Middle East: Egypt 2008

"Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living."

Miriam Beard

On September 6, 2008 I travelled for five weeks to the part of the planet commonly referred to as the Middle East.  The history of this region dates back to ancient times, and throughout its history the Middle East has been a major centre of world affairs.  The Middle East is also the historical origin of three of the world's major religions - Judaism, Islam and Christianity.  In modern times; the Middle East remains a strategically, economically, politically, culturally and religiously sensitive region.  My trip would consist of travelling to three of the regions countries: Egypt, Jordan and Israel.

After 30 hours of travel I land in the ........

Arab Republic of Egypt

An enigmatic treasure trove of almost unimaginable archaeological and cultural riches, it's hard not to think of Egypt without imagining the Sphinx, the pyramids of Giza, Luxor, the Valley of the Kings and the Nile River.  As well as being the world's largest open-air museum, Egypt also offers a slew of luxurious Red Sea resorts, many within reach of spectacular snorkelling, diving and windsurfing.

The awe-inspiring monuments left by the pharaohs, Greeks and Romans as well as early Christians and Muslims stand beside mud-brick villages, and in some areas, towering steel, stone and glass buildings - it is at the cultural crossroads of east and west, ancient and modern.  Through everything, the Nile River flows serene and majestic, the lifeblood of Egypt as it has been since the beginning of history.

The day after landing in Cairo (09/08/08), I head for the western desert oasis.......

Siwa

With a population of about 23,000, Siwa, located in the western desert, is the most inaccessible of all Egypt's oasis but also the most fascinating.  Lying some 60 feet below sea level on the edge of the Sahara Desert's 'Great Sand Sea', its rich history includes a visit from Alexander the Great to consult with the Oracle of Amun in 331BC.

The area is famous for its dates and olives, as well as one of the most beautiful landscapes in Egypt.  Olive oil is still made in the area by crushing the olives from the 70,000+ olive trees in the area with stones.  True story!!!  The number of olive trees are pail in comparison to the 300,000+ date palm trees in the area.

My journey here involves flying from Cairo to Marsa Matruh and then a gruelling 4 hour taxi ride across the Sahara desert.  Slowly, however, the Siwan oasis comes into view.

Close to 380,000 date palms and olive trees surround this oasis.

My arrival day (Day 1), I spent exploring this amazing town....

Siwa!!

Practically the only transportation in this desert oasis is the donkey.  There are only male donkey's in Siwa.  The female ones are kept away so the population can be controlled.

The palm covered road that leads to the Shali Lodge, my home for the next couple of days.

This is the view from my hotel room.  Hundreds of date palms.

Every village has a food market......this is Siwa's.

This local contraption creates a candy type food that is sold at night in the community.  The giant wheel is heated and rotates while strings of the sugar mixture is dispersed unto the wheel forming a weave-like candy.

The centre of town is dominated by the mud-brick remains of the 13th century fortress enclave of Shali.  Built of large chunks of salt mixed with rock and plastered in local clay, the buildings originally rose up four or five storeys.  However; a three day rain storm in 1926 was so damaging that the inhabitants abandoned most of the fortress.  Now only one or two buildings around the edges are used, including the mosque, however with each rainfall more of the unique old buildings disintegrate.  

I found a small coffee shop (the Amigo Cafe) right in the middle of town that was owned by an Egyptian-American, Hussein.  He, along with his sidekicks, Joey and Ashwan, would be my local guide and interpreter.

During the day the town square was laid back and very relaxed.  Siesta is a very big thing in Egypt but here under the hot Sahara sun it is REALLY big!!

At night the town square is converted into the 'gathering place' for the local men (keep in mind that this is a very strict Muslim area of Egypt and the local women don't show themselves in public).

On Day 2, I arranged with Hussein to take me by jeep into the desert and do some exploring around the Siwan oasis......

My day trip would take me into the desert to man-made caves and tombs before proceeding to a lake where I had a swim before going further into the western Sahara's Sea of Sand.

This was once the sea floor of a vast ancient ocean that engulfed this oasis.  Siwi lies 60 feet below sea-level.  I actually pried a sand-dollar shell from the desert floor....true story!

This type of landscape seem to last forever and I was beginning to think that I would not see anything else but this moonscape.

So does anyone know where I can get a cold beer?

West of Siwa, about 15kms, is the community of Bilad at-Rum (City of Romans).  This Berber village is home to nearly 100 tombs cut into the rock of nearby hills.

What possessed the people of old, to dig and carve out tombs in the rock to bury their dead?  Wouldn't it be easier to simply dig a hole in the sand?

....regardless of their rationale for building these tombs, they do make for some pretty cool places to explore!

We stop for lunch at this tiny itsy bitsy oasis in the middle of nowhere....half a dozen palm trees...tops....and this....hmmmm....swimming pool???

Interestingly, there are over 1,000 such springs around Siwa.  Even more interesting was that this spring was particularly cool even under the blazing hot sun!

We continue on further into the desert when we encounter mechanical problems.....so OK, now what?  No water.  No food.  No working jeep and no one knows we are here....shite!

While waiting for the driver to fix the jeep, I went exploring.  This fossilized footprint was smaller but much wider than my foot.  No idea how old it would be, but it was found high on a hill and obviously was made when the rock was mud next to a receding sea.

