Tel Aviv, Masada and the Dead Sea (X2)

Today we are crossing through the Palestinian Territories into Israel. It's a little unnerving with the history of this area, but we proceed in a taxi, not a public bus this time. Public buses have often been a target.

All the way from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, we see miles of sand dunes, interrupted by Bedouin tents here and there, but mostly just devoid of human life. It's not very far from eastern Israel/Palestine to the west coast, and we arrive very quickly to the city of Tel Aviv. We are deposited at our north town apartment and immediately find our way to the beach.

The beaches are like pocket beaches, not one long beach, and the sand is a golden color. The Mediterranean is beautiful, as always, and we enjoy the sun as we stroll the length of the first couple of beaches. Tel Aviv is a modern city with not as many historical sites as exotic Jerusalem, for instance, but the food here is superb and we enjoy winding down from the whirlwind that we felt in Jerusalem. There is a corner of the city called Jaffa that is actually older than Tel Aviv, and we enjoy walking around in the old port complex that is presently being renovated with new shops and restaurants. It is built of very large rock buildings and looks very southern European (Italian, Greek), at least in the part that has been completed.

We also want to go to Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee, but when Terry wakes up feeling really bad the morning of our trip, we decide not to push it. We stick close to our second hotel on the south side of town. It's near Rothschild which is a broad boulevard with walking and biking sections that run through a lovely part of town. There are colorful restaurants and cafes on both sides, along with residential areas and leafy streets, mostly ficus trees, big and bushy-green.

Terry floating with his shoes on!!

Gloria--can't believe it's so easy to float!!

We decide to take a tour of Masada, the mountain top luxury retreat of King Herod where 900 Jews were cornered in 70 AD, and, rather than be taken into slavery, they all killed themselves. It's a serious monument, set in a severe part of the desert. Very interesting and old, and we were surprised that so much of it was stll intact, although archaeologists did do some rebuilding. Still, it's pretty fascinating.

We also get a second chance at the Dead Sea. The first time we were there on the Jordan side, the weather was really cold and rainy, and the wind wouldn't allow us to get in the water and float. I got in, but the waves were so high that floating was impossible, so I just got in because I didn't think I'd ever have a chance to do it again. But here is our second chance, and we enjoy every minute of it. We get in and float for about 45 minutes. It's eally fun, and we try to swim and turn over, and the water just flips us on our backs, and our feet won't go in the water so that kicking is pretty difficult. There is mud that is full of minerals, and it's supposed to be good for your skin. Of course I have to try it. Feels like regular mud, although it's pretty oily and slick. Looks funny, though, and I don't leave it on for very long. We know, sadly, that this is our last outing on our trip, and we prolong it when we return to Tel Aviv by going to the Carmel Market where I can buy some of that mud!!

top of Masada

One last delicious dinner, one more night in our art-inspired hotel (Diaghilev Live Art Hotel), and we are on our way home. These 5 weeks went by so quickly, and we enjoyed seeing every bit of Egypt, Jordan and israel that we could. I don't think that weve had a trip that has been so packed with historical site after site, and we have marveled at every one. Exhausted, we board our plane.

Bethlehem Mar 10, 2012

Bethlehem is a surprise which is not surprising since I usually guess wrong.  It's a pretty big town with about 25,000 people I think.  I am expecting a village, and, driving in through the stoney countryside, I can imagine shepherds on the hillsides with their sheep.  Actually, we do see sheep grazing all over the rocky slopes with their guardians nearby.  It's not hard to picture this area thousands of years ago, at least not until we reach the town.  Large buildings, honking taxis, and trucks with loads of building material transport me back to present day, and as our taxi deposits us in town to wait for our guide to the Church of the Nativity, known as the Basilica of the King, we try to work through the process of this little village's progress through the centuries to what it is today.

