EXPLORING THE SAHARA DESERT BY CAMEL…..

TODAY: The Middle East continues to be dangerous for tourists as Bahrain protestors celebrated yesterday as the police and soldiers pulled back from Pearl Square to allow the thousands of people to demonstrate. At least four people have died in the confrontations in and around Pearl Square; dozens have been injured. An international event scheduled at Bahrain’s Sakhir Circuit for March 11-13^th ….the opening round of the World Championship for Formula One Grand Prix …is expected to be cancelled by Wednesday if the police and soldiers do not gain control of the demonstrations by then. At this time that seems unlikely.

Saturday, November 26^th, 2005 Starting our Nile River Cruise

Up early to pack our bags and have breakfast in the hotel so that we could be at our motor boat by 8 am to cross the Nile and meet our camel drivers. Ah yes; today is the camel ride. Jim is looking for a way out...still not feeling very chipper and he's desperately looking for any excuse not to go! I kept quiet and he never found a good reason not to join our trek across the desert by camel!

Each camel had his own master who walked behind our camel; but we had full control of the gentle beast. People asked...do they smell? No worst than a horse but maybe the dry air helped. Do they spit? Did not see one spit the whole morning. Does one sit in front of or behind the hump? In front of the hump...you have to be careful when they get up and down so that you don't slide off the neck! Actually the saddle sits over the hump. We were told that they have the ability to reach around and grab you with their teeth and will toss you off of the saddle if they don't like you! We were all very respectful of them with that piece of information in mind.

We were each assigned a camel and then after photos were taken we were off across the desert for about a ten minute ride to our first destination at St. Simeon's Monastery. The monastery was built in the sixth century and is one of the best-preserved early Christian sites in all of Egypt. Jim says that it was built by a man who decided to become a monk just after he married so that he didn’t have to consummate the wedding??? We had a very cleaver guide who spoke limited English but was extremely animated in his explanations of the various rooms and we all knew immediately what he was describing to us. One of our favorites was the story about the monk who tied his beard to the ceiling to prevent falling asleep during the very long prayer vigil he was required to keep. If his head slumped the pain caused him to wake up quickly! He earned lots of tips for his good humor.

Back aboard our camels we continued on across the desert for about another half hour to a Nubian Village where we had some vigorous exercises led by our Tour Leader Rita to overcome potential residual muscular effects from the camel riding on our derriere. We were then invited into a private home to enjoy hot tea or cokes with some home cooked Egyptian treats. While we were there we were given the opportunity to have a Henna Tattoo painted on our arms...guaranteed to last for two weeks!

I really enjoyed the camel ride but would have liked to go a bit faster...I definitely had a plodder and he set his own pace no matter what I did or said to him. His master didn't seem interested in making him go any faster so I was usually in the back...but that's a great position for taking photos of people's backs; I've got lots of them. The camel ride was definitely one of the hi-lights of the trip for me. Jim...we won't ask him about his opinion. By the way...we were accompanied by three armed guards all during the morning.

After our morning tea with the Nubians we boarded the motor boat and crossed back over the Nile to our new home: A small cruise ship. We will be living on the Nile for the next four days. It's truly a miniature cruise ship with all the amenities but is designed to hold only about 35 passengers. It's owned by the Tour Company and plies the Nile between Luxor and Aswan during the tourist season.

A delightful surprise for many of us was finding ice cream on the dessert menu! Our chef continued to surprise us daily with a wide variety of gourmet meals for our enjoyment during the four day cruise.

We all indulged ourselves with showers and unpacked the suitcases that had been delivered and placed in our staterooms while we were on our desert journey by camel. We’re still in Aswan and stayed moored at the dock while we continued to enjoy the area. A major change is that our sister tour is sharing the cruise ship with us and while on board we are now a group of thirty-one; the other group has ten people from the same Catholic church in Minnesota.

After lunch we boarded the Felucca (sailboat) for a cruise to the Botanical Gardens on Kitchener’s Island where we enjoyed a slow stroll through the gardens. The description given in the tour book for a felucca is a traditional broad sail boat used for thousands of years on the Nile. Their fin-like sails are sewn from vertical strips of cloth and they were designed by ancient Egyptian builders to ferry stones and other heavy objects from shore to shore. They are now beloved as pleasure boats.

After strolling through the gardens with a stop near the center to join a group of high school girls for impromptu dancing…girls only…we sailed back to the cruise ship to dress for dinner. After dinner we were entertained by Nubian folk dancers and musicians. The final act was the dance of the whirling dervish (whirling skirts) performed by a male dancer who amazed us with his ability to keep spinning fast enough to keep several circular skirts at a forty-five degree angle. The dancer in a brightly colored outfit turned like a spinning top while slowly removing one skirt after another during the dance. Jim went to bed right after dinner as he’s still not feeling well.

VISITING ABU SIMBEL ON SHORE OF LAKE NASSER

Friday, November 25^th, 2005 Aswan and Lake Nasser

Our alarm clocks were set for 3:45 am this morning so that we could have breakfast and make it to the airport for our 6:30 am flight to Abu Simbel. This is one of the best known Temples and it was moved 200 feet up the cliffs from where it had originally been carved because of the rising water levels of Lake Nasser. From the airport we were bussed to the Temple site on the edge of Lake Nasser.

Here we explored the massive temples honoring Pharaoh Ramses II and Nefertiti, his queen, for about an hour and then it was time to trek back to the airport and fly back to Aswan arriving about noon. A brief glimpse of history; it was worth getting up before dawn to see this stunning ancient wonder.

Arriving back in Aswan we boarded our bus for a tour of Aswan ending high on the hill for lunch in an open-air Nubian Restaurant located high above the Nile. Nubian people are very dark skinned and tall. They are indigenous to the area and have remained true to their culture and even though the new Aswan Dam covered most of their original land they have sought out new land in the area to build their homes and small farms. The outdoor meals are wonderful but one has to learn to ignore the ever present flies.