These oddly different rocks are the remnants of a meteor that had crashed to earth ions ago.  I have a shard of this!

With a newly fixed jeep we moved on and as the desert moonscape slowly converted to desert sandscape, we see a lake shimmering in the distance.

Upon arrival I see that the lake is saline.......

......however it wasn't so saline that I couldn't go for swim #2.  Who knew you could go swimming in a lake in the middle of the Sahara, one of the driest places in the world.

After a good dip in the lake we continue on and eventually we come upon the Great Sand Sea, the world's largest dune field.  Straddling Egypt and Libya and stretching over 800km south to the Gilf Kebir, its beautiful but  dangerous dunes can reach heights of 150 metres.

The Great Sand Sea of the western desert; an unbroken mass of dunes the size of New Mexico which smothers the barren frontiers of Libya and Egypt and is home to not one living soul.  Parallel dunes ridges run north-south for hundreds of miles, and anyone journeying here has to be exceptionally prepared, as there's not a single well or water source in 150,000 square miles - extreme even by Saharan standards.

Quite the sandbox!

So what does a person do when confronted with sand dunes that are 150 metres high?  Why go snowboarding of course.....or rather sand boarding!!

Of course I was a terrible snow-boarder so I expect my skills are similar when the medium is sand!!

What's a person to do, but pick themselves up, dust themselves off and get in the jeep and drive the rest of the way!!

The end of a very action-packed day.  A nice refreshing swim #3 at the end of the sand-boarding experience in this spring filled pond.  There are actually fish farmed in this pond.....who would have thought it.....a fish farm in the middle of the desert.!

On Day 3: I decide to spend it exploring the sights within Siwa.....

Ashwan picks me up in the local taxi....seriously!!

I'm off to see the "Mountain of the Dead" or Gebel al-Mawta.  It is a hill honeycombed with rock tombs, most dating back to the Ptolemaic and Roman times.

The "Mountain of the Dead" is only 1km from the centre of town and during WWII the tombs were used by the Siwans as shelters when the Italians bombed the oasis.  Many tombs were discovered at that time but were not properly excavated.  British soldiers would pay families a few piastres to cut away large chunks of tomb paintings as souvenirs.

Standing at the top of the Mountain of the Dead.

The view through an opening inside of the tomb!

OK, time to get this show back on the road.  Lets harness up the ass and get moving!!

So off we go to our next destination......

....and that destination is the Temple of the Oracle.  Built in the 6th century BC, it was dedicated to Amun, the ram-headed God of Life.  The Oracle was very famous and endowed with so much power that in 524 BC the famous Persian warrior, Cambyses, sent an army of 50,000 men out into the desert, from Thebes, to destroy it.  The legendary army never arrived and was lost to the sands of the desert.  A couple of centuries later, Alexander the Great, made his perilous desert journey to specifically consult with the Oracle.

Today the temple is in bad shape, but it is still worth the visit.

There's a new Oracle in town boys....step aside Big B is here!!

Finally after a day of exploring Ashwan brings me to the Cleopatra's Bath, or also known as Spring of Juba.  The natural spring waters pour into a stone lined pool, which is a popular bathing spot for the local men (women swim in a separate segregated pool....Muslim remember).
Me doing a full-frontal-half-sow-cow dive!!

At the end of another perfect day and I get Joey (or whatever his real name was) to take me up the Shali ruins to see the sunset.

Looking out at the Shali fortress.

Perfect!

Now to get back out of this before total darkness!

On Day 4: In the morning I hooked up with Hussein and he took me out to Lake Zeitun and the surrounding area.......

Along the way Ain Safi, the last vestige of human civilization before the great over-whelming wall of desert sand dunes take over.

People actually do live in Ain Safi, just not this part!!!

Lake Zeitun is a huge salt lake.  It isn't deep, perhaps no more than 3 metres at its deepest, but like the Dead Sea, it sits below sea-level and the salt has crystallized to form, what looks like, large sheets of ice!!

I tried to go swimming here but the salt crystallized on the bottom of the lake so that when you stepped on it you broke thru and underneath was about two feet of oozing mud.  Not nice.

About 5km from Lake Zeitun is the abandoned mud-brick village of Az-Zeitun which loss the battle to the wind and sand.  Hussein leads me thru the maze of ruins.

An ancient olive press.  Actually the number of ancient relics that are just lying around this country simply amazes me.

All that is left is the ruins and ghosts of the town.

The ancients were short people.  This was the pulpit for the town preacher!

Might as well get a picture while I am here, after all; as the old Seals & Croft song states: "We may never come this way again."

Ain Qurayshat is 27km from Siwa and is said to be the best spring of the lot.  The clear water here is about 3 metres deep and spills into Lake Zeitun.  Our driver pulled up along the edge and I used the top of the jeep as a diving board!!

....and the Kid is still in fine form!

After 3 1/2 days in Siwa I take a taxi back to Marsa Matruh and fly from there onwards to Sharm el-Sheikh.....

The large waterfront town of Marsa Matruh is built around a charming bay of clear Mediterranean waters and clean white sandy beaches.  I only stayed here one night on my way to Cairo and on to Sharm el-Sheikh.  This picture was taken from my hotel room!!

