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.
Friday, September 26, 2008
From the Felucca
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.
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.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Around Aswan
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.
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.
Monday, September 22, 2008
My Egyptian Adventure So Far
Well, I’ve gotten some sleep, have turned in laundry to get washed, and have until 1:30pm today on my own, so here’s the big catch up on the last 2.5 days. It’s a long one – so sorry.
On Saturday night, went with my new Longhorn friends (or Aggies, depending upon which t-shirt is being worn) to the Khan al-Khalili bazaar. It’s an enormous market that winds through the streets of old Islamic Cairo. Lights were strung everywhere, people were elbow to elbow milling around and it was just so full of life. During Ramadan, everything’s very quiet and often closed during the day. Nighttime is another story. As soon as the sun goes down and everyone breaks that day’s fast, the entire city comes to life. There were tons of sidewalk cafés open, the mosques were very busy, and probably hundreds of shops. It was so much fun, but also tiring at the same time. Those girls from Texas can shop – especially once I showed them how to bargain with the locals. I have to say, I’ve learned some skills on this trip and they as well as the shopkeepers were pretty surprised. I bought nothing. There was nothing about King Tut masks, belly dancing costumes, Great Pyramid snow domes or little sphynx statues that appealed to me. Oh well, I’ll find something eventually.
The next morning, I set out with an English speaking guide and a driver to Giza, Saqarra and Memphis. The day was a bit diappointing – here’s why. The girls went separately with a Spanish speaking guide and I was on my own. This is the first time that my tour company had used this guide (a friend of a friend I heard) and he was terrible. First of all, he kept wanting me to look at his clipboard while he pointed at charts and drawings and he talked. Whenever I’d look up to see the pyramids, he’d get upset and tell me to pay attention. He actually started quizzing me like I was in school. Then he would offer to take a picture of me in front of whatever and then want to go. Totally not my style. I like to walk around, observe the scene, take photos and just soak in the atmosphere. This guy didn’t even want me to talk in between pyramids at Giza. Apparently, the car was a gift and I needed to use it. I argued that it was 100 yards or so between pyramids and that I like to walk. I even told him to take the car and I’d meet him there, but no. He got upset so I complied. Here I was at one of the 7 wonders of the world and I was there less than an hour. That includes all 3 big pyramids (there’s actually 9 there, but the other 6 are kind of in ruins), the sphynx and the “panoramic viewpoint”. He kept saying that Giza was not interesting. I disagree. Then it was off to Saqarra.
On the way, I wanted a bottle of water. The car stopped and I went to get out. But the guide insisted that I give him the money so that he could buy it for me – he’d get a better deal. When I pulled out 5 Egyptian pounds, he told me to give him my 100 pound note. He took off and came back with two bottles, one for me and one for him. This is the first time this has happened to me and I have to say that I was a little take aback. More on that later.
Saqarra is the place of the famous step pyramid, the oldest pyramid that they know of. It’s in a complex with a few other decaying pyramids, some fabulous tombs, and views of the bent and red pyramids and a series of 3 pyramids that are the newest of them all. A little aside: the bent pyramid was the first attempt at a non-step pyramid. It didn’t come out so well and the pharoh demanded a redo – that is the red pyramid. The bent pyramid was never used for anything. Anyhoo, I had to stand inside an entryway while he pulled out the clipboard and started in again. When he started the testing portion of the program, I tried to nicely joke that I didn’t come half way around the world to take quizzes and he finally backed off. I walked around a bit and asked a couple of questions, but he didn’t really answer (or couldn’t). There was an area below toward the bent pyramid that looked really interesting, but he told me that it was forbidden to go down there. There was another decaying pyramid with a large entrance and handrails that looked open for visitors, but he told me that it was forbidden to go in there as well. I then said that I wanted to walk around a bit and take photos. He reluctantly agreed and then went to sit in the shade and talk on his phone.
Well, sure enough, I saw other groups going down toward the tombs with their guides. I followed and went into the tombs along with another small group. So much for not being allowed. In one I lingered and an old man came up to me and told me to take a picture. There were signs as we entered saying that photos were not allowed in the tombs, so I said no. He grabbed my camera from me, smapped some pictures and then demanded money. I had nothing with me (my bag was in the car), so he was SOL. I have to say though, I kept the pictures. I’m not sure I have a clear conscience about that.
