Froody and I have been in Jordan for about a week now, maybe more. Leaving Egypt, crossing Israel, and entering Jordan was fairly easy and much cheaper than the ferry. We stayed in Aqaba for about 4 days. Aqaba is Jordan's one seaside city, so it has a port, huge resorts and cheap hotels, and skindiving!! The corals were breathtaking and the fish were great. Not as many different types as we had seen in Hurgada but it was all right off the beach and we saw a ton of lionfish each time! On Christmas day we were skindiving (of course) and Froody found an octopus, my favorite animal, for me.
After Aqaba was Wadi Rum. We spent two nights in the desert. Man, it was very cold!! The stars were lovely at night. We opted for a trek through the desert. It was pretty good, but in retrospect we should have done the jeep safari instead. I think we would have seen more of what Wadi Rum is all about.
Now we are in Wadi Musa. We arrived yesterday and just rested for the afternoon so today was our first day in Petra!! We spent about 7 hours wandering the old town, poking our heads into tombs, and just marveling at the colors. It was like walking in someone's psychedelic dream, full of colors- reds, whites, blacks, yellows, browns- all of them rippling across the facades of ancient buildings and flowing around the cliff faces. It was so much better than Wadi Rum. And the first glimpse of the Treasury after walking along the Siq or canyon made my jaw drop! We hiked up to the High Place of Sacrifice and up to the High Place of Khabtha (this is where the filmed part of Indian Jones and the Last Crusade). As soon as Froody uploads the pix, I'll tell you about them. We bought a 3 day ticket and we're both glad we did. Tomorrow we go to the Monastery- another climb!
Pictures!!!
*Aqaba had its own version of juice bars
*Sunset in Aqaba
*Some great snorkeling is here
*Laundry day- again. Ewww!
*In-between snorkels
*Christmas Day at the beach
*On the way to our Bedouin camp in Wadi Rum. That's the luggage rack, and our luggage, next to the jeep.
*Wadi Rum has excellent rock formations
*Us in the desert!
*The Ship of the Desert
*We spent one day trekking in Wadi Rum. Next time, I'd do a jeep trek. We did a lot of scrambling that day, better than slogging through the sand.
*Froody got to ride the guide's donkey
*Our evening's entertainment!
The Low Down
Aqaba- our first night was at the Al-Masra, a fairly cheap hotel near the town center; friendly managers, large room with fridge, tv, toilet; some hot water, no breakfast. 25JD. We also spent several nights with the Alcazar: large hotel with pool; nice buffet breakfast, good-sized room, tv (not as good as Al-Masra), cheap shuttle to Majun, their private beach club where you can rent all the gear you need for diving and snorkeling; excellent reefs right off the beach. 38JD.
Wadi Rum- Mohammed Sabah Al-Zalabeh. Was impressed with his organizational skills; he's willing to do what you want; should really do a jeep ride or camel; evenings around the fire were nice, but wouldn't want to do more than two nights; food very good; 45JD per person per day unless you get more than 4, then might go down to 35JD. Even cheaper if more than 10 in your group. Most people met him, did jeep tour of Wadi Rum, ate dinner, campfire w/music, slept in permanent tent (plenty of blankets and good sleeping mats), ate breakfast, then left. He helped us make the bus to Wadi Musa.
Monday, December 29, 2008
On Top of Mount Sinai
OK-So, after visiting St. Katherine's Monastery the other thing to do in St. Katherine's Village is hike to the top of Mt. Sinai. If you're really cool, you hike up for the sunset, sleep out, and wake up for the sunrise. We're not that cool, but we've got all the time in the world and, that's what we came to Sinai to do. (Actually, it's what I wanted to do since we were passing through and Froody eventually bought into the idea after talking to a few folks who had done it.)
We agreed to let a taxi take us to Nuweiba, so the driver happily drove us around the morning of our hike up the mount, buying some water, chocolate, and koshari to help us make it to the top. Additionally, he saved us about 85LE. He told us that the police check-point will ask us what we were doing and we were to say that we were going to spend the night at the monastery's hotel, because if we said we were going up the mount the police would insist on us taking a guide for 85LE otherwise they wouldn't let you go. At first I thought this was just a bunch of baloney. The guidebook said nothing about this but we went along with it. Later, we learned that everyone else on the summit had to buy a guide, so I guess this is true. I'm not sure why because it's a very easy to follow trail.
