EGYPT - LET ME TAKE YOU BACK TO AN AGE OF ANTIQUITY.....

From start to finish, my friend, Janice Schultz, and I were treated like queens on this trip! We were taken to Heathrow by taxi and we checked in nice and early so we could relax and have supper at the airport. The flight is only five hours long, but you lose two more hours on the way because of flying eastwards. So…when we arrived at 4.30 am the next day, our body clocks were still on 2.30am! Never mind! Hashim from Spring Tours was at the airport to meet us and to whisk away our luggage after we had paid for our Egyptian visas – UK passports are not so popular in Egypt! We travelled in our own mini-bus and got to the Ramses Hilton Hotel by 6.00am – too early to check in. We lurked about in the lobby, dozing mostly and then checked in at 8.00am for a snooze before a huge breakfast and our first adventure… crossing the terrifying, “are there any robots?” roads to get to the magnificent Egyptian Museum which was very close to our hotel.

The beautiful reddish-pink building dates from the ‘30s and is rather Neo-Classical in style. Inside, there is so much to see…not all of it well-labelled though – a new museum is being built near the Pyramids and that is probably getting lots of attention. We spent at least three hours inside and really got a good feel of what lay in store for us. After a very tasty supper in the Rooftop Restaurant on the thirtieth floor of the hotel, we had a comfortable night in our huge room. Cairo is a huge city – about 20 million people, tons of traffic, continuous hooting and lots of dust – the Sahara Desert is close by after all! We didn’t realise that the whole population of about 90 million lives on only 7 percent of the land – all along the Nile – so much of Egypt is just arid desert!

The next day, we were taken to the airport again for our flight to Luxor – the airport is new and very vast and so the drive to find the plane was about twenty minutes long! In Luxor, there was another charming Spring Tours representative, Mohammed, there to meet us in another mini-bus just for us! Talk about getting used to being treated in the manner to which one would like to become accustomed! We got accustomed to it all very quickly! For me, it was such a treat after having to lug my luggage around to and from so many airports and Janice wasn't complaining! Luxor is more peaceful than Cairo, a bit greener, but it also resembles a city “under construction”. Many Egyptian families seem to build one or two floors on a plot and move in and then they construct the bare shell of more floors above – sometimes up to eight more floors – which never seem to be completed! Maybe it is a money issue – probably it is! It is also definitely something to do with building tax.

We were taken to our boat on the Nile – of course by far the prettiest one and the only one with gorgeous balconies for every cabin! It was called La Traviata – not very Egyptian, but still inspiring. We met our Egyptologist guide, Ahmed, who remained with us for the whole seven days of the cruise. He proved to be charming, an absolute expert in his subject and, best of all, he knew how to flatter! We were quickly crowned “the Queens” – Janice was Nefertiti and I was Cleopatra to add some Greek flavour! We coped with these new names and tried to live up to our new titles as best we could! The Egyptian people are so charming – they love saying, “you’re welcome!” and I think they all realise the great value of tourism. It is such a great pity that tourism is suffering now, mainly because of politics.

The food on the boat was spectacular – tasty, great variety and well-presented! Our first meal was lunch and we were both rather worried to hear a table of very loud young people from the USA right next to us! They were enjoying their last meal on the boat, thank goodness! Ahmed took us out on our first excursion after lunch and we started big – at the huge and very overwhelming Karnak Temple! There is so much to absorb and I think Ahmed was equally exhausted by all our questions! The sheer size of what remains from ancient times is mind-boggling and the fact that so many stories were told in the hieroglyphics is beyond amazing! We spent about three hours there and then went to the Temple of Luxor in the evening – beautifully lit up. After supper on the boat, we went to a light and sound show at Karnak and found that amazing too. We spent the night on the boat in Luxor.

Poor Janice woke up feeling terrible the next day – probably from drinking tap water in the night and this really made the day difficult for her. In true Janice style though, she soldiered on despite not keeping much food down. We saw the Colossi of Memnon, two huge statues of Ramses the Second who ruled for 67 years. We were then driven into the Valley of the Kings – a vast desert really – and allowed to go into three tombs. The diggers and builders were all sworn to secrecy when they built and their tombs are in the same area. No photographs were allowed to show respect for the dead. Just imagine how much undiscovered beauty still lies buried under the sand and rock – mostly limestone, granite and sandstone – such hard rock which can totally disappear under something as soft and fickle as desert sand and wind! To go into those tombs was very weird – and to see the beautiful carving, some still coloured, was a dream come true for both of us. After that, Ahmed and I walked up to the Temple of Hatshepsut, the lady Pharaoh, while Janice rested in the shade. It was also spectacular – much of it still intact and everything on such a gigantic scale.