The Church of the Nativity, our main visitation point, is surprisingly lowly at the entrance with a small door through which we stoop as we enter.  One must bow in order to enter which is fitting for the specialness of the place.  We step into a cavernous church save for the altar and many candle lamps hanging from the ceiling.  The present floor is wood, but the floor below it, seen by a large square cut into the wood, is a beautiful mosaic, and we are told the mosaic covers the entirety of the floor.  It must be some piece of art!! To the left side is a small set of circular steps that lead down, and it is through this hole in the floor that we descend into another room, this one packed full of visitors.   On our left is another altar, and beneath it is the spot where Jesus was born our guide tells us.  It is covered in beautiful silver and dark blue tile, but there are so many people in that small spot, it's very hard to move, so we proceed to the still lower area where our guide tells us Jesus' manger was located.  It's lit with many candles and gives off a soft glow, fitting the spirituality of the location.  Beautiful and serene, except for the many pilgrims who are also there to absorb the atmosphere of early Christian worship, the entirety of this special birthplace stays with us as we emerge from below to the sight-seeing groups in the church above. 

lowly entrance to Church of the Nativity

majestic altar inside church

birthplace of Jesus

place where manger was located



mosaic floor (underneath wood one)



stained glass above altar

hillsides of stones

Once again, in the bright sunlight, we make our way back to the taxi and are off again, this time across the country westward to Tel Aviv.

PS: About Purim

I almost forgot Purim, the holiday that is being celebrated as we wind our way through Jerusalem.  It looks like our halloween with both children and adults dressed in various wild or beautiful costumes, but we learn that it celebrates the rescue of the Jews from annihlation at the hand of the king by Esther who was the Jewish queen and his favorite wife.  The traditional costumes, then, consist of a queen's or a king's robes, and we saw plenty of them, but we also saw some wild and crazy ones.

celebrating Purim

The holiday lasted several days, maybe extended by those who willed it longer, and we also got the tail end of it when we got to Tel Aviv.

what's a smurf got to do with it?

Jerusalem, Israel March 7--10, 2012

Jerusalem, Israel Mar 7—10

Entering Israel through the Palestinian Territories isn't as difficult as we thought it would be. We breeze through with the help of Guiding Star VIP service, a real help for navigating a border crossing that promises to be as perplexing as it is time-consuming. But it is actually neither, and we are shortly on our way to Jerusalem, passing mounds of sand, grazing camels, and Bedouins in their now-recognizable tents. We actually get to our Jerusalem hotel 2 hours and 15 minutes after leaving our hotel in Amman.

jars containing the Dead Sea Scrolls

Our first stop: Israel Museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls, and they are as incredible as we expected. The special built building is in the shape of the lid that covered the clay jars that the first three scrolls were found in. In fact, the clay jars are beautifully displayed and are in amazingly pristine condition. The segments of the scrolls are displayed with great explanations and well done display cases, although dimly lit because of the fear of fading. In some cases, the display is of a facsimile, not the real thing, which is understandable. I wish I could read them, but, of course, they are in Hebrew although some are in Greek or Aramaic. Pretty incredible collection to think of their age and significance.

museum building housing the Dead Sea Scrolls

We decide to amble through the Old City and find that it is truly "the city on a hill" as it is called in the Bible. Very narrow streets with shops, restaurants, cafes, coffee and ice cream shops, and beautiful churches. Art shops are scattered around as are antiquities shops and famous sites. We know we can't see them all, but we are excited about going with our guide tomorrow to sites that are well-known to so many people and about which we've heard and read all our lives.

Jerusalem--city on a hill

Jerusalem is all that—and more! Our guide Shmuel shows us an amazing array of sites, among them the Via Dolorosa (the road Jesus walked while carrying the cross—the stations of the cross), the Dome of the Rock (the gold-leafed dome that is a spiritual location for both Muslims and Jews), several churches that were built by the Crusaders, magnificent architecture both ancient and more recent (largely by Barluzzi), the Wailing Wall or West Wall (Jews go here to pray), the Garden of Gethsemene wth its 2000-year-old olive trees, Mary's birthplace and lots lots more, but our favorite spot is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which is built over the place that the cross is thought to have stood and contains the stone slab on which Jesus' body was laid to be washed before burial. It also has a cave on one wall where Christ is believed to have possibly been buried). It is very moving and gives the sense that those events of so many years ago are closer than we thought them to be. From the terrace of St. Andrew's Scottish Guesthouse we sit and look across the valley at the walled city of Jerusalem and know that it's going to be a very long time before we can sort out and get our heads wrapped around all that we have seen-- if that's even possible!