Anyway, we started up the camel-path which was a bit long but a nice, steady climb up. We were the only ones up there for a long while, not counting the black cat who conveniently crossed our path! Halfway up we stopped for koshari and were passed by another couple. We passed by many closed little stands and rest huts which was great because it meant no one could harass us into buying anything. About 30 min from the top we found a couple of "cafeterias", really some sturdy 3-sided wooden structures covered in tent material and wool- and camel-hair rugs which sold hot and cold drinks and snacks, and asked about renting some blankets and sleeping mats for the night. (20LE per blanket and 10LE for the mat). We also asked if we could sleep inside his cafeteria, since it was very cold at night and there were long benches hugging the walls. Surprisingly, he said no and that we should really sleep out on the summit. We were flummoxed. No one had ever passed the chance to take our money, and here was a guy who was sending us away! He did explain that at 3am we'd be woken up by 400 Russian tourists, all up in his little shop. !!! Well, we kept on walking (wanting to make it to the top) and , about 5 min from the summit we stopped at another cafeteria and asked the price to rent blankets and mats, were told the same as before, and, again, we asked if we could sleep in his store. Again, we were told that at 3am, 400 Russian tourists would arrive and wake us up, so we should sleep out on the summit.
A few minutes later we were on the summit of Mt. Sinai, the very place where Moses received the 10 Commandments from God. The landscape was beautiful and us and a few other hearty souls enjoyed the quiet sunset together. There were two men selling tea and coffee and with a cuppa in hand, I asked one of them if, really, 400 Russian tourists would be arriving at 3 in the morning? He was thoughtful for a moment and said that during the high season, 400 Russian tourists really do arrive at 3 am for the sunrise on Mount Musa (as it's known in Arabic; Musa = Moses) but since it's so quiet only 200 will show up. That's still a lot of tourists!
Froody and I walked back down to one of the little cafeterias after sunset and decided to sleep out on a flat surface behind the shop (with many benches leading up to it) and joined another couple sleeping out for dinner. Let it be known that if you're planning on sleeping up on Mt. Sinai you really don't need much. The store provided us with a warm, filling dinner. Everywhere up there you can buy water, coffee (turkish or nescafe), sodas, chips, and cookies. We got 3 mats and 7 blankets (for about 110LE), changed into long underwear, and fell asleep underneath a sky full of stars.....
....Until about 3am when I was woken up by 200 Russian tourists! At least! In fact, there were tourists from all over the world who had been driven in from the coast on huge buses at midnight and had climbed up in the dark and were now drinking tea and coffee, eating cookies, talking, and waiting for the sunrise. I managed to doze off and on until 5am when Froody and I decided we couldn't sleep and wanted to find someplace to see the sunrise without 200+ people in the way.
That done, we enjoyed a lovely sunrise with 200 other souls, all of us in awe of the lovely golden ball peeking out above the mountains of Saudi Arabia.
Then, we all got to hike down together. This time, we took the Steps of Repentance. It's much more dramatic than the camelpath.
We agreed to let a taxi take us to Nuweiba, so the driver happily drove us around the morning of our hike up the mount, buying some water, chocolate, and koshari to help us make it to the top. Additionally, he saved us about 85LE. He told us that the police check-point will ask us what we were doing and we were to say that we were going to spend the night at the monastery's hotel, because if we said we were going up the mount the police would insist on us taking a guide for 85LE otherwise they wouldn't let you go. At first I thought this was just a bunch of baloney. The guidebook said nothing about this but we went along with it. Later, we learned that everyone else on the summit had to buy a guide, so I guess this is true. I'm not sure why because it's a very easy to follow trail.
Anyway, we started up the camel-path which was a bit long but a nice, steady climb up. We were the only ones up there for a long while, not counting the black cat who conveniently crossed our path! Halfway up we stopped for koshari and were passed by another couple. We passed by many closed little stands and rest huts which was great because it meant no one could harass us into buying anything. About 30 min from the top we found a couple of "cafeterias", really some sturdy 3-sided wooden structures covered in tent material and wool- and camel-hair rugs which sold hot and cold drinks and snacks, and asked about renting some blankets and sleeping mats for the night. (20LE per blanket and 10LE for the mat). We also asked if we could sleep inside his cafeteria, since it was very cold at night and there were long benches hugging the walls. Surprisingly, he said no and that we should really sleep out on the summit. We were flummoxed. No one had ever passed the chance to take our money, and here was a guy who was sending us away! He did explain that at 3am we'd be woken up by 400 Russian tourists, all up in his little shop. !!! Well, we kept on walking (wanting to make it to the top) and , about 5 min from the summit we stopped at another cafeteria and asked the price to rent blankets and mats, were told the same as before, and, again, we asked if we could sleep in his store. Again, we were told that at 3am, 400 Russian tourists would arrive and wake us up, so we should sleep out on the summit.
