The Food

In response to a comment/question from Chris, Joe writes:

Aah--the food. Here are Joe's thoughts...

Egypt is a very poor country without particularly good sanitation (also lots of trash, bad smog, etc.). Kim & Joe have been very careful (read "paranoid") about our eating: only bottled water to drink, brush teeth, etc. They have avoided all fresh fruit and fresh vegetables, because of contamination risk on the skin (and some people say inside from water used in irrigation as well, but we're skeptical of that.). There are a lot of flies, so it's difficult (actually, impossible) to avoid eating food that flies have been on (Yuch!). In Dahab, they have also given up meat, after seeing how it is stored & transported (and how it smells).

Brie & Mark have "3rd world stomachs" that are acclimated to all the Egyptian bugs, so they are eating everything, but using bottled water.

Kim ate 1/2 teaspoon of some fresh watermelon juice that Brie ordered, and has had mild stomach problems for several days since... Everyone else is ok. Perhaps it wasn't the watermelon juice, but that's the only difference between what Kim ate and what Joe ate in the 24 hrs. immediately preceding the onset of her difficulties.

So, back to your real question about the food. It resembles other food from the general area: hummus, tahini, felafel, baba ganoush, kabobs, etc. The felafel are made with fava beans or white beans, not chick peas, and are generally very good. We've eaten lots of vegetarian pizza. In general, it has been good, but not great. There have been some very good soft cheeses like feta. The foul (smashed beans) that they eat at breakfast are sometimes good, especially if you dump in the accoutrements such as yogurt and various spices. It seems that the more smashed the beans, the better it tastes.

Kim & Joe have resorted to eating some "grocery store meals" of factory-packed food to minimize contact with flies & storage/handling problems.

The beer has generally been like generic American beer (we've only been drinking Egyptian & Jordanian beer), but we found a couple that stand out. Petra beer was excellent--very flavorful. At 10%, we knew that we had had a beer :-). We just drank Luxor beer last night, which was also good--unfiltered, with a very nice flavor.

Perhaps we're being overly cautious, but I don't think so. If you have a strong digestive system with acquired immunity to 3rd world bugs, you can probably follow in Brie's & Mark's footsteps and enjoy the local food.

Dahab--day three

We went to the dive shop, Desert Divers, right after breakfast and signed up for our dives. Because we have not been diving for a few years, we needed to do a scuba tune-up starting with a several-page quiz to ensure that we remembered what we needed to know. We did a great job remembering almost everything except our dive tables. After a quick review, we remembered and were able to do our multiple-dive calculations. We met our instructor, Ineka, a young Australian woman who has stopped in Dahab for two months on a solo one-year around-the-world trip after graduation from her university. She has been an instructor for 2 1/2 years and was very competent.

The first dive was mostly practicing skills: removing, replacing and clearing regulator and mask, etc. We did explore the reef called Lighthouse, which was fantastic. It is so great to be able to hover right in front of fish or other critters without worrying about having to surface to breathe in case of a problem.

We had a light lunch, then headed back for our afternoon dive, which was at a place called Islands. It is a series of coral islands and pools all interconnected. We had to swim through a short cave to get started. We saw great coral and life here also, including a crocodile fish, a large octopus, several dozen medium-size barracuda, and lots of assorted colorful reef fish. Joe had equipment difficulties (a leaking buoyancy control device), so he had trouble with buoyancy control and his air ran out early and he finished the dive sharing the air with the dive leader, Nimby, an Egyptian. Fortunately, it didn't interfere with the enjoyment of the dive for Joe or anyone else. We actually had 3 dive masters with us, Nimby who knew the area well, Ineka who hadn't been diving there before and Tor, a British girl who dove with Ineka in Australia and was visiting her for 2 weeks--we were well covered and they were a fun group

We really like the Desert Divers shop and recommend it to anyone else who comes here. It is one of the several shops recommended in our guide book: Lonely Planet.

