Cairo and the Pyramids

The Nile Cruise

Jordan

Finally Home!

We enjoyed our brief stay in London but were glad to load our plane for home early afternoon on Friday.  We both watched several movies during our 10 1/2 hour flight and got a little shuteye. The sun followed us the whole way home.  We left at around 2:30 pm and arrived in San Francisco around 5:00 pm the same day due to the 8 hour time difference.  We had our car at a park and fly airport hotel so we spent the night.  After a good night’s sleep, we hit the road this morning, arriving in Modesto around 10:45.  All is well here, so now we have the chore of unpacking, laundry, and getting life back to normal after the jet lag subsides.

Cairo Airport ~ Monday, Jan. 31, 2011

I wasn’t able to get this video of the airport uploaded while we were traveling.  We were in this crowd for about 10 hours.  We were so lucky we got out the same day and are so thankful for all Hani did to make it happen. 

It is probably too soon to look back on the trip and say what were the highlights, but some things I will always remember include:

• Staying with Dennis and Tommy.  They were such wonderful hosts.
• Traveling with Anne and Mary Kay.  We all were very compatible travel partners and had many laughs together.  Bonnie and I will be ever so grateful for their strength and determination in getting our luggage out of Cairo. 
• Our guide Ahmed in Cairo, Mina on the Nile cruise, plus Basil and our  driver Hani in Jordan. 
• The staff and fun fellow travelers on our wonderful Nile Cruise.  The small boat was such fun and meant for lots of personal attention.
• Seeing the pyramids at Giza for the first time.
• Philae Temple near Aswan.  We were treated to the island at night for the sound and light show, plus a visit during the day.
• Petra… the natural beauty of the siq and the manmade monuments were really something.

We feel so fortunate we made this trip when we did.  We managed to see everything in Cairo and on the Nile cruise that we had hoped for.  We were able to make it to Jordan so that we could visit Petra.

Omar planned a wonderful trip for us.  We were treated like royalty the entire time.  Below is a link to his website in case you are wanting to plan a trip where you truly travel in style: http://www.travelinstyle.com

Day 19 ~ Amman to London

We stayed up until 1:00 am last night securing reservations near the Heathrow Airport for tonight.  Our flight out of Amman went without a hitch but was long, nearly 5 hours. 

We have certainly been spoiled by our travel arrangements on this trip.  Every time we arrived at an airport we had someone waiting to help us with our luggage and whisk us away to our hotel.  Today we had to collect our luggage, get to British Airways to secure our flight tomorrow, then figure out how to get ourselves to our hotel. We finally loaded an airport shuttle bus and arrived at our Holiday Inn Express around 5:00 pm.  We will just lay low this evening, eat at the hotel, and should be headed home on our 2:30 pm flight tomorrow.  We feel so fortunate that things have gone so well for us this entire trip. 

Day 18 ~ Petra to Amman

Today we made our way back to Amman, this time in the day light. We made a few tour stops along the way. Most importantly we will leave Amman tomorrow morning for London where we will spend the night. We will then be able to keep our reserved flight from London to San Francisco.  Things only seem to deteriorate in Cairo, so we are ever so grateful to be able to fly out of Amman rather than return to Cairo.

This is a view of a valley Moses walked through from the top of Mount Nebu, Memorial of Moses.  The bible says that Moses climbed this mountain at the end of his life to see the promised land.

This is the view of the Dead Sea from the opposite side of the mountain top.  The church at Mount Nebo was closed for a major restoration. 

This area is know for old (6th century AD) mosaics as well as new.  We stopped at a shop where artisans create handmade mosaics.  

We also visited St George Greek Orthodox Church. On the floor of the church is this 6th century mosaic map of the Middle East.  This is just a small portion of the map.

Not only are we staying at one of the most luxurious hotels I have ever been in (the Landmark), but we are treated to dinner at one of the best restaurants in Amman.  We thoroughly enjoyed or driver, Hani, and our guide, Basel, throughout our time in Jordan.

Day 17 ~ Petra

We absolutely loved our day in Petra.

Here we are as we enter the siq (gorge) at Petra. The rain did not deter us. I always feel like I am in a balloon when I wear my poncho, but it works very well keeping me dry. 

This is the canal the people of Petra constructed along the siq to transport water. Bonnie is bundled up in the background.

The first view of the Treasury is breath taking.  The first people created the caves and buildings along the siq for burial purposes. The Romans came later and repurposed many of the structures.

I feel so fortunate that my knee has managed to carry me through all the ruins of Egypt and now the siq of Petra.  I decided to give it a break and ride a donkey from the end to the Treasury, plus and donkey ride sounded fun.

Bonnie and I then rode the carriage from the Treasury to the entrance.