A few minutes later we were on the summit of Mt. Sinai, the very place where Moses received the 10 Commandments from God. The landscape was beautiful and us and a few other hearty souls enjoyed the quiet sunset together. There were two men selling tea and coffee and with a cuppa in hand, I asked one of them if, really, 400 Russian tourists would be arriving at 3 in the morning? He was thoughtful for a moment and said that during the high season, 400 Russian tourists really do arrive at 3 am for the sunrise on Mount Musa (as it's known in Arabic; Musa = Moses) but since it's so quiet only 200 will show up. That's still a lot of tourists!
Froody and I walked back down to one of the little cafeterias after sunset and decided to sleep out on a flat surface behind the shop (with many benches leading up to it) and joined another couple sleeping out for dinner. Let it be known that if you're planning on sleeping up on Mt. Sinai you really don't need much. The store provided us with a warm, filling dinner. Everywhere up there you can buy water, coffee (turkish or nescafe), sodas, chips, and cookies. We got 3 mats and 7 blankets (for about 110LE), changed into long underwear, and fell asleep underneath a sky full of stars.....
....Until about 3am when I was woken up by 200 Russian tourists! At least! In fact, there were tourists from all over the world who had been driven in from the coast on huge buses at midnight and had climbed up in the dark and were now drinking tea and coffee, eating cookies, talking, and waiting for the sunrise. I managed to doze off and on until 5am when Froody and I decided we couldn't sleep and wanted to find someplace to see the sunrise without 200+ people in the way.
That done, we enjoyed a lovely sunrise with 200 other souls, all of us in awe of the lovely golden ball peeking out above the mountains of Saudi Arabia.
Then, we all got to hike down together. This time, we took the Steps of Repentance. It's much more dramatic than the camelpath.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Making Way to Sinai
After our great few days in the desert (this is Froody and a huge piece of quartz from Crystal Mountain) and oases, we returned to Cairo to take yet another bus to yet another beautiful place- Sinai. We had to take it easy in Cairo because I had some bad sinuses after our time in the desert dust. But, I did get better and we boarded a big bus for the long trip to St. Katherine's village near the base of Mt. Sinai.
OK, so we arrived at the village and, let me tell you, there really is nothing to it. It's main attraction is that you can sleep in a hotel or camp before hiking up Mt. Sinai. It's unknown attractions are that it is the base for lots of trekking in this area (with a guide, of course) and if we had known we might have opted to stay longer and do some hiking. Also, being in the interior of the peninsula it gets pretty frikkin' hot during the summer, so the hotels are built to stay nice and cool during the summer months, thus being frikkin' freezing during the winter. The hotel was called Safary "Moonland" Hotel and Camp and the managers were friendly. We paid 100LE for the room plus 15LE for breakfast (each). The food was OK, but not worth 15LE, but there really wasn't anywhere else for brekkies. Our room had hot water but not enough pressure for the shower to work. But, it was cheap.
ANYWAY-we spent our first full day at the St. Katherine Monastery. I've never visited a monastery before so really didn't know what to expect, except that we'd see the burning bush (yes, this is supposed to be THE. BURNING. BUSH. MOSES. GOD. and all that). Whoa, it wasn't what we thought- we expected to see some half-dead, dusty bush-thingy and not this amazingly healthy plant. Many people were quietly contemplating this miracle, praying around it, touching it. A few broke off pieces to take home. One surprise at the monastery was the gallery which featured many pieces in the monastery's private collection. Photos are not allowed! but we really liked all the icons (images of holy people) and appreciated the fact that it's the most complete collection of it's kind, the monastery having been declared protected by Mohammed so no one came in and defaced all the images like they did all over Egypt (and everywhere else, I imagine). We had to rush b/c the monastery is open from 9am-12noon and we wanted to check out the church. It was small and packed with chandeliers which, I was glad to see, were not electrified. It was so different from all the mosques we had seen. It was full of icons, gold leaf, the scent of burning candlewax.
