And...here is Jules with us!!

(The other picture is - Michaela, Manon, Karin, Richard, Les)

Happy Birthday Karin!!!

Well, this was certainly the warmest birthday I have EVER had! And one that will be very hard to beat!

March 25th dawned bright and sunny - as the last 45 days have done! Les had to work - poor baby - I think he should have had the day off in honour of my 52nd birthday. He did come home at 10 a.m. to take me to the Danat Resort Jebel Dhanna Hotel. It's the very nice, swanky hotel about 15 minutes from us. We've spent the odd day there lazing on their beach and swimming in the Gulf and I love the grass and trees and cleanliness of the place.

I was happily on the beach by 10:30 and man was it hot already. The tide was out so the walk to the water was long and even at the farthest buoy the water was only about knee high. I played in the Persian Gulf for awhile - I had too - when will I get this opportunity ever again! While I walked to find some depth, I watched a sting ray scuttle away from me. Is that what sting rays do - scuttle?? As long as he was moving away from me I was happy, and I've never seen one in an ocean before.

The beach was quiet, the busiest days are Thursday and Friday, so I had lots of peace and quiet as I suntanned and daydreamed. I finally had to move to the pool area as the day just got hotter and hotter. I swam and suntanned the afternoon away. A fighter jet flew over head at one point during the afternoon. He was so low that we could have touched the belly - and really, this wasn't a sight I wanted to see as I was sitting so close to the Persian Gulf!!

At 3:00 p.m. I went back into the hotel for the "special offer" available for residents of the area. This "special offer" was Les' gift to me! I was pampered within an inch of my life for 2 hours. A 60 minute massage, a manicure and a pedicure - Heaven!!! By the time I was done with the queen rituals, Les was back from work. We enjoyed a drink together before going outside to the lawn by the beach. Les wanted a sheesha - I think he was in withdrawal - he hadn't had sheesha since Egypt!!! The hotel sets up a great area in the evenings. It's like being in an oasis in the desert. Tents (without walls) filled with carpets, cushions, pillows, low table - very Arabian Nights! We lounged, Les smoked his sheesha and soon four of his co-workers joined us. Manon, Richard, Jules and Michaela, Les and I had a great evening of wine, laughter, sheesha, chocolate cake (I think Manon, who ordered the beautifully decorated chocolate mousse cake knows me all too well already!!). The entire grounds area between the hotel and the beach are lit up spectacularly. Feature lights on the palm trees, lanterns marking the pathways. It's magical!

I've had a birthday to remember for ever...but...50th in New York City...51st in Victoria, B.C....52nd in the UAE at the Persian Gulf...53rd will be where...?????

Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Our weather has not all been so fabulous...we had 3 or 4 days of wind and clouds and high temperatures. Unfortunately this time period was when Les and I planned to go to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Oh well, you just have to make the best of what you're given and enjoy. So we did.

Les took Thursday morning off and we were on the highway to Dubai by 8 a.m. And a good thing we left when we did because the drive was a bit white-knuckly!!! The wind was really bad and when you remember that we are living in the middle of a desert, you will imagine just what was blowing around out there - lots and lots and lots of sand. Visibility was poor, blowing sand on the highway and in some areas, the sand drifts were dangerous. This was a lot like driving in a snow storm. But the temperature was still in the high 20's and when we were in Dubai the mid 30's.

We arrived in Dubai and the wind was still with us. It was disappointing because we couldn't see as much as we wanted too. We could see the massive amount of construction that is going on in this very fast moving city. We saw the building that when completed will be the world's tallest building, tower after tower after tower - either under construction or standing tall already. You can not believe the number of cranes being used. Apparently 30% of the world's construction cranes are in use in Dubai as we speak. Not bad for a city that has been in existence for only 30 years. The traffic in Dubai reminded us of Cairo! But this time Les was driving and we didn't even have a map to navigate from!

Even without a map we managed to find a few places that interested us. The first was the Harley Davidson Shop. We stopped (of course!), looked at the bikes (and yes...like Cairo, the prices are comparable to Canadian prices), checked to see if they had t-shirts for Les (I really didn't want a repeat of the sad disaster at the Cairo Harley shop), and YAHOO!!!! success, a couple of new shirts for Les (and for me too!).