I also need to mention that for the first four days of the cruise, there were only six passengers on board! We were joined by a family of four from Mumbai and we enjoyed chatting to them. We were served at our table and thoroughly spoilt! In fact, sometimes another table was added next to ours just to put more dishes down! Egyptian food is very tasty as I said – there are lots of lovely vegetables, the most beautifully-cooked white fish and far too many delectable puddings. It is very similar to Greek, Turkish and Lebanese cuisine.

That evening, we set sail for Edfu going through Esna and the lock there first.  Fortunately, Janice was feeling much better already. The next day, we climbed into a little horse-drawn wagon and headed for another gorgeous temple – this one at Edfu. Again, Ahmed highlighted the main details about it and again, we marvelled at the sheer size of everything. We returned to the boat and sailed on to a place called Kom Ombo, a double temple dedicated to the crocodile god, Sobek, and to the falcon god, Horus.  This was a favourite for both of us, because of its beauty and charm. There is even a museum containing some of the 300 mummified crocodiles which were discovered!

Some of our friends had asked whether or not we were still going to Egypt after the plane crash in Sharm-el-Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula. Honestly, neither Janice nor I even considered cancelling and I am happy to say that we felt very safe throughout the whole trip. There was always a police presence – never over-stated, but enough to make us feel secure and there were even “plain clothes” Arabic men wearing their flowing galibeyas in the temples – Ahmed pointed them out to us. It was reassuring to feel protected.

On the Sunday, we were conveyed in a sedan car instead of our customary mini-bus and it was so comfortable. We saw the 42-metre long unfinished obelisk which cracked before it could be removed for Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple around 1 500 BC. Ahmed then took us to both Aswan Dams – the older, smaller one built by the British and the large one built with Russian co-operation. Of course, Lake Nasser was below them. After that, we got onto a boat and were taken to see the Philae temple – which had to be moved when the dam was built as it would have been buried beneath the water! It took twelve years to move – huge stone by huge stone taken across the water onto another island. A huge UNESCO team did this – what great co-operation to preserve such a beautiful temple, originally constructed for the goddess Isis (before that name took on horrific connotations too!) the original island is mostly submerged now. This is another very beautiful temple, dating from 690 BC. Back on the boat, we enjoyed having the whole pool and pool deck to ourselves! We were very spoilt madams indeed!

We had a relaxing day the next day, spending time at the well-labelled Nubian Museum and in the market place in the late afternoon. Having your own Egyptian guide certainly discourages the vendors and we did not find them irritating at all. Janice found some wonderful Egyptian cakes to take back to London for her office-mates and we enjoyed our walk. Unfortunately, there is a lot of dust and dirt around and it is obviously difficult to make a market like this look as charming as it could perhaps. In Aswan, the rest of the passengers boarded. They were nearly all Germans in two separate groups and one two American ladies and they were peaceful and gentle. They were going with us back to Luxor and so doing what we had already done, but in reverse (for us!).

We stayed docked in Aswan and spent Tuesday morning on a felucca (a kind of local yacht) sailing around Kitchener’s Island and in the Nile for nearly three hours. We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon and when the boat docked at Kom Ombo for the Germans to do their sight-seeing, Janice and I set off in search of some Vicks for my stuffy nose! We were mobbed by lots of actually quite charming children who were amused when we told them that our names were both Abdullah! We found a pharmacy – of sorts – but no Vicks – until the proprietor found some and sent a boy with it. I paid and received probably the dirtiest notes ever seen for change – and both of us handled this money.

The next paragraph can be skipped if you have a weak stomach, but I shall be as euphemistic as possible. At exactly 9 pm straight after another tasty Egyptian dinner, Janice ran for the “Temple of Relief” as the well-known “Curse of the Pharaohs” attacked her. Not five minutes later, and I was on the throne of that same temple! What followed was a dreadful night of cramp and gypo guts for both of us! I fainted in the bathroom and hurt my coccyx and poor Janice was trying to get me up while being ill…. And the staff on the ship – all men, were too shy to come into the room of two scary Western ladies! The next day was equally awful, but we did manage to get them to fetch Ahmed and to bring us a tablet – which didn’t help really. We were given lemon juice, boiled rice, boiled potatoes…. And we had no appetites at all. Luckily, there was no sight-seeing so we stayed in our cabin and slept most of the day and all of the night. Added to this drama, Janice was also battling with a very sore leg from a recent fracture and my hay fever and nasal spray addiction was ongoing! Nevertheless, we continued in true Rhodesian style, I am proud to say!