I flew from Marsa Matruh to Cairo and onwards to.........

Sharm el-Sheikh

The simplicity of sun, sea and sand.  The luxury of five-star hotels, water sports, shopping and entertainment.  This is Sharm el-Sheikh, one of the most accessible and developed tourist resorts communities on the Sinai peninsula.  All around are Bedouins, colourful tents, mountains and sea.  There are small, intimate hotels with modern designs, as well as larger hotel complexes belonging to international hotel chains, plus about all the amenities one could expect of a tourist centre, including casinos, discos and nightclubs, golf courses and health facilities.  In fact, with diving and snorkelling, windsurfing and other water sports, horses and camel riding, desert safari's and great nearby antiquity attractions, it is almost impossible for a person to ever suffer from boredom.

A view from my room of the resort.  You may be asking yourself what am I doing here at a beach resort.....good question!!  I came here for the diving.  Considered one of the Top 10 dive destinations in the world!!  I never had reservations at a hotel when I arrived.  I simply wandered around until I found a hotel with a room available.  My friends were paying $300 a night because they booked through a travel agent and I was paying $30....because I didn't.

A view from one of the bars at my "luxury resort".  Actually went snorkelling around this 'restaurant'.  I was very impressed at the amount of fish that hung out there!

Sharm at night!  The view of the town from my hotel (the sailboat-like lights come from the casino).

The dive-boat was right next door to my hotel.

I would wander into town in the night time for a brew.  I can't remember his name, but he could juggle them liquor bottles pretty good and the bar sold fish-n-chips.....he described the fish as "not quite cod-fish".

Scenes from around Sharm.  This spice store called "Old Shop" is also the name of a community back home.

More scenes from around Sharm:  The main strip blocked with party animals, tourist and locals.

While in Sharm I went on a quad-bike trip into the desert....

The landscape here is desert but it is significantly different from the western Sahara desert.  Here it is rocky with large barren mountains.

Time for a break.

A Bedouin camp.

After a few days in Sharm, I flight back to Cairo to start a 19 day tour of Egypt and Jordan. 

Cairo

Known officially as al-Qahirah, it is one of the world's largest urban areas (7.8 million) and offers many sites to see.  It is the administrative capital of Egypt and, close by, is almost every Egyptian pyramid, such as the 'Great Pyramids of Giza' on the very edge of the city.  But there are also ancient temples, tombs, Christian churches, magnificent Muslim monuments, and of course, the Egyptian Antiquities Museum, all either within or nearby the city.

Cairo is an amazing city full of life and movement, and it is that way 24 hours everyday, with noisy honking of horns, children playing in the streets and merchants selling their wares and services.  

Strolling along the banks of the Nile river.  This is not my first time I saw the Nile, I whitewater rafted the Nile in 2001 some 6695kms south of here at the source, Lake Victoria in Uganda. 

The Nile river is front and centre in Cairo.  It is their lifeline and if it wasn't for this river, the rich culture and history that is Egypt's, would not exist.

I'm going to be travelling for the next 19 days with a group tour.  On the first day of this tour we head for the........

 Great Pyramids of Giza

The sole survivors from the ancient Greek-listed Seven Wonders of the World, the pyramids are the world's oldest tourist attraction.

The wonder of the pyramids lies in their twin mysteries:  'What were they built for?' and 'How were they built?'  

It was neither an obsession with death, nor a fear of it, that led the ancient Egyptians to build such incredible mausoleums as the pyramids: it was their belief in eternal life and to be one with the cosmos.  A pharaoh was the son of a god, and the sole receiver of the ka (life force), that emanated from the god.  The pharaoh, in turn, conducted this vital force to his people, so in life as in death, he was worshipped as a god.

The Pyramid of Chephren.  When compared to the other two pyramids, Chephren seems to be the larger, that's because it stands on higher ground and its peak still has part of the original limestone casing which once covered the entire structure.  It is 136.5 metres high.

Walk like an Egyptian!

The oldest pyramid at Giza and the largest in Egypt, the Great Pyramid of Cheops stood 146.6 metres high when it was completed in 2600BC.  It took 10 years to build the causeway and massive earth ramps used as a form of scaffolding and another 20 years to raise the pyramid itself.  

The Great Pyramid of Cheops has nearly 2 1/2 million blocks of stone weighing  around six million tonnes and it took nearly 100,000 slaves to carry out the back-breaking task of cutting, moving and laying the stones.

Since the time of Mark Twain, who visited in 1866 - and even before - tourist at the pyramids have  "suffered torture that no pen can describe from the hungry appeals for baksheesh that gleamed in the Arab eyes".  Every visitor to the Giza Plateau has to run the gauntlet of camel and horse hustlers.....

....in the end, the obligatory picture is required!!

The Giza Plateau, completely surrounded by Cairo but you would hardly know it from this vantage point!  This is my first camel ride!

My camel had quite the haircut!!

"So where are the real pyramids?  Enough of these scale models!"

The Pyramid of Chephren in the background while the Sphinx stands guard!

Legends and superstitions abound about the Sphinx and the mystery surrounding its long-forgotten purpose.  Carved almost entirely from one huge piece of limestone, it has a head of a man and a body of a lion.  The Sphinx is about 50 metres long and 22 metres high.