The afternoon was free to visit the Old Cataract Hotel next door (we were staying at the New Cataract Hotel) and enjoy high tea in the British Style. This hotel is known for the rich and famous guests over the past century. Truly a magnificent opportunity to see how the other half lives!

After enjoying another fantastic sunset on the Nile; we boarded our motor boats again for a trip back to the Philae Temple for a Sound and Light Show. Several hundred people were aboard these boats all headed in the same direction....all with NO lights! The only lights were those from popping flashbulbs on cameras. Spooky! I don't remember such a dark night and they were speeding along just as fast as they do during the day! We all put on our life vests without being told!

The show was great...they told us a story as we moved in a huge group through the temple with the lights showing us the story as it was told. The show lasted a little over an hour and then back on the motorboats for another scary ride across a black river to our buses!

Dinner tonight was in a restaurant in downtown Aswan. What I remember most is the unusual type of napkins! They were Kleenex tissues. A box was right in the center of the table. After dinner, several (including Jim) went to the pharmacy next door to the restaurant to obtain medication for Pharaoh's Revenge....yes, the different types of food were affecting more than a few. The guides said not to even bother with the medications from USA...it doesn't work on our germs! So for a dollar a box; health was guaranteed for all! At least if you continued to take it day in and day out we found. Jim actually had a very mild case compared to some of our tour mates but it took several days to correct.

I hope you've enjoyed the photos of the Nile River yesterday and today….the sailboats you see are called Feluccas. The photos of the Feluccas and pool were taken from the small balcony in our room. I must admit the view from this room was the best of the trip….couldn’t stop taking photos.

CRUISE THE NILE RIVER AND TOUR THE PHILAE TEMPLE

TODAY: Aswan is Egypt's premier inter resorts offering a delightful, natural beauty, a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere with a warm and dry climate. Lying 560 miles south of Cairo, this area has suffered very little consequence from the recent political upheaval in Cairo…with the exception that because Tourists have been advised to avoid traveling in Arabic countries…the thousands of people who are employed by and/or work in shops, that are mainly supported by the visiting tourists are out of work. Aswan today is the third largest town in Egypt and the biggest one in Upper Egypt, It is also one of the most popular cities to visit along with Cairo and Luxor.

According to news reports, they expect the tourists to arrive starting in March barring any future problems.

Thursday, November 24^th, 2005 Aswan

Up early to enjoy the wonderful views of the Nile River from our rooms in our new hotel in Aswan. We were in the bus by 9 am and headed for the motorboats on the Nile River that would take us to visit the Philae Temple of Isis. The entire temple was moved to a higher island after the Aswan Dam caused it to be buried under water for six months every year. It took an international rescue operation eight years to relocate the Temple. After viewing the Temple we returned by motor boat to our bus and proceeded to cross the Old Dam built by the British and then drove to the newer Aswan High Dam that not only changed the agricultural rhythms of Egypt by preventing the devastating Nile floods but also created Nasser Lake and a whole new way of life for not only Egypt but the entire northern part of the African Continent.

On our way back to the hotel we stopped at the Papyrus Institute for a lesson in how the Egyptian's created paper and then an opportunity to purchase some beautiful painting done on papyrus. They do provide many opportunities to leave some dollars in Egypt! By the way, they love American Dollars as long as they are crisp and new! We made trips to several different banks (all were low because they'd not ordered their new bills for the holidays) to gather ones, fives and tens. We'd been told not to bring large bills as they don't like to give change!

For lunch we boarded our motorboats again for a trip on the Nile to a river side open-air restaurant. On the way we were entertaining by young boys, probably about ten years old, singing while they paddled with pieces of cardboard in very small boats along side of our boat. Looking for tips!

Back to the hotel for a few free hours and I finally found the Internet Access Room in the business center! Six days since I'd touched a live keyboard! WOW....that's when I finally got out a very short email to family and friends and spent most of my time cleaning out the junk mail. Sure was nice to open mail from people we knew!

About 6 pm we boarded the bus for a trip downtown to the Spice Market. Jim bargained for two shirts and we all purchased white scarves for our heads on the camel ride tomorrow. We saw them using a flat iron in the laundry, baking pieta bread in open ovens, huge barrels of spices and many different varieties of olives and dates. The blue spice for making their clothes so white was sold right along side of the cooking spices. Eventually our guide turned us free and only one person got totally lost; but found the bus and then us!

Dinner tonight was a surprise...since it was Thanksgiving Day in USA, the guides persuaded the hotel to cook us a turkey dinner! It was a very nice way to end our first day in Aswan.

CAIRO MUSEUM ….THEN OFF TO ASWAN

TODAY: One of the biggest fears of the recent uprising in Cairo was that demonstrators would go wild and damage or possibly destroy the vast collection of antiquities contained in The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum, in Cairo. Fortunately, other than a small break in with minor damage; the Museum survived relatively unscathed. Demonstrators linked arms with the soldiers and surrounded the building during the height of the demonstrations to protect their treasurers. So, unlike the National Museum of Iraq that was completely stripped during the recent war; future generations will still enjoy the treasurers that we viewed in 2005.

Wednesday, November 23^rd, 2005

VISITING THE MUSEUM OF EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITIES IN CAIRO….

Today is a travel day so we're up early and while I packed the suitcases Jim met with three of the guys and they walked back to the pyramids near our hotel. Jim, Joe and Josef wanted to go up into the largest of the pyramids; we'd only walked around it on Monday. Chris wanted to walk totally around it and then walk to the Sphinx of Giza for an early morning view.

The pyramids of Giza are perhaps the most famous of the ancient monuments and probably the most photographed. The Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) was not only the first pyramid built in 2500 BC at Giza but also the largest. All of the pyramids were built during a hundred plus year period. It is also the one with the Solar Boat found buried next to it.