We left the boat rather delicately on the Thursday, said a very fond farewell to the kind and caring Ahmed, and were met by Mohammed and taken back to Luxor to fly to Cairo where we checked into our hotel again for a two-night stay. We ordered room service and ate a bit of it! We were up early the next day for a day-trip to Alexandria, the Pearl of the Mediterranean. Our new guide was Hazem, equally knowledgeable and interesting – imagine seven years of study to be an Egyptologist guide. There is a lot to learn and remember! It was good to get a contrast with Cairo and there is a lot of Alexander the Great’s influence in Alexandria, a lot of history and a great many contrasts – especially between the rich and the poor. The city needs a good coat of paint, but you can see it was once beautiful – it is now more like a faded old lady past her prime but still on show.

Hazem took us to so many places, we got dizzy keeping all our entrance tickets! We visited the Roman catacombs, discovered accidentally by a poor donkey who fell into a shaft in 1900 and revealed the catacombs or burial chambers used from the second to the fourth centuries – can you believe it?! There is a small fountain built as a tribute to the donkey who fell so far that he lost his life. We continued to the Pillar of Pompey, a Roman triumphal column which is over 20 metres high and which is flanked by two sphinxes. We also saw the Roman ruins which include an amphitheatre and where treasures found under the sea are displayed, the Alexandria Museum (always so much more interesting with a specialist who highlights the main displays), the Citadel of Quaitbay, where we were mobbed by Egyptian children and some ladies wanting photographs with the Western exhibits! After a short walk on the beach, we went to have a fish lunch in a restaurant with huge windows overlooking the Mediterranean. We were eating again, but not with great gusto! Back at the hotel, we relaxed in front of the TV and had ice cream for supper!

On our final day in Egypt, Hazem took us, again in our own mini-bus, to Giza where we were astounded by the size of the Pyramids! We went inside the third one – there are nine altogether – some just mounds, but the main three gigantic and magnificent! The Great Sphinx of Giza was very impressive – it is the largest monolith statue in the world measuring 73,5 metres long and 20,22 metres wide. It is thought to have been built around 2 558 – 2 532 BC! Only in 1817 was the Sphinx’s chest uncovered and more than a hundred years later, the entire sphinx was excavated – so much sand had buried it! It is said that one of Napoleon’s canons broke off the nose! Anyway, we were both very privileged to see all that we did at Giza.

We stopped at a papyrus-making shop and at an Egyptian cotton outlet and then returned to the hotel for a short rest, got annoyed by all the legal smoking – cigarettes, pipes, cigars – in the lobby and then left for the airport and the five-hour journey home. I sat next to a very modern Egyptian lady called Ranya and she told me lots of interesting things about her country. Janice changed seats because the man in front of her was one of those people who likes to lower his seat into the lap of the person behind! Our five-hour flight got us back into London Heathrow at 9 pm UK time and to a temperature of 2 degrees celcius! I want to thank my friend, Janice, for her hospitality in London and for coming with me to Iceland and to Egypt. We certainly had some great adventures!

I remember watching the hot-air balloons soaring over Luxor in the early morning and thinking that I was similar to them – though not in shape and size, I hope. They are brightly-coloured and allowed to lift off and float freely, but the time comes when they have to come back down to earth. I have been floating free since 31 May – over 25 weeks now – and now I can feel that my rope has been cast over the side of the balloon. I have one week left of this great odyssey and then I too shall billow down to earth and return to my home in East London, South Africa, where reality awaits. I shall have to re-connect my phone, my DSTV, my PC, my life…… I am looking forward to seeing my girls again – both Natalie and Louise are still in South Africa, my many wonderful friends, my Eurotour group so we can keep planning for next year’s tour, my home and Clio my cat…..one more week!

The Ramses Hilton Hotel

Even Sherlock Holmes is in Cairo!

The Egyptian Museum

Workers outside the museum

Some of the exhibits 

Bes, the dwarf,was in charge of fun and entertainment
and was much revered

Some well-preserved statues

Another view of the famous museum

View from our window - the boats are floating restaurants

And night descends

Janice enjoying her fish at the Rooftop Restaurant

Delightful piano player

Early morning smog - same scene from our window

A typical scene in Luxor

Our cabin on the boat - very comfortable

I found a Presby church in Luxor - yay!

Outside Karnak Temple 

Huge pillars at Karnak

Ahmed, our guide, with the Queens!