That night our group boards the overnight train to........

Aswan

Aswan, Egypt's sunniest southern city and ancient frontier town has a distinctively African atmosphere.  Its ancient Egyptian name was Sunt.  Small enough to walk around and graced with the most beautiful setting on the Nile, the pace of life is slow and relaxing.  Days can be spent strolling up and down the broad boulevard watching the sailboats etch the sky with their tall masts or sitting in floating restaurants listening to Nubian music and eating freshly caught fish.

In Aswan the Nile is at its most beautiful, flowing through amber desert and granite rocks, around emerald islands covered in palm groves and tropical plants.  

The spice market in the Souk in Aswan.

A felluca (Nile craft) on the Nile.  The cliffs behind it is mounted by the tomb of a marabut, Qubber el-Hawwa, who was apparently a local  saint.  Who knew?

After arriving in Aswan via train, we headed for the Aswan dam....

Just north of the border between Egypt and Sudan, lies the Aswan High Dam, a huge rock filled dam which captures the world's longest river in the world's third largest reservoir, Lake Nasser.  I'm actually sitting on the dam in this picture.

Afterwards we headed for the Temple of Isis......

The ancient Egyptians built a beautiful and magnificent temple on Philae Island for the Goddess Isis, but the temple was submerged after the first Aswan Dam was built in 1906, and it was not until the seventies that many nations attempted to save the temple.  Several countries, together with UNESCO, selected a suitable place, but they had to wait until the completion of the new High Dam, in 1971, which would stabilize the level of water around their chosen island.  The new island is called Egilica, and it was completely reshaped to imitate Philae Island as closely as possible.  And then stone by stone they recreated the temple on Egilica Island.

Exploring the Temple of Isis.

"I was thinking' about turquoise, I was thinking' about gold
I was thinking' about diamonds and the world's biggest necklace.
As we rode through canyons, throughout the devilish cold,
I was thinking' about Isis, how she thought I was so reckless."

Isis   Bob Dylan

A view from inside the Temple of Isis (notice the hieroglyphics on the stone).

After exploring the Temple of Isis we head for a rock quarry to see.....

The Unfinished Obelisk located in the Northeren Quarry still lies in the ground.  It would have weighed over 2.3 million pounds and would have been the world's largest piece of stone ever handled, however, a crack in the stone occurred, which cause it to be abandoned.

Afterwards we took a water taxi across the Nile to go for a camel ride.......

Abdul Sheik MacPhee and his trusty camel!

Our destination is on the other side of that distant hill !!

"On your mark.  Get ready!  Giddie-up!!"

After the camel ride we went for a traditional supper at a Nubian home......

Sitting around the Nubian home waiting for supper.

Our cook for the night.  She damn near killed us all with food poisoning.

The next day I explored Aswan......

Boys and girls do not go to the same school in Aswan.  Here the girls are breaking for lunch.

Night time in Aswan Souk (market).

The next day we start our trip down the......

Nile River

At 6650km, the Nile River is the longest river in the world.  It has its origins in Burundi, south of the equator, and flows northward through northeastern Africa, eventually flowing through Egypt and finally draining into the Mediterranean Sea.  Three principle streams form the Nile.  In Ethiopia's highlands, water flows from the Blue Nile and the Atbara.  Headstreams of the White Nile flow into Lake Victoria and Lake Albert.

The Nile receives its name from the Greek Neilos, which means a valley or river valley.  The river flowed northward and flooded the lands in Egypt, leaving behind a black sediment.  As a result the ancient Egyptians called the river Ar or Aur (black).  The river's water and the fertile soil along its banks created the perfect setting for the evolution of the civilizations that existed in the ancient world.  The ancient peoples that lived along the river banks cultivated the art of agriculture and were one of the first to utilize the plow.

The ancient sailboats (called Felluca's) of the Nile are still a fairly common means of transportation up and down the river.  As far as getting around, many people use them for a trip between Aswan and Luxor - it's not the fastest way of travelling but that's not the point!!

Some water buffalo grazing on the shores of the Nile.

We left Aswan aboard a felluca with a 'support vessel' tagging along.  The support vessel offered a bathroom (cockroach invested), dining facilities and party venue!

Many communities line the banks of the Nile and like most of them they may have existed for centuries.

Given the number of animals we saw munching on the river banks, it obviously was prime grazing territory!

When the felluca's sail their way back upstream, they will do whatever is needed to beat the Nile's current, including doubling up!

A beached felluca.

Surprisingly, considering that the river runs through a sandy desert, there are very few beaches along this stretch of the Nile, so whenever one is found you get various types of boat beached on them.

This is where we pulled in for the day.  thankfully there was enough beach for our two boats and this beached one!

After sailing all day we beach the felluca and have supper.....

Supper on the 'support boat', with REAL Egyptian wine......mmmmmm yummy Egyptian wine!!

After supper I order some sheesha.......

None of the people on this tour had been in Egypt prior to doing the tour, so I guess its not surprising that none of them had smoked a sheesha pipe before, but they were all willing to give it a try......

....including Larissa....

.....soooo okay.   Not your thing hey!

After the crew had cleared away supper they broke out the musical instruments.......

And in Arabic, the choir broke into "The Lion Sleeps Tonight".  True story.