What an adventure; they paid $20.00 for entrance fees and then found out that you were not allowed to take your camera in; Jim ran to find Chris who'd started his trek and then back so he started the journey out of breath. After entering the pyramid; the climb was all uphill at a forty-five degree angle. The first 150 feet was done bent over at the waist...looking at your feet all the way to the Great Gallery and the Grand Staircase. This was twenty-five feet high and easy to climb the next 150 feet. Opps...then another 50 feet bent over at the waist again before entering the burial chamber. This room was rather plain but large enough to fit a double Decker bus! There is a large granite sarcophagus; but other than that the room is empty. This was the only room that they were allowed to see; disappointing but now they can say they were actually inside the great pyramid of Giza! (This was narrated by Jim)

The three of them were back in plenty of time to check out of the hotel...but Chris arrived at the very last minute as we were boarding the bus. I think Jim's biggest concern was that Chris had his video camera!

On the bus we had another visual tour for the half hour of traffic as we made our way into the downtown city of Cairo for our visit to the Egyptian Museum. Rita gave us a guided tour of the Museum for two hours and then we had another hour to explore on our own. For me the best exhibit in the museum was the complete display of everything that they found in King Tut's (Tutankhamen) Tomb. The only missing objects were his mummy and pieces that are on a touring exhibit in the USA (and we saw that they'd only sent objects that were duplicates of others....it was not unusual to see four of the same over and over). The most impressive were the four gilded boxes lined up in order of decreasing size; that contained his body. Actually, his mummy was inside of nine various containers starting with the four boxes that represented the nine months of gestation in the womb...everything was done towards his entering the afterlife. There were Chariots, gloves, jewelry and of course the most famous of all: the gold mask! In later chapters you will find that I actually had the opportunity to walk into his tomb and see the final mummy case that still contains his mummy; one of the few that have been returned to their tomb.

The King Tut exhibit is only a very small piece of the Egyptian Museum. There are so many objects packed into this museum that it's hard to really understand and see everything. They are in the process of building a new museum out near the Giza Pyramids so that they can display all of these beautiful objects for the public to enjoy. A few years off so we did our best to see as much as possible in our three hours. Again, no cameras were allowed inside but I put a few Internet photos in the slideshow.

Our lunch was at a local restaurant in Cairo; Roger and I decided to try the peppers on our plate...wow...they were definitely HOT...brought tears to the eyes. Another different dessert of red dates, papaya and melons.

After lunch we had an afternoon of Rita's Discoveries starting with the opportunity to walk in an upper class shopping area to investigate the stores. From there we rode the bus to a "Supermarket" called the Metro. Not the same "supermarket" as we have because just like Europe, shops tend to specialize in only one item. But a few "supermarkets" exist in large cities for the foreigners and wealthy Egyptians; they had lots of American brands but still the selection was only food items. One of our objects was to purchase snacks as dinner tonight was "on your own" at the airport. We still have plenty of power bars so only purchased drinks.

Our next stop was on the way to the airport after dark; the city of Heliopolis to the Northeast is much newer than Cairo and is the location for the airport. It was also the area where Anwar al-Sadat held his military parades and where he was eventually assassinated during a review in 1981. From that time on the Viewing Stadium has been preserved as part of the memorial built on the parade grounds in his memory. Security guards stand at attention all over the place twenty-four hours a day. Heliopolis is a mixture of European and Moorish styles. It attracts the wealthy Egyptians and although no longer separate from Cairo, it maintains a distinctly different style from the older Cairo. The entrepreneur who had the vision to inspire this garden city in the desert...yes Heliopolis is known for the number of trees and plants...was Baron Edouard Empain who arrived from Belgium in the late 19th century. A photo of his palace taken as we drove by at night is in the slideshow.

Arrived at the Cairo International Airport about 6 pm for our eight o'clock flight to Aswan. We arrived in Aswan at the hotel about 11:30 pm. I then spent about an hour looking for the locks to lock our suitcases with during the day. Yep...we are still using the plastic ties during air flights, but like to put locks on them during the day. We have an early departure in the morning so I knew it was important to find them before going to bed. I finally gave up and got out the bag with my nightgown...yep...there they were...I'd carefully put them in that bag this morning because I knew we'd be going to bed as soon as we arrived. My but sometimers sure hits at the worst times!

UNDERSTANDING THE ISLAM AND ISLAMIC CULTURE…

Today: Tourism generates approximately eleven percent of the total gross domestic product of the country. The jewelry stores that we visit today are gone; a victim of the looting and burning that consumed Cairo in the height of the demonstrations. The bazaar known as Kh el-Khalili in Cairo’s Islamic district is empty of tourists and the shop owners are ready for life to return to normal….but half of the shops are closed because of a lack of customers and the wild cats run in and out of the shops looking for food.

Tuesday, November 22^nd, 2005 Cairo Churches and Khan el-Khalil Bazaar

Hello all...before I tell you about our touring day; thought I'd give you some notes from observations and a lecture that we had before starting our day.....

Notes: Security is very high. We have an armed guard on our bus at all times; plus a car or truck with several guards behind us and sometimes another one out in front. Really feel very safe. Also; we see lots of VW buses and Toyota Vans. They are used for mini buses. The population of Egypt only uses six percent of the land so it is very expensive. Single family homes hardly exist anywhere in the cities, but you do find them in the countryside. Several generations of families build and/or purchase tall building together. Most of the homes in the north are unfinished brick buildings. They continue to build additional floors as the family grows. Family is very important in Egypt. Sons and daughters always live with their parents until they marry. Then the daughter moves to her husband’s family home. Sons stay with parents most of the time. In order to date a person…the family must approve and then they become engaged so that people will know that the family has approved of the relationship. A gold ring on right hand indicates that they are “engaged”. More than one engagement is common. The girls have the right to chose but family must approve. Generally the parents want someone who has same or similar status as their family.

Women now attend college. They hold jobs but the income is their own; even after they are married. The husband pays for all of the household expenses. If they are divorced and the wife remarries; daughters go to the husband so that they are not open to abuse from the unrelated new male in the family. After the age of sixteen; children can decide which parent they want to live with.