Our next adventure was to find the soukes - gold and spice - and I was told there is a sort of fabric souke too. We were happy to go around in circles for only about an hour before finally finding the souke area. Never in my life have I seen so much gold in any one place, or so many stores that sell gold all lined up one right beside the other. Wow! We had lots of fun looking at the sparkly, the tacky, the shiny, the BIG, the beautiful. And we found the spice souke too, what a wonderfully aromatic area that is. Fresh spices and herbs galore. We will be making some of our favorite cooks very happy when we get home! And of course the shawl and souvenir sellers as in Egypt. And just as pushy as the Egyptian ones, although in the end you couldn't bargain these guys down as good as we could in Egypt.

While we were walking in the soukes we were constantly harassed by men who came close whispering, "Looking for watches", "Looking for handbags...Gucci...Parada...Channel...". Many of you will remember my adventures in New York City a couple of years ago when the little Oriental people would whisper in my ear about the handbags...well, yes, you guessed it...I followed. This time though we didn't go down dark alleys and staircases but close! We went down a very narrow little street (which actually took us closer to the spice souke I might add), and up a staircase. And as in New York, Les who has an intelligent, healthy fear of what might happen to us in a narrow little street muttered not nice words to me, who is probably too stupid to be afraid, all the way. We went up the stairs and were locked into a little room full of handbags of all descriptions. And all knock-offs of the best designers. Unfortunately for Sarah, the purse queen of the Jackson family, the prices quoted for these gems was way higher than I would pay and way higher than what we paid in New York. So down the stairs we went again and this time I not only had the salesman begging me to make another offer, I had Les giving me supreme you know what. But all is well and, as I mentioned, we were now right by the spice souke!

We also went through a little area of fabric sellers. Mostly fabrics for East Indian garments and upholstery fabrics. No quilting fabric!!!

We continued on our way back to Abu Dhabi, where we spent the night at Le Meridien Hotel. Les and his co-workers stay here, in a not so expensive wing of the hotel, when they are in Abu Dhabi. It is a beautiful hotel with 4 or 5 restaurants, 3 swimming pools (a regular one with a waterfall at one end, a kiddie pool and a larger hot tubby kind of pool), tennis courts, water features, birds, trees, grass (this is very important when you live surrounded by sand all the time), and best of all...a clean, sandy beach and Persian Gulf. We anticipated spending all day Friday laying on that sandy beach and swimming in the Gulf.

Too bad the wind gods weren't with us on this one!! Friday dawned and the wind continued. We did go to the beach and I swam in the Gulf and Les was sandblasted by the blowing sand. The water was rough and kind of scary so we found ourselves a nice secluded spot in the pool area and parked ourselves there for the morning. Because the weather really wasn't cooperating, and we knew the highway wouldn't be any better today than yesterday, we left in the early afternoon. On our way out of town, my lovely man who knows me well, stopped at...STARBUCKS!!!! I have not had a latte since I left home...yes believe it! It was sooo good and I truly enjoyed every last drop.

Our drive home wasn't any better today. On this side of the highway the sand drifts were, in some areas, really bad and we were glad to do the drive in the daylight when we could see them and avoid them or at the very least slow down for them. We did arrive home safely and are planning our next little outing!

Life AFTER Egypt!

Here we are back in the United Arab Emirates trying hard to adjust to life off the Nile River!!

Les went back to work the day after we returned from Egypt and I went back to my job of...sun tanning, day dreaming on my cliff by the Gulf, e-mailing and msn-ing with family and friends, reading, x-stitching, planning new quilts...you know...all the hard things in life!!!

We have had fun though continuing this adventure of living together. It is all in preparation for our new life after April 13th when Les is finished his job here in the UAE with SNC Lavalin. They have been fabulous to him but a new employer and job await him in Alberta. He'll be working for Shell Canada at the new Up-grader Plant in Fort Saskatchewan. Yes...we will actually be living together, same time-zone, same province, same town, same house!!! Should be very interesting!!!

Our weekends (Thursday afternoon and Friday) have been spent exploring and enjoying the sun and sand. We've walked the gulf beaches finding incredible treasures of shells, had a great bar-b-que with some of Les' co-workers - fresh tuna (I've never had b-b-q'ed tuna before - in fact I've never had tuna except from a can!!), shrimp, kofta, and wine and lots of laughter, a lovely evening of French wine and French cheese brought back from France by a co-worker, and a weekend in the hustle and bustle of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

I had a fabulous time writing the Egypt daily blog. It was like being there again and I remembered so much more as I was writing. I hope you all got a chance to read it and felt like you were there with us! I've started editing the pictures we took, I'd like them to be ready for printing when we get home. We've heard from some of our new friends (Hi Helen, Ian, Sandra and Brenda!!!! We miss you already!) I received a lovely gift from Afshan (the wife of Les' clerk - we had dinner with them before we went to Egypt). She made for me - and I still can't believe she did this - a most beautiful traditional Pakistani garment. Red pants, embroidered black shirt and red embroidered scarf. It is amazing! I will be a woman of the world when I return to Canada - an Egyptian galabea, a Pakistani outfit, and...a black embroidered robe and scarf as I've seen the Muslim women wear. The weather has been delightful for this Alberta girl - March and the sun shines daily and the temperature has been anywhere from high 20's to mid/high 30's - am I in heaven?????