So what does a tired camel do at the end of a long day?  Rests his head on a rock, of course!

Our hotel, Taybet Zaman, is really cool. It is located on a hilltop with views of the surrounding mountains. No single picture can do it justice.  We meandered through the many passageways of shops, residences, lobby and restaurant. Originally this was a small village 300 years ago.

In the evening we went to the Petra Kitchen where we helped cook our Jordanian dinner. We got recipes, so we hope try our hand at preparing a Jordanian meal when we get home.

Day 16 ~ Flying from Cairo to Amman

We expected to have no problem catching our 11:00 am flight to Amman, Jordan.  Because of the curfew and all the blockades, our driver was an hour late picking us up, but we still had plenty of time to get to the airport.  We never imagined what we would find. It was pure mayhem.  Some people have been trying to get out for 3 days.  We had tickets, and our airlines was flying in and out of Cairo, but little did we know that the Royal Jordanian Airlines was evacuating Jordanian citizens first, regardless of tickets.  Hani or representative for Sakkara Travel, is our hero.  He elbowed his way up to the counter and fought to get us tickets on the 4:00 pm flight. With great relief we were finally on our plane by 9:00.

One person compared the airport crowd to a mosh pit.  To get our luggage to the ticket counter with Hani, we literally hoisted it in the air and men lifted it from one to another until it made its way.  We then had to navigate our way through the obstacle course of bodies, suitcases, and luggage carts to the ticketing area and find our luggage among the piles of suitcases.  Both Anne and I were near panic when we could not find our luggage, but finally she located both.

The Cairo curfew started at 3:00.  By the time Hani got us safely to our first document check, it was 3:45 which met he could not leave the airport and had to spend the night until the curfew was lifted at 8:00 am.  I really don’t understand the curfew.  The protesters are still out at night and the young men are requested to stay out all night to protect their neighborhoods.  Yet poor Hani couldn’t leave the airport to go home.

Once in Amman, we were met by our tour company and began our nearly three hour drive to Petra.  We arrived about 2:30 am and look forward to our day in Petra tomorrow.

Day 15 ~ Relaxing in Cairo

Because of the situation in Cairo, most everything was closed today.  We spent a relaxed day, had a wonderful supper, packed and are trying to get organized for the last leg of our trip.  Right now we are still planning to go to Jordan.  The state department is evacuating US citizens from Egypt. Planes are not flying in, so there are no planes to get us out.  We are hoping we have no difficulty flying from Cairo to Jordan in the morning (Monday). Then we hope we can rearrange our departure to the US from Jordan on Thursday rather than flying back to Cairo.

This is the scene from the balcony after the curfew.  The local young men carry club like sticks and stop all cars to make sure they are not looters.  They work in shifts and are keeping the neighborhoods safe throughout Cairo.  The people in Cairo are very proud of their young men for doing such a good job of protecting the city.

Day 14 ~ Fly from Luxor to Cairo

Other than being about an hour late, our flight went quite smoothly, for which we are so grateful considering the circumstances in Egypt right now.  No pictures from today, so I will take this opportunity to talk a little bit about Egyptian life.

This is a typical site all over Egypt.  People do not take out home loans, but build as they can afford.  Here you see a colorful flat with laundry hanging and a vacant structure on the next floor because it is not yet completed.  There is also the beginnings for a flat on another story.  It is quite common for families to leave the structure like this for several years until one of their children grows up and is ready to have a place of their own on the next floor. 

Women washing clothing and pot was a common sight along the Nile.

 

Men were busily chopping down palm trees where our boat docked near Luxor. After removing all of the palm fronds, this fellow climbed to the top of the tree where he attached a rope.

 

 

After he comes down, another man used an ax to chop it down by hand, while other men pulled on the rope encouraging the tree to fall.

They then quartered the tree splitting it by hand. You can see our boat in the background.

 

Every part of the tree is used.  The boys are striping the fronds of their leaves. 

 

 

The leaves will be burned as fuel and the stock will be used to make crates and other furniture.

Day 13 ~ More Luxor

We got an early start today visiting the west bank of the Nile.

This is a day time view of the mountain of the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. No cameras were allowed either inside or outside the tombs in the valley. During the New Kingdom the pharaohs decided to build their tombs in the valleys of this pyramidal shaped mountain in hopes that they would not be robbed like the pyramids of the Old Kingdom. Unfortunately their efforts were for naught as all tombs, except for King Tutankhamen have been robbed.  The paintings on the walls of the tombs in the Valley of the Queens were so well preserved and quite beautiful.

The Habu Temple is a war temple built by Ramses III.  It has a unique feature of very deeply inscribed  hieroglyphics.