West Wall or Wailing Wall

Speaking of the Scottish Guesthouse, we pick up a little brochure that tells us about the find that happened here in 1975. Two tiny silver scrolls from the 7^th century BC, the oldest Biblical text artifacts ever discovered, were found on the property and contained a very familiar blessing in Hebrew. It's the one that says, "The Lord bless you and keep you: the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." Numbers 6:24 in the Bible quotes the scrolls. Isn't that amazing that they were found on this property?

in front of the Dome of the Rock

Jerash, Jordan, Mar 3--5, 2012

snow--as we enter Amman

There are still more truck farms as far as we can see as we drive along the Dead Sea Highway, and the land boasts many vegetables including (additionally) cauliflower, cabbage, corn and onions. It doesn't take too long, however, for us to climb up out of the valley into higher elevations, and we again encounter snow, this time in the outskirts of Amman where they have accumulated about six inches, enough to close schools for a couple of days, giving kids the opportunity for snowball fights and makeshift sledding on cardboard sleds. We even see snowmen made on the backs of pickups and on tops of car trunks. People are definitely enjoying the weather.

But WE aren't enjoying the weather. The main objective for our visit to Jerash is to see the largest Roman ruins outside of Italy, and the rain, cold and wind will make that very difficult. Instead, we decide to go to the city of Irbid, the second largest city in Jordan and home to the University of Yarmouk. There we visit the Museum of Antiquities and Anthropology, a chronological explanation of Jordanian (and surrounding areas) history. Nicely set up with English and Arabic descriptions, the museum has a wonderful collection of material culture as well as a civilization timeline. The room of a typical house is colorful and welcoming with bright carpets on the floor and furniture and all methods of cooking particular to the time period.

freshly baked bread at the cafeteria

We do get a bit of sun while in Irbid, and that plus the smiles and waves we get from the Jordanian students warm us. We eat in a student-oriented cafeteria style restaurant. The men are downstairs and women and families upstairs. There's no smoking upstairs mainly because women mostly don't smoke, so it's especially appealing to us. I encounter girls in the bathroom again, this time making them smile and speak when I whip out my lipstick. Some speak really good English and a few are studying to be translators, so their English is excellent.

Next day we are scheduled to return to Amman, and we hope to be able to see Hadrian's Gate and the Roman ruins on our way out of town.

We awake to bright blue skies and calm. Ahhh. I don't like wind and am less enthralled with the combination of wind and rain, especially when the wind is gale-force. No exaggeration, that's what it was like for the past 5 days.

part of mosaic floor in the Church of St. Cosmos

But now we can really see the Roman ruins, and they are incredible from Hadrian's gate to the Temple of Artemis, all so beautifully preserved (as well as can be expected for having lasted for a couple thousand years). The area of the ruins are huge, almost two square kilometers, a little over a square mile, and this is only 30% ;they believe 70% is still left to be uncovered! The size stems from their position on the Silk Road, along a trade route that goes from Palmira, Syria, through Jordan (Jerash and Petra) and on to Egypt.

Terry at Hadrian's Gate

There were 3 Christian churches also, mostly tumbled down to their still-beautiful mosaic floors. We haven't been able to catch many Christian sites, mostly because they are quite often off the main path. We weren't able to see Lot's Cave or Jesus' baptism site on the Jordan, the latter because it is located on the border with Israel. A tour is required and we didn't have the two hours it took to visit. But we are leaving Jordan tomorrow for Palestine and Israel, and Jerusalem promises to have many Chistian sites for us to visit, along with Jewish and Islamic ones. We hope to get to the Sea of Galilee at the end of our trip which (yikes!) is coming up very soon.

boulevard of columns in Jerash

The Dead Sea, Jordan Mar 2--3, 2012

leaving Petra to cross the Nemala Mts.

It's freezing and there's snow on the ground as we set off from Petra for the Dead Sea. All the main roads are closed, but our driver Yusef knows a back road that he thinks will be fine. It's just a one lane gravel road that twists and turns as it crawls through the Nemala Mountains, and we see only 3 cars in the 3 hours it takes us to make the trek, stopping along the way a couple of times to view the grand and majestic Wadi Araba (valley) below. There are huge boulders, wide washes, and a few wind-swept trees urging us downward toward the wadi four thousand feet beneath us. The gravel road turns into a paved one, we cross the wadi, and turn north on the Dead Sea Highway, missing the snow entirely!



camels grazing along the road

 The brown rocks and sand gradually morph into shades of green as we reach the agricultural area that employs whole campsites of Bedouins in their big, square tents. Cucumbers, eggplants, and lots and lots of tomatoes are grown here, and we pass a plethora of produce stands, large and small. We stop at Mujib Biosphere Reserve, a migration point for thousands of birds and a part of the Great Rift Valley that runs from South Africa all the way north to Turkey.