Main crops in Egypt: cotton, sugar cane, corn, wheat and rice

Notes from the Islamic Traditions lecture given by a guest speaker this morning:

Ramadan is the time to make changes and equalizes the difference between the rich and the poor. Similar to the Christian’s Lent it is a time to give up “things” . They do fast during the day (dawn to dusk and do not eat meat, fish, chicken or any by products such as eggs, milk, etc.) Also in addition to abstaining from food, they abstain from liquor and sex.

Haj: that is the pilgrimage that Muslims make at least once in the lifetime to Mecca. No one is allowed in Mecca unless you are Muslim. This custom teaches equality and harmony.

Prayers are always said facing Mecca. They have electronic gadgets that show the directions and also have alarms for the times during the day to pray.

Islam equals Submission

There are about 1.6 billion Muslims in the world today (in 2005)

The Koran is the word of Mohammad

Mohammad was born in 570 BC in Mecca. At the age of 40 he started to write the Koran. He was given the words by the angel Gabriel. It took his 23 years to write the Koran.

The Hadith are the teachings of Mohammad.

Beliefs: Allah/God

Resurrection/ After life

There are always two angels with us: they check the good and bad things we do

Everything counts in life

Selah is prayer…Azan is the call for prayer…they must wash face (ears), arms to elbows, feet and impure thoughts from mind.

Prayers last for five to ten minutes and are a way to connect with God/Allah. The leader of each Mosque (and there are lots and lots of Mosques in every town) chants over a loudspeaker from the top of the Tower....no one can miss hearing it even when you're asleep!

After our lecture on Islam/Muslin traditions and practices we left on the bus for a spiritual tour of Cairo.

Note: While driving on the major highway on Tuesday evening I noticed that there were police cars stationed in the middle of the road (there was a large center divider) for security. They were permanent enough that there was a permanent overhead shade for the autos. I also notice that there were many pedestrians walking on the highway. I saw one man sitting on a box reading a book in the center of the highway. I’m finding some strange things or should I say very different customs in this country.

Condition of the city: Trash litters the ground everywhere. Rita says that the poor can not afford to pay the government cost for trash disposal so they dump it everywhere. Conditions are not good and we need to overlook the poverty. It is not the American standards that we enjoy. The south in Aswan is much cleaner but the population is not as large and is definitely more affluent.

We first went to two different Coptic Churches. The second one had a crypt where the holy family stayed while in Egypt for three months. Our guide noticed a Mosque that was getting ready for a funeral…we stopped and watched from the bus. All of the women were dressed head to toe in black and stood off to the side outside. The men came walking down the street carrying the coffin and went into the mosque. The women then walked near the doors but still stayed outside to grieve for the deceased.

Then we went to a Jewish Synagogue before entering the fort that holds the most important Mosque in Cairo. There we had to take our shoes off before entering the main area of the Mosque. There were several groups of school children visiting the Mosque also. The boys could have passed for Americans but the majority of the girls were beautifully garbed in pastel scarves.

Our lunch was at a local restaurant and we enjoyed skewered lamb and a sweet dessert that we all enjoyed as opposed to fresh fruit. From there we spent an hour at the bazaar where most spent too much money but had another learning experience. Jim found the scarab that he wanted and took half an hour to negotiate the price much to Martha’s dismay as we’d decided to stay together in the bazaar; so she cooled her heels as she stood nearby. We later changed that plan and decided to each go our own way while shopping. We definitely have different styles of negotiating price. On the way to the hotel we stopped at the Jewelry Store where several in our group spent hundreds of dollars purchasing silver or gold Cartouche pendants with their names in Egyptian letters. We saved money as we really weren’t speaking to each other at this point in the day!

Solved the problems before leaving in the evening for a trip to the suburbs to visit with a family in their home and have dinner with them. Long trip, heavy traffic but well worth the effort. Some notes on traffic: First of all they only use their headlights when there are no street lights. Even then, they turn them on and off and drive for long stretches without any headlights. At one point our lanes were very crowded and they took over several lanes going in the opposite direction. There were police cars stationed about every five miles; there were specially built sunshades for their cars to sit under.

Our visit took us to the private home of an upper class family; they all live in one building. The Grandmother lives on first level; brother on second level; our family unit on third level and an aunt on fourth level. Still more unused apartments in the building we were told for the sons to live in after they marry. The family also owns a compound in Alexander where they have individual villas to spend two months each summer during the worst of the heat. The father is a gentleman farmer…owns land where he grows crops and raises cattle; we didn't see him as he spends weekdays in the country at the farm.

His wife, their twenty three year old daughter and twin sons about nineteen hosted our group. Lots of antique furniture, herringbone wood floors, beautifully decorated. Very open design…like four large rooms combined; perfect for entertaining large groups. We were allowed to ask lots of questions and they were very open with us. The boys are in a private university, all the classes are taught in English; they will graduate next year. They will then serve one year in the army. Both are majoring in International Marketing and foreign Investments; one was more into the intellectual aspects while the other enjoyed working with his hands. Both hope to own their own business after graduation. Neither seemed interested in taking over the father’s business. The daughter graduated with a degree in economics and now works for a bank. She has been engaged once and has a new possible suitor and is waiting for family approval so that they can announce their engagement and start the courting process required before considering marriage.

Wonderful dinner served family style/buffet; we ate on our lap seated in a circle in the living room after finishing the open discussion with the family. They were very kind and tried to answer all of our questions after they gave us information on their family and daily activities. Several of us had followed the suggestion of the tour company and brought small gifts for the family. We brought a small book on the Nixon Library which represented our hometown of Yorba Linda.

The trip home was much easier as traffic was much lighter. When we arrived back at the hotel we all rushed to the top floor for night time photos of the pyramids before heading to bed after a long day.

GIZA PYRAMIDS AND THE VENDORS….

