like the Ramses II temple, this complex of temples and buildings were going to be end up under water by the building of the Aswan dam. Again, UNESCO came to the rescue and moved the stone blocks from Philae Island to Agilkia Island where the Philae complex would be safe. This project took ten years to move the temples and buildings and reconstruct them.

Approaching Philae Island. Paul’s photo.

We wander through the Temple of Isis, which is crowded with other tourists and look at the carvings dedicated to this goddess who had many titles including “The Queen of all Gods.” Hussein shows us around the rest of the grounds on this small island. One of the stone buildings is an eye-catching rectangular structure that has the nickname “Pharaoh’s Bed.” With my imagination I can turn the stone structure into a gigantic four poster bed but doubt that is why it was given the nickname. There is a hypostyle hall where the impressive line of stone columns has lotus petals carved at the top of the pillars. A smaller structure has six stone pillars with the face of Hathor carved upon them. Once Hussein has finished showing us around, he allows us to explore things on our own for thirty minutes or so. This is a beautiful place, and it is accentuated with the stunning views surrounding the island.

Slide show of sites on Philae Island.

We board the same boat that we arrived on and the person who had left their backpack on the boat by mistake is relieved to find that it is still there. The group member informed Hussein about forgetting the backpack as soon as they realized they had left it on the boat. Our guide immediately called the boat owner to alert him about the pack so he would keep it safe. This was easier than recovering the cell phone that was lost by one of our companions, on our second day in Cairo. That entailed a trip to the police station for Hussein and the phone’s owner. At the station Hussein was somehow able to track the phone and could see that that the lost phone was on the move. At first, they assumed it was stolen but on further investigation determined it was on our bus. Hussein called the driver and after searching the bus he found the phone laying under a seat. Amazing. According to the phone owner, Hussein solved the location of the phone himself. Is there nothing this amazing man cannot accomplish? I can imagine our traveling companion regaling friends by beginning the story with “I was taken to the police headquarters in Cairo!” I am not guaranteeing that this is a completely accurate rendition of the story.

When we leave Agilkia Island, Hussein has our boat captain chug alongside the shoreline where he points out remnants of ancient stone structures and even some hieroglyphs. We reach our destination for lunch which is a waterfront Nubian restaurant and guesthouse atop a cliff. What a colorful place. We climb up a fleet of stairs to reach the restaurant and find tables prepared for our group. The specialty is a fish dish, (Paul who is allergic to fish cannot have this), but most of us order it. I must say it is delicious. After our lunch we board a different boat which hauls us back to our starting point.

I decide I want to buy a small stone cat for the woman who is taking care of our two cats while we are traveling. Hussein tells us to only pay five or six dollars for this item. I spot some cat statues among the myriad of things one man has on display. I pick one out and Paul asks the man the price who states that the statue is 25 dollars, knowing we will negotiate. It is then that I realize our group has left and is exiting the pier. I tell Paul that they are leaving us and hurriedly begin to walk after them. The salesman follows us and now is offering the cat for twenty dollars which Paul counters with our original offer of five bucks. One of the women in the group sees that we are trying to catch up and turns around telling us they are going out to where they are selling the apparel as they hope to buy a scarf so we should take our time in buying our gift. Oh. It just so happens that we are standing by another man’s display, and he has many cat figurines for sale. I find one that is much nicer than the initial cat I was going to buy. When Paul asks him how much for this very detailed cat, he immediately says five dollars. Suddenly the man that has been trailing us decides his cat is only worth five bucks too. Guess which one we bought?

Hussein gives us two choices once we are back on the bus, we can visit a papyrus and jewelry market, or stay on the bus and continue back to The Old Cataract Hotel. Seven of us stay on the bus, while the rest of the group, including Jennifer, go with Hussein to tour the market. Jennifer told us later that the Papyrus and jewelry market was mostly a place to purchase jewelry or papyrus items. A woman did give a short demonstration that showed the process of making papyrus paper which Jennifer said was interesting.

Once in our room, Paul and I rest for a while and then do some packing as we will be leaving early in the morning for Cairo, (cannot wait to get back there, I am being sarcastic). We then go out and walk around the beautiful grounds of this historic hotel. We walk down to the edge of the Nile and watch the sailboats and ferry boats that tourists can hire for a short ride on the Nile. We are following a group of people back up the stairs who are being flanked by a big, burly guy that is obviously their security guard. Every time the guard steps up with his right leg, we catch a glimpse of what we assume is his gun. However, it appears to have three bore holes on the end of it which makes no sense. We are both leaning forward trying to get a better look at this odd piece of hardware, when a voice behind us says “We are a Jewish group, and we have to have security guards.” Paul relates to the man that we too have had security guards in the cities while on tour. We do not tell him that we were trying to ascertain what the heck that guy was carrying at his waist hidden under his suit coat. A mystery never to be solved.

At our farewell supper, Hussein asks all of us to relate to the rest of the group what our favorite part of the tour was. Although many people listed things like the hot air balloon ride, or the Valley of the Kings tombs, everyone acknowledged that the time on the Nile was at the top of their list. Paul and I also comment that our farm visit with Sayed was something we will never forget. One thoughtful person proceeds to tell Hussein how he was a big part of making our adventure in Egypt extra special. Everyone agrees with this, and we give our guide a round of applause.

We are up at five a.m., finish packing, and place our two check-through bags in the hallway. We go to eat breakfast at 5:45 taking our hand luggage with us. Hussein has us loading up on the bus by 6:30 and we are at the airport after a short drive. Once I am through the screening line, I look around to see where Paul is. I spot Paul and see him taking things out of his backpack and handing it to the man who is screening the luggage. Finally, the fellow finds what he has been looking for. Paul hands him a flat piece of plastic the size of a credit card and not much thicker. The plastic box contains a miniature knife and scissors. This was an item that was a give-away from some company, but Paul did not know it was in his pack. The kicker is that this escaped the attention of every screener on the journey to Egypt, but this eagle-eyed man spotted it at this small airport.

Everything else goes smoothly and we arrive in Cairo an hour and a half later. We gather our luggage and climb into our waiting bus. We stop at The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization where the exhibits portray the different historical periods of Egypt. The museum exhibits are very well showcased and most of the displays have placards written in both Egyptian and English that explain what one is looking at. Jennifer, Paul, and I take our time perusing the displays and then go down to the bottom floor where there are royal mummies on display.

Some of the items on display at the museum. Paul’s photos.

The lighting is dim in this portion of the museum and there is a no photos rule. The first mummy we see has its mouth open and it looks like the shriveled, brown corpse is screaming. To make things worse one of the arms appear to be broken. Oh man, that is all I can take. As the three of us wind our way through the maze of rooms I literally put my hands up alongside my face, using them like blinders on a horse, whenever we walk by a mummy’s glass encased dwelling. I also look at the coffins or statues that are on display in the rooms. I must confess it seems to me that the display of the mummies is morbid and demeaning to that ancient person everyone is staring down at.

All of us appear at the meeting place Hussein gave us at the appropriated time except for one couple. Hussein directs the rest of us to where the bus is and we climb aboard while he goes to find the missing pair. A few minutes later we spy Hussein walking towards us with the wayward couple. I never heard what the problem was but assume they had not heard the correct meeting time or had not understood where we were to meet.

We eat lunch on one of the riverboats and the waitstaff bring out small plates of various foods such as small sausages, eggplant, breads, for us to pass around the table. I am still being very careful with how much I eat and what I eat so I don’t have more than a bite or two of the various foods served to us. I see a waiter with a plate of French fries and assume he is serving them to the couple at the table next to us. Without thinking I exclaim in an envious tone that “those people are having French fries!” When the waiter ends up placing the fries on our table along with a few more plates of fries, I express my delight that we are being served the fries. I love French fries. Luckily for me, most of our group has filled up on the other dishes we were served, and I demolish the big end of one plate of fries. They were delicious.

Upon leaving the parking lot our bus driver must back our bus up because a car is driving toward us and due to cars parked on either side of the narrow street there is no place for the bus and car to get past each other. The driver has only inches to spare on either side of the bus as he continues in reverse until the advancing car finds a place to park. Hussein is shaking his head and tells us that the professional driving is one of the things he so admires about the bus drivers. Everyone agrees with him as our drivers have all been superb.

We get checked into our rooms at the Marriot but unpack only what we will be wearing tomorrow and our toiletries. We have a very early wakeup call tomorrow to catch our morning flight home. At least we will have a few hours to sleep, some of our traveling companions leave for the airport around midnight if I remember correctly.

We still have one meal together this evening, and even though our lunch was at two this afternoon somehow, we all seem to be hungry. Tonight, all of us individually present Hussein with our gifts of money that he has definitely earned. Jennifer, Paul, and I combine our tip for Hussein in a card that features a photo of the Flint Hills on the front. We each have written a message for our wonderful guide, thanking him for a great trip. At one point during the meal, I ask Hussein if he has a photographic memory. He smiles at me and says that he looks at his clients’ photos and names once and knows the names and faces from that moment. I kind of figured the man had this gift. After the meal is finished, all of us hug or shake hands, and say goodbye to those we will not see again. This was a fun group of people to travel with.

It was a short night, but Paul and I did get a few hours of sleep. Setting the luggage by the door we go to the lobby to meet with the others that have the same flight as we do to Munich. Hussein is here which is a surprise since he intended to take the train home. Hussein does not like to fly. Unfortunately, he was not able to book a seat on the train. Each of us are handed a paper sack containing a ridiculous amount of food for our breakfast. Hussein tells us we can leave what we do not want to take into the airport on the bus as the driver will find a use for it. As we leave the hotel, Jennifer and I quietly laugh at the two seated security guards that are sleeping. There is a third man who is awake and upon seeing our reaction to his snoozing buddies, he says something that wakes them up and they all start laughing too. On our trip to the airport, Hussein is asked what he is going to do now that he has some time to himself. Our guide tells us with a smile that he is going to turn off his phone and sleep for twenty-four hours!

We get through the check-in and security without a problem except I tell Jennifer that I hope my pants do not fall down when we have to take our belts off. I am only half kidding as I have had to cinch my belt a notch tighter than when we came to Egypt. (When we get home, I find that I have lost eight pounds!) We part ways with Hussein and find our departure gate. We have arrived at the airport in plenty of time and must wait two hours before we begin boarding.

Paul and I are sitting next to an Egyptian woman who was seated before the rest of us passengers boarded since she had wheelchair assistance. As the plane is preparing to land a stewardess tells the woman that she will need to stay seated until everyone else has left the plane. I ask her what about us and she says that we will have to wait until they come to get the elderly woman. What! The fact that we have a connecting flight does not seem to matter to her. A young man across the aisle that has been conversing with the older woman in Egyptian on and off during the flight, speaks to our seat mate after the stewardess leaves. The fellow than tells Paul and I that he has instructed the woman to stand up when he tells her to and to let us out into the aisle. When I thank him, he says that he understands our predicament and so does the woman and she is happy to accommodate us. How kind is that.

The only other problem I have is when we reach D.C. and I do not follow the instructions correctly on the machine for our global entry pass, so I do not get my paper receipt. After thinking I will have to join the hundreds of passengers in the regular line Paul tells me to go to the booth that is off to the side of the global entry computers. The fellow manning the booth, asks me if I have global entry and when I answer yes, he takes my photo, looks at my passport and sends me on my way. Our flight to Kansas City is fine, we catch the shuttle to where Jennifer’s car awaits and are home by 10:30 p.m. after a 27-hour commute entailing three flights and layover time! Paul and I fall into bed where Paul states “I am so glad to be sleeping in my own bed, I love this bed”! And I swear he is asleep as soon as he finished his pronouncement.

This morning I walk to the window and gaze over the scene of the cows and calves on the brome field and the hills beyond them. I think to myself, “I love this place” and yes, I am going to write it, there really is no place like home. Nancy

Sorry about the lack of photos. I had packed my camera the night before we flew to Cairo and didn’t want to dig it out. Nancy

VISITING RAMSES II AND NEFERTARI TEMPLES, RETURNING TO ASWAN, AGATHA CHRISTIE SUITE, AND THE SPICE MARKET, part 12

Apr17

We set our luggage by the door when we go up for breakfast as we will not be returning to this lovely hotel after our temple visit. After breakfast, Paul and I return to the room, do a walk through, then gather our backpacks and return to the hotel headquarters. When everyone in our group is present and has accounted for their luggage, we climb into the bus and are off to the temples. We have only driven a few yards, when the bus stops and Hussein gets off the coach. In a couple of minutes, he reappears and sheepishly laughs, telling us that he forgot to pay the man that collected and loaded our luggage onto the bus.

Ramses II temple to the left and Queen Nefertari’s to the right.

We join many tourists at the two temples this morning and I assume everyone is looking at these fantastic works of art with as much awe as all of us are. Hussein talks about the temples, telling us that they were carved out of a sandstone cliff. The four seated statues of Ramses II in front of his temple are sixty plus feet high. That is incredible and to me, suggests someone with a very big ego. Nefertari’s temple, dedicated to the Goddess Hathor, has four figures of Ramses II and two figures of Nefertari gracing the front of her temple. These statues are around half the height of the Ramses II statues at his temple. Hussein does point out that it was unusual for a King to build a temple for his Queen and that it shows what true affection and respect he had for Nefertari. The fact that her figures are the same height as Ramses II figures is very unusual as normally a Pharaoh’s wife never stood taller than the knees of the pharaoh.