I liked it.
OK, so we arrived at the village and, let me tell you, there really is nothing to it. It's main attraction is that you can sleep in a hotel or camp before hiking up Mt. Sinai. It's unknown attractions are that it is the base for lots of trekking in this area (with a guide, of course) and if we had known we might have opted to stay longer and do some hiking. Also, being in the interior of the peninsula it gets pretty frikkin' hot during the summer, so the hotels are built to stay nice and cool during the summer months, thus being frikkin' freezing during the winter. The hotel was called Safary "Moonland" Hotel and Camp and the managers were friendly. We paid 100LE for the room plus 15LE for breakfast (each). The food was OK, but not worth 15LE, but there really wasn't anywhere else for brekkies. Our room had hot water but not enough pressure for the shower to work. But, it was cheap.
ANYWAY-we spent our first full day at the St. Katherine Monastery. I've never visited a monastery before so really didn't know what to expect, except that we'd see the burning bush (yes, this is supposed to be THE. BURNING. BUSH. MOSES. GOD. and all that). Whoa, it wasn't what we thought- we expected to see some half-dead, dusty bush-thingy and not this amazingly healthy plant. Many people were quietly contemplating this miracle, praying around it, touching it. A few broke off pieces to take home. One surprise at the monastery was the gallery which featured many pieces in the monastery's private collection. Photos are not allowed! but we really liked all the icons (images of holy people) and appreciated the fact that it's the most complete collection of it's kind, the monastery having been declared protected by Mohammed so no one came in and defaced all the images like they did all over Egypt (and everywhere else, I imagine). We had to rush b/c the monastery is open from 9am-12noon and we wanted to check out the church. It was small and packed with chandeliers which, I was glad to see, were not electrified. It was so different from all the mosques we had seen. It was full of icons, gold leaf, the scent of burning candlewax.
I liked it.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
The Desert!
*We finally made it to the desert! Not everyone goes, but you really should some day.
*Mahmoud was our guide. He may not have talked about the desert much, but we didn't mind because he let us explore to our hearts content.
*Froody and I had fun in the dunes.
*So much treasure in the sand!
*Our first night was spent in the tippy-most part of the Great Sand Sea.
*Wagdee was a great cook.
*The next day we checked out some springs that have been around since the Romans. Yes, this is a Roman mummy and there was a lot of broken Roman pottery everywhere. It was easy to pretend you were an anthropologist on a dig.
*Time to go, but I want you to see a bit of the White Desert.
*Mahmoud was our guide. He may not have talked about the desert much, but we didn't mind because he let us explore to our hearts content.
*Froody and I had fun in the dunes.
*So much treasure in the sand!
*Our first night was spent in the tippy-most part of the Great Sand Sea.
*Wagdee was a great cook.
*The next day we checked out some springs that have been around since the Romans. Yes, this is a Roman mummy and there was a lot of broken Roman pottery everywhere. It was easy to pretend you were an anthropologist on a dig.
*Time to go, but I want you to see a bit of the White Desert.
Luxor: Part 2
Wow, so much has happened since Luxor that I'm just going to finish up *talking* about some of the pix from that trip.
*The Colossi of Memnon
*The Valley of the Queens. Cameras were not allowed into the tombs so we can't show you the neat painted interior walls. Not only the queens, but royal children were also buried here.
*The Temple of Hatshepsut. She was the first female pharoh. This is a chapel deep inside the temple. Again, I love all the residual color! I also loved these columns topped with the head of a goddess.
*We also went to the Valley of the Kings, but, again, photos inside the tombs were forbidden. And we were too cheap to buy more postcards.
*Sunset from the top of the Nefertiti Hotel. You should stay there if you go to Luxor. The staff are friendly and offer tours at reasonable prices and don't pressure you into buying them.
*One of the few ways you can make a sunrise even better- in a hot air balloon! The hotel offered balloon rides at the bargain price of 300LE which was less than USD60 at the time, so we had to try it.
*Luxor Temple at sunset and sunrise.
*The mosque built on top of the Luxor Temple. They man who gave us the tour said it was the oldest mosque in Egypt, so I guess built during the 1st century sometime. It's pretty cool to see how they used the column tops and lintels of the temple (and weird to think that they were sticking up out of the ground instead of being up above you). They even carved into one for the mirhab. btw-it was being rebuilt when we were there.
