Briefly Back in Cairo

Cairo 013
Originally uploaded by susiebarber

Sorry for the lack of update, but internet access at this hotel is sketchy at best and I can't seem to upload any photos. Yesterday morning I arrived in Cairo (and not too far behind schedule -- pretty good for Egyptian trains) and was taken to the hotel. On the way to the hotel, I was told that I had a tour guide waiting for me to take me around Cairo. Damn. I really wanted to take a nap. Anyway, I took a quick shower and then we were off.

Our first stop was a whirlwind tour of the Egyptian Museum. I had already told him that I planned to spend an entire day there, so he gave me the overview and walked me around so that I was well oriented for when I came back. Then we were off to Old Cairo. This area is also called Babylon and has many, many old Christian churches and one that is now converted to a synagogue. We went inside the "Hanging Church", which is built over some old pilings of Babylon (which you can see through some glass in the floor), a church under which Jesus, Mary and Joseph are said to have hid when in exile in Egypt, and a synagogue which is converted from a medieval church and was also once a mosque. Unfortunately, no photos allowed inside the buildings. No big surprise there.

We then went off to the citadel, passing the area where a rock slide recently destroyed some homes and killed some people. Besides beautiful views of all of Cairo (and pyramids in the distance), there are two significant mosques. One is from about 1500 years ago and is a very good representation of early mosque design. The other is the mosque of Mohammad Ali, also known as the alabaster mosque. Amazingly, they allow visitors and even allow photos on the inside. How nice is that? They have very large capes available for women that they do not consider appropriately dressed, but I was allowed in as I was dressed. Everyone was very welcoming and even spent time explaining their religion to me and the significance of Ramadan. I had already read all of this, but it was nice to hear it from the folks running the mosques. The interiors are extremely beautiful, but very open with little furniture. I took the best pictures I could in the light, so be sure to have a look.

Back at my hotel, I spoke with my tour operator. He can see how tired I am, so he's sending me off to Alexandria this morning for a little R&R. I'm spending two nights and then will come back to Cairo for my final 3. I'll have an entire day at the Egyptian Museum (YES!), a day with a car to take me back to Giza and Saqarra, and a day to do the usual -- laundry, send what I don't need home, and buy shampoo, etc. that I will need for Tanzania. I'm at the 2.5 week mark until I get back!

Off to Cairo

Well, I got on the little minibus to go to both Karnak and Luxor Temples, the main attractions of the East Bank. Karnak Temple is huge and has been built up by many different people over the years. There's even a mosque in the complex. It's also been hit by floods and earthquakes over the years, so there's a lot of reconstruction going on. The obliesks were particularly impressive as well as the row of sphyxs as you enter. One even looked a lot like a particular Star Wars character.

Karnak Temple 058
Originally uploaded by susiebarber

After we were off to Luxor Temple, which is much smaller and supposedly not very impressive. There were three guys from Toronto on the bus who saw the Temple yesterday. Suddenly I was outvoted and didn't get to go inside. Instead I got to shoot a few photos outside next to the McDonalds. When I tried to walk around a bit, the bus driver honked and yelled until I came back. I was then ushered into Micky Ds and told that it would be my only chance to eat before the train. I haven't had McDs in about 10 years and all I could think of was a t-shirt I saw in Pokhara -- it had the golden arches across it with "McShit" written under. I did succumb and ordered a McArabia which came with fries and a drink. Now I don't feel so good.

Anyway, we get back to the hotel with our take out and I'm expecting to leave immediately for the train station with my food in hand. No such luck -- I have a few hours. I could have eaten good food. Back to Cairo tonight!

Change of Plans

It turns out I read my itinerary wrong and I'm to go back to Cairo on the overnight train tonight. It's OK -- the only thing I really wanted to do tomorrow is go back to the Valley of the Kings and go inside some more tombs. They are very hot and sweaty, so this is probably better. And besides, now that I've seen so many temples and tombs, I'm very anxious to see the Egyptian museum and go back to Giza. I'll also probably go to Alexandria for a bit. Also, the men are easier to deal with in Cairo than in Aswan or Luxor. Very few bothered me up in the capital, while here it's pretty constant. I could have had 150 Egyptian boyfriends in the last few days!

Anyway, I leave for the temples of the east bank just after lunch and go to the train station just after dinner. I'll post photos once I'm back in Cairo (so says the chick sitting on the one corner of her hotel balcony from where she can snag free wifi from the apartment building across the street).