Afterwards, I walked over to the step pyramid and saw the workers that are restoring it. They had just got a big stone on a cart and were set to get the stone up a ramp to the pyramid, old Egyptian style. I just had to watch that and snap some photos. Soon after, we left.
Next up was Memphis, once the capital of ancient Egypt. There’s not much there but some relics that have been unearthed from various places. There is the alabaster sphynx – something my guide told me was far more important that the sphynx in Giza because it’s much more in tact. There’s also a building with a very large statue of Ramses II. There’s no legs left, so they have the statue lying down, but I have to say it’s pretty impressive.
After that, the guide wanted to take me to some shops to do some shopping. I didn’t want to. He then wanted to take me to an expensive restaurant so that we could eat and I said no. I really didn’t feel like paying for his lunch, too. I then asked if they could take me back to Giza and explained that I wanted to spend more time. The answer was no. I then asked them to drop me at Giza and explained that I would take a taxi back to the hotel when I was done. I was told that it was closing at 2pm because of Ramadan and since it was already 1:00, there would be no time. Instead, I was back at the hotel by 2. Oh, and since Micheal (the guide) handled the money all day, I had only 20 pound notes left for tips. That’s a bit outrageous of a tip, but that’s all I had and I really wanted to get away from the guy.
Later, I found out the following: the ticket office closes at 2, but I could have been there until 5 since I already had a ticket. Also, when the girls arrived back at the hotel (at 5:30), they not only were taken in multiple tombs at Saqarra, they were taken in the pyramid that I was told was off limits. That pyramid was completely full of hieroglyphics and stunning inside. They went inside a museum at Giza that I didn’t even know existed. Instead, I hung out in the hotel lobby waiting for the internet router to get fixed and for the tour operator to arrive – for 6 hours until it was time to leave for the train station to take the overnight train to Aswan. The tour operator was a little upset when I told him about the day. He handed me 100 pounds to make up for the tip and the lost time. When I come back to Cairo (and I have some extra days at the end), he’s giving me a car with no guide for a day to take me where ever I want to go so that I can do whatever I want to do. This gives me some extra time in the Egyptian Museum (I have a day scheduled as part of the tour, but hear that it is not enough) and I can go back to Giza and experience it properly.
I’m going to keep the train ride portion of this short, though the ride was not. We were supposed to catch a 10pm train (the girls and I) and be in Aswan the next morning. The train was 1.5 hours late to arrive and to make a very long story short, did not arrive in Aswan until sunset the next day. Apparently there was a train ahead of us on the tracks that kept breaking down and was backing up all trains behind it. We spent a lot of time sitting on tracks either in stations or in the middle of nowhere. We did have AC, but the trains are relics from the British era and could use a little help. And bathrooms that work a little better. And a little communication with the passengers would be nice, too. We did meet this wonderful Egyptian girl named Zaha. She was fascinated with us and we sat for a couple of hours with my Arabic phrasebook having a conversation. Like many that I met in India and Nepal, she loves the WWF. It is way more popular in other parts of the world than in the USI -- don’t get it. Anyway, she lives in Aswan and came by our hotel last night to make sure we were OK. We were.
After showers, we went out and walked along the Nile for a bit and found Aswan’s answer to the bazaar. It was more low key, but nice all the same. We stopped for dinner and I went back to the hotel while they went out shopping. The girls got up early today to go in the escourted convoy to Abu Simel to visit the great temple. It’s down near the Sudani border, but apparently spectacular and well worth the trip. I slept in and will go tomorrow. We all go on a dam, city and island tour this afternoon and then they take the evening train to Luxor. I have another night here and then start my felucca sail. I’ll have two nights on the boat as we sail downriver to Luxor. I’m then going to have 3 nights there before heading back to Cairo and then possibly a night or two in Alexandria.
By the way, my brother sent me a link to a story on CNN about some German and Italian tourists getting kidnapped in Egypt. They were at a camp in the western desert much like the Bedoin camp that I stayed at in Jordan. It was just inside the Sudani border in an area that has no border patrol. The kidnappers are demanding $6 million dollars for their release. I am going to an area just south of Aswan where there are armed guards and everything. The border in this area is highly patrolled. The escorted convoy goes several times a day every day and has had no problems, so don’t worry. I’m not.