Day 12 - Saturday, March 3rd

We got up to have breakfast with Ian and Helen who were leaving this morning. They really made a difference to our holiday and we are so thankful to have met them and spent this dream time with them. I can hardly wait to go to Adelaide, Australia to visit with them!!

We waited with Helen and Ian for the Insight Travel agent to pick them up for their ride to the airport. We were happy to see the gentleman who had picked us up not that many days ago. We had a great conversation with him about our tour and when I mentioned that Les and I were going to make a visit to the Khan al-Khalili Souke, he insisted that he would drop us off there on the way to the airport. This is just another instance of Insight Travel going way beyond their duty! With heavy hearts we left the van at the souke and watched Helen and Ian drive away to the airport. The lovely Insight man gave us some tips for the souke and warned that we were very early and not a lot would be open, he even wanted to cross the street with us - just to keep us safe from the crazy Cairo drivers!

The souke, even when it's not really open is filthy. It's a rabbit's warren of narrow streets and alleys - lots of garbage (and who knows what), and very uneven to walk on, a combination or gravel, dirt, pavement. There was a lot of activity; delivery people on bicycles with huge flat boards or big baskets filled with pita or bread loaves, trucks, carts - all getting ready for the business day. As we walked, different vendors opened, gold, trinkets, scarves, shawls, all goods that we've seen everywhere; and lots of common household goods, clothing, etc. We stumbled onto a street of fabric sellers - rolls of upholstery fabric, bolts of cotton and heavier muslin, sheer fabrics, and baskets of fabric scraps. But, if you can believe it, I didn't buy a smidgen of fabric! The cottons looked like they were sold by the bolt and not really patterns that I would have used. We saw vendors that also sold heavy drapery trims and such. It was lovely to see though! We walked through the souke for a couple of hours and then headed back to the Marriott for our final packing, good-byes to members of our group still there, a relaxing lunch at the outdoor patio, and the wait for our ride to the airport.

We were escorted to the airport by a different agent who was also very good to us. He led us through security all the way to passport control, let us know exactly what we had to do to get to our departure gate. And then...the flight back to Abu Dhabi and the end of this holiday of a lifetime. It really was the "Splendours of Egypt" in so many ways.

We arrived in Abu Dhabi at around 10:00 p.m., met our driver and returned to our little apartment at Siemen's Camp about 1 a.m.

Tidbits from today:

• at risk of sounding like an advertisement for Insight Travel I think all of you who read this should know that they are a fabulous company who employ very highly qualified, friendly, and caring guides, staff and crew. Everything that could be done for us to make our tour easier, more interesting, safer, you name it - they did - from the time our feet landed in Cairo until we were on our way home. Nothing was left to chance, everything was organized, confirmed and ready for us at every turn. (We did witness some differences in care, organization, quality of service in the other tour company groups on our boat.)
• we used two travel books during our adventure, both very good, but I really liked the Eyewitness Travel Guide the best for everyday use. They were: "Eyewitness Travel Guides - Egypt" and "Lonely Planet Egypt"

Day 11 - Friday, March 2nd

Our last day...we are so sorry to see the end of this tour.

The first destination today is to the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara (which is very close to Cairo). This is the oldest pyramid in existence and it is said to be a prototype for the pyramids of Giza and all other pyramids that followed. It was built in the 27 century BC - that is almost 5000 years ago - not easy to comprehend. The small temple that we went through first is also the same age and made of sandstone. Some parts of the wall and pillars have been rubbed to a shine with the passing of years and hands rubbing on them, the other parts are the dull sheen of sandstone. I was able to take a picture of Les and his reflection in part of the wall in this temple. The sand in this area is so very fine and clean. Habibi mentioned that a lot of people take sand from here because it is so nice.