"All together now.....na na na na na na.....come on evryone......na na na na na"

See what REAL Egyptian wine does to you!  We try to teach Maria the "Teapot" nursery rhyme.  You know the one.....
"I am a little teapot, short and stout
This is my handle and this is my spout
Tip me over and pour me out"
.....or something like that!!!

6:30 in the morning and I can't sleep (yes you sleep out in the open on the felluca's deck).  The 'call to prayer' from a nearby village blaring all night, dogs barking, cell phones ringing in peoples bags, even some one's cell phone alarm clock went off.....Christ how do these people sleep???

The next day we arrive in......

Luxor

Luxor has often been called the World's Greatest Open Air museum, as indeed it is and much more.  The number and preservation of the monuments in the Luxor area are unparalleled anywhere else in the world.  Actually, what most people think of as Luxor is really three different areas, consisting of the (1) City of Luxor on the East side of the Nile, the town of (2) Karnak just north of Luxor and, (3) Thebes, which the ancient Egyptians called Waset, which is on the west side of the Nile across from Luxor.  On the west side is also the Valley of the Kings, also known as the 'Place of Truth'.  Selected by the architect of the New Kingdom Pharaoh, Thutmose I, for his royal tomb, the valley eventually hosted the burial tombs of at least 62 New Kingdom pharaohs.

After getting straighten away at my hotel I take a horse and carriage trip through the main bazaar......

The hustle and bustle of a middle east bazaar!

Buckets and buckets of yummy looking gear!!

The market spills out into the street and with an over-abundance of shoppers.  It's amazing that my horse and buggy can squeeze through.

Later that night I head for a sound and light show at the..........

Temples of Karnak

Karnak is more than a temple; it is a spectacular complex of sanctuaries, kiosks, pylons and obelisks, all dedicated to the Theban gods.  Everything here is on a gigantic scale: the site is 1.5sq. km. and it has been added to, enlarged and restored over a period of 1500 years.

The sound and light show starts at the Avenue of Sphinxes and proceeds to the 1st Pylon (the partially collapsed wall straight ahead).

The Avenue of Sphinxes, with the processional ram-headed sphinxes, once went all the way to the Nile.  

The Great Hypostyle Hall, with the impressive 134 colossal columns that surge into the sky.   The 12 centre columns are the largest, standing at 21 metres whereas the remaining 122 are a mere 15 metres......

......It is difficult to actually understand their size and night-time pictures can never capture the depth, but consider this example, a crowd of 50 people could easily stand atop the centre columns.

The colossal statue depicts King Rameses II with his daughter Bent'anta. The king standing, arms crossed, holding the crook and flail (symbols of kingship). 

The next day we head for the.......

Valley of the Kings

Nestled in the cliffs on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor, the isolated Valley of the Kings is home to the tombs of the great pharaohs of the New Kingdom (1550 – 1070 BC).  There are 63 known tombs in the valley, 26 carved for kings and the others granted to royal family members or the highest of the elite.

To get to the Valley of the Kings you must take one of the many water taxi's from Luxor.

After crossing the Nile, we head for the Valley of the Kings via donkey!

This part of the journey should have been very interesting but for one thing......it was 49.5C.  The heat overcame me....I couldn't enjoy any of it.

The donkey ride took about a hour.  This was my ass 'Ole Big Ears'.

"Hey look at the ass on the ass!"

After the donkeys got us so far, we gave up the saddle for the back-bench seating of a local taxi.

Entering the Valley of the kings.  We ended up going into Ramses IV tomb but after a 10 minute walk down a long tunnel about 1/2 my height in 50+C heat, all I wanted to do was get out of the tomb before it became my tomb!!

The Temple of Hatchepsut rises out of the desert plain in a series of terraces.  The Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatchepsut merges with the sheer limestone cliffs as if nature herself had built this extraordinary monument.  
Move over Queen Hatchepsut, there's a new king in town!

The partly rock-cut, partly freestanding structure is one of the finest monuments of ancient Egypt, although its original appearance, surrounded by myrrh trees, garden beds and approached by a grand sphinx-lined causeway must have been even more spectacular.

That night we board the overnight train and head back to Cairo.....

The Alabaster Mosque situated in the Citadel of Cairo, this Ottoman mosque, the largest to be built in the first half of the 19th century, is, with its animated silhouette and twin minarets, the most visible mosque in Cairo.  It is one of the first features to be seen when approaching the city from no matter which side.

Here I am inside the citadel making believe I'm washing my feet (the fountain was broken) before entering the mosque.

Inside the mosque!  The steps leading to the ???  Pulpit maybe??

Minarets abound in this city......

The local bread man.  I wonder? Does he ever lose a loaf or two?

The next day we take a 7 hour bus ride to Egypt's.......

Mt. Sinai

The biblical Mt. Sinai where Moses received the Ten Commandments stands at 2285 metres and it towers over St. Katherine's Monastery which is located at its base.  

St. Katherine's Monastery with its 22 Greek Orthodox monks still in residence.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been called the oldest working Christian monastery in the world.

A Greek Orthodox monk sweeps the path leading to Mt. Sinai.

Leaving the Monastery behind as we head up the mountain.

Bedioun camp at the foot of the mountain offering camel rides up the trail.

I know it is this way because all you have to do is follow the camel shit!!