Now we're trying to decide whether to climb Mt. Sinai tonight instead of sleeping (which probably means no more diving), or skipping it and doing a couple more dives tomorrow... We walked around town a bit and went to dinner at a really good Italian restaurant then browsed the shops, dodging the hassles from the guys in front of the restaurants wanting us to eat there. Weird job they have, but they seem in good humor and laugh a lot as they talk to the tourists.

Dahab--day two

Our hotel didn't serve coffee until 8:00am, and the manager said that no other place in town is open for coffee until later than that, so we slept in.

We then spent most of the morning with the logistics of switching hotels. We're now in a regular hotel that is cleaner, friendlier, and has a nice pool. It is called the Red Sea Relax. It feels much better :-)

We rented mask, fins & snorkels and went snorkeling in the early afternoon. The coral reef is home to a huge number of great fish! We saw lots of species we had never seen before, as well as some favorites. It's a very easy shore entry from our hotel's beach, then you're on the reef almost immediately. There are dozens of dive shops and the sea is swarming with divers.

We're now planning the rest of our stay here: when to go SCUBA diving, when to climb Mt. Sinai, etc.

We wandered about town & selected a dive shop, then wandered about town & selected a restaurant, then ate a light meal and got back to the hotel at 11:30pm. Late for us!

Dahab--day one

We took a taxi from Petra to the Amman airport (we called the same driver who took us to Petra), caught a plane to Sharm El Sheikh, which is on the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula: a site of world class diving, but very touristy. From the air, the reefs looked incredible! They are huge--we could have been flying over the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

We chose to stay in Dahab, which is an hour's drive northeast up the gulf, and is also a great diving spot, but is very low key. A driver from our "hotel" met us at the airport and took us to Dahab. The driver was jerking his head all around while driving: Kim thought he was falling asleep & Joe thought he was on speed. Kim asked Brie to engage him in conversation: turns out Joe was right (pure speculation)...

We made it safely to Dahab. Hooray.

Our "hotel" is a converted house of Sheikh Salem. It is right on the beach, with a great view. It is, however, very rustic, not very sanitary or secure, and the managers (owners?) haven't learned anything about treating customers well. We walked around town, exploring other options, and decided to switch in the morning.

There is a constant breeze and the temps range from the mid-80's at night to the upper 90's during the day. In the shade it is very comfortable with the breeze. It was 15 degrees warmer here last week.

Right across the gulf is Saudia Arabia, clearly visible in the attached photo.

Comments

Thanks to Carl and Elliot for your comments. Comments or questions from anyone else?

Thanks.

Preview--Dahab (out of order)

We're planning to end our trip in Dahab, relaxing on the beach, snorkeling & SCUBA diving. Check out these webcams.

http://www.dahab-info.com/webcams/

Prices of stuff

We found things in Egypt to be generally very inexpensive, and in Jordan to be generally a little less expensive than in the U.S. Examples include:

• 1.5 liter bottled water--from a low of $0.19 in downtown Cairo to $2.80 in downtown Petra and at the Petra Marriott. We drank lots and lots of water on the trip!


• Gasoline--from a low of $.53 /gallon for 80 octane in Cairo to $3.76/gallon for 90 octane in Jordan. The government of Egypt subsidizes the cost of gasoline and a few other commodities.


• Dining out--appetizers from a low of $.94 at a fabulous restaurant, Safora, in Luxor to $2.10 at the Red Cave in Petra.


• Internet--from a low of $1.50/hr in Luxor to a high of $11.20/hr at the Petra Marriott. Actually, one hotel had free internet.
  


• Taxi ride--from a low of $.94 for a 15-minute ride in Cairo in the black & white taxi (the system is "pay what you think is fair" and the taxi driver will object if it isn't) to a high of $9.80 for a 10-minute ride in Petra.
• 
  
• Universal USB memory card reader including Sony duo pro--$3.76 in downtown Cairo. Without the Sony duo pro capability. it was only $.94 in downtown Cairo.
  

• SCUBA diving--$78 for "tune up" written & practical skills practice for people who haven't been diving in several years, two dives, full equipment rental, transportation to a remote dive site (15-minutes away).