With the people next to the Ramses II temple it shows how huge these statues are. The damaged Ramses II statue was already done before UNESCO moved the temples.

The astounding aspect of these two temples is that they were doomed to be submerged by the water of Lake Nasser. An appeal went out to save the two unique temples and UNESCO answered the challenge. I believe fifty some countries worked together to move the temples away from the rising water. How they accomplished this is astounding. The workers removed the top of the cliff off and then cut the temples into blocks that weighed several tons each. The volunteers moved all these blocks two hundred feet from the original temple site removing the temples out of harm’s way. The UNESCO people reassembled the blocks by cementing the blocks back together but what a wonderful job these people did. Yes, you can see the seams but it was so well done that you might not notice this if you did not know the back story. I think this was all accomplished in three years although that is hard to believe, so maybe I have that time frame wrong. We did watch a film on the Aida about this stunning feat of saving the temples, so we were able to see how some of the work was accomplished.

We wander through the temples which are crowded with tourists. A painting on the wall that Hussein points out to us is Ramses II slaying an enemy in the war against the Nubians with Nefertari standing behind her husband in a gesture of support. Hussein tells us that this is another example of Ramses II holding his wife in high regards. At the end of the main hall of the Ramses II temple there are four seated deities, (one of them is a deified Ramses II), that the temple was dedicated to, (the main god being Ra). Two days of the year the sun’s rays penetrate these innermost statues, lighting the seated figures up. Can you imagine how precise the ancient builders had to be to make this happen? There is a spotlight shining on these deities to give an example of what it looks like on the two days that the sun reaches the end of this long corridor to illuminate the Gods. This manmade lighting of the stone figures does not make for good photos though. These temples are an UNESCO World Heritage site and rightly so.

A slide show of the interior of Ramses II temple. The corridor leading to the deities that are sunlit twice a year. Painted scenes found in the small side rooms. Many of the scenes depict Ramses II slaying his enemies. Victory over one’s enemies proved how great you were.

I suppose we spend a couple of hours at the temples before we return to the bus. We spend the next four hours driving back to Aswan with no new sites to be seen. Hussein has told us that most tourists do this trip to Abu Simbel in one day. I am so glad that OAT breaks the journey up into two days. Besides, those folks that just make this a day trip do not get to experience the wonderful sound and light show which I will never forget. Although we have seen many incredible temples, I think this is my favorite, partly because of the heroic effort that saved it from being submerged by Lake Nasser.

Corn ready for harvest in the middle of the Sahara.

On the Aida and on this journey to Abu Simbel, Hussein has talked about the problem that Egypt is having with Ethiopia concerning the Nile. Ethiopia is building a dam on the Nile, just like Egypt did, and the Egyptian government understands this. The problem is that Ethiopia wants to fill the reservoir in three years which would deplete the flow of water from the Nile into Egypt. Egypt is trying to negotiate with them to prolong the filling of the reservoir over a span of thirteen years which so far, the Ethiopians are refusing to do. The Nile is the life blood of Egypt, and they could not survive without it. It is the only major river in the country and since Egypt, at least where we were, only averages one inch of rain a year this would ruin them! Ethiopia has several major rivers, so it is not like they do not have other options. You could tell that this was a very worrying subject for Hussein, and I am sure for all Egyptians. It does not take much imagination to see what could happen between the two countries if they can’t work this problem out.

Paul posing with this cool old car in front of the Old Cataract Hotel.

We reach Aswan, at two p.m. and eat lunch before going to our hotel. Once we have finished lunch our driver delivers us to the hotel where we will be staying for two nights. When we disembark at the entrance of the Sofitel Old Cataract Hotel, everyone exclaims at the beauty of the grounds and the building. It was built at the end of the 19^th century and was fashioned after a Victorian palace. This luxurious hotel quickly became a favorite of wealthy European travelers in the early 1900’s. The rich and famous guests included Winston Churchill, Howard Carter, (the man who found King Tut’s tomb), and Agatha Christie.

This historic hotel is where Agatha Christie wrote her book “Death on the Nile” in the 1930’s. Hussein had informed us before we arrived at the hotel that we could take a tour of the Agatha Christie suite this afternoon. When we were standing in the lavish lobby of the hotel checking in, a staff member informed Hussein that we would not be able to tour Christie’s suite after all. Well rats, many of us had been looking forward to seeing the famous author’s abode. Shortly after the bad news a man walks up and talks with Hussein who gives us one of his famous smiles and tells us the tour is on after all. We are to meet in the lobby at 3:30 if we want to go on the Christie tour.

The ornate lobby of the hotel. Our group waiting to check in.

All of us are staying in the new wing of the hotel, known as the Nile wing, which is only a short walk from the old historic hotel. We are on various floors and the elevators are small only accommodating four people, but we eventually get to our room. When we exit the elevator, we are not impressed with the light green paint that covers the walls, in fact it is downright ugly. Our room is a different story however and we soon forget about the corridor color. The most fantastic aspect of our room is the balcony which overlooks the Nile and Elephantine Island which is across the Nile from us. It is absolutely gorgeous.

Slide show. Our bedroom and views from our balcony. The building on the hill is the main part of this historic hotel.

I do not have time to linger in the room as I must get back to the old part of the hotel or what is now called the Palace wing, in order to join the group for our Agatha Christie suite tour. When I arrive, (Paul opted out of this tour), there are a lot of guests taking the tour in addition to members of our group. It is going to be a bit crowded. Our tour guide is a young man who speaks fluent English and has an engaging personality.

First our guide takes us down a corridor that leads to the dining room where we will have our breakfasts. The young man points out many photos hanging on the wall of famous people that have stayed in the Old Cataract. He also shows us items that were salvaged from the hotel when it underwent restoration. Among the things on display in the corridor is the desk that Agatha Christie worked at while writing her famous novel.

Our young guide leads us back down the hall and up two flights of stairs to Agatha Christies’ suite. As we file into the room, our guide tells us that the famous novelist lived here for a year. The suite is decorated in furnishings depicting the time period. We are allowed to wander through the rooms which consist of a large sitting room, the bedroom, bathroom, and another side room I did not look into. Once everyone has finished looking around, the guide tells us to get ready for the best part, the view from the balcony. He opens the balcony doors, and everyone starts walking out onto the balcony. That is a lot of people going out there at once. Evidently another man on the tour thinks so too and calls out that maybe the amount of people on the balcony should be limited to a certain number. No one listens. Jennifer and I decide to forgo touring the balcony due to the crowd of people on it, besides I cannot imagine it is much better than our balcony view.

Slide show of Agatha Christie’s suite. It was pretty amazing to know you were standing in the room where the famous author wrote “Death on the Nile”.

Shortly after the Christie tour, our group meets in the lobby of the Nile wing and walk to the bus. Hussein is taking us to the spice market to experience this part of Egyptian life and to let those that want to, do some shopping. The bus drops us off at the spice market entrance and we follow Hussein to a shop that specializes in spices. The owner offers us a sample of some kind of sugared nut, they are good, and then begins to show us all the things he has for sale. Before we leave nearly everyone has purchased spices but Paul and I. Hey, I am lucky if I remember to add salt and pepper to a dish. Jennifer buys a sack of dried hibiscus flowers to take home so she can brew her own hibiscus tea, as she really likes the hibiscus tea that is served here.

An example of what is for sale. Paul’s photo.

Upon leaving the spice store, one couple wants to purchase soccer jerseys for their grandkids. While they are negotiating with one shop owner, I observe the people around us and notice that there are a lot of young people walking up and down the wide aisle of the market. I see one group of teenage boys acknowledge a group of teen girls who titter and giggle at the boy’s attention. I am betting this scene is something you would see in our shopping malls at home. The couple did not find what they were looking for at this shop, or maybe Hussein thought the price was too high. Anyway, we follow our guide down the main corridor before turning into a narrow alley like passage. He tells the young man at the shop what the couple is looking for which sends the fellow scrambling to find the jerseys. He brings a few sample shirts out and the shoppers find one jersey that will work for them but the other shirts are to large. Upon searching further, a smaller jersey is found but this one is not acceptable because the name on it is that of a Russian player. In the end the shop owner does find a jersey that is the right size and even better the price is less than the initial shop!

It is time to return to the coach and on the way back through the market, a couple of young boys attach themselves to Paul, point to their bare feet. Paul assumes this means they are asking for money so they can buy themselves some shoes. Paul ignores them and eventually the persistent kids leave Paul’s side and attach themselves to the “tall guy” and go through the same ritual. They are still pestering our friend when we reach the area where our bus will come to pick us up. Hussein now notices the boys and barks out one word at them in Egyptian that sends the kids running away. They do not go far before turning around to watch us as we board our bus. I found it interesting that they would choose men to try and get money from and not the women in the group.

We stop at a small restaurant for supper and the only thing I wrote in my journal about the food is that only the appetizer and dessert were good. There are a couple of young men eating at a table near us and one of them is feeding tidbits to a feral cat. The hungry cat nips the fellows finger one time which only made him laugh and he continued to feed the white and yellow cat. I like that guy.

Temples of Philae, Farewell supper, morning flight to Cairo, museum, and final group supper before heading home.

Our group in front of Ramses II temple. Hussein’s photo

TRAVELING BY BUS TO ASWAN DAM, ABU SIMBEL, AND A SOUND AND LIGHT SHOW AT RAMSES’ II TEMPLE, part 11

Apr10

We are up shortly after five and do a bit more packing. We go up to the dining room for an early breakfast and drop our tip for the ship crew in the box. This is one place that OAT does not take care of the tip. Upon returning to the room, we walk through the cabin and bathroom to double check that we did not overlook any of our things. We set our two large suitcases out in the hallway and lug our carry-on baggage to the observation deck. We are loading onto our coach by 7:30 and leaving this wonderful ship and the relaxing time we spent on her behind. Hussein tells us that the crew has four hours to get everything prepared for the next OAT group to board the Aida. This OAT group will be doing our adventure in reverse, sailing down the Nile from Aswan to Esna.

On our drive to Aswan High Dam, (finished in 1970), Hussein talks about the displacement of thousands of Nubian people, (Hussein is Nubian), due to the Dam’s construction and the forming of Lake Nasser, which is named after the man who was president of Egypt at that time. Naturally this was an extremely traumatic event for the Nubian people and anyone else who lived on the land that was inundated by the lake.

Our guide says the positive elements of the construction of the dam is that the annual Nile flood can now be controlled by humans. One other plus of the dam is that it generates a tremendous amount of hydroelectric power. Hussein also explains that the dam’s turbines are why there are no crocodiles in the Nile below the dam which is where we were sailing, (is that good or bad news?). The crocodiles cannot pass through the turbines as according to Hussein they would be chopped to bits. Hussein gives us the negative aspect of the dam’s construction, which is that controlling the annual flood has decreased the fertility of the riverside agricultural lands. This is because the rich silt ends up in the canals and reservoirs instead of being deposited on the farmland. The farmers have had to turn to artificial fertilizer which is no substitute for the rich nutrients found in the silt.

Part of the electric grid for Aswan Dam. Paul’s photo

When we arrive at Aswan High Dam, we see military presence here. I think this is where a soldier walks around the bus inspecting it before we are allowed to drive onto the dam and sees me looking at him through the window. The soldier gives me a big smile and a wink before he continues his inspection. There are two soldiers sitting on a wall along the dam road and if I remember correctly there was a tank at the dam’s entry point with a man looking out the top opening of the tank turret armed with a rifle. This is not the first time we have encountered the military; we have seen towers manned by soldiers with rifles, at the edge of towns. Most of us already know not to take photos of anything military but Hussein reminds us of this rule.

We leave the bus and Hussein points out the restrooms and observation areas where you can look over the lake, see the Nile, and the original Aswan dam that was built by the British in 1902. Paul and I take a quick look at the views and then go buy some potato chips from the vendor that is located nearby. We both have been craving a salty snack! All of us are back on the bus after a short time as truthfully, there isn’t a lot to see here but also because it is chilly and windy this morning.

Hussein tells us that we have a four hour drive to Abu Simbel but we will stop at the midway point for a bathroom break. Once we are on the road, Hussein plugs in his phone and somehow this allows us to use our electronic devices. I don’t understand how that works but I know it is astounding that I can email a friend, play words with friends, and read on my tablet while traveling down the Egyptian highway in the middle of the Sahara Desert!

There is not much to see along our route except sand but I still look out the window now and then. I do a double take when I see irrigation systems sitting in the desert. I point the rigs out to Paul, and he is as puzzled as I am. Paul asks Hussein why there are pivot irrigation machines out here. Hussein laughs and says because they are going to grow crops like wheat and corn. Our guide tells us we will see the growing crops in the Sahara farther down the road. What? But sure enough, we later come upon lush fields of wheat or barley, and corn fields that are dried down and ready to harvest. All of this is being done by the army/government. The ability to grow crops has been made possible because of canals bringing water into the desert thus the need for the irrigation systems in order to water the crops. It still does not answer the question we have on how you get any crop to take root in sand. Hussein admits he does not know but surmises that there must be a more compact soil just beneath the sand. Wonders never cease!