coming down into Wadi Araba

There are glimpses of the Dead Sea through the trees and hills, and finally we get a full view of that beautiful body of water. It's very large and majestic, and the sun, which is mostly hidden by clouds

makes it sparkle when it is unobstructed. It must be absolutely blinding on a bright day, but today we don't get the full effect because the storm coming down from the north has stalled, bringing us more wind and cold temperatures, and the water is an angry blue.

the Dead Sea with Palestine across on other side

We arrive at our destination, the Movenpick Resort Hotel, at the edge of the sea. It seems unlikely that we'll be able to swim because of the white caps. Maybe tomorrow will be calmer.

getting splashed by waves

Alas, it's not calmer, but it's the only chance I'll have to experience the highest salt content in the world at 31%. I want to feel the buoyancy of that special place, so I decide to put on my suit and get in. The water is surprisingly warm although not very warm, and even though I can't get out in the open, I do get to float in a small area behind a breakwater. The waves come in and splash me, and I can taste the salt on my lips, even though they haven't gotten wet. The rocks around me sprout salt crystals where they meet the salt spray. They are white and pointed like quartz crystals, and we collect a little sample to bring with us.

But now we must turn our thoughts still northward toward our next stop, Jerash. We just hope we won't run into more snow and that this storm will soon abate.

Petra, Jordan Feb 29--Mar 2, 2012

the marriage rock

We are going to visit the ancient city of Petra, no matter if it is freezing and blowing 50 miles an hour, so we put on our 5 layers and all the scarves we can find and set out, wishing we had gloves.  It's pretty as we begin our walk, the rocks a beautiful red hue, round and rough, smallish, but growing larger as we walk toward the entrance to the city.  Our Petra guide Mohammed urges us on, and pretty soon we find ourselves in the Siq, the narrow passage through very tall mountains.  The Nabateans were the original builders in about 1000 BC but the Romans came in with their architecture in about 106 AD and tweaked the buildings to suit their own building style. 

Mohammed explains various sites along the way, then tells us to stop, turn and take 7 steps (8 steps will put us in a different century).  We do that, turn to our right, and at that point The Treasury comes into partial view.  It is magnificent!  The Nabateans carved caves with facades that are truly amazing, tall as the small mountain they cover with their carved fronts.  And there are many, many of these caves that used to be used for tombs, archaeologists believe.  The decorated caves go on for about 2 miles, interspersed with Bedouin tents and men walking around leading camels, horses and donkeys for hire.  There are some ruins that were large buildings, beautiful with large columns and marble steps. 

Gloria & "Indiana Jones" according to the guides

We climb up steps to the small museum at the top, then follow the little path around to the other side of the mountain where there is a tea house.  We can see for miles and are stunned by the size and shape of the mountains in the distance.  There are goats and sheep being herded by shepherds and visitors who are wandering along the paths.  We stop for tea at one of the Bedouin tents and are grateful for the warm wood stove and respite from the wind. 

the amazing tall facades of Petra

beautiful rock formation and colors

After seeing as much as we can at the end of the valley, we retrace our steps back to the Treasury.  Have I said fascinating many times?  It is so amazing to see such an ancient complex of structures and imagine how these people built them without modern tools, just shovels and blades.  After gazing at the 100' tall Treasury once more, and after being in the cold, underdressed, for about 4 hours, we return through the Siq, thinking about the Roman pavement beneath our feet and again taking in the carving of statues, gods' niches, and the 2 mile water aqueduct they provided for the people living in the area. A unique and incredible people! 

