Transitions: Egypt to Israel

Last night we said good bye to our Road Scholar family, and we are now officially on our own.  Transitions are always a little challenging for me, but I am well rested, over the jet lag and ready to change countries.

We fly from Cairo to Amman Jordan at 4 p.m.  We get to lounge around the airport for about 4 hours and then we board the plane for Tel Aviv.  In Tel Aviv we hope to get the Abraham Hostel shuttle bus for Jerusalem.  However, if we can't connect with that, we plan to take a taxi.  This is the first part of the trip that isn't orchestrated by a third party.  If all goes well we should arrive at the Abraham Hostel in Jerusalem around 11 p.m.  I understand the bar tender at the hostel will immediately pour us a beer.

As I write, Taylor is reading the guide book for Israel, studying what we need to know. In addition to information about how to catch a taxi, and how to tip the guide book has an entire section dedicated to what to do if you find yourself in the middle of a mine field.  Whose idea was this trip?

Philae Temple and the Temple of Abu Simbel

Good grief!  This trip has started with a bang.  Yesterday's tour of the pyramids near Cairo was a walk in the park compared to today's itinerary.

2:30 a.m coffee, tea and boxed breakfast available in the lobby
3:00 a.m. bags outside our doors
3:30 a.m. depart hotel
4:15 a.m. arrive at airport
5:45 a.m. flight to Aswan

In Aswan we took a small boat to see Philae Temple.  This is one of the many temples that would have been flooded when the High Dam at Aswan was built in the 1960s.  This is one of about 10 temples that was moved to higher ground for preservation.

Philae Temple - our introduction to Egyptian temples.

This is a little side temple, and it's so pretty in the morning light.

 At this temple we were  impressed to learn that it had been moved stone by stone to its current location.  The thought of such a project is mind boggling, but then again, building it in the first place with primitive tools is also beyond belief.

Our lovely guide Tarek started introducing us to the gods, and goddesses here.  This temple was the center of the cult of the goddess Isis. Tarek also introduced us to Osiris and Horus.  Learning the gods, goddesses and pharaohs didn't get easier as we traveled along.

We spent an hour or so contemplating this amazing sight, and then jumped on the boat, returned to the airport and flew to Abu Simbel.

Abu Simbel is about 40 miles north of Sudan, on the banks of Lake Nasser -  the lake formed when the Aswan dam was built. This temple was also moved from it's original sight to it's present location.

The Temple Abu Simbel. Next door is a smaller temple dedicated to Ramesses' wife Nefertari.

Abu Simbel was built by the pharaoh Ramesses II and is dedicated to the god Re-Harakhte. He built a temple next door for his wife Nefertari and dedicated it to the goddess Hathor.

After exploring the temple complex we headed to our home away from home, the ship Omar El Khayam.  I understand it is a small ship as far as ships go, with 60 cabins.

This is the first cruise for Taylor and me.  We checked into our cabin, rested for about 5 minutes, ate dinner and went back to Abu Simbel.  No matter that we were up and functioning at 2 in the morning, if we came this far we should see it at sunset, and also see the sound and light show.

The little black rectangle between the feet of Ramesses II and Ramesses II is the door to the temple. The lights are on and we are waiting for sunset to enjoy the show.

 Finally, with the show over and visions of gods, goddesses and pharaohs dancing in our heads we headed back to the Omar Khayam for bed.  We survived a very long day, but wait, there's more to look forward to.  Tomorrow morning at sunrise our ship will sail and we must be up on deck to see Abu Simbel for the last time.

Visiting the Pyramids of Egypt

We started the first day of our Road Scholar tour with a trip to the areas of Dashur, and Giza.  I think most people associate pyramids with Egypt.  However, I had no idea there were so many of them. There are more than 100 pyramids in Egypt.  Most likely there are even more pyramids buried in the sand.

The first pyramid of the day is also the oldest in the area, the Bent Pyramid.  The angles of the pyramid aren't quite right, so it wasn't a success.  As you can see, it's crumbling.

The architect of the Red Pyramid, also in Dashur, got the angles correct. This is the first true pyramid.  We climbed to the entrance, but did not go in.

From the entrance of the Red Pyramid I was able to look into the distance and see even more pyramids.

Near the Great Pyramid, smaller pyramids for wives and sons.

The Great Pyramid of Giza is in the distance.  Taylor and I climbed to the top, through a long narrow corridor, at times bent nearly double.  It was a challenge, and we did it!

Getting to the top, I worked up a sweat.  The reward was a small dark room, with an empty coffin.  It was well worth the effort.

Steamy conditions in the pyramid. Taylor forgot to bring a sweat head band on the trip!

Climbing down from the top of the Great Pyramid of Khufu I met  this Syrian woman.  She was unhappy with her husband for making her climb to the top, only to find nothing.  I think the claustrophobic tunnel wasn't her idea of a good time. 

Now that we visited so many pyramids, it's hard to keep them all straight.  While the pyramids are fascinating, I also found that the scenes around me were also intriguing.  Here are some images that will stick in my memory of my introduction to Egypt.

This is my idea of classic Egypt- camels and pyramids.

Crossing the irrigation canal.

Morning in the coffee shop.

Happy to be in Egypt, and learning that the sun is bright - sun hats and sun glasses mandatory.

No Time to Write a Proper Blog Post

We've been busy sailing on a felucca on the Nile in Aswan, Egypt.

Time flies as we clap along with our Nubian captain's tunes.

So sorry to hear that folks in Portland, and other parts of the U.S. are experiencing snow and ice.

First Day in Cairo

The first day in a new country is always a little disconcerting.  Jet lag, new foods, new sights, new sounds.  Instead of using this condition as an excuse to hang out at the hotel to recover from jet lag, we decided to get a little preview of Cairo on our own.  Tomorrow we begin our tour of Egypt with Road Scholar.

With the help of the doorman at our hotel, we hired a taxi to take us to downtown Cairo.  It is about an hour drive through hair raising traffic.  The driver let us off at the Egyptian Museum.  We all agreed to meet in four hours for the drive back to the hotel.  Before he would leave us, our driver made us promise not to talk to strangers, be careful in the traffic and do not agree to "go shopping" with anyone.  We followed all that advice, although we spoke to a few strangers.  Interestingly enough, these strangers wanted to take us "shopping."  We didn't do it though.

We walked through Tahrir Square and nearby neighborhoods.  It was stirring to contrast this area crammed with cars and busy people with the revolutionary fervor and subsequent blood bath of just a few years ago.

Tahrir Square

Exploring the neighborhood hear to Tahrir Square

The Museum was a throwback to the 1930's style of museums, a bit of the Field Museum when we first lived in Chicago.  Acres of dusty cabinets with treasures from thousands of years ago, some things obviously mislabeled and untouched by any curator's hands for decades.

The Egyptian Museum

Finally, returning to our room and flinging open the curtains, we realized that we actually have a view of the pyramids.  Over the swimming pool, across the busy road with the crazy traffic are three pyramids in a row. Wow.

The star of the show.

We're On Our Way

to Egypt.

Hello, and farewell, Mt Hood.

I Love Christmas Cards

I am lucky that so many of my friends still send Christmas cards. I stretched Christmas out by opening three cards a day when we returned from Taipei on December 31. I savoured each one.