The West Bank of Luxor

Luxor West Bank 031
Originally uploaded by susiebarber

I had the most phenomenal day! I was given a private car and guide to make up for all of the crap that has happened since I got to Egypt and I had a blast! My guide has a BS in Archeology, but couldn't make a living at it, so took courses in Cairo to get her license to be an English speaking guide. She was the best -- she knows everything, but knew how much to tell me and could answer all of my questions. I learned so much and was absolutely amazed by everything I saw.

We started with a drive by of Mr. Carter's house (the man who discovered Tutankhamen's tomb) on the way to the Valley of the Kings. I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but I was very surprised. After walking through a visitor's center which had a 3-D model of the valley and tombs, we stepped outside. It's really very plain. Just walkways through the valley with an opening in the rock or ground here and there. The openings, of course, are to pharoh tombs and there are more than 60 of them now and they discover more and more each year. Your ticket into the Valley includes entry into 3 tombs. There are several open and you pick and choose which of the open ones you'd like to enter. Tut's costs extra. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take photos inside any of the tombs. I did buy a packet of photos from the inside of some tombs, but cannot scan and post them until I'm back home. Sorry.

What I did see is this: beautifully carved sarcophagi, wonderful etchings and heiroglyphics just like at the temples, but fully painted, and lots of chambers. The painting quite a surprise and so very colorful, even after all of these years. I paid extra to see Tut's tomb, which is the smallest of all in the Valley. He died suddenly and the tomb was made in haste. But his sarcophagus is in there, as is the boy king himself. He is the only mummy left in the Valley (the rest are in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo) and he is there in a glass case for you to look down upon. He really wasn't very big at all. On the wall by his sarcophagus, there were very large monkeys painted. This was the first time I've seen monkeys in any of the antiquities I've been in (and I haven't seen any live ones either). Apparently, they were a symbol of power in ancient Egypt.

Outside his tomb are photos taken of the discovery. Most have Carter in them. He's either standing over the mummy or doing something else that makes him seem important. There are no photos of the tomb with all of the treasures in it. They really don't know where everything was placed at all. Even more interesting is, Carter kinda didn't discover it himself. He had an Egyptian boy working for him and he ordered the kid to dig him a well. The kid picked a spot, started digging, found two steps and went and told the boss. The rest is history. Oh, and according to my guide (and I'm sorry, but I didn't get her name), Carter was in such a hurry that he cut the clothing off the mummy rather than preserving it and even damaged the mummy because he didn't take his time removing the gold mask. I lost a bit of respect for the guy today.

After viewing the four tombs, I took a bit of a hike. I walked up a trail from the Valley, over the ridge, and down to the Temple of Hatshepsut. It was damned hot, but I was determined to see the view from the top. My guide was much smarter -- she met me on the other side. Anyway, the temple is the funerary temple of the Pharoh Hatshepsut, the only female pharoh to have ruled Egypt. She was an oldest child and when her father died argued that her mother had an affair with the Sun God and so she was the rightful new Pharoh. She ruled, but wearing a fake beard and dressing like a man. Eventually she was killed by a male family member and after her death, her temple was defaced.

Then it was time to go to the Valley of the Queens. This valley has more tombs than the Valley of the Kings, but note that many of the tombs are for men (Pharoh's sons, etc.). It's called Valley of the Queens because of Nefartiti's tomb -- the best preserved of any in either valley. I went into 3 tombs there, but only one was for a Queen. They were all 3 very colorful and one even had a skeleton of a 6 month old fetus (the Queen had a miscarriage when falling after hearing of the death of one of her sons who was buried in this tomb). Nefartiti's tomb is accessible only about 2 days a week to groups willing to pay 20,000 Egyptian Pounds, or about $4,500 US. We saw a group going in, but I just couldn't afford to go in. I should have tried to sneak in.

Next, I was taken to a village that is built alongside these hills. The government has gotten many to move away and have demolish many homes to allow for further excavations. There are some holdouts, though and the guide took me to one of these homes. I was taken down some stairs to a tomb under the house. Not much there, but interesting none the less.

Our last major stop was at Deir Al Medina, which is the village where the workers who built the tombs lived. Those folks knew how to build and besides their homes, there are tombs, a temple and a few small pyramids. I went inside 2 tombs and over to the temple. I was allowed photos in these tombs and though they were small, they were nice.