TODAY: An interesting note for those that watch the news; those horses & camels that we witnessed racing through Tahrir Square last week were normally entertaining the tourist around the pyramids in Giza! Several of the riders were severely injured during the mad dash through the center of the demonstrators. Since we have visited Egypt they have nearly completed a new Museum in Giza (across the river from Cairo) that will house many of the treasurers from the Cairo Museum which is jammed packed today with antiquities; not taking the place of the old one but provide space to exhibit more of the artifacts owned by the government. So far…the violence has stopped in Cairo and they have agreed to honor existing treaties with other countries.

On Valentine’s Day hundreds of Egyptian tour guides gathered near the pyramids to plead with tourists to return to Egypt. "Tourism is like a delicate bird, it flies off at the slightest sound. But there's nothing to fear here, quite the contrary," insisted 37-year-old guide Hazem Hashem.

Monday: November 21^st, 2005 VISITING THE GIZA PYRAMIDS….

The alarm woke us up at 8 am and we hurried to breakfast as we had to meet the group in the lobby at 9:15 am for our first day of touring. Weather is overcast; actually had light sprinkles during the day off and on. Not enough for umbrellas. Rita said that the weather is very unusual today. This is their autumn and you see lots of coats on the Egyptians. I realized that I’d left my coat in the room so I made due with my large black scarf in my backpack…that worked fine as a shawl.

Our first stop was walking distance to our hotel at the Giza Pyramids. There we walked around two of the three and toured the Solar Boat. This is a full size boat that was found buried next to the Great Pyramid of Cheops. That Pyramid was built around 2,600 B.C. and stands some 450 feet tall. It took them ten years to reconstruct the entire boat. It was built by using ropes to hold the wood together. They found traces of salt in the wood indicating that the king had actually used this boat to sail in the sea. It was buried there after it was used to carry the pharaoh’s mummy across the Nile to Memphis (now Cairo) a millennia ago to provide transport for the king in the next world. Boats are always found buried with the kings but they are usually small models only.

Outside the solar boat we experienced our first vendors. Very persistent people; they constantly ask you questions and imply that their goods are “free”. They try to hand things to you; then if you accept the item they start to negotiate. Rita said not to pay their price and usually you can go down from 50 to 90% of initial price given. Jim had two Arabic headdresses and postcards in his hands by the time we entered. Rita said….they will expect you to purchase them when we exit. If you don’t want to buy and they put items in your hands…just drop the item on the ground and they will leave you alone. Jim purchased the items as we left. They put the headdresses on us. By the time we left the area; four different vendors had taken it off my head and put it back on while they talked to me. Are you American? What is your name? My name is Jimmy Schmit or sometimes they give their Arabic name. Then say something like “hi oh Silver” or some other English TV or movie term. From there they either tried to sell you something or ask to take your photo…then they expect to be paid about $1.00. Nothing is free. Toilet paper is handed to you on the way in and you are expected to pay one Egyptian pound. If there is no one collecting fees at the entrance…you will not find any paper in the toilets.

Then we went by bus to see the Sphinx. Afterwards we met at the cafeteria and enjoyed a Mango drink before boarding the bus for our next stop. We have elected not to attend the Light Show tonight as we will have another opportunity in Aswan. That will be on the Temple as opposed to the one on the Pyramids tonight. We decided we needed a good nights sleep more than the show. Dinner is on our own tonight and we’re going to enjoy some of the food we brought from home. I think we’ll be using it for snacks as so far the food here is very good.

Our lunch was held at a local restaurant in Cairo. Walking in we watched them BBQ the chickens on open grills and the woman were baking the pieta bread in open ovens. There were lots of flies everywhere. This restaurant was open-air and very pretty. We were served oranges for desert…hard to peel as we only had a table knife to use. Fresh fruit we’re told is a very common dessert in Egypt.

The afternoon was spent touring Saqqara. We saw the step pyramid of Zoser; looked inside the two holes where we saw a copy of limestone statue of Zoser (the original is in the Cairo Museum), the bent pyramid and then went inside of another pyramid. To enter the tombs inside we had to walk down a long ramp bent at the waist, as it was very narrow and short. Inside we found three rooms; two of them had carvings still on the walls. Some people felt very claustrophobic while inside.

Back on the bus we made a stop at a Carpet School. This was out in the countryside so that children could be trained there to continue the custom and also learn a trade for income without having to travel into the city. There were beautiful silk and wood carpets on display. All of the weavers were following a pattern to create their rugs except one fellow in his twenties who was actually creating a custom design as he weaved his rugs. He was an artist and his rugs were priced at over a thousand dollars each. A few people purchased small rugs.

We were tired and happy to stay at the hotel when we arrived back about 6 pm. Traffic was very heavy in Cairo. We’ve discovered that they have no rules of the road. Everyone drives reasonably; no signs of road rage. Horn honks were “gentle” and there are absolutely no left turns at any time. If necessary the driver goes blocks out of their way to make a u-turn to get back to where he can then turn right on his street. After dark the drivers do not use their headlights unless there are no street lights. When necessary, the drivers start using the reverse lanes if traffic is too heavy. Really crazy sometimes; even Jim admits that he would not like driving here!

The light show at the Pyramids was beautiful and I've included a few photos for you to enjoy. But we enjoyed a few extra hours of sleep by staying home this evening.

TRAVELING TO EGYPT....ARRIVING IN CAIRO...

TODAY: Newspapers, the Internet and television are all reporting that the damage to the antiquities of Egypt is minimal and it will be business as usual in the near future. However, just when the tourist will be returning is uncertain as we hear about new demonstrations in Algeria. Egypt has shown the power of the people and thousands of people are defying government bans on demonstrations.

Saturday, November 19^th, 2005 Flying to Cairo, Egypt….

Up early…2 am…to catch the Super Shuttle bus at 2:30 am. In preparation we went to Carl’s Jr. for dinner at 3 pm and then went to bed at 6 pm. So by 2 am we’d had the opportunity to catch 6 to 8 hours of sleep. That with the No Jet Lag pills we managed to arrive in Egypt without being totally zonked!