Aqaba, Jordan--Feb 25-29

the Red Sea from Bernice Beach Club

The Red Sea sparkles a beautiful combination of blues and greens, and although we'd love to swim, it is pretty chilly, so we decide to wade.  We are at a South Beach club complete with 3 swimming pools, restaurant, and beach area.  The beach in downtown Aqaba is surrounded by an industrial port and not the best for swimming.  Everybody goes to the South Beach area, so we do, too.  But the sand here is actually rocky, and, although we can see coral reefs from the dock and Russian tourists are in the water, we figure that they are more desperate for warm weather and swimming than we are.  We enjoy ourselves in the sun and count ourselves among the fortunate to have the opportunity to get out of winter coats.  Our first day
in Jordan is a success.

at the red dunes

Today we can see the sandstorm approaching, red like the hills around us, but keeping below the horizon so that the sky remains a bright blue.  We are in Wadi Rum, the Bedouin desert area of Lawrence of Arabia fame.  Our Jeep approaches a tent where we stop for a cup of tea (delicious with sage and cardamom) and yet another opportunity to purchase some handmade item.  We do.  Then it's into our vehicle and 15 more minutes of spinning in deep sand.  Our guide Sroe makes 3 attempts to climb up a particularly softsand hill and after backing down, gets a running start in 4 wheel drive, guns the motor, and makes it over and down the other side.  He explains that it's extremely soft because the sandstorm has just dropped light and loose sand as it passed over the area.  He halts on the edge of a beautiful, red sand dune where climbers clambor up the side and run lickity-split down again.  We don't (but it looks like fun).





Back into the Jeep again and this time we dismount at a narrow mountain canyon where we climb through to the back and out again, enjoying some fascinating petroglyphs along the way.  The mountain itself is solid rock, but the face of it looks like it has been melted and is dripping down like candle wax.  It's a vivid red, something that keeps calling you back to look again.  Another Bedouin tent with items to buy looms up at the base, this time with camels out front.  They are pretty cute with feet like leather-covered jelly which allows them to demurely step in the soft sand. 

camel herd with babies

After several times in and out of the Jeep to see some pretty amazing petroglyphs and rock formations, we are back at the Bedouin village where we started.  Our guide explains that this tribe, like most, were tenting people who moved around, and now they are settled in a specific area with real houses of cement.  As we drive through the village, we see boys playing soccer or leading camels, but we don't see any girls or women.  They keep themselves pretty scarce.  On our way out, we spot a woman tending sheep in the field and start to take a photo, but our taxi driver tells us that once a passenger took a photo of a woman and had stones thrown at his vehicle.  So, we don't.

It's a short stay in Aqaba, mostly to enjoy the Red Sea and to experience Wadi Rum.  We plan our next stop: Petra and hope to avoid the stormy weather we hear is coming.  It could even snow!!

Luxor and Cairo, Feb 20-25

~Luxor, Cairo Feb 19-24

sun bread baking

Dogs barking, donkeys braying, birds singing, motorcycles roaring past us, and this at only 7 am. We are riding these donkeys down the already-busy streets of the west bank of Luxor and into the countryside where people are putting out their round loaves of dough that will become the sun bread we have enjoyed so much. It is a slow pace that allows us to exchange waves with the children who run alongside us calling "Hello" and smiling up at us. We can see the sugar cane and wheat growing (we were told that cobras were in there) and women sweeping the eternal sand off their stone steps. It's a relaxing saunter, and I have to chuckle as I watch Terry ride his donkey, his feet almost touching the ground.

hot air balloon ride at dawn

The Valley of the Kings is a forlorn-looking place with rocks and sand as far as the eye can see. Remnants of once-sturdy square houses fill the area with box-like structures, roofs gone so that we see only mud brick sides. They are attached to each other, revealing an almost honeycomb effect. It is there that workers lived, slept, and built the tombs for the nobles and pharaohs. The nobles' tombs were beautiful and colorful, but as we oohed and awed, our guide Lorna gave a "wait and see" response. So, when we got to the royal tombs, I thought I was ready, but as I entered Ramses I's tomb, I was dumbstruck (gobsmacked as our English friends say). The painting was so fresh, I would have bet money that it was recently done. But no, it was in its original form, according to our guide Ahmed. We aren't allowed to take photos, but my hand twitched in my pocket fingering my camera. The scenes are phenomenal ones of the pharaoh and his family, the myriad of gods in the form of hawks, cows, cobras, rams, crocodiles, some with bodies of animal and others with bodies of humans. The colors are so vivid, bright and clear that I can only keep turning around in the small completely-covered-with-paintings room. No photos!!! Other tombs are also beautiful and some are larger, but the one of Ramses I is the one I'll remember. King Tutankhamun's tomb is also there, but despite all the treasures his contained, his tomb is undecorated.