Irrigated crop in the middle of the Sahara Desert. Paul’s photo

At the rest stop, our group leaves the bus to use the restrooms. The water closets as they are called here, are surprisingly clean. Hussein gives us time to stretch our legs before we load up and continue our journey.

We drive by an area where a stone wall has been constructed with a barb wire fence built on top of it. The combination stone wall and barb wire fence, I would estimate is eight or ten feet high. Hussein explains that this is another army project which the government refers to as a ranch. There is a lot of irrigated areas which are vivid green with growing crops, quite a contrast to the desert outside the wall. We see no sign of any animals, but they could easily be out there as we are only seeing a small part of the government “ranch.” Hussein says the government will not answer the question that the people have asked on why they need such a barrier around the property. The wire that tops the fence is bent outward, which would keep anyone on the outside from crawling over the fence. Weird.

Paul using the internet with the “ranch” wall in the background.

A closer look at the wall and all the green fields inside its boundaries.

As we draw close to Abu Simbel, Hussein gets on the microphone and says “Guys, you have stayed in two five-star hotels so far and although this hotel is nice you cannot expect it to be like those in Cairo and Luxor.” He reiterates this warning to us as we drive up to the hotel, telling us not to be too disappointed and try not to compare this place to our prior hotels. There is a stack of bricks piled up not far from the hotel drop off point which makes one wonder if there is still some construction going on. I tell Jennifer that I do not care at all if this hotel is not as fancy as our prior hotels but I do hope it is clean.

When we follow Hussein through the door of the Seti Abu Simbel hotel, it does not take long before we realize we have been duped! Somebody in our group exclaims, “you were kidding us.” Hussein is laughing as he got us to swallow his warning about the hotel, hook, line, and sinker! The rascal. Well played Hussein. This place is incredible. The hotel’s architecture is unique in that there are arches built off the main building which give you a cool view of the swimming pools, and rooms. It is stunning.

We eat lunch in the spacious restaurant before we go to our rooms. Our large room is gorgeous, and has a cool mural painted on the wall above our bed. There is a balcony that looks out on Lake Nasser affording us a beautiful view. Once we have halfway organized our belongings, Paul and I walk the grounds of the hotel. We admire the lake views, the colorful bushes that are blooming in front of the rooms, the swimming pools, and well-kept grounds. It is too bad that we are only here for one night.

Slide show of various aspects of our hotel. We loved this hotel.

At 4:30, Paul and I make our way back to the main part of the hotel. We are gathering in a small room to listen to a Nubian man whose family was one of the thousands that were forced off their land for the Aswan project. He is a well-spoken man who talks about the trauma to his family, he was very young, being uprooted from their land and moved to the desert. He remembers that they had to leave some of their cattle behind because there was not enough room on the boat. The man talks about the place the government moved them to which literally was in the desert with no grazing for the cattle. The houses were tiny and it was impossible to live the way they had before.

Many of his family, (including this man) among others left and took jobs in other places like Cairo or even other countries. Those that stayed did make the uninhabitable area habitable through hard work and by getting water to their new home via canals. I do not remember if the government dug the canals or how that happened. They turned the desert into a viable place to live which is something to be admired.

Nubian man that spoke about his life and also entertained us with his singing and playing Nubian instruments. Paul’s photo

I believe that our entertainer was working in another country, when the president, (Assisi I think), put out a plea for the displaced Nubians to come back. The president promised them they could settle near the same area that they had been removed from all those years ago. Our speaker came home and ended up working with the people that manage the Ramses II Temple which is located by Abu Simbel. At the end of his talk the man plays Nubian instruments and sings some Nubian songs for us. He has a nice voice, and it was a pleasure listening to him sing. I probably have some of the facts wrong and I know I have forgotten other things the man related to us but you can get an idea of what these people went through.

After the Nubian’s talk, we follow Hussein to the bus and take a short ride to the temple that draws people to Abu Simbel. Tonight, we are going to experience the sound and light show that takes place at Ramses II temple. Hussein tells us that in his opinion this is the best sound and light show to experience in Egypt. We have to walk maybe a quarter of a mile to reach the bleachers and I am glad that I have my fleece on under my jacket. It is quite chilly this evening. It is dark by the time we get to the temple and Hussein points out a spectacular extra which is Venus, Jupiter, and Mars, in a descending line in the night sky. It turns out that Hussein has an avid interest in astronomy. Our guide continues to amaze and surprise us.

We have front row seats for the show and after we are settled on the benches, Hussein passes out recorders that will narrate the show for us in English. The sound and light show is spectacular with thundering music and animated scenes depicting the life of Ramses II and Queen Nefertari flashing across the temples, (there is a temple for Nefertari also). On our walk back to the bus, Hussein stops at one place to point out different constellations in the sky. This was a great experience and a wonderful evening.

Ramses II Temple lit up for the night show. Paul’s photo.

Queen Nefertarti Temple bathed in light. Paul’s photo.

Visiting the temples in daylight, driving to Aswan, visiting the spice market.

VISITING DARAW AND TAKING A WALK ON AN ISLAND, part 10

Apr2

We sailed to the town of Daraw last evening where we spent the night moored across the Nile from Daraw. This morning there is a motorboat snugged up to the Aida, and after breakfast we board our water taxi. Three members of our group decide to stay aboard the ship but the rest of us are looking forward to another Egyptian adventure in this town.

Our boat taxi tied to the Aida in front of the tugboat.

We reach the opposite shore in ten minutes or so and climb out of our transport and up the riverbank to the street. Here we find an OAT representative waiting for us along with three or four pickup trucks parked along the road. The pickup beds are enclosed by oversized pickup toppers and there are benches for us to sit down on. Hussein had told us at the beginning of our adventure that we would experience every form of travel that the Egyptians used. He was not kidding.

A view of our pickup taxi’s. This pickup is sitting in the livestock sale yard.

Daraw is known for its livestock market where locals bring various animals such as cattle, goats, and camels to trade or sell. Hussein informs us that the livestock sale is held once a week throughout the year. Unfortunately for us, today is not sale day, I would have loved to have experienced the market. There are farmers selling alfalfa today, so there is freshly cut alfalfa, stacked along walls, on carts and in pickup beds. I did see a buyer drive up in a pickup to one alfalfa dealer and the man filled the truck bed with the lush alfalfa. I have no idea how they determine what the hay is worth as there are no scales. I wished I had asked Hussein, but it didn’t cross my mind at that moment. Rats.

Walking by the alfalfa that is for sale.

Hussein takes us into the area where the livestock market takes place. There is a tent to one side of the stockyard where a group of men are playing dominos. It is interesting to watch how they aggressively slap the domino they are playing onto the surface. They are all smiling but I have a feeling the men take the domino game seriously.

I believe this is where the man who is letting us tour his barn and livestock meets us. As we are following our host down the street, we meet a fellow that is riding a beautiful black Arabian horse. The horse becomes very skittish, and Hussein and our host ask us to move to the side of the road. The horse still is not happy, nor is the rider, but our host holds out his hand and speaks to the rider or the horse or both and slowly approaches the high-strung equine. After rubbing the horses muzzle and talking softly to him, the man takes hold of one of the reins and leads the horse past us. Once by us the horse prances on down the street. I find it so interesting as there are many locals walking along the street and as far as I can see the horse has no problem with them.

Our host talking to the horse and rider.

After the horse gets by us, he seems to be calm.

We continue to our host’s home and walk into the spacious barnyard where he keeps his livestock. The barn has stone walls and a thatched roof with openings on one side of the barn to allow air flow. In this portion of the barn, we encounter chickens, a rabbit, a tethered milk cow who is conversing with her calf, that is tethered on the other side of the barn, and one camel. There is horse tack, feed and all the items needed to take care of livestock too. Paul and I admire the young calf who is of high quality. Our host does not speak English, so Hussein translates what the man says about his cow, and the camel, among other topics of interest.

Slideshow of barn animals.

We leave the barn and walk into a large pen that has high rock walls for its boundaries. There is a beautiful sorrel horse standing in a small corral, keeping him separate from the donkey and a juvenile camel that occupy the rest of the pen. It is obvious the horse is the pride and joy of our host. He relates through Hussein that his stallion has competed in eight races, (I think), and won seven of them. Jennifer reminded me after I published this blog that Hussein told us there is no purse money for winning a race and that no gambling is allowed. The races are strictly for enjoyment by the people. I rub the friendly stallions’ neck and nose which the horse enjoys and admire his muscular build. Yep, this horse looks like he could flat-out run. Hussein tells us that the neighbors bring their mares to mate with the stallion. I ask what our host charges for the stud fee. Hussein seems surprised at this question but relates it to our host. Hussein tells us that the man says he would never charge money for the stallion servicing his neighbors’ mares. That would be considered selfish and rude. Huh.

The young camel has been busy eating his alfalfa but has been eyeing the strangers that have invaded his space. The camel trots over to Hussein and stands next to him. Hussein drapes his arm around the youngster’s neck, who promptly curves his neck around the front of Hussein. A short time later, the rascal kicks forward but misses hitting Hussein. Our guide pushes the camel off him and walks away. The camel begins kicking and bucking, he is only being playful but if he connected with you, it would feel anything but fun. The yearling finds out he can make these humans move away if he comes running and bucking at them. The onery camel does this several times prompting us to quickly move away from the unwanted playmate. Our guide finally shoos him back to his pile of forage and I guess the youngster has had enough fun as he goes back to munching his breakfast.

The yearling camel before he gets onery.

The man’s sons in the meantime are filling tubs with water for the camel and donkey. The three boys hardly look at us, I suppose they are used to tourists visiting their home. Our hosts wife looks out a window at us from far above, I unthinkingly snap a photo and am immediately told by Hussein, not to take photos of her. I foolishly forgot that you do not take photos of people unless they say it is okay and I understand that. It was such a great photo op that I just reacted instead of thinking.

The boys filling water buckets for the animals.

The sheep must have been in another pen because they weren’t in the barn nor with the young camel. Darned if I can remember going to another pen.

When we leave the village barnyard, Hussein takes us to a veterinary store which is stocked with all kinds of what I assume is medicine and vaccine for animals. Nothing is refrigerated as far as I can see. The two men, (one who is a veterinarian), occupying the small store are all smiles and willingly allow our group to snap their photo. One of the women in our group ask if there are female veterinarians. They answer, through Hussein, that yes, they have women vets.

Veterinary shop. The veterinarian moved his head as I took the photo.

We follow Hussein into a busy street that is filled with vendors selling everything you could want. Fruits, vegetables, hanging carcasses of meat including camel, hardware items, spices, etc. Hussein turns into an alley which leads us to a Coptic Christian church. A man is sitting behind a table just before we arrive at the church entrance. When he stands up, I realize he is a guard. Well, that is not surprising considering the treatment this religious group receives over much of the world. A man, arrives and lets us into the church, we file down the aisle, exclaiming over the ornate building. We sit in pews while Hussein talks about the Coptic Christians. Hussein also points out a painting that depicts Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus, with the pyramids in the background.

Leaving the beautiful church, we dutifully follow Hussein back to the bustling street. Hussein chooses various members of our group to help him buy food items to take back to the ship. Bread, tomatoes, eggplant and other items. Paul ends up toting the tomatoes back to the Aida. I just take photos.

A slide show of our group buying vegetables and of the colorful market.

We crawl into our pickup boxes and begin the drive back to the Nile and our waiting motorboat. We haven’t gone far when two boys jump onto the pickup bumper and hang on to the topper. The surprise on their face when they see a bunch of foreigners sitting inside is priceless. I snap a photo, figuring the stowaways are fair game. I swear one of the boys tells his companion in English, ” she took our photo” and yet why he would converse in English doesn’t make sense. The two jump off at their stop and we continue on our way.

On our boat trip back to the Aida, Hussein plugs in his phone to speakers that are on the boat in order to play some Nubian music. Our guide begins to show us some Nubian dance steps and then asks Jennifer if she wants to join him. Jennifer dances her way up to the “stage” and the rest of us are entertained by the dancing pair on our return trip to our ship. I am so amazed how Jennifer just picks up the dance movements that I forget to take photos! So, we have a comedian that entertains us at mealtime and a dancer from Kansas who entertains us on our boat taxi! What more could you want?

A better look at our water taxi and owner.

Jennifer boarding the boat she will soon be dancing on!

Shortly after we are back on board the Aida, the chef and ship captain gather people around for a cooking lesson on the observation deck. Using the ingredients that Hussein bought in Daraw, two women help put together dishes that are traditional Egyptian fare. We are served the two dishes at lunch, and they are quite tasty.