The shuttle bus made three more stops before we arrived at LAX about 4 am. The lady behind Jim was sneezing all the way to the airport but she insisted that she didn’t have a cold. There were a total of six passengers for the trip. The counter was open at United Airlines when we arrived so we were able to check in.

After breakfast at McDonalds, Jim took an airborne tablet just in case the lady did have a cold in the shuttle. Our flight left right on time at 7 am. Easy flight to JFK in New York except for about fifteen minutes over the Rocky Mountains (I think) when it was so rough that the flight attendants had to take their seats. Based on New York time we left Los Angeles at 10 am and arrived in New York at 3 pm. Luggage was checked through so we only had to take our carryon bags with us on the shuttle tram from terminal 7 to terminal 4. Easy transfer…checked us in and weighed our hand luggage before allowing us to take them on the airplane with us. We each have the OAT bag and a backpack. There was lots of security prior to boarding the plane.

I used my cell phone and called family to let them know we were in New York and on our way.While we waited in the terminal, Jim charged his Ipod so that it would be good for the rest of the trip; we took turns keeping an eye on the unit while it charged away in the wall near the waiting area…like watching water boil! We met some very interesting people while sitting in the terminal…one couple had worked for Embassies all over the world. They’d been in Jordan for two years and during the crisis had to be evacuated. We also met several people who were on a Grand Circle Tour…a larger group than ours. We are with Overseas Adventure Travel; maximum of sixteen people in our group. We actually ended with only fifteen as we had a widowed lady from Dallas traveling by herself. We are in tandem with another OAT group of sixteen and will share the cruise ship with them while on the Nile between Aswan and Luxor.

About 5:30 pm we lined up and there met a gentlemen from San Francisco on his way to explore tombs…he reads hieroglyphics and is meeting a friend who shares his interest…his wife elected to stay home. Another fellow was meeting friends who live in Cairo. His cell phone was not working and he used my cell phone with his 800 number to call his friend in Egypt to ask if he should buy cigarettes in USA before leaving as gift for them. Actually, he found out that they were lots cheaper in Cairo. We saw him later on plane with a facemask on…to keep away the germs I think. [Yes…we’ve used face masks ever since and have stayed healthy!] He was in Business class.

Soon we discovered why they had us line up so early. They were checking almost the entire carryon luggage prior to boarding. I got a pass but they checked both of Jim’s bags. Then they checked the tickets and passports. Again, half way down the skyway to the plane, they checked our passports for the final time. Finally at 7:15 pm we were airborne and hopefully still germ free!

We both had aisle seats. I sat next to an Egyptian banker…with a seat between that we put things into but neither of us used for sleep space. Jim was in the center and thought that he would have the whole row but by the time we left….every seat in his row was taken. Consequently neither of us got much sleep on the trip. Food was good…I’d seen both movies that they showed. Both were in English with Arabic subtitles; and yes, in Egypt movies on TV were in English also with Arabic subtitles. We had already lost three hours to New York and after leaving we turned our clocks ahead another seven hours. We are ten hours different from Los Angeles to Cairo. The fellow sitting behind Jim had a very bad cold and he coughed and sneezed and blew his nose frequently all the way to Cairo. It was so tempting to offer his some cold drugs but since he appeared to be Arab; I thought better of it and kept my mouth shut. But Jim and I both took the new drug Airborne during the flight to attempt to ward off the germs!

Sunday, November 20^th, 2005….Arrival in Cairo

We arrived in Cairo about half an hour late and we met our Tour Guide, Rita. We’re spending the first few nights at the Mena House Oberoi Hotel near the Giza Pyramids. One couple was already at the hotel; they’d done a tour of South Africa with OAT and now were waiting at the hotel for us as they’d arrived on Saturday. They combined the two tours so that they didn’t have the long flight time. Roger and Alice live in Red Bluff California but because of the situation; many on the tour thought for a while that they lived in South Africa. Unfortunately for them their luggage was sent to London (we found out later) instead of Egypt. It finally caught up with the group three days later as we arrived at the airport for our flight to Aswan. They’d not planned ahead and most of the items in their one carryon case were purchases made in South Africa. They wore the same clothes for three days!

Rita gave us some quick Discoveries on the long drive to the hotel that is located next to the Giza Pyramids. We saw the City of the Dead; a cemetery used by the poor for homes; and the Citadel that houses the largest Mosque in Cairo from the highway. The city is very large and has a huge poor population. Trash litters the streets and river banks. The poor can not afford the fees that the government charges for trash removal; so they continue to dump it everywhere and then the city picks it up as often as possible. Big problem; people drop papers and trash everywhere and it’s compounded by the use of plastic bags! Lots of donkeys, camels and horses used for transportation and attached to wagons to haul produce, etc. They mix right in with the traffic. The taxi cabs are small black and white cars. The cheaper taxis are VW buses and Toyota vans. They tie open the sliding doors and are always packed. The really cheap transportation is the larger buses. Conditions are very poor. Traffic is unbelievable…everyone going every which way. Soon we saw the pyramids and knew that we were close to our hotel in Giza.

Had time to unpack and reorganize a bit before our cocktail and opportunity to meet with our tour guide before dinner. Her name is Rita, short for Francarita; and she seems really great. We found out later that she is a part time actress and has been a tour guide for about fifteen years. Very knowledgeable, a degree in Egyptology; and seems to keep close tabs on everything and everyone. She has a mild cold we noted; but we’re still healthy.

Some terms we were given…she will call us “Habebe” which means sweetheart in loose translation. Maya Maya means very good. One dollar equals five Egyptian pounds. La means no. The postage stamps for cards are only 1.5 Egyptian pounds each. The cards are about 2 Egyptian pounds each. Very reasonable I thought; especially compared to Europe. Mia Mia is water. Mango and lemon/lime are very common drinks.