The area that we drove through on the way to Saqqara was very dirty, poor and medieval. Because it is Friday, it's a busy market day, day off from school and work. Lots of people, donkey carts, activity. This is all really interesting and the travel books don't tell you how the people live and what is acceptable to them. The small river or channel we drove beside on the way to Saqqara is full of garbage, the occasional dead animal, rats and STILL people were fishing in it (we saw them). Few or no motor vehicles, just donkey carts, horses and the occasional camel. No roofs on the mud brick houses, just dried rushes in some places. But the people all seem to be very hard working.

From Saqqara we went to Memphis (no, not Tennessee!!) to see the huge, but fallen, limestone statue of Ramses II and the alabaster sphinx. Memphis was the capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom and most of the Paranoiac period and was thought to be founded about 3100 BC. What is left of the statue of Ramses II - from top of head to knees - is huge and great to see up close. You can really see the detail that you wouldn't see if the statue was still standing. The sphinx is from the 18th Dynasty (from 1550 - 1290 BC), weighs 80 tons and is the largest calcite statue ever found. the village of Mit-Rahina sits above the old city of Memphis - I wonder what's still down there - if anything?

The area of Saqqara is famous for its carpet schools. There are many of them along the way to the Step Pyramid and we stopped at one for a visit. They make lovely silk and cotton carpets. From very traditional looking eastern carpets in all sizes to ones with designs reminding me of Navajo Indian rugs. Again we were treated to refreshments and clean bathrooms!!! I was able to go downstairs and see a couple of looms and weavers. The heavier carpets were woven on traditional floor looms and the lovely silk carpets were done on what looked like upright tapestry looms.

And now...we headed to the Pyramids of Giza, the only one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World to have survived to out day. This was, when we left home, to be one of the highlights of our tour. The 3 pyramids are truly a sight to be seen - we've seen them in the night and now in the bright light of day! We stopped at the Great Pyramid of Cheops - it is the largest and oldest in this Giza area - it stood 146 metres high when it was completed around 2570 BC (that's more than 4500 years ago!) You can;t imagine the size of it until you are standing right there beside it, or up on one of the blocks. Visitors are allowed to climb up to the original entrance which is now blocked and it was fabulous to be able to do that - the chance of a lifetime! We got some very good pictures of Cairo from the area just in front of the Great Pyramid, it really is amazing to see how close the city is to this area.

We drove up behind the 3 pyramids to an area where you can see all three at a good angle. This is also where there are so many camels and handlers all waiting for the tourist who want to ride a camel!! Our Habibi introduced us to a camel master who has a set, fair price for a ride and a picture, and wouldn't take us out of sight of Habibi. Of course I wanted to ride a camel and I was led to my little camel handler, Abraham, who is 14 years old, and his camel Charlie, a lovely 6 years old!! Charlie had on a very colourful blanket under the saddle and even though he was at his resting position, the saddle seemed so high up! But...wimpy but brave cow/camel girl that I am...I got on Charlie. Abraham led Charlie and I over some very rocky, bumpy terrain to an area where you could see the pyramids in the distance and let Les take a picture, then Charlie kneeled down so that Les could get on and Abraham could take a picture with our camera. Off got Les, up got Charlie (ooooohhhh I don't really like that getting up part), and back we went to our starting point. We had already paid the camel master for the ride and for the picture (that we took with our own camera) but Abraham's dad miraculously appeared and tried to get more money from us. Habibi saw this and yelled in Arabic to Abraham's dad who just as quickly disappeared again. Abraham, an Egyptian entrepreneur in training, did get some extra baqshish from us because he had done a very good job!

From here we went to the front of the 2nd pyramid, the Pyramid of Khafre. This is the pyramid that you can go inside of. Les and I both declined this honor, both because of a bit of claustrophobia. Habibi did say that there is really nothing inside to see, it's a long, hot, narrow, low passageway and that helped us make up our already doubting minds. Instead I went for a walk up to the pyramid. And was so very sorry that I did. I was appalled. A lot of people who looked like they were living there; a whole bunch of kids, running and screaming and seemingly out of control; camels, donkeys, horses, (and their leavings) and their handlers, harassing anyone within earshot to take a ride; and garbage beyond belief. The poor animals were in very bad condition and the camels were made to kneel down on the rocks and debris and broken glass so that people could get on them. I wish I hadn't gone up there.

Now we were going to see the Sphinx up close! And wouldn't you know it - our camera battery died. Even though we re-charged it every night, we sometimes took so many pictures a day that the battery just got tired. Les did find a guy selling disposal cameras (of course - you can find anything for sale here!) Our pictures of the Sphinx are on that camera and that's why we haven't sent any out to you. The Sphinx is beautiful and now more than ever I think that our Jack does look like the sphinx when he lays on the floor watching his family! I couldn't believe we were this close to the Sphinx. You can't get close enough to touch him though but the walkway to see him is very close. Even with his shot off nose he was not to be missed!

