May 20-May 22

Aqaba! We left our “home” in Cairo to much good wishes on both sides; lovely Hotel Longchamps and its friendly, delightful owner and staff (e.g., when we got back to the hotel from Alexandria our bags were already in our room!).

Our guide from the desert was waiting for us at 8 am, with another driver and a far less “robust” vehicle.

We wanted to see the Suez Canal, but it’s a military zone and you can only see it if you’re in it! We tried to take a side road to a view point but (likely due to tensions withIsrael and Palestine) were turned back. You cross the canal via a tunnel and then (now in Asia) it really is a different place: men were differently dressed (in more Saudi-type robes), it was a lot sandier. We drove southwards with the coast on our right. Beautiful blue-green sea. Every few miles there was an attempt at a resort development, either hotels or houses, we couldn’t really tell. A few looked occupied but most looked more optimistic than actual. I read a newspaper article about the Egyptian real estate bust and maybe this was part of it…

On we went into the mountains in Sinai. Fortunately top speed wasn’t so high, since the driving was ok but no more! Lots of windy roads as we gained height. Not much other traffic. We reached Saint Catherine’s around 4 pm. It was Friday and the monastery is only open for 2 hours on Fridays. We spent the afternoon wandering around the small town of Saint Catherine’s, which obviously owes everything to the tourists who come to the monastery and to climb Mount Sinai(which we did not do!). There were plenty of small boys asking for hand-outs, and some sweet girls who were not…We actually shared our hotel with a group of young Austrians; not very wonderful buffet dinner and breakfast…

Before we left Cairo we’d looked up in the guidebook and Internet about the ferry from Nuweiba to Aqaba – and it wasn’t very optimistic, especially about running on Saturdays (you’d think, and we had, that Fridays would be the “dodgy” day – apparently not!). Anyway, we mentioned this to our guide, and the alternatives of a shorter ferry from Taba or trying the land route through Israel. Initially he was not in favour of the latter (maybe due to the volatile situation), and he called friends in Nuweiba to check, and later that evening went down himself to check out the situation. Next morning he said we should try the land route since there was only the slow ferry which may or may not leave at 3 or 4 pm.

We left the hotel soon after 8 am but the monastery doesn’t open till 9 am. We had total tourist shock as there were more tourists crowding into the forecourt than we’d seen in all the other sights put together!!! And we were told usually there are several thousand visitors a day. The whole experience was frankly disappointing: we queued, shuffled around the church in semi-darkness, looked at icons, listened to rude tourists and ruder orthodox monks telling tourists and tour leaders off. We saw Moses’s well and the “burning bush” (it wasn’t!), admired the old walls of the monastery and that was it.

A short drive took us down to the coast and to Nuweiba which looked dead, then we turned north to Taba. Lots of deserted and lovely-looking beaches on the Red Sea and again some sad-looking resort-attempts. We agreed to pay an additional $75 (although strictly speaking it’s likely they would have driven that way back toCairo anyway – no big deal!). Suddenly there was the border! We said fond farewells and they volunteered to wait 30 minutes in case there was a problem. So, 12:15 leave mini-van; we paid 2 Egyptian Pounds each (6 to the Can $), filled in a form with a stamp, walked through a large a/c hall and were out of Egypt. We put away our Canadian passports and pulled out our British ones. A shortish walk in the heat, multiple questions by multiple friendly Israeli officials (mostly young women in tight jeans and short-sleeved shirts; Anna thought they were there as deliberate provocation!) and the first proper x-raying of our bags (a supervisor had to be asked about the hammer!) – and we were in Israel at 1:00. There were 2 taxis waiting, we jumped in one and for $25 US he drove us through Eilat to the Jordanian border. Here we had to pay 101 shekels each (no idea how much that was; they took Visa!) for the transit visa, then another short walk. This time (since we already had our Jordanian visas in the Canadian passports) all they wanted from us was a retina scan – really; never had one of those before! Into the parking lot, and this time the taxi was a lot more expensive - $45 US, but our hotel is at the very southern tip of Jordan’s Red Sea coast; in fact, we’re only 5 minutes away from the Saudi border…Checked in to the hotel around 3:15-ish! Later that evening we might have seen the slow ferry crossing the sea, but by then we’d rented masks and fins, had our first snorkle (absolutely amazing corals!), swam in the pool, booked dives and were about to eat dinner. Our hotel is rather disappointing (except for its location on the beach and the lovely bougainvillea bushes), most noticeably its meals: the only offering was a fixed meal with choice of steak or fish fingers!!! We pushed a little and out came a feast of tabouli, tahine, egg plant and tahine dip (not called babaganoush here!), tomatoes and cucumbers and a local specialty of ground meat cooked in tomatoes, onions, garlic and other yummies!