Despite the stupid guide and my train ride, I have to say that I really like it here. Egyptians are very nice people and the atmosphere is great. I had been told by some on the tour in Jordan that Egypt is filthy and poor and very difficult. I just don’t see it. There is a little bit of garbage here and there, but for the most part, it’s fine. And while people don’t have as much as we have in the US, they certainly have way more than the Nepali. Difficult? I don’t think so. Those Aussies apparently have never been to India.
No internet access for 48 hours
Sorry everyone, but I've been unable to get on the internet for 2 days. The router for the hotel in Cairo went belly up two nights ago while I was out at the bazaar with my new Longhorn friends. Then last night began an 18 hour train odyssey to get to Aswan. I'm going to recharge the laptop, get some sleep, and then post all photos and catch you all up. But since my brother emailed me a link to a story about tourists getting kidnapped and taken to Sudan from an area 250 miles from where I am, I thought I'd let you know I'm A-OK.
Sleep is completely under rated.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Safely in Cairo
I have made it to my hotel in downtown Cairo. Before I talk about today's flight, I'm going to talk about my overall impressions of Jordan.
First of all, it's a wonderful place. I was so worried about being an American woman in Jordan, but I really didn't need to be. Everyone was very smiley and welcoming -- so much so that you actually get sick of hearing "Welcome to Jordan!". I was going to tell people that I was Canadian just to keep myself out of trouble, but those Aussies kept blowing it for me. Everytime the group was asked where we were from, someone would say "Australia, except for her (pointing). She's American." I needn't have worried though. Everyone, including men dressed in full on Arab headress and garb coming out of mosques to Muslim women dressed head to toe in black with their faces partially hidden would all smile, shake my hand, and welcome me. Don't get me wrong, many wear western clothes, but there are still many who don't. Some even told me how nice it was to see an American in Jordan after so long. The current king and queen are US educated and the prior queen was US born, so the country considers itself a friend of the US. They may hate that our government started the war in Iraq (their tourist industry has tanked as a result and they are now housing 1.2 million Iraqi refugees), but they don't hold it against Americans there.
The country is very modern and there were times that I felt like I was in the US. Besides being the first country I've been in that drives on "our" side of the road, the hotels, stores, cars, and restaurants are much more like the US than I would have thought or preferred.
The food is wonderful. From fresh cucumber and tomato salads, falafel, pita, gyro, hummus, olives, kabobs and western food, it was all fantastic.
And to top it off, there's so much history there, with over 9000 archeological sites. Not to mention desert, seas, mountains and very fertile farm land up north. But can you imagine being ploppped down in the middle of Syria, Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iraq? I don't envy their location! But it's a great place and I feel perfectly safe to visit. I could easily have done it on my own and not have done the tour.
So this morning, I woke up, had breakfast with "the girls" (two single retired women from Australia who I spent a lot of time with on this tour) and then headed to the airport. A strange thing happened -- I went to a money exchange as I entered the airport to change my Jordanian Dinar to US Dollars. After finishing that, going through massive security and arriving at my gate, I realized that the man gave me way more money than he was supposed to. Currently there's about .7 USD to 1 JD. He gave me the opposite: 1 USD to .7 JD. This means that I ended up with almost $200 extra dollars. I'm not sure it's completely his fault -- the computerized receipt showed this as well. I felt guilty and wanted to go back, but security wouldn't let me. Maybe this is karma for all of the scams and rip offs I endured in India?
My flight was relatively short, but took an interesting route. From Amman, we headed south toward the Red Sea. As we were just getting something to drink, I looked out my window and saw the 7 Pillars of Wisdom and all of Wadi Rum. I could even make out the area where we camped just a few short days ago. Fortunately, we were too high up for me to see any horny Bedoin. We then flew south past Aqaba (it was directly beneath us, so I didn't really see the town) to Saudi territory and then turned right and crossed the Sinai. I figure that we were avoiding Israeli air space. As we came down into Cairo, we passed the airport and the eastern part of the city. Then we did a bit right turn to head back to the airport to land. As we were finishing the turn, I looked out of my window again and there they were: The three pyramids of Giza and what I believe was the back of the sphynx. Awesome! I hadn't landed yet, but I have already seen them. I get the close up tomorrow. I'm pretty excited about that.