Even with my disappointment at the Pyramid of Khafre, I am so glad to have seen this today. Les and I both always dreamed of coming to Egypt to see the Pyramids, but I don't think we really could understand just what we would feel if we did see them.

Back to the hotel with very sad faces. This is the end of our tour. We have a final good-bye to Walid and to some of our group who were leaving later in the night. We would not be together as a group again. (I think that it might have been as hard for Habibi to say good-bye to us - we were a great, fun group!!) This entire tour has been like a dream. Egypt isn't just the Pyramids and the Sphinx, we discovered Temples and treasures that we, even now are having a hard time comprehending. We will always thank our Habibi for giving us such a gift - his knowledge and love of his country were gifts to US. We will pray for Walid to receive his own life's desires, dreams and blessings.

Tidbits from today:

• Happy Birthday Leah!!!!
• while we were at Memphis we were harassed by a very pushy "sales person" - all of us on our tour are by now very discriminating bargain hunters and didn't like the mans goods or his prices so no one bought...I heard him call us "cheap shits" as he finally walked away!!
• the police who guard in the pyramid area all ride camels - they don't seem to do anything except try to get baqshish from anyone who looks like they might be taking a picture of them
• the entire area around the pyramids and sphinx is an area of many, many camels, donkeys, and horses and their owners
• as with the Sphinx, a lot of the temples and statues that we saw had been used as shooting practice targets over the centuries - by occupying military artillery
• on the way to the hotel from Giza, Habibi told us about the problems Cairo has with the garbage - the citizens won't pay for garbage pick-up so the people just throw it out, wherever - the city is thinking of starting to add the price of garbage pick-up to the electricity bill - but I really don't know how they will clean up the mess of many, many years
• the green fields within Cairo are almost all gone - selling out, building houses

Day 10 - Thursday, March 1st

We had final packing and good-byes to our favorite Giselle crew members. I really think they will be sorry to see our group go, we were a lot of fun and we included the crew in that fun when they were around.

We left at 8:00 a.m. for our flight back to Cairo and were at the Marriott Hotel by noon. Habibi had given Les the address of the Cairo Harley Shop and he was anxious to check it out! We took a cab to the haven of all Harley riders. The store was very HD traditional in look - a few bikes in the showroom (and yes...for our HD reader friends, the prices are the same as in Canada), and upstairs the boutique - clothing and stuff! Les dearly wanted a t-shirt from Cairo and so we looked...and we looked...and we looked...and...we found the largest t-shirt in the store...just barely big enough for me... Sadly, we left the store without a shirt for my big guy! We decided to walk back to the hotel, just to walk off the blues, and had another great look at the insanity of Cairo. We had almost forgotten the traffic, the smog, the huge numbers of people.

We enjoyed a nice mid-eastern dinner under the stars at the Egyptian Nights Restaurant in the hotel''s courtyard with Helen and Ian (we love this couple and will definitely keep this friendship alive), Les of course enjoyed his sheesha after dinner.

Tidbits from today:

• we have had sunshine and the blue skies everyday of our tour - only the one day of iffy weather and even that wasn't so bad
• our cab ride to the Harley shop was an experience - it's one thing to be in a big bus and going through the streets of no rules, but it's quite another to be at street level in a little cab - the "merging", the horns, the crazy turns...insane!

Day 9 - Wednesday, February 28th

We sailed to Edfu during the night and will have a very quiet day of cruising. We had a tour of the "Bridge" and met the 2 captains of our ship!

Apparently, piloting the cruise boats of the Nile River, is a family industry. All boat pilots are from the same area and learn from their dad's, grandpa's, uncle's and learn from a very young age. During school holidays boys from as young as 7 years old come aboard and learn. And they continue until they are done school and start to apprentice on boats. Our two captains are uncle and nephew.

We stopped at Esna to wait for our turn to go through the locks again. This time we don't get to shop from the floating market though...too bad!!! Once we were on the other side of the lock - the floating market side - we saw quite a few boats having the fun we did a few days ago. And let me tell you, experiencing it from this side of the river is almost as much fun. As we passed the boats we could hear the yelling and laughter!