This morning Anna and Colin went for their dive and I snorkled, then arranged for the Thrifty dealer to drop the car off here rather than me going to them (much more intelligent!). We met for lunch, then they did their 2^nd dive and I did the car. Once in my hands I went into Aqaba to try and change our Egyptian pounds and some dollars. I stopped outside the Intercontinental compound and they would have let me in once they had checked the under-side of the car with a mirror on a pole, but the attendant told me I’d get a better rate at an exchange, and he gave me (perfect!) instructions to get there. Aqaba is small; the local housing area looks small; the largest industries are the huge hotels (2 Movenpicks, Intercontinental and others) and the huge container port). I got back to our hotel avoiding a police check stop (obviously white women driving rental cars are ok), and driving into the naval base next door to our hotel – just as Colin and Anna finished their dive. A nice lazy afternoon of reading/snorkeling/swimming. We’re going to look for a nice fish restaurant for dinner (it was well-recommended!). Off tomorrow to Wadi Rum.

May 13

Breakfast at 8 on the patio of the 6^th floor restaurant – with a lovely view of Luxor – from the Avenue of Sphinxes to the far end of the Luxor Temple, right across the Nile to Hatshepsut’s Temple and all the back streets as well. When we came down with our bags, our driver, guide and Land Cruiser were waiting for us. The 3 of us sit in the back which is tight but ok. The camping gear (I can see 5 mattresses and some sort of awning) is on the roof and our bags are in the back. Introductions and then we’re off – down to the bridge south of town to cross the Nile and head-off westwards towards the desert.

Actually, it doesn’t take very long to see “desert” once away from the Nile. Our map calls the road 218 and then 25, but the road signs say M60, south-west from Luxor and then north. The road isn’t bad – 2 lane blacktop, with police checkpoints at frequent intervals (where we stop, chat briefly with the guard who takes down the license plate, tells them that we are Canadian, and off we go). When I comment to our guide that I was expecting to produce passports, he says “No, this is still all Egypt!” I asked him if this kind of checking was usual, and he said before the Revolution you had to pay baksheesh to pass the checkpoints and now all the soldiers are very nice!

Although his English is not as fluent as Ishmael’s, he is very keen to talk and to discuss current affairs. We were talking about not going to the famous oases of Siwa (visited by Alexander the Great) as it is so close to the Libyan border, and I asked him if he knew what was going on in Libya. He said things were bad, but that Gaddafi would be gone in a month, but that he’d kill all Libyans before he goes! Following right along he said Syria and Yemen would also be free in 3 months! He is one of 7 children of farmers; his mother is illiterate and all the kids have advanced degrees: there are pharmacists and physicians and teachers in the family. He’s working on his PhD in hieroglyphics! His siblings live throughout the Middle East and in London (that brother is married to a Christian but their 2 kids are Muslim). His wife is a pharmacist.

So, we drive through limestone mountains, to sandy desert. The north road actually has plenty of underground water, and there are dusty-looking palm trees lining the road. There are also wheat fields. The map shows the Sheik Sayed Canal for part of the way and our guide tells us that there used to be a canal linking to the Nile and we see a Temple of Seti (26^th Dynasty) which used to have a barge which put into the canal and sailed down to Luxor. Colin is skeptical due to height differences and he doesn’t think Egyptians had locks…so we’ll have to look that up. That temple, in El Kharga is currently closed for reconstruction. We did walk around the El Bagawat Tombs (Coptic) which date from the 4^th Century; some still have colourful frescoes on the mud brick walls. Around 7,000 bodies have been found in the tombs which were in use for 300-400 years. We had lunch inside this complex. We saw the strength of the artisan well as it came to the surface.