Nile Cruise -- day four

We got up at 4:20 am and met in the lobby. Our guide met us there and led us out to a waiting van. We drove through the dark streets to a hotel. We got out, walked through the lobby where there was a guy videotaping us and saying "say good morning" we walked down a ramp and onto an open air ferry boat. We sat at tables with several others of various nationalities and were served tea, coffee and cake as we crossed the Nile to the West Bank. There we were reloaded in waiting vans and drove through the town, then through one of the villages, down lanes barely wide enough for the van and by pens with livestock.

We emerged into a big dark field where we could see the glow of our hot air balloons being filled! We stood in the field and watched large crews of Egyptian men in galabeyyas (long robes) fill the balloons and adjust the lines. A car drove up and 4 men wearing shirts like airline pilots climbed out and walked to the different balloons--standing very tall, purposeful and important :-)

Just before dawn, we climbed into the basket of our balloon, having received instructions for landing from our captain, Goda, along with jokes of what we could expect, smooth-Egyptian landing, bumpy-American landing, etc. Goda used the burner to fill the balloon until it started to rise up over the field. It was incredible--we watched sunrise. We flew over the temple of Ramses--just barely above the top, the Valley of the Queens, Colossi Memnon. We flew over villages and farmland. We went to 1,000 ft. at the highest. It was very smooth, peaceful--and a smooth Egyptian landing!! We took the van, boats back to our ship. We were awarded certificates :) and our guide privately gave us t-shirts "just for us":).

After breakfast, we met Bedwan for our last day of touring to Luxor temple and Karnack Temple--both very impressive. We were met by Bedwan's boss. Don't know why, if it was routine or to smooth things over, but he invited us for a drink in a cafe, we chatted with him for a while then went back to the boat to pay our final payment and make arrangements for the ride to our evening train. Then, finally we were free.

It's nice to have a guide but intrusive at the same time-always needing to go someplace on schedule. Actually glad that part is over, but we do appreciate all we learned (most of which we've forgotten).
We went and had an excellent leisurely lunch in a very cool 1930's house in Luxor--beautifully decorated with antique Egyptian furniture (from the 1920's and 30's) We did some shopping in the souk. It's hard to just shop, there are sellers constantly calling to you to come to their shops. People call it touts or hassles, but many are very creative and funny and no one is aggressive. Things like "I've been waiting for you" "High prices, low quality" "How can I help you spend your money?" If they make you laugh, they laugh with you and say have a nice day. They try to guess your nationality and approach you in that language. We usually get English or German, but once, Italian. They like to use accents. Several sound like Dick Van Dyke on "Mary Poppins". For the most part we enjoy it and are pretty good at being pleasant and just walking on. On guy put his arm around Mark's shoulders and kept talking to him. He wouldn't leave. I finally grabbed Mark's arm and walked off quickly. We shook that guy but the next one said "Is that your wife? Lucky man" we cracked up, Brie and Joe got the same line!

It is sad to see the children approaching you to sell things, sometimes with a man lounging around behind the stall, yelling at them to try harder. If you buy something from them, you are then surrounded by others, so no easy way to deal with that one.

We went back to the boat (they gave us a cabin to relax in even though it was after checkout). We sat on the deck and relaxed until Bedwan picked us up and took us to the train station for our night train from Luxor back to Cairo.

Nile Cruise -- day three

We awoke in Luxor, and after breakfast took a minivan with our guide to explore the West Bank.

We started in the Valley of the Kings, where we toured three tombs. These were absolutely amazing! All you see, as you are approaching, are the openings of the tombs in the hillside made by the grave robbers first, then cleaned up by the Ministry of Antiquities. After the pharaoh and his stuff was securely ensconced in them originally, the entrances were covered up, in hopes that they wouldn't be found by grave robbers.