Some information on Muslin practices: They pray five times a day including once at 4 am. Those that are very faithful about their prayers have a bruise on their forehead from constantly touching their head to the floor while praying. During dinner we shared a table with Paul and Sue who live in Manhattan Beach California. He’s about 75 years old and she’s a bit younger. Very nice people; Paul also has had surgery on both his ankles and was not able to walk for nearly a year. He’s just getting back on his feet and has difficultly standing for long period of time. He asks lots of questions, always ready with a funny question and or story; plus he says he takes lots of photos…I told him that the challenge was on as I also liked to take lots of photos. Good people. We finally hit the hay about 9:30 pm. It’s been a long two days!

A NEW ADVENTURE TO EGYPT….

I’d planned to share our trip to Egypt and Jordan in a couple of months but with the unrest in Egypt today I decided to share my journal and photos from a trip we took in 2005 with Overseas Adventure Travel now instead of later.

Tourism, a cornerstone of the Egyptian economy, has taken a tremendous setback from the current unrest in Egypt over the past several weeks. Thousands of foreigners have fled Egypt, many on emergency flights, leaving thousands of people in the vast tourism industry unemployed. And then there is the draining effect of the loss of foreign currency as the country spirals deeper and deeper into revolution.

The unbelievable poverty that we witnessed over six years ago has finally caused the people to revolt and demand their human rights. The Internet and television has shown the unemployed and poor what many in the world consider their right.

They camped in Tahrir Square waiting for the Government to meet their demands. Today they are leaderless to a great degree and the future is uncertain. Many of the country’s priceless trove of antiquities reside in buildings in or near Tahrir Square. Our prayers are for a peaceful resolution to this situation….

During this tour we visit the Museums of Cairo, the great pyramids of Giza, sail on the Nile, explore the tombs of the Kings and then fly to Jordan to explore their most precious treasures.

Here is a slideshow of some of our favorite photos from the trip that we will be sharing with you over the next several weeks….

Join us starting tomorrow for a day to day adventure……

HONG KONG FOR A NIGHT...THEN HOME TO USA..

April 9, 2007 CAMBODIA & HONG KONG

Nang arrived to take us to the airport at 8 am and he stayed with us until we were all checked in and through customs. We each had to pay a $25.00 (USA) fee to leave the airport (we were told ahead of time about this fee) and everybody sailed through security with our water bottles. We were on Bangkok Airlines in Economy class. They gave us a box lunch and this time we were in row 5 instead of the back of the airplane.

Arrived in Bangkok, located the China Air counter and checked in with no problems. They handed us our courtesy lounge cards and we found the lounge with only a minor problem…there were several different ones and it took us a few minute to find the Dynasty Lounge where we belonged. It was just as nice as the one in Hong Kong and we were delighted to be there for our four hour layover. We had drinks, food, several computer stations for internet and cable plus wireless for those who had their own computers. Plus there was a massage chair that many of our group enjoyed while we were waiting for our scheduled departure. I can see why people pay the extra to upgrade from economy when flying. I spent most of the time going through photos and setting up emails to send from Hong Kong of my Cambodian photos; I wasn’t very interested in the food.

Our seats were wonderful and again we had the full services with china, silverware, linen and the works as Dynasty Class passengers. Jim discovered that the napkin had a buttonhole in one corner for those that like to prevent dribbles on their shirts; what a great idea! The time flew by so quickly we hardly knew we’d been in the air.

Arrived in Hong Kong about 6:30 pm and found Robert from Overseas Adventure Travel waiting for us after we passed through customs. Christa’s suitcase arrived and the rest of us had only carryon so we were feeling very good about a successful day. I had eaten verrrrry lightly throughout the day and at this point, with taking some medication occasionally, I was feeling somewhat human again. Howard was also on the mend; he’d had a more severe attack than I’d had; but we’d both survived and lived to tell the tale.

Checked into the L’Hotel about half an hour from the airport; owned by the same company as our previous Hong Kong Hotel in town but this one is very new. Known as the Nina Et Convention Centre, there are two towers and final construction is still in progress. One tower is 42 stories and the other is 89 stories; they are connected by a sky bridge on the 41^st floor. Our breakfast restaurant had access to the bridge so we were able to walk on it after enjoying a wonderful buffet breakfast on the 41^st floor with window walls that offered views of Hong Kong Harbor and the nearby skyscrapers that dot Lantau Island, the part of Hong Kong that has Disneyland, the big Buddha on the top of the mountain and the new airport. This particular hotel was built by Nina Wang. She was the wealthiest woman in China and died of cancer on April 3^rd. We’d just read an article about her in the newspapers on our way to Cambodia last week.

The design of the hotel was planned to represent she and her late husband. She is the shorter tower that is finished and he is the taller tower; she wanted that one to be even taller but the government refused to allow the added height due to the proximity to the airport. The bridge is their connection. There is a glass section in the floor of the bridge that allows you to look down to the ground; a real mind bender if you have problems with heights. Personally I enjoyed the opportunity and took multiple photos of my feet with nothing but space underneath.

Our rooms were similar to the Regent Hotel in Shanghai with a glass wall separating the bathroom from the bedroom. However, the outside wall had a huge window as opposed to a wall of glass. Beds were not as soft as in Cambodia but better than many we’ve had in China. A nice way to spend our last night as we repacked our luggage to put the breakables in our hand carry luggage and everything else into the big suitcases after we expanded the size. We had to watch for gels and liquids as we knew we’d be checked extra carefully leaving Hong Kong for the USA. Remembered to change the time on our alarm clock, we had to move the clock forward as we’d lost an hour during the day’s travels.

April 10, 2007 HONG KONG AND USA

Travel Day. We’d all said goodbye to Howard and Betty last night as they had to leave for the airport at 6 am. Their flight takes them to Tokyo, Japan and then they change there for a direct flight to Los Angeles.