*Taking the train back to Cairo. While we were there the Feast began. (This one celebrated Abrahim about to sacrafice his son to God, then God sending a ram instead.)In the more rural areas you can actually watch the sheep, calfs, and goats being slaughtered but in Cairo that all happens in the less tourist parts of town. Everyone else just has fun in downtown.
*The Colossi of Memnon
*The Valley of the Queens. Cameras were not allowed into the tombs so we can't show you the neat painted interior walls. Not only the queens, but royal children were also buried here.
*The Temple of Hatshepsut. She was the first female pharoh. This is a chapel deep inside the temple. Again, I love all the residual color! I also loved these columns topped with the head of a goddess.
*We also went to the Valley of the Kings, but, again, photos inside the tombs were forbidden. And we were too cheap to buy more postcards.
*Sunset from the top of the Nefertiti Hotel. You should stay there if you go to Luxor. The staff are friendly and offer tours at reasonable prices and don't pressure you into buying them.
*One of the few ways you can make a sunrise even better- in a hot air balloon! The hotel offered balloon rides at the bargain price of 300LE which was less than USD60 at the time, so we had to try it.
*Luxor Temple at sunset and sunrise.
*The mosque built on top of the Luxor Temple. They man who gave us the tour said it was the oldest mosque in Egypt, so I guess built during the 1st century sometime. It's pretty cool to see how they used the column tops and lintels of the temple (and weird to think that they were sticking up out of the ground instead of being up above you). They even carved into one for the mirhab. btw-it was being rebuilt when we were there.
*Taking the train back to Cairo. While we were there the Feast began. (This one celebrated Abrahim about to sacrafice his son to God, then God sending a ram instead.)In the more rural areas you can actually watch the sheep, calfs, and goats being slaughtered but in Cairo that all happens in the less tourist parts of town. Everyone else just has fun in downtown.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Luxor! Part 1
OK- from Aswan we woke up early to catch a bus to Luxor. On the way we were to stop at a couple of temples. They were pretty cool, but not that old- Ptolemic instead of Pharonic, so only, like, 1300-2000 years old.
My jaw dropped when I first laid eyes on Kom Ombo. It's a temple dedicated to two gods: a crocodile god Sobek and the other I can't remember. It was so amazing and I just love the residual color. In all the textbooks you just see these old buildings that are just mud- brown, but I loved them just the same and to see that they had colors!!! It makes my head swirl just imagining the walls and columns as they were first built.
Sadly, we only had 30 min to enjoy it before heading to Edfu temple, dedicated to the god Horus. This was even bigger than Kom Ombo!! And the carvings, the details, are so rich. We had a bit more time to explore so we got to see some of the storage rooms and climb the stairs that the priests would climb carrying a statue of Horus so that it could be bathed in the sun and get more energy and live longer, etc. One of the storage rooms was where they made perfumes and stuff, so the walls were carved with the recipes. Unlike Kom Ombo and other temples we've seen, Edfu still had ceilings. In the chapels, they were painted blue with stars carved into them, representing Mut, the sky goddess. The ceilings helped preserve even more of the colors. Blue! Red! Black! Yellow! It is amazing when you stop and think that these columns were actually handcarved by people! BTW- I really liked the falcon statues.
That night, because we hadn't seen enough temple for one day, we saw the Sound and Light Show at Karnak temple. It. was. awesome. First, we decided to walk, being only a couple of kilometers from our hotel and the guidebook made it sound like it was just straight up Karnak Temple Street (no brainer, right?) So, down the street we go. It's very busy but no touts so we don't mind. But eventually we began to feel lost because the street got very quiet and the tour buses and caliches just disappeared towards the Nile. We did happen upon the rest of the Avenue of the Sphinxes. It starts at Luxor Temple and runs all the way to Karnak. It was weird to realize these ancient sculptures were right here where the sidewalk should be and even weirder still to see kids playing hide-and-go-seek among the sphinxes!