Paul and I have been taking an after-lunch nap but there is no time for that today as the crew ties up at an island, shortly after we have finished eating. Hussein takes a few of us for a stroll on the island. It is another hot afternoon but tolerable. The sand near the river’s edge is deep and hard to walk through. As we get farther away from the Nile, the sandy ground is more solid making it much easier to get around. Hussein takes us to a small hut that is made from palm tree fronds. A man trots up on his donkey and Hussein tells us the man is here to let us ride the small donkey. Three of us, including me, opt to take a ride on the small donkey which is controlled only by its owner. No bridle, no stirrups or saddle, just an old blanket thrown over the mottled donkey’s back. The man maneuvers the donkey in a large circuitous route before we dismount the gentle critter. Once our rides on the gentle donkey ends, the owner jumps on the donkey’s back and his mount trots back down the trail. I only saw the man nudge the donkey with his heels, so I guess the donkey just knew where to go. Hussein takes us down a different trail where we walk by farm fields and through a stand of large trees. There is a web of irrigation canals running through the orchard. I believe these were mango trees.

The before dinner movie tonight is Agatha Christies “Murder on the Nile” complete with bowls of popcorn. This is the 1970’s movies not the remake that was released last year. In my opinion this movie was better than the new movie but neither movie was as good as the book. Still, it was pretty neat to be sailing up the Nile while watching a movie that was set on a ship like ours sailing on the Nile!

The staff always takes our dinner order at breakfast and Paul and I both decided not to order a main course. It is just too much food for us in the evening. Paul and I have plenty to eat with only having the soup, bread, and dessert. Paul and I bust out laughing when Sayid sets an empty plate in front of us when he is serving the other people their main course. Paul picks up his empty plate and pretends to lick it clean while Sayid is laughing at the joke he has played on us. We have to explain the empty plate to our table mates which makes them laugh too. We love the Egyptians sense of humor.

After our meal we return to our cabin and begin to pack our suitcases. I am really going to miss the Aida, the kindness of the crew and particularly the relaxing atmosphere of traveling via the Nile River. I think it was the Minnesota women who threatened to lock themselves in their cabins in the morning, so they did not have to leave the Aida. I believe everyone in our group has loved this Nile adventure and are all sad to see it coming to an end.

Visiting the Aswan Dam and driving to Abu Simbel.

A loaded down cart pulled by a tired-looking donkey.

VISITING A LOCAL CRAFTSMAN AND THE KOM OMBO TEMPLE, part 9

Mar26

Another pleasant morning “observing” life along the Nile from the observation deck. One of the first things we see this morning is a young boy riding a donkey. He is leading a reluctant Friesian cow down the quarry path that we were walking on yesterday. There is a yearling calf bringing up the rear. We sail past the cow and calf a short time later grazing in a small patch of reeds. The boy and the donkey are nowhere to be seen. We also float by stone structures along the riverbank that are part of the ancient quarry that were off limits to us on our tour yesterday.

A structure at the ancient stone quarry that can only be seen from the Nile.

We sail for an hour more or less until we reach the village where the craftsman we are visiting lives. Once the Aida is tethered, we leave the ship, pair up and crawl into tuk-tuks’ which will be our transportation to the local crate builder. Our driver pulls the heavy blanket aside that serves as the door and Paul and I crawl into the small vehicle and sit down. Paul holds the curtain back so I can take photos as we bounce down the sandy roads.

Paul holding curtain aside so I can take photos.

The caravan of tuk-tuks’ stop along the side of an unpaved road and Hussein takes us down a path that leads to the craftsman’s work shop. A wizened man is waiting for us, and he greets Hussein and our group with a wave and smile. There are handmade benches arranged in a half-circle around the man’s working area. The “workshop” consists of a portion of a tree trunk that serves as the man’s workbench and his chair is the ground. And to think I complain that my chair I sit in for computer work is not comfortable! There are piles of finished crates lined up behind the workman which he sells to his customers who use them for shipping farm produce. I wish I could remember what our host is paid for each crate. I want to say that it is twenty-five cents in our money but don’t hold me to that.

The crate builder, Hussein and inventory in the background.

The craftsman begins building a crate and it is fascinating to watch how quickly he measures the palm wood, cuts, and slices it, punches holes part of the way through the thin wood and more. The craftsman has two different knives he uses. One knife looks like a cleaver and the other large knife has a wicked curved blade. The fellow often uses his feet to hold the crate steady and I admit I check out his feet and hands to see if all his fingers and toes are accounted for.

A slideshow of the craftsman at work.

Once he has the framework of the crate completed, he points to the tall guy in our group to come help him finish the box, nope it is not Paul. The two work together building the box. The teacher corrects a couple of minor mistakes his pupil made which is impressive considering our friend is a novice. When the box is finished our host hands his apprentice one of the curved-bladed knives. The two men hold the knives over the completed project, blades touching in a symbolic gesture that the project is finished. A woman is selected this time to help the man build another crate. Again, the man has a good student and only has to remedy a couple of mistakes.

The touching of knife blades signaling the project is finished.

The craftsman then constructs a small box which he finishes in short order. When he completes the box, our host gathers up some items that are lying to one side. The craftsman hands each of us an Ankh also known as the key of life that he has fashioned from the same palm wood he uses to make his crates. The key of life symbolizes both mortal life and the afterlife. The Egyptian gods depicted in tomb paintings and carvings often carry the Ankh. Two women ask Hussein if they can buy the small box that the craftsman made. Hussein relates the question to our host who ends up giving each woman a box since he has extra boxes stacked inside a crate. This gift from the craftsman is the only souvenir that Paul and I brought home.

Hussein talks about our host off and on while we are watching him work. The craftsman has two men that help him in his business. Our host also has two wives, one in Cairo and one in this village. Hussein says that the fellow told him he had to marry a local village woman in order to be accepted here, but Hussein is laughing when he relates this info to us. Hussein also tells us how many crates the man can make in a day, who sells him the palm fronds, and what they cost, etc. but unfortunately, I cannot remember the details.

A good example of the crates our host makes being used to transport tomatoes. Jennifer’s photo

We leave our host after thanking him for giving us a glimpse into his life as a crate maker and for the gifts he gave us. We go back to the tuk-tuk’s which take us back to the Aida. Jennifer and Hussein have shared a tuk-tuk on this foray since the woman who fainted yesterday decided not to join us this morning. Hussein made a stop at a grocery store as he needed coffee, so lucky Jennifer got to see the village grocery store. Hussein bought Jennifer some chocolate covered Oreos, and she is kind enough to share a package with us. Yes, you have read this before because I mistakenly thought this happened two days ago. I should have read my journal as I had made a note of their side trip but now it is in the correct order.

The grocery store where Jennifer and Hussein stopped. Jennifer’s photo.

Today we eat lunch inside due to the heat and wind. Guess who we happen to eat our meal with? Yep, the women from Minnesota. Oh okay, we see that there is room at their table and ask if we can sit with them. I may not be eating much but I wouldn’t have the opportunity even if I was because our friend has me laughing all through our lunch.

We arrive at Kom Ombo mid-afternoon where the temple we are visiting is located. When we leave the ship, it is only a short walk to the temple. It is hot this afternoon, 90ish, and Paul wonders if I should go on this tour, since I do not handle heat very well. I decide to go as I figure I can find a place out of the sun to sit, if I begin to get too hot.

Hussein explains that Kom Ombo is a twin temple meaning one side is dedicated to Horus, the Falcon God who is the ruler of all Gods. The other side is dedicated to Sobek the Crocodile God who is god of crocodiles, strength and power. This temple is unique as everything is doubled and symmetrical along the main axis: twin entrances, twin courts, and twin colonnades. Yea, I copied this sentence out of our OAT book, no way I would remember that.

Kom Ombo Temple as we are walking to it.

There are a lot of tourists here and everyone appears to be suffering from the heat. Hussein does his best to keep us out of the sun but that is not an easy task. Paul even admits he is looking for shade and Paul generally is not bothered by heat. We wander after Hussein looking at the temple depictions of the Crocodile God more than those of Horus since we have seen Horus in all the temples.

Slide show of the temple and carvings. Notice the key of life the seated crocodile god is holding. The green dot on the pharaohs chin is Hussein’s light he used to point things out to us.

There are archeologists working right by the temple and it is astonishing to look at all the pottery shards that are laid out on the ground. I wonder if they intend to try and put those pots back together as the pieces seem to be grouped in small piles. What patience that would take but how rewarding when you accomplished the task. I always thought it would be fun to go on an archeology dig but I wouldn’t last an hour in this heat.

There is a Crocodile Museum here, that as you can guess, is a museum that contains Nile crocodiles. The mummified crocodiles on display are all sizes from very large crocs that you would not want to encounter in life, to a crocodile that is still in the egg. The museum is kept relatively dark to preserve the mummified crocodiles plus it is air conditioned. Boy does that cool air feel good.

This evening Hussein discusses modern Egypt using some film clips to highlight some of the topics he is covering. The main thing I recall Hussein discussing is the tough times Egypt has been through prior to the 2011 uprising and after that coup. Terrorism, attacks on tourists, government crackdowns before the coup and after the coup against protesters, resulting in deaths and injuries of citizens. The attacks on tourists through the years severely impacted tourism in Egypt which obviously impacted the economy. Hussein tells us that tourism had begun to recover when Covid shut down the world. Inflation is another huge problem in Egypt and the people are struggling. The government/ army is competing with private business in all aspects like farming, operating ferries, even gas stations and private businesses are having a tough time competing with the government run operations. Hussein is very candid when he discusses the country and government and seems to not be concerned at all about levying criticism along with the positive aspects.

When Hussein finishes his presentation, we go to the dining area where we sit with our friends from Minnesota and the woman who is traveling solo. Tonight, our humorous friend relates some of the pranks she played on her students. I will not relate the stories as I do not have permission to, but trust me, if you were a student of this woman, I doubt you would ever forget her! Our comedian also tells jokes and after one of the jokes, her traveling companion remarks with some surprise that she has not heard that joke before. That was funny in itself. Our day ends with laughter again which is always good.

Touring a man’s barn and livestock in a village, shopping for vegetables, taking a short walk on an island. Our last night on the Aida.

A beautiful cat that was at the craftsman’s workshop.

Fishermen laying down their net, next to our boat.

ENJOYING THE NILE CRUISE, VISITING A FARMING VILLAGE AND AN ANCIENT STONE QUARRY, part 8

Mar19

It looks like I am in a routine on the Aida, as this morning I arise at 6 a.m. and am sipping tea on the observation deck by seven. It is cooler this morning but not enough to keep us from eating on the deck. It is so peaceful out here and plenty of interesting things to look at. I love this!

Slide show of a few things we saw as we cruised this morning.

I am going to relate a story here that may or may not have taken place this morning, but I have a photo that I believe is of the man that was part of this tale. Jennifer and I are walking laps again when the tugboat and our ship crew begin maneuvering our ship towards the shore. Once the Aida is close to the riverbank, the crew slides the narrow gangplank over to the shore. A man walks across the makeshift bridge onto land and the crew pulls the gangplank back onto the boat. Who is that guy and why was he on the ship?

I have used this photo before, but this allows you to see the ledge the man walked on to get to the bow of the ship.

Jennifer and I look up at Paul who is standing on the sundeck above us. We ask him if he knows what is going on. He laughs and says he watched the whole episode unfold below him. Paul said there were two men in a rowboat that came alongside the Aida and grabbed onto our river yacht letting the ship pull them up the river. Paul said they must have grown tired of using their hands to hang onto the boat as one man took off his turban and tied it to something on the Aida and fastened the other end of the turban to the rowboat. Now they have themselves a makeshift tow rope although that must be some very strong material to withstand the pull of a rowboat and two passengers. Paul estimated that our ship towed them for about a half-mile when one of the men hoisted himself onto the narrow ledge that sits just under the windows of the ship cabins. According to Paul, the fellow carefully shuffled along the ledge until he reaches the bow of the Aida. Paul said that in the meantime, the man in the rowboat untied the end of the turban fastened to their boat and rowed away from the Aida. The man that climbed onto our ship was not on board for long as the crew quickly finds a place to deposit the stowaway on shore. It was not until this part of the story took place that those of us on the observation deck were aware that anything out of the ordinary was taking place. The finale of the story was when one of the crewmen threw the abandoned turban into the Nile. Oh yes, Paul is lamenting that he took no photos of this unusual activity. He said he was so captivated by what was unfolding before his eyes that it never crossed his mind to take pictures!

I am almost certain this man talking on his phone is our stowaway.

Hussein joins us on the observation deck and tells us that the man was calling friends on his cell phone when he safely made it to the bow, to see if anyone could come and pick him up. According to Hussein the man’s destination was too far for him to walk. He must not have found anyone willing to rescue him while aboard the Aida, as he was on his phone as soon as he sat foot on land. What Hussein did not explain or I missed that part of the story was why the man climbed onto our ship. You would have to surmise that the stowaway had hoped he would be allowed to stay on the Aida until he reached his destination because if he only wanted to get ashore the rowboat could have easily taken him there. You can see why Hussein and the crew refused to let the fellow stay on board because if you do it for one person how do you stop other river hitchhikers from boarding in the future with expectations to be delivered to their destination.

Looking through the masts of the Aida at farm plots and the village.

We have a wonderful view of the farming village as we approach the docking area. The green, symmetrical plots where a few head of cattle stand along the edges of the fields is beautiful. There are field workers carrying bundles of freshly harvested grass out of the fields with the village in the background. The man who will be educating us about farming and life in the village is waiting for us on the river’s edge as we dock.

Sayed, the head of the farming village, educating our group about agriculture in Egypt.

