Back to Cairo for Departure

One last look at the amazing pyramids from my hotel in Giza, the le Meridien (supposedly a 5-star hotel, but nowhere near as nice as the Marriott I just left in Sharm el Sheikh).



During my taxi ride from hell - I mean the airport - I had about an hour to reflect on my entire trip (it was either that or focus on my Muslim driver's road rage during the holy month of Ramadan - the only person praying in the taxi was me). This trip made driving in Washington DC metro traffic look like child's play. So I drew up 2 lists - things that I would miss, and things that I would not miss...



Things I would miss:

• the friends I made during my many adventures
• the food at Zanilli's
• Karnak & Luxor Temples
• the Citadel in Cairo
• the Pyramids & Sphinx
• relaxing in the Red Sea in Dahab & Sharm el Sheikh
• floating down the Nile in our faluca

Things I would NOT miss:

• the traffic
• the air pollution
• the sound of Arabic being spoken (always sounds loud & angry)
• the dirt & garbage everywhere
• the begging & the poverty
• male chauvinists
• disappearing toilet paper; extortion to get TP; & not flushing used TP
• sleazy taxi cab drivers
• obnoxious shop owners
• fried food served with potatoes, rice & french fries
• lack of technology
• cutting in line everywhere (airports, restaurants, hotels)
• "hurry up & wait" mentality

Nicest spots:

• Luxor
• Dahab
• Sharm el Sheikh

Worst locations:

• our apartments in Agami (we called it Agony)
• the tourist trap, Pharonic Village (Yvonne accurately tagged it Moronic Village)

Next summer - an African safari and at least 2 weeks in Greece!

The Charm of Sharm

Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt's international tourist destination, was definitely my favorite city. The main attractions are diving, snorkeling and beach going. Sharm contains 1/3 of all hotels in Egypt, and the government claims that 80% of all housing here is in the form of hotels and only 3% houses the original Bedouin population in the area. This photo of the pool was taken from my room's balcony at the Marriott Hotel - the nicest place I stayed while traveling - but still no TP allowed in the toilet.

The Red Sea, just across the street from my hotel.

The beach is calling my name. Good thing I had plenty of SPF 30! I had to laugh at all the Europeans who were burned to a crisp - especially the German and Italian men in those skimpy, ugly speedos that very few men look good in.

Here is one of the Italian restaurants right on the beach. They were set up with ovens, a grill and crepe irons - totally decadent!

The seating area for the Italian restaurant.

The Sharm el Sheikh Hard Rock Cafe. I managed to get to 2 out of 3 Egyptian Hard Rock Cafes for Deb and her shot glasses. I only had 2 beers the entire 38 days I was in Egypt - one Egyptian beer at the Cairo Hard Rock, and a different Egyptian beer at the Sharm Hard Rock. (I returned home at least 10 pounds lighter as a result of such little drinking).

Camel Trekking/Snorkeling in Ras Abu Galum

My camel pal, Gus, makes a strange sound as if he is gargling with Listerine. I didn't realize that camel's teeth were so large.

We gear up for our hour long ride to Ras Abu Galum.

Our Bedouin hut.











Said gets ready to chow.









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I do think this little girl made my hat look much better than I could!

















In addition to carrying out all the other diving gear, each of these camels had to tote 4 scuba air tanks on our hour long journey back to Blue Hole!












Off we go!











Up at 7 AM Sunday, August 16, to meet my 18 yr. old Desert Divers' guide, Said, for our 2 day adventure to Ras Abu Galum in the Sinai Desert. Travelling with just my beach towel, swimsuit, lots of water and the clothing on my back, Said brought our snorkeling equipment, food, more water, all-important toilet paper (used as TP, napkins and paper towels), blankets (not necessary in the desert heat).

We climbed into a jeep that was on its last leg - I was given a front seat with a door that opened with a wire hanger. We drove over dirt roads, zig-zagging through a very poor neighborhood in Dahab where the goats appeared to outnumber the people; past luxurious coastal hotels in various phases of construction on the Red Sea; to the Blue Hole diving area, where I climbed aboard the poor camel who had to transport not only me, but all our provisions on an hour trek through all sorts of rocky terrain. One of the local Bedouins - a boy of about 13 - led the camel by its rope lead, while Said kept up walking alongside me. I thought the hour would never end! Going downhill was frightening, and I was so glad to be off that camel when it was all over!

We took all the food and water to this Bedouin hut - I have never seen such poor living conditions. This was a family of 5 children who made their living from cooking for all the divers that came through the area. The kids were adorable, running very freely (as in naked) in the area bordered by mountains on one side and the Red Sea on the other. The outhouse (referred to as its British name throughout Egypt - water closet - or WC for short), was just a hole in the ground. Interestingly, nowhere in Dahab or the desert for that matter, are you supposed to put your used TP in the toilet - I'm guessing the plumbing just cannot handle it. So, conveniently, hanging on the inside of the WC door, there was a bag for the used TP. OK, that did gross me out.

After we ate and rested - Said is really into both activities - we did a "jump" - his term for snorkeling. I had a lot of trouble clearing my breathing tube because of the rough water. Every wave seemed to find its way into my mouth. Finally, we headed in a different direction and I was able to enjoy the incredible, colorful reefs that just followed one right after the other (at times like this, I wish I was scuba diving, when all is calm below the surface).