I was met at the airport, ushered through immigration and taken to my hotel. My tour operator met me here and is just the nicest guy. I have almost 6 extra days at the end of my tour, so for very little money he's added on another night for me in Aswan and a 3rd night in Luxor (there's so much to see there that it'd be nice to have another day). I also have another night in Cairo when we get back. He's going to make arrangements for me to spend a night or two in Alexandria (just north on the Med coast) as soon as I decide how long I want to stay. I'm also happy to say that I have met my 5th and 6th Americans on this long journey. Only 6 you may ask? Yes, only 6: 1 in little Cancun in Thailand; 1 on the rooftop restaurant of the hotel in Udaipur, India; 2 in an internet cafe in Kathmandu and now 2 from Laredo, Texas (only one speaks English, but so far I'm holding my own in Spanish). We're going to some outdoor market tonight at sundown when everything opens. Yes, it's still Ramadan until the end of the month.
I think that not having to stress over anything (except for how long some of those Aussies were going to hold up the bus so that they could shop) has gotten me over my funk. I'm feeling healthy again, though still rather tired, and really excited about the rest of my journey. I haven't felt that since I arrived in Kathmandu sick. Stay tuned!
First of all, it's a wonderful place. I was so worried about being an American woman in Jordan, but I really didn't need to be. Everyone was very smiley and welcoming -- so much so that you actually get sick of hearing "Welcome to Jordan!". I was going to tell people that I was Canadian just to keep myself out of trouble, but those Aussies kept blowing it for me. Everytime the group was asked where we were from, someone would say "Australia, except for her (pointing). She's American." I needn't have worried though. Everyone, including men dressed in full on Arab headress and garb coming out of mosques to Muslim women dressed head to toe in black with their faces partially hidden would all smile, shake my hand, and welcome me. Don't get me wrong, many wear western clothes, but there are still many who don't. Some even told me how nice it was to see an American in Jordan after so long. The current king and queen are US educated and the prior queen was US born, so the country considers itself a friend of the US. They may hate that our government started the war in Iraq (their tourist industry has tanked as a result and they are now housing 1.2 million Iraqi refugees), but they don't hold it against Americans there.
The country is very modern and there were times that I felt like I was in the US. Besides being the first country I've been in that drives on "our" side of the road, the hotels, stores, cars, and restaurants are much more like the US than I would have thought or preferred.
The food is wonderful. From fresh cucumber and tomato salads, falafel, pita, gyro, hummus, olives, kabobs and western food, it was all fantastic.
And to top it off, there's so much history there, with over 9000 archeological sites. Not to mention desert, seas, mountains and very fertile farm land up north. But can you imagine being ploppped down in the middle of Syria, Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iraq? I don't envy their location! But it's a great place and I feel perfectly safe to visit. I could easily have done it on my own and not have done the tour.
So this morning, I woke up, had breakfast with "the girls" (two single retired women from Australia who I spent a lot of time with on this tour) and then headed to the airport. A strange thing happened -- I went to a money exchange as I entered the airport to change my Jordanian Dinar to US Dollars. After finishing that, going through massive security and arriving at my gate, I realized that the man gave me way more money than he was supposed to. Currently there's about .7 USD to 1 JD. He gave me the opposite: 1 USD to .7 JD. This means that I ended up with almost $200 extra dollars. I'm not sure it's completely his fault -- the computerized receipt showed this as well. I felt guilty and wanted to go back, but security wouldn't let me. Maybe this is karma for all of the scams and rip offs I endured in India?
My flight was relatively short, but took an interesting route. From Amman, we headed south toward the Red Sea. As we were just getting something to drink, I looked out my window and saw the 7 Pillars of Wisdom and all of Wadi Rum. I could even make out the area where we camped just a few short days ago. Fortunately, we were too high up for me to see any horny Bedoin. We then flew south past Aqaba (it was directly beneath us, so I didn't really see the town) to Saudi territory and then turned right and crossed the Sinai. I figure that we were avoiding Israeli air space. As we came down into Cairo, we passed the airport and the eastern part of the city. Then we did a bit right turn to head back to the airport to land. As we were finishing the turn, I looked out of my window again and there they were: The three pyramids of Giza and what I believe was the back of the sphynx. Awesome! I hadn't landed yet, but I have already seen them. I get the close up tomorrow. I'm pretty excited about that.