Hussein introduces us to our guide, whose name is Sayed, and informs us that he is the head of the farming village. Our first lesson is only a few yards away from the boat in a small field of barley. As our group walks to the barley field, we pass by a plot that appears to be alfalfa, but if it is, it puts the alfalfa we raise at home to shame. The leaves on these lush plants are huge compared to our alfalfa.

Sayed talks about the barley, which they cut before it heads out, which is used for livestock feed. He asks if anyone would like to try to harvest the lush grass using a hand-scythe. After a young boy demonstrates the technique of cutting the barley, many in our group try our hand at harvesting the forage. Hussein warns all of us to be very careful and keep our fingers out of the blades path. Good advice as the scythe blade is very sharp.

We work in pairs under the watchful eye of our youthful teacher while Sayed is busy answering questions from members of our group. Oh yes, Sayed speaks fluent English. When it is my turn to cut the barley, I get on my knees and swing the scythe in an arc as close to the ground as possible, just like the young fellow demonstrated. I bunch the cut grass together and pile it off to one side. I cut one more swath than stand up and pass the blade to the next volunteer. The young fellow flashes a big grin at me and gives me a thumbs up. It occurs to me this could be a likened to the Tom Sawyer story when he gets his friends to whitewash the fence!

Sayed scything barley grass. If you look close you can see the hand scythe in the woman’s hand.

When everyone has had a turn at harvesting the barley grass, Sayed proceeds to demonstrate the art of scything barley. He gets on his knees and makes long, sweeping cuts that lays down a large area of the grass. I cannot imagine working like this for long but a seasoned worker like Sayed, could cut a lot of grass in a short amount of time.

Before we walk to the village, Hussein tells us to give the pens, crayons, papers, etc. we brought for the children to Sayed who will distribute them later. Since several children have begun to shadow us, Sayed decides to line them up and let members of our group just pass their gifts directly to them. Paul and I did not bring enough ink pens and paper pads to give to each of the kids that are in the line up, so we do not participate in the handout. Jennifer and a couple of other members of our group are in the same spot as we are. Those of us who didn’t have enough gifts for all the assembled children had understood that the items would be collected and given to the school.

There are a couple of kids who hide what they have been given and then they go to the back of the line where they receive even more loot. Rascals. The saddest thing is when someone from the village carries a young boy up to the group whose father has recently died. The gifts have already been distributed by then, but I hand this little guy a pen and a pad of paper. I believe everyone else finds something to gift to the grieving child.

Not long after we have entered the village, we are ushered into a small room where two women are preparing to bake bread. Sayed talks about the bread and then turns it over to the two women who demonstrate by dusting the bread with flour and then slapping it hard against the thin plate of steel that is attached to a long handle. One of the women slides the bread “shovel” into the oven and deposits the bread onto the oven rack. Sayed asks for volunteers to give this a try, and three or four people participate in this way of baking bread. As we are leaving the bakery, Sayed’s son runs up and proudly shows his dad a picture he has drawn with the items that were passed out to them. Everyone admires the boy’s work; it really is quite good. It is determined that the colored pencils used for this artwork was provided by the couple from Connecticut, (I think), and the boy agrees to let them keep the picture.

Sayed talking about the process of making and baking the bread.

This is the oven, and the woman is holding the tool that is used to place the bread into the oven.

We follow Sayed and Hussein through the village and into a banana grove. We learn a lot about bananas from this young farmer, not that I knew anything about them to begin with. Sayed and his brother bring a large sprout that was taken from a mother tree for our group to plant. Three men, including Paul, dig a hole using a root hoe and then three women, including me, plant the banana tree to be.

Paul digging the hole to plant the immature banana tree.

Nancy holding the sprout while other’s begin to fill the hole with dirt. Paul’s photo.

It is very warm by now and as Sayed is answering our questions, one member of our group passes out. Paul said he saw the woman drop her water bottle, reach over to pick it up, and then just fall to the ground. Hussein is at the woman’s side immediately as are Sayed and his brother. Our friend comes to quickly and the men gently lift her to a sitting position. The woman has bloodied her nose and seems a bit dazed but is coherent. Hussein assures us that she will be fine and says that she is dehydrated. Once everyone is assured that she is fine, Hussein sends us with Sayed who leads us back to the village and to his house. Sayed’s brother stays with Hussein to attend to our friend.

Slide show of scenes in the village, the photo with the round white objects are loaves of bread sat outside to make the bread rise.

As we gather in front of Sayed’s house, we are all amazed when we see the woman walking up to the house, with the aid of Hussein and Sayed’s brother. Hussein takes us into Sayed’s house and has us take seats in a narrow room, then they bring the woman in to join us. Hussein brings a bottle of water that he has added salt and sugar to and directs the woman to sip on the home-made electrolyte solution. This is one tough, amazing woman who could have gone back to the boat but was determined to stay and experience the rest of our time in the village.

Once we have been served drinks, tea or sprite, Sayed picks up a laminated map, of the United States. He asks that each of us point out the state we are from and tell everyone what we do for a living. Sayed demonstrates his request by pointing to Colorado and stating that he lives in Colorado for six months where he farms. He then points to Texas and says that he lives in Texas for six months and is a fisherman. This of course, makes us all laugh. The man’s English is amazing, and he has shown us throughout this tour that he has a great sense of humor. Once everyone has identified their home and occupation, Sayed introduces his wife and sister. We are encouraged to ask questions which many do, some for Sayed, others for his wife and sister who is soon to be married.

Sayed introducing his wife, in the discussion room. Sayed’s brother standing in the door.

After the meet and greet we are ushered into another room where the women have laid out a feast for us. There is chicken, bread, rice, and other side dishes. Someone asks Hussein if the family eats like this every day, and he replies in the negative. Hussein tells us that a meal like this would be eaten once a week and that the people only have meat with their meals two or three times a week if I recall correctly.

The feast that the women had prepared for us.

After we have finished eating, we are taken back to the discussion room where Sayed again takes our questions. I ask him how they control pests in the alfalfa. He says they have cattle egrets that keep the bugs under control. I shake my head in disbelief and tell him that we have insects that can quickly damage the alfalfa if you do not catch a bug infestation quickly. He assures me that the egrets take care of the bugs in their crops, and this is not a problem. Amazing. Later, when thinking about this, it dawns on me that the birds have a very small corridor in this country to find food. The farmed area of Egypt only occurs along the Nile which does not extend far from the water. Therefore, the birds are highly concentrated, unlike in our country, and have a limited area to find food. This is purely a hypothesis on my part.

Our group in front of Sayed’s house. This must be a photo Hussein sent us.

It is time to return to the Aida and we thank Sayed and his family for the meal and the interesting tour. After we leave someone asks Hussein if Sayed is highly educated. Hussein shakes his head and says that he is not, Sayed reads all the time and has gained his knowledge on his own. Imagine that. Paul and I agree that so far this has been the highlight of our visits in Egypt and we both were impressed and amazed by Sayed intelligence, ability and wit.

Our next stop is at an ancient stone quarry. We stroll along a trail and Hussein stops here and there to talk about the quarry. One stop is at a small tomb that our guide says that only a person of some importance would have warranted, but it is nothing compared to a King’s tombs. He points out where workers chiseled out big blocks of building stone. Hussein shows us the path that was used to drag the rock to the Nile. The workers bored out holes in the rock cliffs that line the trail. Ropes were placed through the holes which helped the laborers control the multi- ton blocks as they pulled them down the slope to the waiting barge.

Paul relaxing on deck waiting to disembark at the stone quarry.

Evidence of chisel marks where stone blocks were cut from the cliffs. I have forgotten what those oval indentions are.

Holes cut into the rock that lines the path which leads to the Nile from the quarry. Paul’s photo.

We return to the Aida but the crew does not pull up the anchor as this is where we will be spending the night. Hussein informs us that there will be a film shown in the lounge at five o’clock. The film is about a man, British I believe, that walked the full length of the Nile. When the film is over it is time for dinner. Paul, Jennifer, and I sit at the table with the two women from Minnesota. They are delightful people and one of the women is a card. She enjoys telling jokes and keeps us laughing throughout the meal. I am as amused with her body language and how she cannot keep from laughing before she gets to the punch line, as I am with her jokes! Writing this is making me grin just thinking about her! A good way to end a very good day.

Tomorrow, we visit a crate maker and the temple of the crocodile God, Sobek. Nancy

The cat that came to dinner at Sayed’s house

QUIET MORNING ON THE NILE, CARRIAGE RIDE TO TEMPLE OF HORUS, UNFURLING THE SAILS, part 7

Mar12

QUIET MORNING ON THE NILE, CARRIAGE RIDE TO TEMPLE OF HORUS, UNFURLING THE SAILS, DINING AND DANCING ON SHORE THIS EVENING, part 7

Our first night on the Aida allowed for a decent night’s sleep for me, (finally). It was so quiet and very dark which is what Paul, and I are accustomed to. There is no heating on this ship, but our room was very comfortable temperature wise. On our pre-trip instructions we had been warned that we should bring flannel pajamas, gloves, long underwear, and a warm coat, for our time on the ship, as the nights in Egypt this time of year can be quite chilly. Paul and I ignored the flannel pj’s and long underwear but did bring gloves and a fleece to go under our jackets. Unless things change drastically, we are not going to need those articles of clothing.

I leave our cabin at seven, (Paul is still sleeping), and go to the dining room to make myself a cup of chamomile tea. I don’t know when the crew untied our river yacht, but we are already sailing down the Nile. I go out to the observation deck where the only other person on the deck is a crew member busily cleaning the floor. I will say that this ship is spotless. It seems someone is always sweeping or wiping surfaces down.

As I sit and sip my cup of tea, I enjoy the scenes along the Nile as we float along. The fishermen are already out, and I begin taking photos of one fisherman occupying a colorful green and red rowboat. The turbaned fellow is moving right along when he suddenly stops paddling. I assume he is going to pull up his fishing net or wire fish traps as there is no fishing gear in his boat. However, the boatsman picks up a drinking glass which he dips into the Nile, filling it with water. As I continue to snap photos, I watch in horrid fascination as the man thirstily gulps the water down. Well, the fellow must have an incredible immune system to be able to drink directly out of the Nile. The photos are a slideshow, but you must click the arrows, it doesn’t go on its own.

I also observe a long barge moored along the bank of the Nile. There are men hauling what looks like dried sugar cane onto it. Most men are carrying large sheaves of the yellow stalks on their backs, while another fellow is using a wheelbarrow or cart of some kind. There are two camels standing alongside the barge. One of the camels has a man astride him. I cannot tell if the camels are being used to pull or haul the dried cane to the barge. Photo slideshow.

Paul shows up and we go into to the dining room to see what is on the breakfast buffet menu. There is all kinds of fruit, breads, oatmeal and cold cereal, beef bacon, (no pork in Egypt), various juices, tea, and coffee. The chef has a cook station set up on the observation deck where you can order an omelet or eggs fixed any other way you can think of. Paul and I pass on the eggs. It is warm enough that Paul and I eat breakfast on the observation deck, as do some of the other members of our group. Pretty cool to be eating breakfast as we float down the Nile.

Paul enjoying his breakfast. Quite a view.

After breakfast, Jennifer and I get some exercise by doing laps on the observation deck and walking up the stairs to the sundeck. Most of the group has assembled on the observation deck by now. I think everyone is enjoying watching life along the Nile. People are walking or riding donkeys along the riverbank, we pass by colorful villages and children wave as we pass by. Sailing down the Nile is everything and more that I imagined. Another slideshow.

Around ten a.m. our ship docks at the city of Edfu and we take off our boat shoes and put on our walking shoes. I think I forgot to mention that we were asked not to wear our excursion shoes on the boat in order not to track sand and grit all over the Aida. When we disembark, Hussein is telling us about taking horse and buggies to the temple which is on the other side of Edfu. There are probably a dozen horse and carriage on the street waiting for customers. There is an altercation between some of the horse and carriage owners and they begin yelling at each other. Hussein laughs and tells us that this is just the way these guys talk. Might be, but I look up to see a man, (who is standing behind one of the men who is arguing), wrap his arms around the guy. This peacekeeper pins the angry man’s arms to his side while at the same time keeping him from advancing towards the guy he is at odds with. A man in uniform appears and talks to the pair which seems to calm them down. Once he gets this spat under control, the policeman begins directing the horse and buggies into a line along the side of the street. I am guessing the altercation came about because everyone was jockeying to get close to the stairs that we must climb to get up to the street. They probably assume if they are closest to the stairs, they will be guaranteed customers. I admit I paid more attention to the drama than I did to Hussein.

The line up of horses and carriages. Paul’s photo.

Hussein calls out “follow me” and our group ascends the stairs towards the waiting carriages. The horses are not in good shape, their ribs and backbones are prominent. I cannot tell if the horses are very old, which could be part of the reason for their condition or if they are not being fed well. Hussein takes two people from our group at a time and walks down the line of buggies carefully studying each one. I am not sure what he is assessing, the drivers, horses, carriages, or all three. When Hussein finds what he is looking for he stops and has the people following him find the number that is painted on the carriage. Hussein imparts to the people that it is important to remember the number because you will ride in the same carriage on the return trip to the ship. He also says to not tip the driver until you are delivered back to the ship. Hussein instructs us to give the driver fifty Egyptian pounds and no more. By the way, OAT does all the tipping for things like this, so Hussein handed fifty pounds to one of the riders in each carriage. We love this about OAT as it is one less thing to worry about.