Dates dripping off the tree

It's always good to find some cats

The sun setting in Luxor

Avenue of the Sphinxes - only discovered very recently outside Luxor Temple

Mosque behind part of Luxor Temple

Luxor Temple

Peaceful Nile scene

The two statues of Rameses 11 at Memnon

Police keeping a vigilant watch

Some Egyptian drawings outside a shop

The beautiful temple of Hatshepsut, the lady Pharaoh

Queen Hatshepsut was quite pretty

An alebaster worker

Lovely bougainvillea on the way to the Valley of the Kings -
very refreshing colours in so much sandy beige

Here we go barging down the Nile

View from the pool

This looks so Egyptian... 

Salesmen attach their boats to the big boat and
call to passengers in an attempt to do business!

Relaxing on the deck

Looks inviting!

View of the Nile at night from inside the boat, La Traviata

The boat in front of us enters the lock

Sometimes the dust just gets too much

More evidence of police protection

The huge temple at Edfu

Talk about colour coding!

Ruguda poses inside the temple

Ahmed knows all the facts...

Beautiful Kom Ombo 

And more Egyptian stories for us to read today

And another security man

The well into which crocodiles swam and were captured - but not killed

Kom Ombo at night

Some of the mummified crocodiles in the museum at Kom Ombo

Typical Egyptian food - great variety and plenty

Our Mumbai family enjoying being spoilt on the cruise

I'm trying to tell the waiter - enough food!

But he insists I have pudding! What arm twisting!

A Christian Coptic church

The unfinished obelisk at Aswan

Isis - the name of the bottling company

Police guards at Aswan dam

And here's our luxury taxi

Enjoying the sun at Aswan

And so is Ahmed

Pylons in the desert sand - big cement blocks are placed at their bases

A Nubian boatman takes us to the Philae Temple

Trajan's Kiosk near to Philae Temple

A Coptic cross on the wall from the times when Christians hid inside

Looking over the water where much of the land was flooded

Janice in contemplative mood

Coming back from the temple visit

Inside an aromatherapy shop

Colourful Egyptian cotton

What a treat - fish in here and beautiful pastry! Note the olive eye!

The Nile in the evening

Some of the few clouds we saw, reflected in the Nile

Aswan taxi - this time a Peugeot 404

View from the Nubian Museum - it contains an exhibit which explains how so much
 was saved before the dam was built and many areas were flooded to make Lake Nasser

This reminds me of a scene in a Mexico City museum

The baboon was revered

Picture of Abu Simbel - these four statues of Rameses 11
were all saved and moved before the dam waters  flooded in. We didn't go there.

Christian church seen from the Nubian Museum

And the Muslim cemetry near it

Some colour in the gardens

More lovely bougainvillea

Jewellery shop on board the boat - designs made by Aladdin, the jeweller.

The Nile from the boat's lounge

Heavy, old-fashioned furniture in the lounge

More proof reading for the English buffs!

Spice shop at the market

In the market

Nubian dancers

This chef was very proud of his presentation - and his cooking was excellent

Signs that Janice was at the pool

Nile banks

Popcorn salesman riding into the distance

The pharmacist who found the Vicks

Who can resist this spread?

Alexandria - at Pompey's Pillar

Ancient meets new - or not so new?

Pompey's Pillar

The taxis all look like bumble bees - old cars still on the go!

Someone was actually working on this car!

Roman amphitheatre

The tomb of the unknown soldier in Alexandria

Fishing boats in the Med

Fresh fish for sale

I like this car's camouflage cover

Some beach furniture?

Into the Citadel of Quaitbay

These little girls were keen for a photo with us

Inside the citadel

The Egyptian flag flies proudly

Hazem fillets my fish expertly

Alexandria apartments as seen from the restaurant

Unusually, ladies catching fish

Another Coptic Christian church

On the way to the Big Pyramid

The size of these rocks is terrifying - look how small we are

Hazem at the main Pyramid

The Pyramid in the background - shrouded in dust and early morning heat

The camels need to rest too!

Our driver, Yemeni, and Hazem at our mini-bus

Good to know...

Some of the vendors - very non-threatening.Ii even bought a banana leaf papyrus!

Pyramids make a magical background

Such pretty and colourful girls

My favourite picture of the Sphinx

Janice and I pose with the Sphinx

Papyrus shop named after the dwarf, Bes

Papyrus worker

All these VW engines seem to need airing as they go!

Cairo Home Affairs Department - a very important building

And finally, the hot air balloons over Luxor