We did some drive bys of other places that were largely destroyed by Nile flooding and earthquakes over the centuries, but nothing too spectacular. But what a day! I I loved every minute of it. I may go back over the the Valley of the Kings to see more tombs. Each entry ticket I buy gets me into three tombs of my choosing, so why not? In the meantime, I go to the temples on the east bank of Luxor tomorrow.

Made it to Luxor

Aswan, Abu Simbel, Felucca 084
Originally uploaded by susiebarber

Sorry, but I need to keep this brief. My hotel does not have internet access and this internet cafe does not have AC and it's hot out.

Yesterday was a bit disappointing. We only sailed about 3 hours total all day. Our captain thought it was better to sit on shore and hang out with his buddies, so myself and my French friends were a bit disappointed. We were on the Nile though and had a very relaxing day with a lot of napping and reading. We didn't swim in the Nile though -- both of our guide books warned against it.

After going ashore, we were picked up and driven to Kom Ombo and Edfu to see their temples. Edfu was definitely the best -- it's so well preserved and pretty large. Like others that I've seen, the Christians tried scratching out the faces and bodies of many of the gods and pharohs on the walls. And in some rooms, the ceilings were completely black. This was from cooking. Apparently, Christians used to hide out here from the Romans and they did quite a bit of cooking in the temple. There's even some escape routes for them.

Kom Ombo was interesting in that there was a room with 3 crocodile mummies. Unfortunately, we couldn't take photos inside.

Afterwards, we rode in a minibus up to Luxor. Our driver told us that the AC was out, so we were sweltering. And he drove like a lunatic. I was in the second row and saw the odometer hit 110 kpm on more than one occasion. The speed limit was only 90 kpm. Do the math on that one. By some small miracle, we did safely arrive at our respective hotels. Tomorrow, I leave at 7:30 for the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. I have the whole day there with a private guide. I'll do my best to post photos tomorrow night, but I may be wiped out. It could be the next morning. By the way, I'm 9 hours head of you west coasters.

From the Felucca

Aswan, Abu Simbel, Felucca 033
Originally uploaded by susiebarber

I’m writing from the felucca while thoughts are still fresh and will post when I get to Luxor.

Yesterday began with a 3:30am pickup at the hotel in Aswan. We traveled by caravan to Abu Simbel, a temple down near the Sudani border. Security was tight, but really didn’t hold us up too much. This was another temple that was moved because of the building of the High Dam. This one was much more difficult to move, though because it was carved into a mountainside. They actually broke it up into blocks (mountainside and all) and moved it to this area with a big man-made hill behind it. Ramses II had this temple built (and I’m beginning to realize what a narcisist he is) and dedicated it to the gods Ra-Harukhty, Amon, Ptah and himself. Next to it is the Temple of Nathor dedicated to his wife Nefertari. This temple was the first time that a pharoh depicted his wife as large as himself – they were usually depicted much smaller. The interior of both had some wonderful carvings and heiroglyphics, but photos were not allowed on the inside.

After returning to the hotel to collect my laundry and baggage, I was taken to my felucca. Soon after I started lounging around on deck, I was joined by two others. Andrew is a Kiwi who lives in London and his friend “Roof Top” (AKA Roof, Mr. Top, Bruce, and many other names but his real name I found out late last night is Darren) who lives in Oxford. They met 10 years ago while trying to cross the border from India into some very small country that no longer exists that I have never heard of. There had just been a political assasination, so the border was closed. They decided to travel to Nepal together and the rest is history. We sailed down the Nile together about 90 minutes or so and then went ashore to pick up 3 others: a young French couple and Uta, a German archeology student at the University of Munich.

We had a ton of fun yesterday and last night. We talked, told lots of stories, and Andrew played music from his iPhone on a portable speaker system that he brought with. After lots of silly dancing on board, loud sing alongs to Don McClean’s American Pie and some Neil Diamond (yeah, I know) we finally got to sleep about midnight. During all those hours, though, it all happened again. Turbo bonding. At least that’s what Roof calls it. Let me explain. When you travel, you are away from all of your friends and family, especially if you’re on your own like me. You meet people and with some you just instantly click. You become friends so quickly and often develop deep bonds. Andrew said that it was like turbo dating, only with friendships. The problem is, you make these big connections and then it’s time to say goodbye. If you’re luckly you get a couple of days together. In our case it was less than 24 hours because the boys and Uta both left the boat this morning to head off on other journeys. You pose for photos, hug goodbye, exchange email addresses and info for Facebook and then you’re all on your own again. It’s both wonderful and extremely sad all at the same time. I’ve had a few of these along my journey (some of the guys from The Beach, Anand, Sarita, Prem, my Romanian friends in Nepal, the Longhorns from Laredo, and now the Brit, Kiwi and German). It’s weird how you feel so lonely after you part with the turbo friends. But I only have 3.5 weeks left!