Before we leave, every driver asks for their customers phone, and they proceed to take photos of you seated in the carriage. We are looking directly into the sun so our photo results in two people with their eyes squinted to slits. Our driver is very quiet and does not talk to us on the jaunt to the temple which is fine. What we like best about him is that he does not use a whip on his horse as many other drivers do to make the horses gallop. I hope the poor things have good shoes to help cushion the impact on their joints from the solid surface of the road.

Heading to the temple. The man just ahead of us didn’t score any customers.

We clip-clop through the town of Edfu which is a little rundown. The people are going about their business and do not take much interest in us. We have arrived on the other side of the small town when I see a young boy dash out into the street ahead of us. I exclaim to Paul that the youngster is trying to race the horse and carriage that is ahead of us. Not quite, the rascal runs up behind the buggy, jumps onto the back of it, and hangs on. The driver lashes his horse into a gallop, so we lose sight of them and their stowaway. At the entrance to the temple, we catch up to the carriage and there is no sign of the boy. I guess this practice of catching a ride not only gets you to your destination quicker but probably adds a little excitement to the day.

The area where the carriages let us off is a hundred yards from the temple entrance. There are a few men waiting here that immediately begin trying to sell us souvenirs as soon as we set foot on the ground. Hussein is telling us that we will come back to this spot to find our carriage when we are finished exploring the temple. During Husseins’ instructions, I hear a sharp, “Hey” behind me. I turn around to see one of the vendors glaring at Paul as he reaches down to retrieve a bracelet off the ground. When the fellow stalks away, I ask Paul what happened. Paul says the guy laid a bracelet on his arm and when Paul moved his arm the jewelry fell to the ground which elicited the angry exclamation from the seller. Well, that is a new tactic. We find out from another woman that they did the same thing to her and when she moved her arm away the item also fell to the ground. As we follow Hussein to the temple entrance, we hear a member of our group who is walking behind us, shout a loud and angry “no.” Another member of our group immediately walks back to see what is happening and to help ease the situation. We find out later that an aggressive vendor tried to attach a bracelet around the wrist of the man’s wife and that is why he yelled at the guy. Jeez.

Our group walking to the temple of Horus

Okay, I will admit that I don’t remember much about this temple. I do recall that the temple was buried in the sand for centuries maybe millennia and some French archeologist discovered it in the late 1800’s. In our OAT book it says that this is the second largest temple, but it does not specify whether this is in Egypt or the world. I do remember that the temple is dedicated to Horus, the falcon- headed God. Hussein talks about the temple and then allows us to look around the structure on our own. We are to meet back at the carriage drop off at a certain time. After we have explored the temple, Paul and I exit the temple grounds and wait in front of the ticket office. There is another couple from our group waiting there too. Hussein walks up and tells us we can go out to the parking lot and find our carriage. I think we all mentally sigh because we must walk through the souvenir trap to get there. Just as we are preparing to face the inevitable circus, we see two workers walk through a small gate. We look at each other, shrug our shoulders and exit through the gate allowing us to miss the keepsake sellers all together!

Beautiful stone sculpture. Horus is the God represented by the falcon.

Hussein talking to our group in the temple.

When we reach the ship, Paul goes against Hussein’s’ instructions and gives our driver an extra fifty Egyptian pounds. He tells me it is because the young man treated his horse well and did not bother us while we were in his carriage. I totally agree with his decision.

This afternoon our ship comes to a halt and the crew hoists the sails which is quite an ordeal. We are invited to go aboard the tugboat and see the Aida with her sails up and functioning. Paul, Jennifer, and I believe, four more folks take the crew up on this offer. The rest of us are content to see the billowing sails from the deck. Paul and Jennifer say they enjoyed seeing the Aida in full sail, from the little tug, and they did get some nice photos. Once the tugboat riders are back on the ship, the crew continues to use the sails and wind to navigate up the Nile. To be honest, we can hardly tell that the ship is moving. You must fixate on a point along the shore to confirm that, yes, the boat is inching along. No wonder we must have the tug pull us. At this rate it would take days to reach our final destination of Abu Simbel. Regardless of our rate of speed, it is fun to go up the Nile in slow motion for a couple of hours.

The Aida with her sails up. Paul’s photo.

Tonight, we are having dinner on shore. The Aida is maneuvered over to the riverbank and moored next to a riverside café. These outside cafes are like roadside diners for river traffic, and I assume for village people too. We passed by many of these colorful riverside cafes all day. You could also see an ample number of hookahs at many of them including this one.

The crew sets up the buffet on the shore a few yards from our boat. There is a long dining table and strings of light are hung above the area where we will eat our dinner. I do not recall the food that was served in the buffet. I hardly eat anything because I cannot get my digestive system straightened out. Since my stomach becomes upset out of the blue, I have concluded that there is some Egyptian food that is not agreeing with me. Consequently, I have not been eating much but meat, bread, and fruit and not a lot of those items. Rats.

Paul’s photo from the boat showing our dining area for tonight.

The chef and captain putting food on this unique buffet table. Paul’s photo.

After we have finished our meal, the captain introduces the crew that has been taking such good care of us on the Aida. Once we acknowledge them with applause the captain tells us that they are going to play music and sing for us. Once they begin singing and playing their simple instruments, Hussein calls out to Jennifer and escorts her to the “dance floor.” The pair begin to cut a rug or in the case to kick up a “sand” storm. I know that Hussein discovered that Jennifer loves to dance prior to this evening, so they have danced together before this occasion, but I cannot remember where that occurred.

A couple members of the crew come over to the rest of us and encourage us to join the dancing duo. I decline as I have absolutely no rhythm so would probably be running into everyone or be stepping on my own toes. Paul joins in the fun as do most of the rest of the group. I think there are five or six of us that prefer to watch the rest of group dancing and laughing along the Nile.

The tugboat operator, a large man with a great smile, belts out the words to the songs they sing, drowning out the other singers. He seldom is on key but makes up for this flaw with his exuberance. Ouch. One woman returns to the table and tells me that she loves music and cannot handle this anymore. I acknowledge this fact by nodding my head but figure the crew is having fun as are the dancers so what the heck.

The owner of the café has a son that is probably eight or so, and he is singing and clapping along with the crew. Jennifer gets the boy to dance with her which makes the little fellow beam. The wide grin that splits his face when the song is over tells you all you need to know about his delight in dancing with a tourist. Way to go Jennifer, you do have a way with kids!

Tomorrow, Visiting a farm and an ancient quarry. Nancy

KARNAK, TEMPLE OF KHNUM IN ESNA, BOARDING OUR DAHABEYA, part six

Mar5

Paul and I are up early, as we need to finish packing. Paul happens to glance out of our window and tells me to come look at the hot air balloons. What a nice way to start the morning gazing at the colorful balloons that dot the morning sky. It is too bad we did not look out the window yesterday when Jennifer was floating above Luxor, we could have claimed that she waved to us.

We deposit our luggage outside our door as we go down to breakfast. Jennifer happens to be walking out of her room as we are walking down the hall. We find a table for three and eat our last breakfast in this nice hotel. We have certainly enjoyed Luxor and the sites and activities we have experienced here but I believe all of us are ready to move on. I know that sailing the Nile on our private river yacht is what I have been looking forward to the most on this Egypt adventure.

We leave the hotel at 8:30, make sure our luggage is among the suitcases lining the sidewalk, then board our bus. After a short drive we arrive at Karnak where we follow Hussein to the visitors center to purchase tickets. As we enter the grounds, Karnak sprawls out in front of us dwarfing any other sites we have visited so far. The vast area of Karnak is eye opening but also surprising is there are very few tourists here. I know the Great Pyramids are the top destination for tourists in Egypt, but I thought Karnak was extremely popular too.

I read that Karnak covers over 200 acres and various Kings and Queens built the temples, and other buildings over a period of fifteen hundred years. I am sure Hussein gave us this information when he was giving his educative talk about Karnak, but I did not retain it. The main Gods that were worshiped here are Amun, Mut and Montu, with Amun being the most worshiped of the three Gods.

We stroll down the road leading to the entrance of Amun’s temple. The road has a line of criosphinxes on either side. The criosphinxes, (I saw this name in an article), have the head of a ram which is the God Amun’s emblem. Walking between the line of ram sphinxes, who seem to be staring sternly at you, is a bit humbling. Once we walk through the temple entrance, Hussein gathers us in a half circle and begins talking about various aspects of Amun’s temple. One of the highlights is the Great Hypostyle Hall which has over a hundred towering columns. Most of the paint has faded from the figures and scenes that cover these beautiful pillars so you can only imagine how stunning they were in ancient times.

Criosphinxes lining the road leading to Amun’s temple.

The Hypostyle Hall. Some paint can be seen where it was protected from the sun and elements.

This people give perspective on how gigantic these pillars are. Paul’s photo

Hussein leads us to another area of Karnak where an obelisk stands among the ruins. I believe Hussein said it weighed one hundred ton and stood over eighty feet tall. The massive obelisk is carved from a single piece of red granite from the quarries of Aswan. Hussein explains how the obelisks were drug down to the Nile and loaded on a barge that was sitting in a dry dock. I think he said they flooded the dry dock once the obelisk was secured to the barge. The barge was then fastened to and pulled down the Nile by boats, each boat piloted with a crew of oarsmen. Hussein does admit that no one has been able to ascertain how they placed the enormous obelisk on a base and raised it to the upright position. Hmm.

The obelisk. Actually, there were two obelisks, but this was the tallest and most ornate.

After viewing other areas of Karnak with Hussein, including the sacred lake, he gives us time to look around the place on our own. He suggests walking through the Hypostyle Hall and exiting on the far side where there are some seated statues. Jennifer and I decide to go take a look at them but Paul has had enough and heads for the exit. Jennifer and I find the stone statues and after taking a few photos return to the main area of Amun’s’ Temple. When we arrive, we gasp in amazement. There are a horde of tourists, literally wall to wall, and filling the street that leads to the temple. Jennifer and I must weave our way through the crowd of people until we reach the end of the sphinx-lined road.

This part of Karnak was near the sacred lake. Both obelisks are in this photo. The tall one looks like it is leaning in this photo?

The seated statues that Jennifer and I went to see.

We are pleased to see Paul waiting for us because we were not excited about getting through the persistent dealers of keepsakes. Jennifer and I get on either side of Paul and loop an arm through his. I believe it is at this venue that we hear one of the shop owners say, “I am from Alaska.” Guess what, as disciplined as we have become at not looking at the people trying to sell us their wares, you could not help but look over at the speaker making this claim. He has our attention for a moment but to no avail as we steadily march on and finally escape into the parking lot.

We all thank Hussein for bringing us to Karnak early which allowed us to enjoy the temples and sites without fighting the crowd. I do not know how you could see much of anything with all those people crowded in the various rooms.

This is what Hussein saved us from by getting us to Karnak early!

Our group returns to the bus and soon we are on our way to the town of Esna. There are plenty of interesting things to look at through the bus window, unfortunately most of the photos I took were blurry.

Tuk-Tuks, the three-wheeled cycles with drapes, are like taxi cabs. Lots of citizens ride motorcycles.

We reach the town of Esna where our dahabeya is anchored and we catch our first glimpse of her as we drive by the anchored ship. What a beautiful boat. However, we are visiting the Temple of Khnum first so the ship will have to wait. We leave the bus and follow Hussein a few blocks to the site. Nooo, another souvenir area filled with basically the same statues, clothes, and other items we have seen everywhere else. Of course, we must pass through the clamoring merchants in order to reach the temple. We just escaped the other tourist trap less than an hour ago!

Hussein leads us over to a booth that has articles of clothing hanging along its sides. Our guide did not bring us here to give us any advice on what is worth buying but wants us to observe the fellow working. The man is ironing clothes for clients, why he is stationed here I have no idea. We watch as he is pressing a garment and then we are taken aback when he sprays water he is holding in his mouth over the item of clothing. Who needs a steam iron? I am just glad I was on the far side of where he was spraying the water out of his mouth! Okay, that was worth having to listen to the “only one dollar” chant again.

Can you see the water he is spraying out of his mouth? The source of his water is in the tin cup.

The temple is situated far below street level, so we traipse down a long staircase to reach the building. I cannot remember the particulars of this temple, but I believe it was buried in the sand, like many of the ruins, when it was discovered by archeologists. I do know that workers, although they are not working today, are painstakingly removing the soot and dirt that has covered the columns for 2,000 years. The soot coating has helped preserve the brilliant paint that was applied to the images, and it is stunning.

Looking down on the Temple of Khnum from the street. Paul’s photo.

The brilliant paint that workers have exposed after removing the layer of soot and dirt.

Our group climbs the stairs where we navigate through the merchandiser and reach the peace of the street. We board the bus and drive a short distance to our river yacht which will be our home for the next five nights. The ship is called the Aida. As we walk onto the boat a man takes our temperature. I find this interesting as we have not run into any covid protocol on the trip so far, except for our OAT man checking our vaccine card at the airport. Paul and I register a temperature around 97 and evidently everyone else pass too, as we are all allowed to continue onto the boat. I wonder what they would have done if someone was running a temperature, make them walk the gangplank?

