Where to begin about Egypt?? I don't really know, but I'd better begin
soon...the battle over the computer is about to begin! I have been working constantly with Photoshop in an effort to produce some Egypt
pictures. Now I'm attempting to compose an e-mail. In a few minutes, Charley is going to want to begin the income tax, using this machine...
Egypt is really way cool; we liked it a lot. Besides the obvious relics of the ancient civilization, the country is gorgeous--the
contrast between the gorgeous green strip along the Nile and the huge sand dunes
of the desert. I wasn't prepared for this sharp contrast--which exists in many instances in one view, one photograph! And what's not to like
about a place where it never rains!!! And the sun usually shines...not our first day in Cairo, however, when it was cloudy, cool, with a biting
wind. I was convinced I had totally packed the wrong stuff! We froze to death!
And then the people--what fun! They are very smiley and have a great
sense of humor. They reminded me a lot of the Greeks.
What a hit the digital camera was! On our very first day there, we went
for a walk down a busy boulevard in the late afternoon. The kids were just getting out of school, were trying out their English on us, and
were in general just hamming it up. ( Although we were really in the shadow of the pyramids, we were not in the tourist area, and I don't
think they see many tourists outside of buses there.) A bunch of 10-11 year old boys were particularly funny, so I figured they might like to
see their picture. I took it, then showed them the result on the preview
screen. They went nuts! I really wish I had had that camera in China!
Then there is the fact (which I did not discover until the end) that it takes low light pictures in tombs, etc. without flash. This amazes me
and I really do not understand how or why it works. It just does! What a
bonus!
Our second day there turned out to be the highlight. We had come back from out "morning" tour--it was now 3pm. (So, our guide was
long-winded!) We decided we wanted to go over to the pyramids (our hotel
was just across from them) and ride a camel--with the young couple (28) who was with us. Our guide said he would come along and make a deal with
Abdul (??) so we wouldn't get ripped off. He dealt for 1/2 hour for 20 Egyptian pounds (about $5) apiece. And the four of us went riding off
towards the pyramids.
What a great time we had! They took us around the pyramids, which was
great, but also through the back streets in the nearby neighborhood. This was less than a block from our hotel, but was a century away in
time! It was like an isolated village--goats and chickens running through the streets, people
sitting on their front stoop waving hello to us, the village market. It was super! We stayed on the damn camels for 1
1/2 hours--couldn't walk for 2 days! Definitely one of the most fun things I've ever done!
It was only later that I found out that Charley has never even ridden a horse! What a riot!
We stayed in Cairo 3 nights, then flew down to Luxor, where we toured
around for 2 days before boarding the cruise ship for 5 nights on the Nile. I had expected something of the same ilk as Victoria
Cruises--WRONG! The boat was gorgeous--the nicest one on the Nile, we were told, and held only about 170 people. We really had a good time
aboard--and it was nice to be settled in to one place for 5 days. We did
excursions each morning from the ship--to this temple or that ruin, but we had time to goof off and rest. (which
had NOT been the case up until the boat. When we left Cairo for Luxor, our wakeup call was for 3:30
am!! A FIRST for us!!)
We ended up in Abu Simbel--not far from the border with the Sudan. We then flew back to Cairo for three more nights. I was dreading this, as
we had become used to the nice warm weather of upper Egypt and the memory of frigid Cairo was only too fresh in our minds. But by then the
weather had moderated. It was like September--cool in the mornings but in the 70s afternoons.
And sunny!
By the way, through all this--our guide was THE BEST! He guides 4 tours a
year--the rest of the time he does excavations as an archaeologist and
travels and lectures in UK and US. He was tops! On the other hand, our
group left something to be desired. Some very nice people, but a clique
of 8 from Bermuda. Did we ever miss our China group!
We were struck by the security everywhere! In response to the terrorist
attacks on tourists of 2 years ago, the government is doing everything
to try to bring back its tourist dollars. One day we went on an excursion out into the desert from Luxor. It was in a CONVOY of tourist
buses, escorted by the police. and everywhere you looked, there was a guy
with a huge rifle, whether on foot or on a camel! It is so strange for us to see that. In the good old USA, it's the PEOPLE who are running
around with machine guns!
Looks like I'll be doing my PhotoShop at 4 am--the time I wake up these
days! Love, GA
PS the flight back--from Cairo to JFK was TWELVE hours! Hadn't bargained
for that! We could have gone to Beijing! |
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