Anyway, Froody asked for directions a couple of times and we reach a locked gate to the temple parking lot and so we have no choice but to walk all the way around, but we did make it to the ticket booth just as the music was starting! I haven't seen any of the other light shows (this was supposed to be the best one), but the show starts at the main portal to the temple along the Avenue of Ram Sphinxes. There's dramatic music, colored lights, and voice actors talking about the history of the temple and a bit about the pharohs who added on and about some of the festivals that took place here. I'll admit that it was a little over-theatrical, but I didn't mind at all. In fact, it seemed to fit because Karnak is, in itself, over-the-top and surreal, this 3000+ year-old structure. The story leads you through the temple itself. It was like a dream, finding yourself walking through an ancient temple at night. The end of the show has us all seated by the Sacred Lake and I'm sitting there, allowing myself to get carried away by the music and voices, and that's when it hits me: I'm in Upper Egypt, someplace that seemed so far away when I was in junior high (ahh, so long ago) and first learning about Ancient Egypt, the pharohs, the Nile, the desert and wishing I could see these things for myself.... And now I was! For a while, even after the show, I was so full of warm happiness. Froody said he was glad I was happy and glad he could be there with me.
So, the next day we ventured to the West Bank- the side of the Nile dedicated to the afterlife whereas the East Bank is dedicated to this life. (A restaurant owner said that it's kind of true even to this day. The people of the West Bank all go to sleep when the sun goes down and don't stay up late like the Egyptians of the East Bank.) We decided to go on a guided tour of the Valley of the Queens, Al-Deir Al-Bahari temple, and the Valley of the Kings.
My jaw dropped when I first laid eyes on Kom Ombo. It's a temple dedicated to two gods: a crocodile god Sobek and the other I can't remember. It was so amazing and I just love the residual color. In all the textbooks you just see these old buildings that are just mud- brown, but I loved them just the same and to see that they had colors!!! It makes my head swirl just imagining the walls and columns as they were first built.
Sadly, we only had 30 min to enjoy it before heading to Edfu temple, dedicated to the god Horus. This was even bigger than Kom Ombo!! And the carvings, the details, are so rich. We had a bit more time to explore so we got to see some of the storage rooms and climb the stairs that the priests would climb carrying a statue of Horus so that it could be bathed in the sun and get more energy and live longer, etc. One of the storage rooms was where they made perfumes and stuff, so the walls were carved with the recipes. Unlike Kom Ombo and other temples we've seen, Edfu still had ceilings. In the chapels, they were painted blue with stars carved into them, representing Mut, the sky goddess. The ceilings helped preserve even more of the colors. Blue! Red! Black! Yellow! It is amazing when you stop and think that these columns were actually handcarved by people! BTW- I really liked the falcon statues.
That night, because we hadn't seen enough temple for one day, we saw the Sound and Light Show at Karnak temple. It. was. awesome. First, we decided to walk, being only a couple of kilometers from our hotel and the guidebook made it sound like it was just straight up Karnak Temple Street (no brainer, right?) So, down the street we go. It's very busy but no touts so we don't mind. But eventually we began to feel lost because the street got very quiet and the tour buses and caliches just disappeared towards the Nile. We did happen upon the rest of the Avenue of the Sphinxes. It starts at Luxor Temple and runs all the way to Karnak. It was weird to realize these ancient sculptures were right here where the sidewalk should be and even weirder still to see kids playing hide-and-go-seek among the sphinxes!
Anyway, Froody asked for directions a couple of times and we reach a locked gate to the temple parking lot and so we have no choice but to walk all the way around, but we did make it to the ticket booth just as the music was starting! I haven't seen any of the other light shows (this was supposed to be the best one), but the show starts at the main portal to the temple along the Avenue of Ram Sphinxes. There's dramatic music, colored lights, and voice actors talking about the history of the temple and a bit about the pharohs who added on and about some of the festivals that took place here. I'll admit that it was a little over-theatrical, but I didn't mind at all. In fact, it seemed to fit because Karnak is, in itself, over-the-top and surreal, this 3000+ year-old structure. The story leads you through the temple itself. It was like a dream, finding yourself walking through an ancient temple at night. The end of the show has us all seated by the Sacred Lake and I'm sitting there, allowing myself to get carried away by the music and voices, and that's when it hits me: I'm in Upper Egypt, someplace that seemed so far away when I was in junior high (ahh, so long ago) and first learning about Ancient Egypt, the pharohs, the Nile, the desert and wishing I could see these things for myself.... And now I was! For a while, even after the show, I was so full of warm happiness. Froody said he was glad I was happy and glad he could be there with me.