The ground slides away under our balloon as we take to the air. We had never been in a hot air balloon, but here we are, at dawn, with a big red orb over us and the ground gradually dropping away. We can see the Valley of the Kings, Queen Hatshepsut's tomb, village after village with their little group of homes made out of mud bricks, open courtyards exposed to those who look from above. We see where the workers dug the tombs, where present families work the sugar cane fields, and young boys leading cattle and donkeys to pasture along the mud path. Over to the east, we see the Nile flowing by as it has done for who knows how many years. It sparkles and twists its way from one horizon to the other, bringing water to an otherwise desert environment. Magnificent!

We drop down to skim over the sugar cane fiends, the tips of the tall plants brushing against the basket that carries us. Thinking we're going to land, we brace ourselves, but then the pilot begins to climb into the air once again. After a time, we drop again to the ground, this time to be caught by a team of Egyptians whose job it is to hold the balloon from scooting along the dirt. We stop and their heads pop up over the rim of the basket like jack-in-the-boxes. We are done, but what a fantastic ride.

Now we go to Tehrir Square where much of the recent revolution took place. Right away a group of young boys comes to us wanting to paint our faces with the red, white and black of the Egyptian flag. I don't fancy my face to be painted, so I hold out my hand and they oblige. It's such a small part of their activity, but we are pleased to be there to witness where so many faced the threat of the police. Our guide Ahmed, who was himself a revolutionist (and still is) tells us many stories about the difficult days of demonstrations. There are too many to tell here, but we learn so much that we didn't read in the newspapers. What a brave group of people, and their work is not done.

The famous Cairo Museum is our last guide-led tour before we leave. Ahmed shows us the many treasures of Egypt's history and explains the plethora of items discovered in Tut's tomb It is the focus of our visit and that of many of the visitors we encounter because his tomb was the only one which had been discovered intact. All the other tombs had been looted by the ancient Egyptians. So, we proceeded to drool over the gold, turquoise, lapis lazuli, carnelian, alabaster and painted belts, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, amulets, furniture, canopic jars, sarcophagi, and large gold nesting boxes that fit into a bigger one and ultimately held his mummy. We return the next day to see everything all over again. But this time, as we leave, I run into the bathroom as we are on our way out.

In the bathroom are 6 girls getting themselves ready for some event. They are applying makeup, twisting their scarves around their heads, and bubbling with laughter. I ask them if they are going to a party and indicate that I'm interested in seeing how they put their hajibs on. They pull out a scarf, fold it like they are getting ready to put it on, and motion that they want to put it on me. One winds it around my head and produces a mirror. We all shriek with laughter and then I begin to remove it. They will not take it back but insist that I keep it, and it's beautiful. What a fun way to end our trip, with such feelings of goodwill. We return to our hotel, pack our bags, and ready ourselves for the next leg of our trip—Jordan.

Aswan, Edfu, Luxor Feb. 15-19

~Aswan, Edfu and Luxor~February 15-19,2012

dinner at mahmoud's house

The flight on Egypt Air is fine, but clouds hide the geography that we were eager to see. Maybe we'll get another chance on the way back to Cairo in a few days, but we can tell that it's vast, as we all have learned in school. The climate is wonderful, we comment, as we deplane and realize the temperature has risen about 15 degrees.

Our first foray in Aswan is to lunch in the Souk, the open market place, and we find a little cafe whose owner has corralled us with his smiles and waves of welcome. Egyptian pizza is good and beer is cooling from the heat. In fact, it's really quite warm as we go into the souk, look at the vegetables that seem a little wilted, get a big glass of fresh orange juice, buy some water, and retreat back to the hotel for the hottest part of the day. We gaze out our window and pinch ourselves as we watch the Nile flow by.

Aswan has much to offer in the middle of the desert because of its approximation to the Nile. The history here is vast. The boatride across that life-giving body of water brings us to the west bank where we find ourselves on camels, riding across sand dunes toward a 7th century monastery called Deir Al-Anba Sama'an or San Simeon. Built by the Coptic Christians as a refuge from the Romans, it became a pilgrimage and lasted into the 1400's. We find it in ruins, wasted by invading armies and sand. Still, its huge form is evident, even to the stone slabs that served as beds, where the toilets, kitchens, and stables were located and its magnificent view of the Nile.