There are twenty-something tombs, some closed for restoration or preservation. The walls of the tombs were covered in hieroglyphics and cartouches (no photos allowed). The colors were amazing, especially considering they are thousands of years old. We would have like to have toured more tombs, but there was no time. King Tut's tomb was there, with his mummy in it, but tickets to that were more that the entrance fee for the whole place, so we opted out of that. We then drove to the temple of Queen Hatshepsut, an impressive temple high on a hillside with beautiful views across the Nile--again more statues and hieroglyphs--we seem to be on overload now. We stopped at an alabaster "factory". We told Bedwan we did not want to stop if it was a store, but were very interested if it was a real factory--Joe really likes factories :-). He insisted that it was a real factory, with a showroom. It had people sitting on the ground pretending to make alabaster vases. Inside was a "lesson" on alabaster then we were invited to take a look at all their wares and he would make us a good deal. We just said "no shu kran (no thanks) and left, kind of annoyed with Bedwan.

We drove back to the boat and on the way tried to get the details for our felucca ride on the Nile. Bedwan was not communicating well with us. He said we would go at 4:00pm, but had told us two days ago that it was dangerous to go on the boat after 4:00pm because of winds. We wanted to go at 2:00pm to minimize the chances of having our ride canceled again, but he kept giving us different excuses. Brie had a theory he was afraid to go on the felucca because he had told us he couldn't swim and he had overturned in one before. He kept kidding around and we finally told him that we were getting annoyed. He continued to kid around a bit until we told him again, forcefully, that it wasn't funny and that we were mad--we needed straight talk. He finally "got it", apologized, and explained. We settled on 4:00pm for the cruise. (It was Friday and the holy day and he needed to go pray between 12-2.) We were fine with him after that, but always a little tension during the rest of our tour.

The felucca ride was wonderful. The boat was beautiful with a crew of 2, one handling the sails and the other the tiller. We cruised along the Nile with perfect temp and a great wind. The boat had a "sound system" and they played Bob Marley and made Egyptian tea on a little burner. Very relaxing. Talking to the boy manning the sails, we learned Bedwan was half owner of the boat! So much for Brie's theory of him being afraid. We can never quite figure out how things work here.

Back at the ship for our swim and beer! There was a party on board that night where everyone was supposed to dress like an Egyptian. We opted to skip that and instead went to a sound and light show at the Karnak temple-it looked beautiful with the soft lighting and they told the stories of the different kings and pharaohs as we walked through.

Petra

It took us 24 hours to get from Luxor to Petra:

• car from boat to train station
  


• overnight train to Cairo


• taxi from train station to Brie's apartment


• taxi from Brie's apartment to Cairo airport


• flight from Cairo to Amman, Jordan


• taxi from Amman airport to Petra

Whew! But relatively uneventful. The only hassle was when the Nile river tour company insisted on taking a photocopy of Kim's credit card and passport. We asked "why", and were told that it was a bank requirement. Since we had used credit cards several times in Egypt without having to do this, we said that it wasn't possible. We couldn't get a straight answer from our guide. So, we refused, which led to a big hassle. Brie called a friend of hers who is a bank manager, who backed us up. She talked to our guide, who then backed off the requirement for a copy of the credit card. It turns out that they were trying to protect themselves from tourists who refuse to pay their credit card bill after getting home, claiming that they didn't take the cruise or they paid in cash. We were very glad to close that chapter with the train pulling away from the station, leaving the cruise guide standing on the tracks waiting for his boss to come to add some horsepower to their side.

Once in Amman, we needed to catch a taxi. Again, a leap of faith to get into a taxi with a stranger and drive 2 1/2 hours across remote desert to Petra. Our driver was Saleem, a young man from Palestine-very nice. He spoke a little English and he and Brie enjoyed chatting and joking in Arabic. He offered to come back and get us when we were ready to leave Petra, despite it being a 2 1/2 hour ride back to retrieve us. Our taxi ride from the Amman airport to Petra looked very similar to the desert southwest in the U.S. -- not like the all-sand desert of Egypt. We saw scattered mining operations, factories, chicken farms, etc.

We got an early start to see Petra in the morning while the temperatures were cool. We hired a bedouin guide who was born and raised in Petra (born in a cave in 1983), and who now lives just outside the park. The 2500-person bedouin tribe was relocated when it became a national park, and now live rent-free and tax-free in government provided housing less than one mile away: it's not tents, but concrete structures with amenities (like internet). Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and helpful.