The time passed by so slowly because there was absolutely nothing to do where we were once we finished snorkeling. I was glad that Said decided to leave earlier with a group of divers who finished up at 2:30 PM the next day. But, to my dismay, we were all riding camels out! Another hour of torture - I now have bowed legs and a boil on my butt thanks to the back and forth over that hump! I don't even have a good picture of me to prove that I made it since Said failed to get the camel in the frame after it got up with me on it.

Yvonne and Holly, you'll be glad to know that I donated my fancy sun hat (that you made fun of) to one of the little girls in the village. I must admit she (and her brother) looked much better in it than I did.

I was so glad to return to my air-conditioned room in Dahab after my adventure, and decided to forego my other planned desert trip in favor of spending 2 days in Sharm el Sheikh, relaxing and enjoying Naama Bay.

Dahab

Chaise lounges at Palmers Restaurant at Assalah Bay in Dahab. All it takes is one small purchase to claim the spot for the entire day!












Assalah Bay at about 8 AM. No one around except me and the incredibly clear, refreshing water. You can see the Sinai Desert mountains in the background. What do I love best about Dahab? NO CARS!!!! And no clothing restrictions!!! Back to T-shirts and shorts - alleluia! You cannot believe how quiet this city is after noisy Agami! Besides the splashing of the water and the whooshing of the scuba tanks, you can hear all sorts of languages being spoken in this wonderfully relaxing tourist town.










The shops along the beachfront of Dahab.





















Shots of the bay from our end of the walkway.



















Another restaurant and their lounge chairs - closer to our lodging, but no easy way to get down to the water, so I walk about 15 minutes north.
















No vehicles allowed on the walkway - and that includes horses and camels!

Life Group and the Orphans at the Zoo

Wednesday morning, Holli and I joined some of our college conversation students at the College of Medicine for an outing to the zoo with the orphans. We were pretty impressed that we navigated the bus route successfully, and even made it on foot to the college. But there were several possible entrances for entry. We asked one of the guards to call Shorouk, one of our students, to let her know which gate we were entering. She came to get us, but we only managed to gain entry to the first gate, where we had to wait since we didn't have a school id. After a couple of hours we finally made it to the orphanage (left), then had to wait there for nearly an hour due to numerous miscommunications.






Finally, about 3-1/2 hours later, we were on our way to the zoo. (This is referred to as being on Egypt time.)

The children take turns feeding the elephant.










































Camel feeding time.









Getting a boost for a better look.























Feeding the ostrich some fruit at the end of a wire rod.

Classmates and Students at TEFL

Young learners A (7-10 yrs. old) & B (11-14).



I taught group A twice and B once. They were simply hilarious, extremely competitive (especially the girls), and very bright. Just a joy!







Nevien - our fearless leader and TEFL teacher whose job it is to crack the whip and make our lives miserable for 4 weeks (just kidding).

Magda (left) and Samah (below) - our 2 local Alexandria Egyptians who provided us with a taste of some wonderful Egyptian desserts: Magda with a delicious chocolate cake with chocolate glaze; Samah with om aly (a custard like dessert with raisins, nuts, milk and butter). See the story below........

The story of om aly: an Egyptian queen "Shajarat Aldor", got married to an Egyptian prince who was already married. When the queen found out that her citizens started to love him more than her, she decided to kill him. His first wife promised to kill the queen, and after she killed the queen, she cooked om aly and served all the citizens.

Samah also made us Alexandrian liver sandwiches one morning as you can see below because she wanted me to know that liver fajita I had at Momen was not the typical delicious liver dish that many Egyptians are capable of making.







Ricky and Joe, the self-appointed British stud muffins, at the pyramids in Giza.


















Here I am with Ayesha (from Pakistan) and Yvonne from British Vancouver, Canada.

Luxurious Luxor - The East Bank - Day 2

Karnak Temple.

Simply incredible and not to be missed! This is an enclosure containing a number of temples to Amun, the patron deity of Thebes. Some parts of the eastern side of the complex may have been built as early as the 20th century B.C. Every ruler has contributed to the site - adding statues, temples and halls. The farther you go into the complex, the older it is. The entrance, shown at left, was never completed but stands over 141 ft. high.

Hypostyle Hall.

There are 134 columns in this section of Karnak Temple, all carved with incredibly rich and well preserved hieroglyphics. The hall was planned by Amenhotep III (who built the older parts of Luxor Temple), but actually built by Seti I, with Ramses II (who contibuted some spectacular additions to Luxor Temple) adding relief work and decoration. The second axis of the temple was added by Hatshepsut (1479-1456 B.C.)

The alabaster sphinx of Tutankhamun in Karnak Temple.


















Ramses II and one of his wives. He had 4 wives and later married his daughters. It is said that he had 92 sons and 106 daughters during his 67 year reign!

Sphinx Way.

Sphinxes line the road on both sides from Karnak Temple to Luxor Temple (3 kilometers). The government is excavating all of them in the hopes of making the area into a living museum - within 5 years! Anyone unlucky enough to have a house or apartment built over these is being relocated to other parts of the city so that the excavation can be accomplished.






Banana Island on the West Bank.

Our last adventure in Luxor was an early evening motorized faluca ride down the Nile to Banana Island. Once we docked, we were led by one of the inhabitants passed this little marketplace and into a magnificent banana grove.

Falucas docked at Banana Island. Our faluca, Janet's Dream (at right). Ayman is helping Yvonne cross the gangplank to reboard.