Uta and I had a talk last night about Egyptian men and I thought I’d share. When I got to Cairo, my tour operator spoke with me about the men here and how they were going to try be a little hard to take. He suggested that I wear a wedding ring and not give out my phone number. Here’s why: The men here are desperate to meet a western woman and get married. They all try to be your best friend and want to keep in touch. Not just one or two, but all. The cheap fake ring that I was wearing started putting a rash on my finger, so I took it off. Before I was pretty much left alone. Now it’s constant. When I tell them that my phone does not work here, they want an email address. I’ve been giving out one that I rarely use and after 1 day I had 8 emails from one guy alone who kept talking about how he was dreaming of me. I’d give out a fake email, but they all seem to talk amongst each other and know exactly which hotel I’m staying at and where I am going from day to day. Poor Ute has even worse problems. The tour operator who signed her up for the felucca called her and sent 3 text messages last night talking about sunsets and dreams of her. Wherever she has gone, all the men already know her name, where she’s staying, and what her plans are. While I don’t think we’re at danger for any physical harm, it’s annoying at best and just makes you want to run and hide. After reading the text messages last night, the boys were nice and stuck a bit close to Uta and myself. Our captain has been asking a lot of personal questions and had started getting overly friendly with the two of us. I explained the situation to the French couple this morning and they’re going to help me out if things get too uncomfortable.

Sailing along the Nile is very peaceful and a good change of pace. We all get off the boat tomorrow morning, so we’ll spend the day lounging around in the shade provided by the canopy, reading, sleeping and just plain relaxing. Tomorrow morning I get picked up on the side of the river, taken to a few temples and then to my hotel in Luxor. I’ll be there 3 nights – plenty of time to explore the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens and lounge at the hotel pool. After that, it’s back to Cairo. I’ve got some things to do and see there and probably an extra day or two for Alexandria.

I’ll write more later today or when I get to Luxor and put up photos and post everything. Later.

Around Aswan

Aswan 034
Originally uploaded by susiebarber

Today was a bit of a lazy day I'm afraid. I slept in pretty late, updated my iPhone software in hopes that I could sync the thing (haven't been able to do that for over a month) and then went on a brief tour of Aswan. We skipped the botanical gardens (you could see them all from the roads and they were small and weren't all that spectacular) and drove by the Christian church. Then we went to the dams.

There are two dams in Aswan. The low dam was built in 1902 by the British and got revamped and some height added over the years. But it really wasn't sufficient, so in 1971, Egypt finished work on the High Dam. This dam has 17 times more stone than the Great Pyramid of Giza and provides power for pretty much the whole country. The dam created Lake Nasser, which is the largest man-made lake in the world. It's more than 300 miles long and 10 miles wide. It stretches way down into Sudan.

After the dams, we went to a point between where we caught a boat to the Temple of Philae. This temple was built in honor of Isis. It was built mostly in the Ptolemaic dynasty, but the Romans had a hand in part of it when they came in to take over. Inside, you see Roman inscriptions as well as Italian names. Later, the Crusaders took over and turned the main hall into a church and etched crucifixes into the rock. The Crusaders also scratched off many of the detail on the original etchings. Bastards.

The temple originally stood on an island about 500 meters from where it is today. The building of the original dam caused the temple to be partially underwater part of the year. After the building of the high dam, the temple was completely submerged. The government authorized a 10-year project which moved the temple piece by piece to Aglikia Island where it stands today. There's a nightly sound and light show, but I think I'll wait and possibly do the one in Giza. All in all, an impressive temple that's immaculately preserved.

I have to go to bed now so that I can leave with the 3:45am convoy to Abu Simbel, which is 3 hours south near the Sudanese border. When I return to Aswan, I'll be put on my felucca and cruise to Luxor for 3 days and 2 nights. I'll certainly blog if I can, but I really don't think it will happen. Fear not -- I'll catch you all up when I arrive in Luxor. I have 3 nights there, so there will be plenty of time.