There are over 800 tombs and structures in Petra, and the park covers about 30 square miles! The most famous one, the Treasury, was featured in the movie "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom". the facade is exactly like the movie, but it is only one room deep, like all the structures. Essentially all the structures are carved into the canyon and mountain walls. Only one free-standing building is standing because a huge earthquake in 363 AD knocked them all down. There are a lot of breathtaking tombs -- it is so amazing! Check out www dot tourism dot joe/historicalsites/petra dot asp.

We explored many of the tombs and climbed up the the highest one, known as the Monastery, which is about 4400 ft. above sea level. It was a strenuous climb, but mostly on carved steps in the mountain. Many people ride up on donkeys-and most looked very uncomfortable. A little above the Monastery we followed "VIEW" signs to the top of the mountain, from which we had fantastic views (all the way to Israel they say), and the girls bought jewelry from an enterprising bedouin who had set up a tent that occupied essentially all of the tiny peak!

We spent a lot of time talking with our bedouin guide. He had a very laissez-faire attitude toward different peoples, including Israelis. He said that there were now 20 European and 1 American women who had married bedouin men and were living in their tribe. One of them has written a book entitled "Married to a Bedouin", which we plan to read. Most of the beduoin men wore eyeliner and were very dashing looking-like Lawrence of Arabia, especially were they went galloping by on their beautiful arabian horses.

There were lots of bedouin peolple working in the park, renting camels, burros and horses and selling things. There were lots of approaches with offers of "air-conditioned taxis"(burros), one with stereo :). One guy had a BMW patch on his burro's forehead! Most again were friendly and funny and not aggressive. There were lots of kids, racing around on burros, climbing high rocks like mountain goats. Some enterprising kids had boxes of rocks they were trying to sell to tourists. One adorable little girl came up and asked for "lipstick for mother". Brie offered her chapstick and she shook her head then asked for chewing gum-we didn't have any, but Kim looked in her bag and came up with a Nuvaring pen-she was very happy with that!! The pharmaceutical company would be proud of me :). We bought 20 brightly colored pens at Target to give to kids, but we never seem to remember to bring them with us on our outings...

We ended up spending over 10 hours climbing and exploring Petra and it was nowhere near enough. We relaxed by the hotel pool with our delicious "Petra" brand beer after and looked out over the mountains-we'd definitely like to go back to Jordan.

We found Jordan to be clean, more industrialized than Egypt, and the people to be very friendly and open-minded. There are only 6 million people in the whole country, almost half of whom are Palestinian refugees. Amman, the largest city, has a population of 2.5 million.

Sadly, we're leaving Petra now. But, the Red Sea awaits, so it will be ok :-)

Nile Cruise -- day two

While we were asleep in our small, modestly furnished, under-air conditioned cabin (with a nice view through double-glass doors), the ship motored to Kom Ombo. We toured a large temple right on the Nile and learned more about the ancient gods and pharaohs. We then sailed to Edfu, sitting on the sun deck and relaxing under the canopy. The land along the Nile is green and lush. Lots of fields of corn, sugar cane and date palms. There were water buffalo grazing on the shore and in several area, kids swimming in the Nile. They would yell and wave to the boat as we went by. The houses were mud and stick shacks. The crops were transported along dirt roads by flat bed wooded carts pulled by burros. We did not see any tractors.

We docked in Edfu. These big Nile boats pull up next to each other and you need to walk through the lobbies of 2-4 boats to get to the ramp to shore! We met Bedwan and caught a horse drawn carriage through the town to the Temple of Horus and again listened to the history. He is very focused on the Gods and it is hard to get any info out of him about the real people of ancient Egypt and how they lived. The temple was beautiful with lots of the original colors well preserved. It was very hot touring this time of day and we were ready to catch the carriage back to the boat where we spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool with a cold beer-this is getting to be our afternoon ritual. The canopy on the top deck was lowered and the lights were all lowered to sit flat on the deck because we had to pass under a bridge. We stayed in the pool, everyone else on deck had to sit on the deck, not on chairs and when we passed we had about 6-8 inches to spare-it was really close and everyone clapped once we passed under!