We met Gena, Gene and Christa in the breakfast room. It’s raining outside so photos from the view windows are not too great. We left the hotel at 9 am and our plane left at 11:35 am. Gene and Gena were on the same flight to San Francisco as we were. Christa left about an hour later headed for Chicago so she stayed with the group until we boarded the airplane. Security was intense and we even had a final inspection in the boarding tunnel before getting on the airplane. We’d not planned to wear our surgical masks on the way home but after hearing the coughs, etc, on the plane; we changed our minds and put them on. I had the last four with me and when Gena said they had someone in their row with problems she accepted the last two when I asked if they wanted them. So there were four of us with masks on for the entire trip. Actually, it not only protects you somewhat from germs in the air; it helps keep your nose and throat moist from the dry air in the airplane. I think that I’ll definitely continue to use them on airplane flights. We had four movies back to back: Night At the Museum, Stranger Than Fiction, Freedom Writers, Pursuit of Happiness; they kept us all busy and we were also taking our No Jet Lag pills regularly every two hours. We were bright eyed and bushy tailed for sure during the flight.

We arrived in San Francisco early, went through customs, rechecked our luggage and then had to endure the USA security checkpoint. Wow; what a difference from Hong Kong. Shoes off, plastic bags out, computers and camcorders out, jackets off…but as upsetting as it can sometimes be for people; I like to think that we’re a bit safer than we were prior to 9/11. Found our gate and discovered that Gene and Gena were still with us; their gate to Atlanta was just across from us so we continued to visit while we waited. I plugged in the cell phone and made some calls to let people know we’d made it to San Francisco.

Uneventful flight to Los Angeles, arrived right on time around noon and went to the baggage area for our big suitcases. It took United Airlines an hour to unload our bags. Everyone was furious with the staff and their only reaction was to say that they were shorthanded and couldn’t do anything about the situation. Our daughter Jennifer had arrived just as we landed and she slowly drove around and around the airport until we finally said, “yes, we have our luggage”!

Arrived home where we were met by our two youngest grandchildren and daughter-in-law from San Francisco who were staying at our house. They’d driven down last week for the Easter family gathering and stayed to visit with us. Our son had to be back at work so had flown home on Sunday evening. Monday was spent at Disneyland with their four cousins. So we had lots to keep us moving until we finally went to bed about 9 pm. That was about thirty-nine hours after we left the hotel in Hong Kong; but who’s counting!

[Postscript: Since 2007 our China group has gotten together twice at our home. The first time was Christa's visit to her sister in Los Angeles; all of the California people showed up and we had dinner at a nearby Chinese Restaurant as we reminisced about our trip. Then about a year later; Norm and Nancy came to visit from Iowa and again our California people came for an evening of fun. We've continued to be connected by the magic of the Internet and many of them have enjoyed this journey again with you.]

TUNE IN TOMORROW AS WE BEGIN A JOURNEY TO EGYPT!

WE BEGAN OUR DAY RIDING ON THE ELEPHANT.......

Sunday, April 8, 2007 CAMBODIA

Easter Sunday and not able to attend church; it’s very hard to arrange when you are in an organized tour. We’re leaving at 8 am this morning but the wakeup call was still at 6 am. We had a few extra minutes to check the internet in the lobby. Everyone brought there umbrellas as it rained last night. It is still overcast but not raining; very humid.

Our first stop this morning was out in the temple area where we climbed aboard the elephants for a $10.00 ride down the road. Lots of fun and great photo opportunities as we lumbered along the edge of the forest; I found it more comfortable to let go of the frame of the chair and roll with the elephant. Howard stayed home this morning as he was having some food reactions so Betty shared an elephant with Christa. Well worth the extra fee and definitely a highlight of our adventure in Cambodia.

Then we drove over to the Hot Air Balloon and had our second adventure of the day. The balloon was tethered and rose about two hundred feet into the air. If the sky had been clear it would have had great views of Angkor Wat and the surrounding moat but we could barely see the temple. It probably would have been much better last night but the winds prohibited our trip for safety reasons.

Our third adventure for this morning was a visit to “The Killing Fields”; now a monastery that was formerly a prison by the Khmer Rouge forces led by Pol Pot during the 1970’s wars. People were taken there and killed generally because they were too educated. Several different memorials held the bones of people who died in this prison. We encouraged Nang to tell us about his experiences during the war and he told us about a celebration that he was attending when he was about fourteen years old. He knew something was wrong when the Pol Pot soldiers asked everyone to get on the trucks and go to another celebration (for the good harvest); he took off, swam across the river and ran thirteen miles into the jungle where he hid for several days. He later found out that nearly everyone at the party had been killed. He lost his grandfather, two sisters and a brother during this period of time. His wife lost all of her family.

Back to hotel for an hour and picked up Howard for our lunch at a local restaurant. We ate at the Angkor Cashew Restaurant, a French Restaurant that was on the second floor of an open-air building that reminded us all of Hawaii. The building was surrounded by Mango Trees and one Cashew Tree. We were able to take photos of the fruit and nut growing on the tree. The fruit is yellow and the hull holding the nut is at the bottom of the fruit. Always learning new things!

Enjoyed many different dishes and for dessert our fresh fruit including the Dragon Fruit that we so enjoy. I’ll try to find that one in the USA when we get home. We then had a short break at the hotel before heading out for our last adventure.

Just before we left the hotel for the afternoon event; I developed stomach problems. Went on the bus and half way enjoyed the very long and bumpy bus ride (over twenty miles) to tour the Pre Rup Temple. Along the way we stopped for photos at the Banteay Srei Temple. Coming back we stopped to visit the Sugar Palm Village where Nang showed us how they collect and make the sugar from the palm trees. Nang was willing to stop for anyone who wanted to climb to the top of Banteay Srei Temple but Christa was gracious and knew I needed to return to the hotel and so we continued back to the hotel.

Tonight they are at dinner at the Neary Khmer Restaurant in town for the final dinner. I decided to opt out of this adventure.

[ I went to bed about 8 pm, unable to keep anything down, I felt like something the “cat drug home through the dirt”! However in between visits to the bathroom I did manage to finish my Journal and back it up to a flash drive. So the next morning after eating some bread with my coffee I used the hotel internet and managed to send the journal before leaving Cambodia. ]