I was met at the airport, ushered through immigration and taken to my hotel. My tour operator met me here and is just the nicest guy. I have almost 6 extra days at the end of my tour, so for very little money he's added on another night for me in Aswan and a 3rd night in Luxor (there's so much to see there that it'd be nice to have another day). I also have another night in Cairo when we get back. He's going to make arrangements for me to spend a night or two in Alexandria (just north on the Med coast) as soon as I decide how long I want to stay. I'm also happy to say that I have met my 5th and 6th Americans on this long journey. Only 6 you may ask? Yes, only 6: 1 in little Cancun in Thailand; 1 on the rooftop restaurant of the hotel in Udaipur, India; 2 in an internet cafe in Kathmandu and now 2 from Laredo, Texas (only one speaks English, but so far I'm holding my own in Spanish). We're going to some outdoor market tonight at sundown when everything opens. Yes, it's still Ramadan until the end of the month.
I think that not having to stress over anything (except for how long some of those Aussies were going to hold up the bus so that they could shop) has gotten me over my funk. I'm feeling healthy again, though still rather tired, and really excited about the rest of my journey. I haven't felt that since I arrived in Kathmandu sick. Stay tuned!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Jerash
Today was our final day in Jordan, so we took the 45 minute drive north of the city to Jerash. Jerash is a city built by the Romans around the time that they took over Petra. It's large as it is, but only an estimated 6% is excavated. Emperor Hadrian was responsible for a lot of the construction and there are about 6 churches, 3 theaters, a hippodrome, a cathedral, a mosque and several temples unearthed today. Excavation is ongoing and may take many decades to finish -- occupied homes are covering many of the ruins. It's big downfall appears to be a series of big earthquakes that have occurred over the centuries. Earthquakes are thought to be the downfall of Petra as well. While they're excavating and even rebuilding many of the structures in Jerash, I can't help but wonder what happens when they get another earthquake?
It was a little strange walking through this city. It looks so much like many of the Roman ruins that I've visited (Rome, Pompei, Villa Hadriana, etc.), but so different at the same time. What do I mean by that? Well the architecture is very much the same from other Roman ruins, but it's all made of sandstone and limestone. What I've seen in Italy is marble and granite. Kind of like looking at Merlin before and after her mega paint job (sorry everyone -- that's a reference that only the sailors will get). Also note that the Jordanians say that this is the "best preserved" Roman city in the world. I disagree. Pompei has this beat any day. But if they keep rebuilding it, who knows?
I'm going out with the "original 5" tonight. We're the group that met in Jordan and traveled to Aqaba together before the folks from Egypt joined us. Screw Ramadan, I think we'll be drinking tonight! I'm really going to miss these folks -- they've been incredibly nice to me despite the age difference and the fact that I'm a crass American. I'm going to miss them all.
Tomorrow I fly to Cairo. I signed up for a low budget tour which includes a felucca ride from Aswan to Luxor, so that ought to be fun. And most likely have some younger folks on it. The tour people will be meeting me at the airport, taking me through immigration, and transporting me to the hotel. On Sunday, I should see the pyramids!
Until I find wifi again ...
It was a little strange walking through this city. It looks so much like many of the Roman ruins that I've visited (Rome, Pompei, Villa Hadriana, etc.), but so different at the same time. What do I mean by that? Well the architecture is very much the same from other Roman ruins, but it's all made of sandstone and limestone. What I've seen in Italy is marble and granite. Kind of like looking at Merlin before and after her mega paint job (sorry everyone -- that's a reference that only the sailors will get). Also note that the Jordanians say that this is the "best preserved" Roman city in the world. I disagree. Pompei has this beat any day. But if they keep rebuilding it, who knows?
I'm going out with the "original 5" tonight. We're the group that met in Jordan and traveled to Aqaba together before the folks from Egypt joined us. Screw Ramadan, I think we'll be drinking tonight! I'm really going to miss these folks -- they've been incredibly nice to me despite the age difference and the fact that I'm a crass American. I'm going to miss them all.
Tomorrow I fly to Cairo. I signed up for a low budget tour which includes a felucca ride from Aswan to Luxor, so that ought to be fun. And most likely have some younger folks on it. The tour people will be meeting me at the airport, taking me through immigration, and transporting me to the hotel. On Sunday, I should see the pyramids!
Until I find wifi again ...
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