The boat took off for Luxor. It was beautiful sitting on the deck with a warm dry wind watching all the feluccas and fishing boats on the Nile and the activity on the farms on the shores. We went throught the big locks in Esna and on to Luxor.

Nile Cruise -- day one

We caught a sleeper train from Cairo to Aswan, where we were met by our guide, El Bedwa (although he called himself Bedouin, man of the desert). It turns out that he was the guide for just the four of us, since we were the only ones on this particular boat booked through this particular agency. (The guides are supplied by the agencies, who "rent" space, meals, etc. on the boats for their customers.) We were taken in a nice air conditioned minibus from the train station to the boat, where we dropped off our stuff. Bedouin's English was pretty good, but we had to struggle to understand at times. He has been a guide of Egypt antiquities for six years, having studied tourism, economics and history in his university.

We went across the Nile to see the High Dam. This was built in the 1960's and created Lake Nassar. The previous dam, built in the late 19th century, just wasn't big enough to control the annual flooding of the Nile. When completed, it provided 70% of Egypt's electrical power needs through hydroelectric turbines, but with the growth of the country, and the electricity usage, it now provides only 7%.

We then took a small boat to an island in the Nile called Philae. The temple is from around 300BC. When the High Dam was built, it would have been completely covered in water. UNESCO intervened and in the 1970's, the temple was completely disassembled and transferred to higher ground (the island) and reassembled. The Nubian people living around the temple, were also relocated to higher ground and lost all the mud brick homes of their ancestors.

The temple was beautiful and was our first exposure to seeing hieroglyphics--they were amazing.

After touring the temple, we toured a granite quarry to see a partially completed obelisk, which was abandoned after a crack appeared. It is estimated to weigh 1160 tons. It was carved in place. It would take 1600 people most of a year to drag it to the desired location, including getting it onto a boat at the time of the Nile floods to be transported to it's final destination.

We had hoped to go sailing on a traditional felucca on the Nile that afternoon, but the winds were high and too dangerous. So, we decided to walk around the town of Aswan instead. Bedouin insisted on accompanying us, saying that he was responsible for our safety and that it was dangerous for foreigners to walk alone, especially Americans. We never felt any danger whatsoever, but we certainly did stand out and attract a lot of stares. We were walking in areas outside the tourist zone and did feel a little uncomfortable, so we went back to our cruise ship and swam in the little pool while drinking an Egyptian beer. The pool was very refreshing--it was wonderful to really cool off!

After a buffet dinner of Egyptian food (ok, but not great), we sat on the upper deck and watched sunset.

Bedouin asked if he could join us (is he lonely? or protecting us?). He is in his mid- to late-twenties, and recently engaged to marry his cousin (apparently a common practice). They cannot get married until he can afford to buy a house and furnish the bedroom and two reception areas; his fiancee is responsible for furnishing the kitchen. He doesn't want her to work because he wants her all to himself: make his lunch, clean his home, and not be tired when he comes home from work. He wants to have two sons. He has developed strong opinions and generalizations about other cultures and ethnicities based on his personal experiences as a tour guide. It's so interesting to hear his very different perspective on the world.

Photos from Cairo area

Here are a few photos from the Cairo area.

First is the large pyramid at Giza, with Brie and Kim in the foreground riding a camel.










Second is Brie and Mark in front of the Sphinx, which is in front of the smaller pyramid at Giza. Note that the limestone cap is still in place on this pyramid. On most, the limestone was removed by other people for use in other structures.


















Third is the four of us, Joe, Kim, Brie and Mark standing next to the cap of the Red Pyramid, with the Bent Pyramid in the background.

The Bent Pyramid shows a design change part way through construction of this first pyramid with continuously sloping sides (instead of steps). The original angle was too steep for stability, so they reduced the angle. The angle used on the upper part became the standard for all other Egyptian pyramids.

The Red Pyramid is so named because of the red granite used in its construction. It was the first pyramid made after the Bent Pyramid, so the angle was the shallower one throughout. We went deep inside the Red Pyramid and saw three chambers inside. The entrance shaft was long and steep, and our quad muscles were sore the next day from the climb in and out.