"Man I am out of shape".  
There are two routes to the summit, the camel trail and the taxing 3,000 Steps of Repentance as laid by one monk as a form of penance.

The view from the top!

The Kid knocks off another mountain!!

The summit of the mountain has a mosque and a Greek Orthodox chapel (constructed in 1934 atop the ruins of a 16th century church) neither of which is open to the public.  The chapel, supposedly encloses the rock from which God made the Tablets of Law.  At the summit is also 'Moses' Cave' where Moses waited to receive the Ten Commandments.

Group shot at the top:  Back row - Brian (from the USA) and his girlfriend, Katie, Larissa, Lori, Karen, Nicholas, Virginia, the guy from Australia, Peter & Lynn.  Front row - Moi, David and Maria.

After the climb we head for.......

Nuweiba

Called "the Pearl of the Gulf of Aqaba", it is hemmed in by rugged mountains and sandy beaches that makes this place a beautiful spot.  The city itself offers a range of accommodation, a fascinating bazaar and a wide selection of bars and restaurants.

The Nuweiba coastline with Saudi Arabia across the Red Sea!

Our last supper in Egypt.  We are staying at a five-star resort, definitely the best place I've stayed in.  From left to right:  Amanda, Virginia, Nicholas, Lynn, Peter, Michael (our guide), Lori, the guy from Australia, Karen, David, Maria, Brian, Brian;s girlfriend and Katie.

We strolled down the beach and had some beers and then got up and partied the night away!!

Maria the Dancing Queen.

Larissa gets the last laugh in Egypt.  We could never teach her to smoke the sheesha!

Join me for the next portion of the trip in Part 2.

Cheers

DIARY ENTRY:  MONDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 2008  7:27AM:  I left St. John's on September 6th at 5:30AM.  I flew to Halifax and hung out with Aimee for a few hours, from there I flew to New York City.  I bummed around NYC for a couple of hours.  I managed to get to Times Square, 6th Avenue, Avenue of the Americas, before the rain from Hurricane Hanna drove me inside for a beer and some NY fries!

Headed from NYC to Amsterdam at 8:40 (overnight flight).  I arrived there at 10:15AM (Sunday 09/07/08) and immediately proceeded to head for central Amsterdam.  Unfortunately, I boarded the wrong train and had to backtrack.  I finally arrived at around 11:30 and immediately proceeded to the Greenhouse Effect Coffee Shop and Hotel.  This is my Amsterdam institution!!  I stayed here some years ago when travelling with Frank Carone to Kenya.  Again it started to rain, so I kinda restricted to smoking pot and having a beer!

Finally, after a 30 hour journey, I arrived in Cairo!  A driver from the hotel where I was staying the first night picked me up and I crashed within minutes.

DIARY ENTRY:  Tuesday September 9, 2008  8:52PM:  Sitting here in my room at the Shali Lodge Hotel.  This hotel is built in the traditional Siwan/Berber fashion....mud blocks.  However, having said that, it is very nice.  Keeps things cool.

Today I went on an adventure into the Sahara.  O started by having Hussein arrange a jeep and driver (an Ashwan our cook).

We drove to some very old man-made caves where ancient Siwans used to live, before proceeding to a cool bath where I was able to swim and had a meal (tuna, cheese, bread, veggies, etc).  After this we once again went further into the desert, stopping at another one of the many tombs/homes taht dot the landscape.  Eventually, we leave the moonscape and canyons behind and enter the full-fledged sand dunes of the western Sahara.  Some of these dunes were massive......easily 150+ metres.  We stopped at a saline lake and had another swim.  the water was so salty I was able to float very easily.

Again on the move, we stop at a fossil place where I collected a fossilized sand dollar and some shells.....proving that, yes, the Sahara was once the bottom of a massive sea!!

The dunes are massive and nothing but sand for hundreds of miles.  We continue along the way and stopped where a meteor had crashed to earn, at yet another hot spring and finally finishing up at a small pond (again where I went swimming).  We finished the day by arriving back in town where I had supper at the coffee shop in town.

Tonight I attempted to find an internet connection but was unsuccessful.  I guess that will have to wait until I get to Sharm el-Shiek.

DIARY ENTRY:  September 11, 2008 6:41PM:  OK, so this is the date (September 11th) that will ring around the world forever and here I am in Marsa Matruhm Eygpt, which is about as Islamic as one can get.

On Wednesday (Sept 10) I slept in rather late but I think jet lag finally caught up with me.  When I finally got on the go I headed for the Amigo Cafe where Ashwan and Hussein were waiting.  It was my intent to see the sights around Siwa and I was going to do it by donkey and cart.

My first stop was the Mountain of the Dead.  A hill rising out of the oasis where a burial ground was discovered dating back to the 26th dynasty.  After this, I visited the Temple of the Oracle.  Built in the 6th century BC and dedicated to Amun.  So powerful was this Oracle, taht Alexande the Great came here in 331BC to consult.

From here it was on to the Temple of Umm Ubayd, also dedicated to Amun.  An Ottomaa governor in need of building material blew up the temple in 1896 and only a part of a wall with inscriptions remain.

Onwards to the Cleapatra's Barh, a natural spring pool, that is used by the locals.  I was in need of a quick swim after all day on a donkey cart.