Back onto the camels, we listen to the squish of sand between their toes as they plod along. It could be fairly hypnotizing to sway on the saddle of this beast in the warm sun, except my camel reaches out and bites the tail of our guide's camel. Hasan, my animal handler, the miniscule 12-year-old with big brown eyes, long eyelashes and dimples, saves the day by separating the two. He looks up at me and shrugs his shoulders. He has already made my camel run, only to be reprimanded by his father. It must have been the look of panic in my eyes. Or perhaps the grip on the saddle that almost popped the veins in my arms? We return, unscathed, and hop back in the boat to cross this grand river.

The breeze is up, so we can finally get our felucca ride that we have looked forward to. These ancient boats, largely unchanged over time, have been used on the Nile for centuries. They are old and elegant, with one large sail that billows as it is carried smoothly through the waves. Having read so much about these water carriers of goods, humans and beasts, we are delighted to be able to have this delightful experience. Relaxing in the warm breeze and warmer sun, we feel particularly fortunate.

The Nile is certainly the lifeblood of this beautiful and exotic country. Our whole experience here is centered around it. Later in the day, we have another amazing experience, that of visiting a Nubian home. I figured it was going to be a restaurant in disguise, but, in fact, it was in the home of a friend of our guide Lorna.

Mahmoud's home is two very large square connected buildings with side rooms for the myriad of family members that he has. Everything is painted blue because he is Nubian, with tile floors on one level and sand on the other. Colorful cushions cover the built-in couches, and a courtyard opens up to the starry sky. The dinner is served by Airi, Mahmoud's beautiful sister-in-law who is wearing a luxurious red scarf and a glittering smile. The food is scrumptious: lentil soup, sun bread, grilled chicken and 2 vegetable tagines with potato chips! We stuff ourselves, watch the children play, and prepare to depart. Back in the boat, we see that the sun has set and the sky is black with glittering stars. A little light but not enough to navigate by makes me nervous about going back through the rapids, but our boatman takes the safe passage, and we arrive at our hotel cool from the night air.

Airi with the tea things

Three in the morning finds us off on a 3 hour ride to Abu Simbel, the great temple of Ramses II, and another temple dedicated to his wife Nefertari. Built around 1274BC, Ramses' temple is the more famous with 4 big seated statues of the self-proclaimed god-king. It has beautifully carved and painted scenes of Ramses' battles, how he is to be received into the afterlife, and his devotion to the gods. It is enormous, with the seated statues about 20 feet in height.

There are far too many temples to mention them all. In Edfu we see Kom Ombo with its crocodile god Sobek. We also visit a crocodile museum that has lots of those beasts in mummified form. In Luxor, we visit Luxor Temple with still more huge statues of Ramses II and an avenue lined with more than 50 sphinxes that sweep toward my favorite temple Karnak Temple.



on our camels "Jimi" and "Rambo"



Karnak Temple's most famous part is the Hypostyle Hall with its 134 columns, 60 feet tall and 8 feet in diameter, each completely decorated with thousands of hieroglyphs and capped with giant flowers of papyrus and lotus blossoms. Still more statues of Ramses II (can we say self-centered?) adorn the grounds. Two obelisks shoot up into the brilliant blue sky. There were originally 6, but one was given to be erected in Istanbul, and the other 3 are lost. Coptic Christians also used this complex as a refuge while fleeing from the Romans. Their columns had painted images on them of Jesus and Mary, although very faint. We are in awe, standing and looking at history marching before our eyes, all the people who had a part in the building, all those who passed among the mighty and majestic columns, all refugees fleeing from the Romans. So much history in this one place; it's hard to take it all in.

terry and ramses II at Karnak Temple



at abu simbel



 No wonder we are so tired every night. We fall into our bed, exhausted with no reason other than our minds have done so much thinking!



felucca on the nile



 







Cairo Feb 10--14

The sun came out on the Great Pyramid---beautiful!!