This photo of the four of us was taken by two nice Antiquities Policemen who took us around to the back of the pyramid to show us this view and some ruins off the beaten path. They were pleased to receive baksheesh of five Egyptian pounds (less than one US dollar), and offered to take our picture and let us ride their camels for no extra baksheesh.

Trouble getting good internet access

Sorry to be ignoring you all! We've had trouble getting internet access, so we have lots of words in our heads, and pictures on the camera (and now a memory card reader), but no access to the internet. We've got just a couple of minutes now, so the photos will have to wait. Probably about 48 hours until we can do some comprehensive postings with photos. Please be patient.

We're having a fabulous time!!!

Cairo - day 3

Today was pyramid day!

We hired a driver and started at the big famous pyramids at Giza. They are huge and impressive! The smooth limestone face was removed many years ago to be reused in other buildings, so the faces of the pyramids are rough. We also saw the Sphinx, except for the nose :-)

We then drove out into the desert about an hour away from Cairo to see some other pyramids. We saw the first pyramid made: the step pyramid. It is called this because it was built in six distinct steps, each one smaller than the one above, but all with steeply sloping sides. We then saw the second pyramid made: the bent pyramid. It is called this because the angle of the sides changes about halfway up. They started with the steep angle of the step pyramid, but discovered that it wasn't stable without the steps, so the upper half has a shallower angle, which was used for all subsequent pyramids.

Finally, we went to the Red Pyramid, so called because the smooth sides were covered with red granite. Actually, it looked pink. We were the only visitors at this pyramid! We went deep inside this pyramid and explored three two-dimensional pyramid-shaped chambers inside. The shaft into the chambers was very steep and short. We had to lean way over and lean way forward to clear the ceiling. After we emerged, the two Antiquities Police on duty took us around back to a special area and gave us a private tour.

We're now heading for the train station, where we take an overnight train to Luxor.

Cairo -- day 2

This morning, we slept in and relaxed at the hotel pool.

This afternoon, we went to the Egyptian Museum. It is crammed full of amazing antiquities without much explanation as to what things are, or their significance. It was disturbing that things were not well protected. The building is not air conditioned and is hot and a bit dusty; essentially everything is open and available for people to touch. We did see the incredible items found in King Tut's tomb-beds, chariots, jewels, sarcophagi, the headpiece, etc. Really incredible stuff.

We walked around downtown to some shops Brie wanted to show us. The traffic is amazing and the cars do not give the pedestrians right of way-you just need to start across and make eye contact with every driver before stepping in front of the car-it's a challenge!

This evening, we went out to dinner with Mark & Brie and six of Brie's friends: people from Egypt, Mauritius, Canada, "Europe", Michigan, and Switzerland. We had a great time and learned a lot! These are bright, adventurous young people doing interesting very international work. It's amazing to listen to places they've been and opportunities they have had.

Day One -- Cairo

We made it!

Some travel logistics: weather delays & switched flights for Joe getting out of Eureka and meeting Kim at LAX, two flights together (through Frankfurt), arriving in Cairo at 3:30am, being met at the airport (before immigration!) by representatives from our hotel. After 24 hours of travel and very little sleep, the waiting area of the Cairo airport was like a weird dream. Tons of people in a variety of colorful, exotic dress, including many women in Burkas. It was unbelieveable how crowded it was at that hour. We were walked out to a dark lot with a bunch of men standing around and put into a car and driven throught the dark streets. At the hotel, our car was stopped and the guards walked around the car with a bomb sniffing dog, then we went through a security setup entering the hotel like at the airport! A bit disconcerting at first, but reassuring. The hotel, an ex-palace, now fancy Marriott in town is beautiful with incredible grounds right on the Nile. Kim felt a bit weird staying in such a plush place in Cairo, but it has proven to be a comfortable and familiar spot after our explorations into a loud and chaotic Cairo.