And finally, climb up the fortress of Shail to watch the sunset.  All and all another excellent day in Siwa.  The night ended at about 12PM when the men started to wander home to their families.  I did the same, but not before having a couple of pipes of sheesha and food (compliments of Hussein).

Today I was up early as I had arrangements with Hussein to go to a couple of swimming places.  After I had breakfast and our driver arrived I was off to the first place, Lake Zectun, a very saline lake which, while offering uniqueness of floating in such brine, the salt itself had formed a crust over the deep mud that lined the lake floor.  Breaking through I sank a couple of feet into the ooze.  All and all not a great place.  Afterwards we went to another freshwater pool where my driver pulled the jeep right up to the pool allowing me to dive right off the jeep roof.  Too cool!!!

I decided to rent my own mini-bus for the trip back to Mars Matruh ($28), so instead of 14 people it was just me, however Ashwan went along for the ride. Tonight I would like to find an internet if I could.

DIARY ENTRY:  Tuesday September 16, 2008 5:22PM:  Well its been awhile since I've updated my journal, to do in part with the fact that I've done very little since arriving in Sharm el-Sheikh.

This is resort country BIG time and everyone knows my thoughts on resorts, basically they can be anywhere.  This one happens to be in Egypt, but in all honesty you would never know it.  There are no minarets, no mosques, no veiled women, only tourist and sun.  There's plenty of sun!!!

So my hotel (resort) is located right on the beach and it appears to be a premium spot.  I'm only minutes walking from the centre of town.  I hesitate to call it a town since no one actually lives there.

I met up with two couples from England:  Susan and Tony (a great laugh) and Vivene and Paul.  During the day I partially hung out with them, going to happy hour and into town for a few pints and sheesha.  I actually met up with Susan and Tony pretty well everyday until they left on Monday morning.

Today I went diving in the Red Sea.  I've now had the opportunity to dive in several tropical/exotic locations around the world and this one ranks up there as one of the top ten locations in the world.  I actually had two dives.  The first, we anchored off a reef (very close to shore) and did a 35 minute dive.  Saw some standard fish, not so much coral as in other locations, but enough for sure.  The second dive was a "current dive".  Actually saw the largest moray eel I've ever seen, perhaps 8 feet long!!

Tonight I will head back to town for a supper and hoefully book a quad bike trip for tomorrow.

DIARY ENTRY:  Friday September 19, 2008 5:50PM:  I'm sitting here at the train station in Cairo waiting for the night train to Aswan and the call to prayer is echoing thru the city.

On Wednesday (Sept 17/08) I slept in late however once I was up I had a full day.  I went snorkelling in Sharm el-Shiekh just off the steps of my hotel.  Surprisingly, there was a large number of fish so close to shore.  After about a hour I headed back to the room to get cleaned up for a quad bike ride into the desert.......well that was supposed to be what it was.  I was actually very disappointed in this trip.  It was far from getting into the desert and we weren't allowed to break ranks from the crowd of quad'ers. It was therefore very dusty and not very comfortable.  To make matters worst, part way thru the journey it got dark, so I couldn't see anything except the quad in front of me.  To make matters worst, I had been the first person picked up for the trip and the last person to be dropped off.  After checking the internet I had a late supper before heading home.

Yesterday (Thursday Sept 18/08) was a travel day, as I had to catch a plane to Cairo.  Given this I didn't do very much, by the time I arrived in Cairo and met the tour guide and checked the internet, it was time for bed.

Today we officially started the first day of our tour.  It started with a trip through Cairo to the pyramids.....WOW, such amazing structures.  Right up there with Guatemala's Tikal and Cambodia's Angkor Wat.  The three Great Pyramids of Giza belong to the pharaohs of the 4th dynasty.  I opted to do the camel ride around the pyramids and it was actually pretty good.....got some awesome pictures.  Afterwards we went and saw the Sphinx, the huge guard of the funeral complex with King Chephren's face and the body of a lion.

In the afternoon we went to the Egyptian museum.  This was a large building with over 100,000 artifacts but no air con.  With so many people it was very uncomfortable and given that I'm not much of a museum person, I became very bored and tired.  The only bright spot for me was when I went into the mummy section.  There were 18 mummies and their preservation was amazing.  I was glad it was over however when we left, as another hour in there and I would have been drained.

The over night train to Aswan will take about 14 hours.  I'm told our group has a full car booked.

DIARY ENTRY:  Monday September 22, 2008  11:59AM:  The overnight train station was not an indication of the type of train we eventually got.  Surprisingly, it was pretty good.  The cabins were only two beds, but those folded up out of the way and, thus a person was provided with a sitting area. Our group occupied a full train car and the bar car was right next to it.  I met David who went with us to the bar car and had a few beers.  Afterwards I crashed, for me a very nice night.  I like sleeping on trains.  They're a civilized way to travel.

We arrived in Aswan around 9:00AM and went straight to our hotel which turned out to be a 4 star place right on the Nile!!  After everyone had had an opportunity to freshen up, we headed out to see some of the sites.  Our first stop was the Aswan Dam.  This dam was built by the Soviets and Egyptians and controls the flow of the Nile......sorta impressive, but when compared to the pyramids.....NOT!!