Is this the coolest river yacht or what?

Hussein passes out our cabin keys and tells us to return to topside in fifteen minutes for the orientation talk. Paul and I are in the cabin called Horus III. After being told in pre-trip info that the ship cabins are very small, we are pleasantly surprised to find that our cabin has plenty of space for us. We probably will not be in the cabin except at night anyway.

When all of us are gathered in what I will call the dining and lounge room, the captain of the ship explains various things such as meals, the staff, and the Wi-Fi passwords, (yep, we can get the internet floating down the Nile), although he does warn us that on occasion, we will hit a dead spot. Oh no, let me off the boat, (total sarcasm). The captain also tells us that the advantage we have over the large tourist ships is we can tie up along the shore and stay away from the crowded docks where large ships must anchor. We also will be pulled by a tugboat, which we already knew, as there is not enough wind at this time of year to use the sails.

The dining and lounge room. Hussein flashing his wonderful smile.

After the captain is finished, Paul and I explore the ship and then settle down on the observation deck. We watch fishermen lay nets out in the water and then one man will slap the water with a long rod. We ask Hussein, what the men are doing, and he says this scares the fish into the nets. There are two men per small rowboat.

Getting ready to put the fishing net out.

The Nile is flush with birds, some of them we know, like cattle egrets and kingfisher. There are other birds that we are unfamiliar with so Paul goes to the captain and asks if he has a bird book we can borrow. He jokes with Paul and tells him he will sell him the bird book, and Paul replies that he will buy it from him. The captain laughs and hands the book over. I am loving this. Paul leaves to walk around, while I sit and enjoy the scenery, fishermen, life along the shore, and birds! The downside is that there is a lot of garbage along and in the Nile, mostly plastic. The grossest thing I saw was the bloated carcass of a donkey which bobbed in the wake from the ship traffic.

The observation deck. Paul’s photo. Life is tough.:)

Lunch is served at one o’clock and the buffet consists of salads, soup, chicken kabobs and fish. The food was pretty good. There are three tables, and everyone sits where they please.

Around four o’clock we dock along the river’s edge which turns out to be quite entertaining. There are several young boys and a woman standing on the shore waiting our arrival. A member of the crew attempts to throw the mooring rope to one of the boys. It takes about six tosses before the crewman gets the rope close enough to the shore for our helper to grab it. The youngster runs along the rock- fortified riverbank, he is barefoot by the way, and loops the rope over a scraggly bush. This stops us from drifting, then another rope is tied up at the other end of the boat. The crew puts out a narrow gangplank and a stout crewman walks across it carrying a large hammer. He proceeds to drive stakes down and then fastens the mooring ropes to the iron rod. Oh yeah, this man is barefoot too. I am putting a slide show below this paragraph. I hope it works.

Our whole purpose in stopping here is to visit the nearby village. I am pleased to see that a wider ramp is put across to the shore for us to walk on. The young woman is to be our guide through the village. She leads us down a dirt path and when we reach a sugarcane field, Hussein stops to talk about this staple crop for the Egyptian farmers. It is used for producing sugar of course but also is fodder for the livestock. The downside of the cane is that it needs a lot of water to reach maturity.

The woman then shows us the water filtration system that the Egyptian government has installed for villages along the Nile. The people used to drink straight out of the Nile and Hussein told us that the result was a lot of kidney problems in the older folks. We were not allowed to take any photos of the complicated set up.

Our group walking through the gate to our hosts home.

The woman takes us to the house where her family and her parents live. We sit outside in the fenced in yard, on chairs and benches. A couple of women in our group go to help make tea and the rest of us are invited to look at the kitchen while they are making the tea and pouring it into cups. Paul and I do not drink much of our tea and when the woman gathers the cups back up, she takes our left-over tea to her father, and he happily drinks it. Oh no, well I guess nothing goes to waste here. After finishing our tea, Hussein explains then demonstrates the use of a hookah. I am using another slide show. The young woman that was our guide is standing and her father, mother, and brother are seated. The photo of the one room I understood to be the kitchen of the young woman’s parents.

Our group thanks and says goodbye to the family who graciously allowed us a glimpse into their lives. The sun is setting when we return to our river yacht which is a wonderful way to end this very busy day. We will spend the night here, with no city lights or noise. Perfect.

Another temple, putting the sails up and sailing on the Nile, visiting a farming village. Nancy

VALLEY OF THE KINGS, HOME-HOSTED DINNER, part 5

Feb26

VALLEY OF THE KINGS, HOME-HOSTED DINNER, part 5

Paul and I ate breakfast this morning with another couple from our group who were kind enough to invite us to sit with them as all the tables were occupied. The buffet has a large variety of food, but it is not as expansive as Marriotts. Jennifer walks into the breakfast room about the time we have finished eating. Jennifer and some other members of our group left early this morning to go on the optional hot air balloon ride. They had to take a boat across the Nile, continue by car for quite a distance and then hope that the wind was cooperating when they arrived at the balloon launch. Fortunately, the wind was fine and Jennifer and the others that went raved about the experience of their hot air balloon ride. Paul and I opted not to go because we had taken a hot air balloon ride while on one of our earliest, maybe our first trip to Africa, and we were happy with that memory.

Inflating the hot air balloon. Jennifer’s photo of course

Great photo showing the abrupt change from farm ground to desert. Jennifer’s photo

We are off to explore the Valley of the Kings this morning. We board a motorboat that takes us across the Nile to where a bus awaits us. Our first stop is at the Mortuary Temple for Queen Hatshepsut. All visitors must walk through the vendor tent in order to get to the ticket office. Oh my gosh, the people are very persistent and aggressive. Hussein stops at one stall and shows us the things he would recommend buying here if one is interested and then tells us what we should pay for these items. Hussein reminds us that you must bargain, it is expected. We finally reach the ticket office, after listening to the phrase “only one dollar” being shouted at us as we walk the length of the souvenir filled tent. Hussein hands us our tickets and points out the location of the restroom, which several of us take advantage of before we proceed. Have I mentioned that you must pay five Egyptian pounds to use a public restroom? This is equivalent to around 15 cents. When our group is all accounted for, we climb into carts and the driver takes us the short distance to Queen Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple.

Crossing the Nile. The man in the suit is our security guard for the day.

The carts that transported tourists to Queen Hatshepsut’s temple.

We follow Hussein to the steps of the temple where he gives us the history of Queen Hatshepsut, which is complicated. The Queen was married to Thutmose II, who was her half-brother. Between Hussein’s lessons, books I read, and watching shows on the History Channel, ancient Egyptians marrying half siblings or cousins was common. The Pharoah’s believed that marrying within the family would ensure that their family would maintain control in Egypt for generations. When Thutmose II died, the throne passed to an infant son from a “lesser” wife because he and Hatshepsut had produced only a daughter, not a son.

Walking to Queen/King Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple.

Queen Hatshepsut, who was Thutmose II’s principal wife, became Regent upon his death and acted, (ruled), for the baby Thutmose III. When he was still a child Hatshepsut was installed as the first female King of Egypt although how she achieved this is not clear. King Hatshepsut was considered a successful ruler because during her twenty-year reign, Egypt was at peace. Hatshepsut also opened trade with many of the countries that her predecessors had been at war with.

When Hatshepsut’s nephew took his rightful place on the throne after the female King’s death, he ordered all evidence of her to be erased. Hatshepsut’s’ monuments were defaced, her statues were torn down, and her name was removed from the official Kings list. Some Egyptologists theorize this was revenge taken by Thutmose III for being denied the throne when he came of age, another theory is that he did this to make sure the Thutmose line would not be interrupted by a female again. It sounds more like revenge in my opinion.

Stone statues lining the front of the temple.

Hussein also told us what paintings or monuments we should look for once we were inside the temple. He particularly wanted us to find the stone pillar on the outside of the temple that depicted the face of Hathor, the goddess of love and motherhood. This goddess is depicted with a human face that has the ears of a cow. When she transformed into her animal form it was that of a cow. Hussein also told us this impressive mortuary temple was only used for seventy days which was how long the mummification process took.

The column carved with Hathor’s face. Paul is hiding behind it.

Hussein is not allowed to lead us through the temple. I understood him to say that this was because they were trying to limit the number of people inside the temple. That does not really make sense so maybe I misunderstood. Jennifer’s theory was that a guide would stop to explain things to his group which would block the flow of people. Now that does make sense.

I just liked this owl. Found inside the temple.

We gather outside by the steps of the temple, where Hussein is waiting and take the carts back to the parking area. Unfortunately, we must run the gauntlet of vendors to get back to our bus. You have to admit that this is a good marketing tool for these shop keepers but boy is it annoying.

We load up on the bus and in a short time we have arrived at the Valley of the Kings. There are carts to drive us to the tombs here also. One of the carts carrying members of our group comes to a halt and the woman from Pennsylvania hops out. It seems that her ticket blew out of her hand. A cart driver behind them saw the ticket and picked it up. The driver that picked up the wayward ticket insists on a tip and the woman hands him some Egyptian pounds. Really, shouldn’t that just be a kind thing to do for someone?

Hussein talking to us before we go inside one of the tombs.

When we reach the tombs, we form a half-circle around Hussein, who talks about the history of Valley of the Kings. Hussein also gives us useful information at the entrance of each individual tomb we are visiting and describes specific scenes or figures to look for among the paintings on the tomb walls. The tomb of Ramses IV is included with the ticket that allows you entrance to the Valley of the Kings. King Tutankhamen’s tomb is included with our OAT package. Hussein has personally purchased the ticket for Ramses VI tomb for us as he insists, we must experience, what in his opinion, is the most spectacular tomb in the Valley. How kind and generous is that?

Walking down the tunnel to Ramses IV tomb.

The number of people allowed into the tombs is limited, and rightly so as the area in the tunnel and tomb is not that spacious. We descend a staircase that takes us to Ramses IVs’ tomb. As we walk through the hallway we gaze at the painted scenes and hieroglyphs that cover the walls on both sides. We occasionally stop and admire a particular scene or figure. It is hard to fathom the work and time it took to carve this tomb out of the rock and to paint or carve all the scenes and figures that plaster every inch of the rock walls. What we are looking at is awesome. It is hard to imagine that Ramses VI’s tomb could surpass what we are experiencing in this tomb!

The falcon represents the God Horus who was god of Kingship and the sky.

The light was not the best but you get the idea. No flash allowed but mine doesn’t work anyway!

Jennifer and I leave the tomb and we have climbed halfway up the stairs when the lights go out. What the heck? The sunlight filters down weakly from the entrance/exit but we take our time and carefully climb to the top of the stairs. There were several people still in the tomb when we left, and I can only imagine how dark it is down there. Paul had left before Jennifer and me so he missed out on this fun experience. We had not been told or perhaps did not hear that tourists are allowed only so much time to be in the tomb which makes sense. The warning that your time is up is the extinguishing of the lights which seems a bit dangerous. I have a feeling a lot of cellphones were lighting the way for the people behind us.

Hussein leads us on to the tomb of Tutankhamen, where he tells us the tomb robbers never found it because rubble had covered any signs of the tomb due to an earthquake (I think). Hussain also explains how Howard Carter finally figured out where Tut’s tomb was which is fascinating but too long of a story to write here. King Tuts’ tomb is small in comparison to the first tomb we were in, but the scenes painted on the walls of his tomb are amazingly vivid. King Tutankhamen’s mummy is on display, but I could have done without seeing Tuts’ mummy as it is not a pleasant sight.

Paintings adorning King Tut’s tomb walls. The paint was so vivid.

King Tut’s mummy. Lucky for you it is not areal sharp photo.

Ramses VI tomb is our last stop, and we enjoy more history given to us by our excellent guide. As we begin walking down the long tunnel to Ramses VI tomb the depictions on the walls and ceiling are overwhelming. The deeper we get the more vivid the colors are. It is on this walk that I see a member of our group point out a very odd figure and says something about aliens which causes his wife to snort with derision. I speak up and admit that I do not discount the alien or otherworldly theory many people have, which makes her throw up her hands in exasperation. My open-minded friend and I continue talking about the possibility of alien influence or help building these structures throughout our trip, much to the hilarity of the rest of our group including Hussein. Yeah, we both watch Ancient Aliens on the History Channel, but my doubts started long before I began to watch that show. After Paul and my visit to Peru and Machu Pichu, I wondered about the ability of these ancient people being able to build such structures with only stone hammers and copper tools. Just saying.

Hussein was right in my opinion. Ramses VI’s tomb is spectacular. Incredible scenes and the paint is still so bright.

Ramses VI’s damaged coffin. I think the facial carving is a replication.

We stop for lunch on the way back to the hotel. I had ordered potatoes au gratin and was disappointed to find that they had been baked to the point of being dried out. Oh well, that was the only disappointment today.