Despite little sleep, we were eager to see our daughter, Brie, and get started. Brie is doing great! She has adjusted well to life in Cairo and loves it here. We met her co-workers (a very friendly, joking group) and saw her workplace. She is a researcher at the World Fish Center. We walked around her area (Zlamack, or something like that) which is a densely populated island in the middle of the Nile. We saw her apartment which is huge. The big living room has 3 separate sitting areas, each with big couches and chairs. There is a dining room, big kitchen, marble bath and 2 big bedrooms. Brie's husband, Mark, arrived late last night after his eventful "internship" in Venezuela. We're looking forward to seeing him later this morning. They will be together here in Cairo until the Fall, when Mark starts school at Oxford. Brie will follow him there a few months later at the end of her one-year assignment in Cairo.

We went to lunch in a pizza place, then headed to the big market (souk). The drivers are crazy: there is a system involving lots of honking and some taxis have horns that sound like sirens or car alarms--pretty funny, but I wouldn't want to try driving here. The market had lots of stalls with silver, scarves, clothes, spices and pottery. People had a lot of different, often funny, lines they used to try to get you into their shops. We got tired of that crowd and push pretty quickly, so we wandered into some the the outlying alleys and explored, including the alley of the tent makers where generations of families have done applique, initially for tents, now bedspreads and pillow and cushion covers: very intricate. Lots of stray cats everywhere!


Cairo struck us as a city of contrasts: old & new, poor & rich, Muslim & Christian, Muslim "no alcohol" rules except they have locally made beer and wine and the bars aren't identified as "bars", etc. We saw many buildings in a constant state of "under construction" (lower property tax), sporting partially finished top floors that may never be finished. We saw a few buildings still not rebuilt after the magnitude 7.5 earthquake of 1992. Some amazing old villas along the Nile and lots of mosques and beautiful minarets. The call to prayer over the loudspeakers adds to the noise five times a day.

We found people to be very friendly and outgoing. Kids would give us big smiley greetings in English. Restaurant and hotel workers were especially helpful. The dress is so interesting, lots of women in headscarves, the younger often wearing western clothes with headscarves in wild colors, prints, sequins etc :), the arabs in full white robes and headress, the burkas etc.

Prices are very reasonable.


We're having a hard time staying fully hydrated, even though it isn't particularly hot (by local standards).


Yesterday was a light day, as we didn't want to do any major sightseeing before Mark joined us, so today we go to the big museum. Tomorrow is all about the pyramids at Giza, the sphinx, etc.


Joe has learned his arabic numerals, but we're both struggling to learn some phrases. We can usually say hello and thank you, but that's about it. We're impressed, as usual, with Brie's uncanny knack for picking up languages very quickly. She can bargin with shopkeepers, communicate with taxi drivers and make small talk. She seems so comfortable and really knows her way around. She wears a shawl to respect the modest dress conventions

As is the case in many developing countries (apparently), there are three sectors in the economy: goverment sector, large industry/business, and the informal sector. We're still trying to figure out this strange informal sector. For example, we hailed a black & white taxi to go from the tent-makers' street back to our hotel. These taxis don't have meters. At the end of the ride, you simply pay them what you think is fair! We paid 20 Egyptian pounds (a bit less than $4) for a 15-minute ride, and the driver was pleased. Strange, huh! Similarly, many people in this sector do little favors and tasks for baksheesh--small amounts of money contributed by the recipients. Examples of these tasks would include washing your car, providing directions, etc. For more info on baksheesh, check out www.touregypt.net/featurestories/baksheesh.htm or just google it.

We have photos, but don't yet have the capability to upload them. We'll work on getting an adapter. More later ...

Getting Ready

Eleven days left until we leave for our trip to Egypt, with a side trip to Petra in Jordan. Weather is forecast to be about 120 degrees! We're excited to see our daughter, Brie, who has been living in Cairo for six months.



We're planning to start our vacation with 2-3 days in Cairo, seeing the pyramids, Sphinx, museums, etc. Then we're going to Aswan, where we'll start a 3-4 day cruise on the Nile. Next we're planning to go to the Red Sea and do some diving. Then we're going to play "Indiana Joneses" and explore the ruins of the ancient city of Petra. Then we're heading back to Cairo and home.



Thanks for reading! We'll keep you posted.--Joe