Afterwards we headed for the Temple of Isis......why do I always think of the Bob Dylan tune called 'Isis'??  I must say, this temple was impressive, especially since it was moved, stone by stone, from the original location (now under water) from the island of Philae.

Afterwards we went to a quarry where an unfinished obelisk is still lying in the ground.  However, it was so hot by this time, all I was interested in doing was going back to the hotel.  David has a thermometer on his blackberry and he said it was registering 43C.....HOT!!

Later the day we took a water taxi across the Nile to go for a camel ride.  This was a real camel ride as opposed to the obligatory camel photo shot at the pyramids.  We were on the thing for about a hour and I must say they didn't do anything to help the crown jewels.  But we actually rode the things as opposed to being led by a camel handler.

After the camel ride we headed for a Nubian home for a traditional supper.  Our host's house was located deep in the village.  The alleyways being very narrow and vehicle-less.  The home of Mohammid was, I expect, typical of all homes in this village.  Two stories, with two families (2 brothers and their wives and kids).  Three or four rooms, but mainly a large room where just about all the family business takes place.  This is where we ate.  Mainly chicken, soup, rice and noodles.....I find Egyptian food to be relatively boring with little flair at all.  Most of us woke up the next day feeling a little ill and I expect it was from the meal.

Yesterday (Sunday Sept 21/08) most of the group went to the Abu Symbel Temple, but I opted out.  The temple is one of the most famous, but the 3:00AM rise and the 3 hour bus ride was a deterrent......not to mention the $80 price tag.  So I borrowed David's mini-computer and wrote my weekly update.  Then I walked into the market (souk) where I ended up buying a papyrus painting.

Today I was up at 9:00AM for the 20+ hour float down the Nile via a felluca.

DIARY ENTRY:  Tuesday September 23, 2008 5:44PM:  Arrived at the Mercure Hotel in Luxor around noon.  Today the temp peaked at 49.5C......very hot.

The trip by felluca down the Nile was interesting.  The actual sailing part was relaxing, it gave everyone the opportunity to catch up on their journals and reading and naps.  It was however, the night that provided the most fun.  After supper, I ordered a sheeshaw pipe from the support crew and of course most had not smoked it before so there were several that wanted to try.  To add to that, David and myself drank all the beer and wine that was on the boat, so we were feeling no pain.

The felluca crew came up with some drums and the next thing we know we're having a party!!  It is so strange to hear them sing "The Lion Sings Tonight" in Arabic!!  We were up dancing to the beat of the drum.......all very much fun.  Later we tried to teach Maria (from Columbia now living in Montreal) to sing the "Teapot" nursery rhyme.

That night to sleep was a different matter.  I found the felluca uncomfortable and just as we were settling down the nearby communities were starting up their all-night prayers.  So there was a lot of amplified 'call to prayer' happening (amazing how noise will travel in the desert night), dogs barking, donkeys making whatever noise they make.  Some people's cell phones were ringing, someone else had forgot to turn their alarm clock off, etc etc.  All and all the ride was good but the sleep was terrible.

After we left the felluca we had a 3 hour mini-bus ride to Luxor.

DIARY ENTRY:  Saturday September 27, 2008  9:13PM:  Just finished breakfast and now we are waiting for our bus to Nuweiba.

In Luxor (Tuesday Sept 23/08) after getting some things straighten out at the internet, I took a horse and carriage around the town.  It took me through the old market, which was a real feat as the street was packed with people and the sales stalls flowed out into the street making a large horse and an even larger buggy very difficult to maneuver through.

After this we went to the Kanurk Temple to see the light and sound show.  According to the propaganda you read, this is the largest temple in the world, but I'm not convinced that the Angkor Wat isn't bigger!  It is however where a James Bond movie was made, thus making this the third James Bond movie site I've been at.

On Wednesday (Sept 24/08) we headed for the Valley of the Kings and  the 49.5C temps.  I wasn't feeling well as it was, but the extreme heat did me in.  Actually the Valley of the Kings was a big disappointment as everything was underground and surprisingly it was even hotter below the surface.  I went to the tomb of Ramses IV and that was enough.  Actually the donkey ride into the Valley of the Kings was perhaps the best part of the trip!

After the Valley of the Kings, we headed for the Temple of Hatchepsut.  This was a beautiful temple but again because of the heat it just wasn't enjoyable.  After getting back to the hotel I had a good long swim in the hotel pool and a meal before I boarded the overnight train for Cairo.

We arrived in Cairo around 8:30AM Thursday (Sept 25/08), got cleaned up and headed for an internet.  Later we headed for the Citadel of Salah al-Din before going to the local market where I bought a sheesha pipe.  We finished off the night at the Seagull Restaurant where I definitely had the best seafood meal that I had while in Egypt.

Friday (Sept 26/08) morning I was up bright and early for the lonnnnnnng ride (7 hours) to Mt. Sinai which is located right in the centre of the Sinai peninsula.  It was surprisingly much cooler temperatures than I expected.  This was a good thing as we started climbing Mt. Sinai at around 3:00PM.  This was a relatively easy climb and we all did it within 1 1/2 hours.  The view was awesome!

Today we were supposed to go to the St. Catherines Monastery but it was closed so we are heading for the coast.  Our last night in Egypt before heading for Jordan.