So, the next day we ventured to the West Bank- the side of the Nile dedicated to the afterlife whereas the East Bank is dedicated to this life. (A restaurant owner said that it's kind of true even to this day. The people of the West Bank all go to sleep when the sun goes down and don't stay up late like the Egyptians of the East Bank.) We decided to go on a guided tour of the Valley of the Queens, Al-Deir Al-Bahari temple, and the Valley of the Kings.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Aswan
OK, I'm about to try to squeeze everything into one post. Here goes!
Us budget travelers take the train from Cairo to Upper Egypt, either Aswan or Luxor. It is a long ride so we opted for the sleeper car. We went to Aswan first. It is really lovely with a set of islands in the middle of the Nile, the largest being Elephantine Island. Most people who go there take a day to go and see Abu Simbel, a very famous temple, but we decided it was just too dang far- 4 hours one way! Instead we happily toured the Aswan Museum, wandered along the narrow streets of a Nubian village on Elephantine, and checked out the ruins of Satet Temple. At the temple, Froody and I were amazed by the details of the carvings (as always). I mean, what were they doing in Europe at the time? Fingerpainting on some cave walls? The Egyptians just blow that all away with their carvings and writings.
In Aswan we took our first felucca ride. We went at sunset which is beautiful in Upper Egypt because the sun actually sets instead of sliding into the murk.
We also spent some time at the High Dam which once and for all put Nubia under water. That day was weird. Feeling adventurous, we took the train to the end of the line where we were told the dam was. We figured we'd walk or hitch a ride to the top of the dam. Well, we were approached by a taxi driver who was there with his two clients (French girls I had seen at our hotel) and said that if we were interested he'd take us along with them to Philae Temple, the top of the dam, and back to Aswan. After some negotiating, Froody got a decent price and a trip NOT to Philae (bleh, we were almost done with temples)but to the unfinished obelisk instead. And the top of the dam. So the taxi driver, Abdul, hustled us all into his car and took us to the top of the dam. Then he started to say something about a ticket, and did we have one, and do we want one, and there is a guarded checkpoint coming up and do we have a ticket, and if not it's OK but...now it's too late. I tapped the shoulder of one of the girls and asked her if she understood what was going on. She smiled and said, "No" she didn't have a clue what he was talking about. Instead of letting all of us off at the viewpoint he stopped his car a couple of times and hurriedly waved, practically shouted, at Froody to get out and take a picture. In retrospect we all four tourists figured out that if we wanted to stop at the viewpoint we needed tickets (which the girls had so I don't know if they ever ended up going or not) but the tickets were about LE20 each, and the taxi driver didn't think it was worth it since all you really needed at the viewpoint was 10 minutes to take your pictures, so he "saved" us some money and let Froody get some pictures.
The French girls were taken to the ferry for Philae and then Abdul took us to the Unfinished Obelisk. When he dropped us off, he invited us over to his home later on that night for tea with his wife and two daughters. We politely said we didn't know, he said the French girls were going to be there and that he wasn't trying to get money from us he just really wanted us to have tea with him. Eventually we exchanged mobile numbers and said if we weren't too tired we'd try to make it.
The Unfinished Obelisk is pretty cool. It's in the Northern Quarry and it's supposed to be where a lot of the red granite we've seen in all the temples, pyramids, and the statues in the Egyptian Museum came from. Story goes they were making an obelisk which was to be the twin for one that is now in Rome and would have been the tallest one around, but before they were done a crack was discovered so it was abandoned. Being there just got us to ask a whole bunch of questions: how long did it take to carve something like that? what types of tools did they use? how the heck were they going to lift up that thing? how did they get all the granite out of the quarry?
After the quarry we wandered through the Fatimid Cemetery (actually much older than the Fatimid dynasty). It was interesting to see how different these "modern" graves are from the tombs and pyramids.