After lunch we drove westwards to Dakhla Oasis – a line of small towns strung along buried water. Again, despite the sand, there is plenty of agriculture – and a water bottling plant!

We stop at a charming hotel complex made up of traditional rooms on a hill overlooking the town. We had a quick dip in their swimming pool (in need of cleaning and not very warm!) and just had dinner. The evening is surprisingly cool and tomorrow and the next night when we camp, I might finally be pleased I brought a thin fleecy jacket!

Gerry

"Island of the Blessed follows the footsteps of a Canadian-led international team of archaeologists as they penetrate the Sahara to unlock the secrets of Egypt’s “everlasting oasis” -- Dakhleh." (Syndetics)

Nile Cruise - Day 5 – May 10

Sight-seeing day: mini bus to the High Aswan Dam – very impressive, past the much smaller one built by the Brits variously between 1900 and the 1920s; not high enough to stop a 40 meter flood, so a larger one had to be built. Big Egyptian-Soviet monument; the most military we’ve seen – the High Dam is regarded as a military installation and appropriately guarded (tanks, Hummers, AKs). Then we took a small motor boat to the island of Agilika, where the lovely Temple of Philae was moved to. This whole area (Nubia) was vastly affected by the creation of Lake Nasser and by the movement of the Egyptian temples to higher ground in advance of the waters. Dozens of temples were saved by the joint efforts of UNESCO and many (40?) countries who worked from the early 1960s to 1971 when the lake reached full depth. The temples were cut onto blocks, each block numbered, a new higher place was found for them – preferably in a comparable location, then they were moved block by block until they look like they had been built there – remarkable!

The Temple of Philae is maybe smaller than many, but in very good condition and quite lovely. Although it’s late period (mostly Roman), during the move they found remains of much earlier temples underneath, showing it had been an important place for worship for many thousands of years. Also interesting, there is a smallish side temple built by Hadrian, completely in the Egyptian style – as opposed to all the many triumphal arches built across the empire by other Emperors – Libya etc. – which are all entirely Roman. Presumably this appreciation of the local architecture shows that the Romans held the Egyptian traditions in some esteem.

Then back to the boat for lunch and a rest. We five decided we wanted to see the “unfinished obelisk” in situ in the red marble quarry, where a fault was noticed before it was completed. Then on to the wonderful Nubian Museum, recipient of the Aga Khan’s architecture award: a museum which tells the story of Nubian culture using photos from late 19^th century/early 20^th century excavations as well as from the 1960s when archeologists struggled to document village life and lesser temples before they were lost to Lake Nasser. 100,000 Nubians were displaced by the waters. In addition to this more contemporary history, Nubians figured prominently in Egyptian history – both as foes (and salves), as a source of gold and ivory, and briefly as pharaohs (for 100 years). You can plainly differentiate between various vanquished foes on the walls of the temples, through hair, nose size and other details.

Back to the boat and we walked along the cornice for a bit: saw a group of very proud, giggly young women celebrating their university graduation (grad caps on top of burqas!)

Our last dinner culminated with the crew presenting us with a huge pink cake and music and dancing again – very nice!

Gerry

Nile Cruise Day 3 - May 8

Breakfast and then on shore to tour the ancient quarry and the temple at Gebel Silsila. Very interesting learning how the huge blocks were cut out with stone and copper/bronze tools and shipped hundreds of miles to Giza, Luxor and other places…The tombs of the architects and workers had been damaged by the flooding Nile and later by Coptic Christians fleeing persecution…

The sails came up as we left and we had a wonderful lazy afternoon of sailing along the Nile, being passed by the big cruise ships (in both directions). We found a sandbank later on for a swim in the surprisingly cold river (no crocodiles south of the Aswan Dam!). Very pleasant. A couple of locals wanted to take a photo of us with them! Sailing slowly northwards we reached Kom Ombo, with its important crocodile temple. There’s even a brand new Crocodile Museum, but it’s closed waiting its official opening by the (former and now under charges of extortion) Minister of Antiquities! Apparently thousands of crocs used to laze about on the nearby island and the temple was to keep the locals safe (or appease the gods?).