It's a cloudy day in front of the Great Pyramid

It's a cacophony of color that we see as we watch passengers file onto the Royal Jordanian jet. Women with head scarves of every color and shade, darling children in little outfits of pastels and prints, and the airline staff in bright red uniforms with jaunty navy hats. Men mostly wear Bedouin scarves of red or black and white with black clothes, as do some women, but that only gives the colorful attire some contrast. It's like looking at a continuous, swirling ribbon dancing by us. In a few minutes we are airborne, watching the lights of New York, then Boston, and other North American cities, finally seeing Halifax drift off in the distance behind us as we fly the northward arc that would take us over the North Atlantic then down over England, France, the Mediterranean, the tip of Italy, the Peloponnese and Greek Islands, and finally into Amman, Jordan. While we wait at the airport for our next flight into Cairo, we see happy Jordanians celebrating. One, a young man returning from college, his degree in his hand and still dressed in his graduation robes, is being carried on the shoulders of some family members while the others carry his father who joins hands with him and dances in the air. Another group spins around a recently married couple who are either leaving for or returning from a honeymoon; we can't quite tell. Everyone is yelling, whistling and clapping. It's quite a joyous sight. At last we are called to our departure lounge and soon we are off, flying over small villages and then over dark land below us. We know it's the desert and probably the Sinai Peninsula. But we are tired and happy to land, find our taxi and get to our hotel. I wonder in which direction the Pyramids are.

~Cairo~

We are awake very, very early because I have set the clock incorrectly. It's only 3:30 and already the traffic outside is audible. Again at 5:30 we awake to ever-increasing sounds of traffic and yelling voices. The crowd at the corner is waiting for buses, yelling at each other and selling newspapers or something else. Above it all is the honking of every bus, truck and car. Evidently, they honk at every circumstance: “get out of the way, watch out, hello, I like your shirt.” At least it seems so. Eventually we get up to get ready for the day. It is already getting light and there, right in the center of our window is the Great Pyramid! “Wow,” I say out loud.

Along with our guide Aladdin (really) we take his car with our friends Bruce and Louise whom we met in Chile when we were there in 2008. Our favorite sight is the Mohammed Ali (first emperor or a united Egypt) Cemetery. It is most fascinating to see not only beautifully carved tombs and mausoleums but homes (such as they are) in among the relatives'graves which the owners care for. We also drive through a most interesting market and visit the Mena House Hotel which was built by the British in the 1800's and used both in WWI and WWII. A drive by the Pyramids and a stop at a restaurant for tea completes our day.

muhammed ali cemetery in cairo

gloria and new friend at alexandria fortress

Our tour officially begins at a different hotel in the middle of Cairo the next day. We meet our guides Lorna and Ahmed. Today we go to the Pyramids and get to see them up close and personal. They are huge and amazing, but the action is happening at the base where tourists meet camels and their drivers, horses and their riders, vendors and their souvenirs, and people who want you to take their picture so they can ask for some money from you. It's really an interesting and amusing chaos. There are actually seven pyramids which are all smaller than the Great Pyramid plus the Sphinx and all within a few blocks of town. It's true that many years ago they were in the outlying desert, but today the city has grown up around them. So, one can walk up the path from town. They are incredible structures, and we are lucky that more people aren't there but we feel sad that more people aren't there because the Egyptians are hurting because the revolution is keeping them away. Understandably, visitors are nervous about coming to Egypt, but we find only friendliness and welcoming people here. More on that later.



Selling protest flags




 

water bottles at the market

two egyptians in memphis



 Saqqara, a spot on the edge of the Sahara (which actually means desert in Arabic) houses several famous structures, among them the Step Pyramid (2650BC) which is the world's oldest stone monument that has so far been discovered and the entry hall of Pharaoh Zoser which is thought to have possibly been built by Jacob called Imhotep at that time. Both are amazing buildings, but our favorite is mastaba of Vizier Mereruka which contains the only painted reliefs of everyday life in ancient Egypt. It is magnificent in its detail given to fishing, river animals including crocodile, hippopotamus, fish, birds, cattle, pigs and other domesticated animals, farming, religious rituals, beermaking, breadmaking, and many other types of activities that people would do in their villages along the Nile. We also have a chance to go into a pyramid, built by Teti in 2345BC. The entry is low and steep but not as long as some we'll encounter so we decide to give it a try. We pay with knee and neck pain and resolve not to pay money to do ourselves in at a big one.

Our next destination is Alexandria in the north of the country. It is a more refined town than Cairo and has a heavy European influence: a lot of Spanish, Italian and Greek buildings. We explore Roman ruins and underground catacombs, and swing by Pompey's column, but our favorite is the Alexandria Library. It's new and built very near the famous library of early Egypt with 11 floors, an amazing art gallery, one million plus books, places for 3000 readers, and a dynamite view of the Mediterranean. We could have stayed all day, but it's way past time for lunch and our three hour ride back to Cairo. Besides, we must get back to our hotel, pack and get ready for an early flight to Aswan tomorrow.