That evening Froody and I discussed whether or not to have tea with Abdul and his family. I was pretty tired and fed up with people trying to get us to spend money (felucca captains, touts, shop owners) and I was convinced that Abdul was going to try to sell us something. Froody was convinced that his offer was sincere, and wanting to believe in the good of mankind again, I gave in (also, it helped when Froody promised that we would leave if Abdul did try to make a sale). Man, was I so glad to be so wrong!! Abdul and his wife and children were very nice and hospitable. I think, if he did have any ulterior motives, it was to get pix of his kids and you can't really blame him as cameras are very expensive and his girls are very cute. The French girls also showed up so it was a pleasant evening. We all left at about midnight and even then it was a bit difficult. Abdul couldn't understand why we would leave so early. :-)
Us budget travelers take the train from Cairo to Upper Egypt, either Aswan or Luxor. It is a long ride so we opted for the sleeper car. We went to Aswan first. It is really lovely with a set of islands in the middle of the Nile, the largest being Elephantine Island. Most people who go there take a day to go and see Abu Simbel, a very famous temple, but we decided it was just too dang far- 4 hours one way! Instead we happily toured the Aswan Museum, wandered along the narrow streets of a Nubian village on Elephantine, and checked out the ruins of Satet Temple. At the temple, Froody and I were amazed by the details of the carvings (as always). I mean, what were they doing in Europe at the time? Fingerpainting on some cave walls? The Egyptians just blow that all away with their carvings and writings.
In Aswan we took our first felucca ride. We went at sunset which is beautiful in Upper Egypt because the sun actually sets instead of sliding into the murk.
We also spent some time at the High Dam which once and for all put Nubia under water. That day was weird. Feeling adventurous, we took the train to the end of the line where we were told the dam was. We figured we'd walk or hitch a ride to the top of the dam. Well, we were approached by a taxi driver who was there with his two clients (French girls I had seen at our hotel) and said that if we were interested he'd take us along with them to Philae Temple, the top of the dam, and back to Aswan. After some negotiating, Froody got a decent price and a trip NOT to Philae (bleh, we were almost done with temples)but to the unfinished obelisk instead. And the top of the dam. So the taxi driver, Abdul, hustled us all into his car and took us to the top of the dam. Then he started to say something about a ticket, and did we have one, and do we want one, and there is a guarded checkpoint coming up and do we have a ticket, and if not it's OK but...now it's too late. I tapped the shoulder of one of the girls and asked her if she understood what was going on. She smiled and said, "No" she didn't have a clue what he was talking about. Instead of letting all of us off at the viewpoint he stopped his car a couple of times and hurriedly waved, practically shouted, at Froody to get out and take a picture. In retrospect we all four tourists figured out that if we wanted to stop at the viewpoint we needed tickets (which the girls had so I don't know if they ever ended up going or not) but the tickets were about LE20 each, and the taxi driver didn't think it was worth it since all you really needed at the viewpoint was 10 minutes to take your pictures, so he "saved" us some money and let Froody get some pictures.
The French girls were taken to the ferry for Philae and then Abdul took us to the Unfinished Obelisk. When he dropped us off, he invited us over to his home later on that night for tea with his wife and two daughters. We politely said we didn't know, he said the French girls were going to be there and that he wasn't trying to get money from us he just really wanted us to have tea with him. Eventually we exchanged mobile numbers and said if we weren't too tired we'd try to make it.
The Unfinished Obelisk is pretty cool. It's in the Northern Quarry and it's supposed to be where a lot of the red granite we've seen in all the temples, pyramids, and the statues in the Egyptian Museum came from. Story goes they were making an obelisk which was to be the twin for one that is now in Rome and would have been the tallest one around, but before they were done a crack was discovered so it was abandoned. Being there just got us to ask a whole bunch of questions: how long did it take to carve something like that? what types of tools did they use? how the heck were they going to lift up that thing? how did they get all the granite out of the quarry?
After the quarry we wandered through the Fatimid Cemetery (actually much older than the Fatimid dynasty). It was interesting to see how different these "modern" graves are from the tombs and pyramids.
That evening Froody and I discussed whether or not to have tea with Abdul and his family. I was pretty tired and fed up with people trying to get us to spend money (felucca captains, touts, shop owners) and I was convinced that Abdul was going to try to sell us something. Froody was convinced that his offer was sincere, and wanting to believe in the good of mankind again, I gave in (also, it helped when Froody promised that we would leave if Abdul did try to make a sale). Man, was I so glad to be so wrong!! Abdul and his wife and children were very nice and hospitable. I think, if he did have any ulterior motives, it was to get pix of his kids and you can't really blame him as cameras are very expensive and his girls are very cute. The French girls also showed up so it was a pleasant evening. We all left at about midnight and even then it was a bit difficult. Abdul couldn't understand why we would leave so early. :-)
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