We stopped for dinner on a sandy island and a BBQ was set up, our heavy tables and chairs carried down and we ate on the sands, surrounded by surprisingly docile white dogs, the moon and stars overhead (until a bright light was attached to the mast). After dinner the crew entertained us with some raucous Egyptian folk music and dancing – and of course we all joined in the dancing!

Nile Cruise Day 4 – May 9

A day of pure laziness and sailing north to end at Aswan. After dinner we’ll go and explore the souq (“the best outside Cairo”). A little sunbathing, a lot of nothing much! Time to catch up on the log and for Anna and Colin’s stinking colds to (hopefully!) run their course. Just passed under a new bridge outside Aswan and watched some boys “watering”, or tormenting!, a couple of donkeys. So many scenes really haven’t changed in thousands of years…

Well, the souq was nice, but hardly worthy of its reputation – just a long street of booths selling mostly spices and herbs. Nice enough but lacking the variety of other souqs we’ve seen around the Islamic world. Glad we didn’t wait to buy my coffee pot or Anna’s hammer!

Back to the boat and the party that threatened to go on all night (either a wedding or a graduation) actually ended around 11 pm.

Gerry

More about Egyptian antiquities!

Nile Cruise Day 2, May 7

What a way to travel (one might say the only way to travel) on the Nile! The boat is all wood with 10 cabins on the lower deck, plus a dinning room/salon where we haven’t eaten yet. The deck is big and covered with a woven grass awning and has plenty of chairs, divans, small tables and dominoes and cards. There’s a large table in the middle where 9 of us eat: we three, the Americans and our English-speaking guide Ishmael, and the 2 Austrians and their German-speaking guide. The large, motorized cruise boats make the trip in 2-3 days; we are taking 5.

After finishing my log last night I turned off the light at around 10 and was lulled off to sleep until after 5 am! I dozed some more and went up on deck after 6. We departed around 7 once the decks had been swabbed and the furniture polished and the glass tops cleaned! and breakfast was at 8 (a platter of cheeses, tahine, pita, fruit, yogurt…). Still not enough wind to sail, but we’re promised later!

We passed the ancient capital of Upper Egypt, but all that was visible was mud brick walls. Then on to Edfu, where we docked for a trip to the (best preserved Egyptian) Temple of Horus – built in the Ptolemaic period (ie around 300 BC). One reason for its state of preservation is that it was completely buried in sand until it was rediscovered by a Frenchman in the 1860s. We had horse-drawn carriages waiting for us; I went in the front and had to drive for a period! By chance or otherwise, we got to the temple as the early-morning tours were leaving (there were several of the motor cruise ships docked as well (they take from 60 to a couple of hundred passengers), so we largely had the temple to ourselves, except at the end when a large local party arrived. Because most of the temple columns and ceiling is in place, it is much cooler than the open-air temples of yesterday, and although we were there from noon to 1:30 or so, we weren’t as exhausted as yesterday!

Time for a quick freshen-up and then lunch was served: rice and fried Nile perch and tahine which comes with everything and is much nicer than I remember it being at home! Fresh fruit for desert. Then they finally put up the huge sails – one forward and one aft, big triangular sails. At first we kept the tug as well, but later on we went on our own power, until the winds dropped and the tug rejoined us and the sails went down. But so lovely! We’ve spent the afternoon relaxing, reading, a little dozing, taking photos of the Nile and its people… It’s now 6:10 and the sun has set behind the low sandy hills (the strip of fertile land is quite narrow) and we seem to be coming up on an island we might be stopping the night at…Actually, not an island but the ancient sandstone quarries and temple at Gebel Silsila. Colin and Tim went ashore to get a head start on the rest of us by flashlight; we waiting till the next day. Dinner under the sliver of a new moon was pasta and meat and several salads, with a local pudding to follow (rather like soggy corn flakes but nicer than that!).

Gerry