When we return to the Winter Palace hotel, Paul and I take a much-needed nap. When we wake up, we decide to go down and check out the hotel courtyard. The manicured garden is absolutely beautiful. We find Jennifer lounging by the large swimming pool, so we sit down for a bit and just relax. I was delighted to see a Hoopoe while we were exploring the grounds. He was so busy probing the ground for worms he paid no attention to us. The low light of our courtyard tour was seeing several flamingos that are enclosed in a small wire pen.

Can you believe the courtyard of our hotel? Gorgeous.

An inviting place to have a drink and relax. This was also in the courtyard.

The unconcerned Hoopoe probing for lunch.

Tonight, we are going to our Home-hosted dinner. Hussein divides us into two groups. One group will be hosted by a farmer and his family who live in Luxor and the other group will be hosted by a retired chef and his family. The two women from Minnesota, and the solo traveler from Maryland are in our group. Hussein assigns our group to the retired chef which I admit, the three of us were a little disappointed as we had hoped to go to the farmer’s house.

The bus stops and lets us off at a side street where we follow Hussein down the dark, narrow street to our host’s house. A man is waiting for us, and he raises his hand while calling out a greeting to Hussein and our group. We follow our host into his house where Hussein introduces everyone. Hussein then leaves after telling our group that he will return later this evening to accompany us back to the coach.

It is a bit awkward at first. We all hand our small gifts to the host; we Kansans have given them a magnet featuring photos of things Kansas is known for like sunflowers and wheat. We also wrote a message of thanks inside the card which has a beautiful photo of the Flint Hills on the front. Jennifer, Paul, and I forgot to bring any gifts for the two little girls which are our hosts granddaughters. The women from Minnesota have brought a large sack of balloons and tell the girls that it is from all of us. How generous of them.

Paul took this photo of our group and our host family. The only photo we have of that fun evening.

The retired chef tells us his son, the father of the young girls and the husband of the young woman that is helping prepare dinner, will join us later. Our host takes us on a tour of the house which consists of a large dining/sitting room, a good-sized kitchen, large bathroom and two bedrooms. When we have finished the house tour we sit down at the table and the two women begin bringing food to the table. The main dish is a favorite dish of Egyptians, and I would liken it to a stew. As we all prepare to begin eating the Hostess says “bon a petit” with a big smile on her face. We soon figure out that although all the other members speak fair English, our hostess does not speak English at all. She says “bon a petit” several times throughout our meal which is endearing.

The couple’s son walks in as we are being served dessert. He greets us and apologizes for not being here earlier, but he has been working. This man speaks excellent English and soon all of us are asking him questions on various topics. He talks about how the high inflation is hurting the Egyptian people. We learn that family is very important in Egypt, and he answers any questions we have on other topics.

At some point Jennifer pulls out her phone and calls the little girls over to see photos of her eight grandchildren. Boy does this break the ice. The hostess and daughter-in-law crowd around Jennifer so they can look at her photos too, and they ooh and ahh over her grandkids’ pictures. This prompts the older couple and younger couple to retrieve their wedding albums and we all look at the photos and comment about how beautiful everything was. Our host laughs and says his wife was crazy about Omar Shariff and claims she only married him because of his resemblance to Omar. We all laugh at this story and when looking at his wedding photo from decades ago we see that there is some resemblance to Omar. They tell us that an Egyptian wedding takes place over three days and the guests can be in the hundreds. Weddings also cost a lot of money and with the high inflation they are experiencing today, some people are reducing the wedding celebration from three to two days.

The girls want grandpa to blow up a couple of balloons for them which he gladly does, I think these girls have grandpa wrapped around their finger. The two girls begin to bat the balloons back and forth and then Jennifer gets up to join in the fun. Boy do the girls, especially the youngest, get a kick out of this. After the balloon games come to an end our host announces that the girls would like to sing for us. We listen to the “ABC” song and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” The oldest girl, probably ten years old, has an incredible voice. I lean over to her mother and tell her what a wonderful voice her oldest daughter has which makes her beam with pride.

Shortly after the girl’s finish singing, a smiling Hussein walks into the house and greets everyone. We all shake hands and thank our hosts profusely for welcoming us into their home and for their wonderful hospitality. We follow Hussein back to the dark street and walk back to the bus. We tell Hussein what a great time we had and of course he is delighted to hear this. This was a really great day.

Leaving Luxor to board our private dahabeya, (sailboat), for a six-day cruise on the Nile. This is the part of our journey that I have been really looking forward to. Nancy

LEAVING CAIRO FOR LUXOR, TEMPLE RUINS, part 4

Feb21

Before we leave the Marriott, I should point out that this hotel has a lot of history behind it. The main area where we eat breakfast and where the reception desks are located among other things was built in 1869. The ruler of Egypt at that time, Ismail Pasha, ordered the construction of a Royal Palace to use for celebrating the finish of building the Suez Canal. He copied many elements in this Palace that were found in Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie’s Palace as he wanted the Empress to be comfortable in Egypt when she visited. Why Paul, Jennifer, or I did not take photos of the inside of this Palace or of the small courtyard in front of it I do not know. You will just have to take our word for it that the interior of the Palace was beautiful with its period furniture and grand staircases. The small courtyard was pretty too. The Royal Palace changed hands numerous times over the years until Marriott purchased it in the 1980’s. They added two towers that stand on either side of the Palace where guests stay.

This is the “Palace” part of the Marriott. Jennifer took this excellent photo.

This photo shows a part of one of the guest towers. There were two towers, one on either side of the Palace.

We board the bus this morning and on our way to the airport we are going to visit a historic Mosque. While driving down the thoroughfare, our driver brakes to a stop and begins backing up. Everyone in our group is a bit stunned, and I hear murmurs like “what is he doing” and I think I say out loud, “why is he backing up”? Hussein begins laughing and informs us that the driver thought we were going straight to the airport and hence he missed the turn that leads to the Mosque. So, in this country, I guess it is okay to back up fifty or so yards to get to the turn that you drove by. The road we are on is a main avenue but the traffic is light compared to what we have seen and oddly enough I do not remember anyone honking their displeasure at us.

The bus driver parks on a busy street, and we must walk down a narrow street to the mosque. This mosque has been historically preserved and is not used for worship. My main memory from this experience is that Hussein has us sit down on some chairs that are arranged in a half-circle while he talks about the history of the mosque. There are three half-grown kittens that decide people’s laps look much more comfortable than the floor they had been lying on or the kitties are hoping for something to eat. Unfortunately, the kittens are constantly scratching themselves, (can you say fleas), and their eyes and noses are a bit runny. Needless to say, no one wants them on their laps. The felines jumped up on four or five members of our group, who pushed them off their legs or laps quickly. The rest of us were not selected for the kittens’ attentions I am thankful to say. Poor little things, but the last thing one needs is a bite from a dog or a cat in Egypt or in other foreign countries where access to a rabies shot is not going to be easy to obtain.

The front of the Mosque. Jennifer’s photo.

On our walk back to the bus there is another Mosque where worship is held that we are going to visit. When we arrive at the Mosque, I whisper to Hussein that I need to go back to the bus, (the bus is in sight of where we are standing) to take some of the medicine he gave me yesterday for my digestive problem. I brought the standard medicine with me but Hussein had told us in our initial meeting to take his medicine if we became afflicted as it works better than ours. Hussein informs me that he will call the driver to alert him to open the bus door for me. Was this caused by Caesar salad I ate for supper the night before last? After swallowing the pills, I stay on the bus and take a little nap while awaiting the return of the group. When they get back Paul tells me that the main thing I missed was a man that sang for them in the Mosque.

Jennifer said there was somebody famous buried in this tomb in the Mosque that I didn’t go to. Paul thinks it was the Shah of Iran. Jennifer’s photo.

We arrive at the airport and must go through security as soon as we walk through the airport door. Men and women are separated into different queues because everyone is patted down, even though we do not set off the metal detector. We check in and receive our tickets, and check our big suitcases through to Luxor. We go through another security check, this time taking off our shoes and belts. Hussein leads us to our departure gate, where he hands us sacked lunches. Yikes, cold, mushy, fries and a hotdog type sandwich which is not warm either. I really do not want to eat anyway but choke a few fries down and two bites of the sandwich. Paul does not do much better than me, and I notice most everyone visits the waste can fairly quickly after receiving their lunch.

Since we all checked in individually, none of us are sitting together on the plane for the hour plus flight. Once we land, Hussein leads us to the luggage claim. When the luggage shows up everyone points out their suitcases for the porters, who pile them onto carts. Hussein calls out “Follow me” and we trail our guide to the waiting coach. Yes, we have another security guard with us also dressed in a suit. In case you are wondering, our security guards are packing a pistol, but unless you really look it is hardly noticeable.

Gazing out the bus window, my first impression of Luxor is clean air, no crazy traffic or constant honking, the streets seem devoid of garbage and there is a wide walkway along the Nile. It looks like a very lovely city.

I took this photo while we were driving along the Nile on our way to the Luxor Temple ruins.

We stop at the Luxor Temple ruins on the way to the hotel. There is an Avenue of Sphinx that stretches for 1.5 miles which connected Luxor Temple and Karnak. It is an astounding sight to behold. Hussein tells us that this sphinx avenue was used once a year for the Opet festival by the ancient Egyptians. I think this avenue was built over many decades by various pharaohs.

A little bit of the history of the Avenue of the Sphinx and Temple if it is readable?

One side of the Avenue of Sphinx. It takes your breath away.

A close up of one of the Sphinx that is in remarkable shape considering they are 1,000’s of years old.

Hussein gives us twenty minutes to walk down the avenue and admire the stately sphinx. Some of them hardly have any damage while others might not have any facial features left. It is hard to fathom that this sphinx lined avenue is thousands of years old.

The massive columns of Luxor Temple. The people give you a good perspective of their size. Paul is always easy to spot because of his stetson.

I believe all these statues are of Ramses II.

Hussein gathers us up and talks about the ruins of Luxor Temple that stands a few yards away from the avenue of the sphinx. I will not even attempt to relay any of the information that Hussein shared with us. Mainly because I cannot remember! The enormous, ornate, columns towering above us, makes me feel very small. As we move inside where areas of the temple are more protected, the painted scenes are remarkably preserved. We wander around looking at paintings, hieroglyphs, and stone columns on our own. After exploring the incredible temple ruins, we proceed to our hotel.

Not a great photo of the scenes that still had paint on them, but you can see that the paint is still vivid.

The sun is lighting up these columns beautifully.

We are staying at the Sofitel Winter Palace and it is beautiful. We gather around Hussein who hands out our room keys. Hussein leads us down a long hallway to show us where the breakfast buffet is, also pointing out the elevators to us as we walk by them.

Paul, Jennifer, and I look around a bit then make our way to the elevator. There is a staff member there who opens the door and we step into the old lift. Paul and I have our backpacks on plus we are carrying some hand luggage so the three of us nearly fill the small elevator car. A couple walks up and decides there is room for them and now we are squeezed together to the point we can hardly move. The elevator man shuts the door behind us.

When the elevator stops on the second floor which is where our rooms are, the elevator door does not open. The man pushes on the door, but nothing happens. Paul is stuck clear in the back and is unable to give any help. The guy starts punching buttons and soon we have arrived at the third floor. Again, the door does not open, and I believe it is Jennifer that tells the fellow to pick up the emergency phone and ask for help.

He does follow Jennifer’s advice but since he cannot hear or maybe does not understand the person on the phone, he hands the phone to me since I am closest to him. I tell the staff member we are in the elevator on the third floor, and we cannot get the door to open. The man informs me that someone will be there immediately. For some reason the man could not resist pushing another button while I am on the phone, and we are now going down to the first floor. Are you kidding me! Fortunately, there is a staff member waiting outside the elevator and he opens the door just like you would open the door to a room. Obviously, none of us paid any attention to how the door on the elevator worked when we got on the old lift. We exit as quickly as we can and the three of us vow to not set foot on that elevator again. I think we are all dealing with some claustrophobia. Walking up two flights of stairs is no big deal even with our hand luggage, hey we need the exercise anyway. I do not remember thanking the man that rescued us which makes me feel bad.

Tomorrow, we visit the Valley of the Kings. Nancy

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VISITING PHILAE TEMPLE, RETURN TO CAIRO, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION, RETURN TO KANSAS, part 13, the end.

VISITING RAMSES II AND NEFERTARI TEMPLES, RETURNING TO ASWAN, AGATHA CHRISTIE SUITE, AND THE SPICE MARKET, part 12

TRAVELING BY BUS TO ASWAN DAM, ABU SIMBEL, AND A SOUND AND LIGHT SHOW AT RAMSES’ II TEMPLE, part 11

VISITING DARAW AND TAKING A WALK ON AN ISLAND, part 10

VISITING A LOCAL CRAFTSMAN AND THE KOM OMBO TEMPLE, part 9

ENJOYING THE NILE CRUISE, VISITING A FARMING VILLAGE AND AN ANCIENT STONE QUARRY, part 8

QUIET MORNING ON THE NILE, CARRIAGE RIDE TO TEMPLE OF HORUS, UNFURLING THE SAILS, part 7

KARNAK, TEMPLE OF KHNUM IN ESNA, BOARDING OUR DAHABEYA, part six

VALLEY OF THE KINGS, HOME-HOSTED DINNER, part 5

LEAVING CAIRO FOR LUXOR, TEMPLE RUINS, part 4