The Temple of Hatshepsut was built by the first woman ruler in the world to honor her father, Thutmosis I.  She is also one of the first rulers to trade between countries.  Because she was a pharaoh, her tomb is in the Valley of the Kings rather than the Valley of the Queens. She acquired the throne because Thutmosis III was too young to rule when his father died.

After Hatshepsut died and Thutmosis III gained the throne, he removed her head from all statue and defaced any image of her, except for those on the obelisks and in her tomb.  He was angry at her for sending him away while he was young so she could rule Egypt. 

We went into the city of Luxor in hopes of doing a little shopping.  When we got there the demonstrations had begun.  Here you see a crowd being dispersed by tear gas.  Most of the shops were closed, so after one quick stop we headed back to the boat. We wish the Egyptian people well in their struggle for democracy.

Our last night on the Nile… time to party!

We were treated to Egyptian music and dance.  Ahmed, our waiter, was determined to get everyone out on the dance floor. Anne dances in her new galabaya, while Mary Kay tries a new step.

 

Bonnie has always loved folk dancing.

I have no clue what the sticks were all about, but I was having fun.

We so enjoyed our time on the Nile.  The sights were amazing, while the other passengers and the boat staff were such fun.

Day 12 ~ Luxor

Karak and Luxor temples were our destinations today.

Karnak, situated on 257 acres, is the largest religious building ever built. The ram headed sphinxes flank the entrance Amun-Ra temple, the most important place of worship during the New Kingdom.  The immense size and variety of structures defy description.  Karnak was added to, dismantled, restored, enlarged, and decorated for over nearly 1500 years.

The Giant Scarab is adjacent to the Sacred Lake at Karnak.  It is said that if you walk around the scarab seven times your wish will be granted.  Notice the obelisk in the background.

We returned to Karnak in the evening for the Light and Sound Show. The lighted buildings are reflected in the Sacred Lake.  The misty lights in a distance illuminate the mountain of the Valley of the Kings and Queens. 

We also visited the Luxor Temple also built during the New Kingdom. As with many temples, things were added during Greco-Roman times including this fresco. 

In front of this temple is the Avenue of Sphinxes which runs all the way to Karnak about two miles away.  Some of these sphinxes are still being excavated.  We also fit in a quick visit to the Luxor museum.

Day 11 ~ Esna

Today we visited Esna Temple, dedicated to the Khnum, the god of creation.  It is quite small, as it is the only remaining building out of a group of four. Built between 181 BC and 250 AD by Claudius, this is another Greco-Roman temple. It was discovered in 1843. 

The figure in the center is Khnum in the form of a ram. 

Being buried under the sand helped preserve the colors in this temple.

After the temple, we walked through the streets of Esna and visited a Coptic Church.  We were passengers in this vehicle for our trip back to the boat.  Ten of us were packed inside the camper shell.

As we left Esna, we had to go through the locks.

As usual, there was beautiful scenery as we floated down the Nile.

Once we were back on the boat, we were treated to another delicious Egyptian lunch. This is Ahmed, our waiter extraordinaire.  He is the hardest working, sweetest young man who is most attentive to all our needs.

This is a picture of a Dahabiya (the type of boat we are on) with full sails.  This boat is sailing up the Nile with the wind.  We are going down the Nile against the wind, so we can’t use our sails.  To have the experience of sailing, our captain has reoriented the boat upriver a few times.

There is no motor on our boat, so we are pulled by a tug boat as we make our way down the Nile. 

Day 10 ~ Farm Tour & Edfu

We had a very relaxed morning today.  Most mornings we set sail around 8:00 a.m. with a buffet breakfast being severed from 8:30 – 10:00. 

This morning we saw several small farms along the Nile.  Most looked quite primitive, yet they have electricity and a satellite dish on their roof. 



Our first stop was a small community Egyptian farm. They had groves of mango trees, date palms, fig trees, wheat, and alfalfa as well as farm animals.

They also were making bread during our visit, supervised by this kitty.  There are so many stray dogs and cats throughout Egypt.

 

 

 

Here is our cruise director, Viktor, with one of the old men in the village.


After our tour, our boat captain took Anne, Bonnie and me for a ride on a row boat.

This was followed by a lovely picnic by the beach. Our chef prepared mixed grill on the BBQ.  Yesterday and today, we have had wonderful Egyptian food.

Late this afternoon, we arrived at the Edfu temple.  This Greco-Roman temple built from 50 BC to 200 AD is dedicated to Horace, the god of protection, and the son of Isis and Osiris. Many of the hieroglyphics tell the story of Horace getting revenge for the death of his father by Seth.  It is the best preserved temple in Egypt and the second largest.

This falcon is a representation of Horace.

 

The sanctuary containing the alter is behind the four of us.