We had a "Habibi Group" meeting in the afternoon. We talked about our tour so far, asked questions that we had - a little knowledge is dangerous - the more we knew the more we wanted to know - poor Habibi!! We talked about what we would be doing once we arrived back in Cairo, the tour isn't over, we still have sights to see! Walid interpreted our papyrus pictures for us - he knows EVERYTHING!

We had a fabulous last dinner and Les thanked the dining room crew for taking such care of us and feeding us so well. After dinner Les and Habibi went for a sheesha and some male bonding. This is our last night on board and it's a sad one.

Day 8 - Tuesday, February 27th

Another early morning today! We had to be up and at the airport in Aswan for our flight to Abu Simbel by 7:30 a.m. Abu Simbel is 280 kms south of Aswan and only 40 km north of the Sudanese border, on the edge of Lake Nasser. We are here to visit 2 temples, The Great Temple of Ramses II, and the Temple of Hathor, dedicated to his wife Nefertari. These 2 temples were hewn out of a solid cliff 1300 years BC and are the most amazing structures we've seen (really - THE most amazing.....).

Amazing they are and for more than one reason. This was a site in danger of being lost forever, submerged in Lake Nasser after the construction of the Aswan High Dam. Again, UNESCO came to the aid of Egypt and the world, saving these incredible temples. They dismantled and reconstructed the 2 temples, rebuilding them 90 meters higher on the banks of Lake Nasser, exactly as they had been before and I personally thank them from the bottom of my heart.

Our Habibi spent a long time explaining to us what we would see within the temples. We were not allowed to go in as a group and we needed to know what we would see inside, hear the explanations of who, what, why and when that Habibi always imparts and what the most important things we should take notice of were.

As we stood in front of this massive structure, the Temple of Ramses II, we discovered that each statue of Ramses is 20 metres high, the distance from ear to ear is 4 metres and the lips measure 1 metre wide (that's quite the smile!!) One of the statues was broken during an earthquake in 27 BC and when UNESCO moved and reconstructed the temple they put the broken pieces back exactly as they found them. The Hypostyle Hall with it's amazingly huge statues of Osiris with the features of Ramses makes you feel like a small ant, the carvings, the paintings, the symbolism, the stories on the walls are indescribable. All that we see is very clear and so easy to look at. Everywhere you look, this temple has something else to make your chin drop. But for me the most incredible moment happened when I was walking around in the Second Pillared Hall. I came around a corner and was faced with a painting of Hathor presenting a gift to Nefertari. For some reason this set me back on my heels and stunned me. I experienced one of those "Oh My God" moments that will never leave me. I still don't know what this was but...oh my...oh my... The Inner Sanctum of this temple is magical. Along the back wall, 65 metres from the front entrance of the temple sits Ptah (god of darkness & of the dead), Ra-Harakhty (god of rising sun), Ramses II and Amun-Ra (sun god). Only twice a year, once in February and once in October does the sun ever penetrate this far into the sanctum. And all but Ptah are illuminated - Ptah is always in darkness. Elaborate planning and logic from the 13th Century BC! I went back again and again to the Second Pillared Hall.

The smaller temple at this site - The Temple Of Hathor - dedicated to Nefertari, was so beautiful and feminine. Of course there were a lot of paintings and statues of Ramses here as well! Nefertari was Ramses favorite wife and the hypostyle hall in this temple is decorated with scenes of Ramses slaying Egypt's enemies, watched by Nefertari. The vestibule shows the royal couple making offerings to the gods.

The entire site is fabulous and the view to Lake Nasser beautiful. And really...this is the day and the temple that will stay with me forever. (Do you remember that in Day 4 we visited the papyrus paper shop? And, I said that we purchased some pictures and that most of them were scenes from Abu Simbel?? This was very eerie - the pictures I was drawn to earlier in the week turned out to be from the very temple that spoke to me the most!!!) I'm glad we didn't see this temple at the beginning of the tour. It is so outstanding and spectacular that the other temples would have paled in comparison.

Les and I had time to reflect on this temple and soak up the sun in a nice little garden cafe. For me that meant dreaming about what I saw and for Les it meant enjoying a lovely apple flavoured sheesha!!

On arrival back to Aswan, we left port to head back toward Luxor, sadly this is more than the mid-way point of our tour and we have seen the majority of the sights scheduled. We did have a quiet afternoon, sitting on the deck, laughing, chatting, watching Nile life flow by, and teasing the bartender (a lovely man with a GREAT sense of humour). We landed in Kom Ombo and some of us female Habibi's went shopping! We have lots of fun together and we are getting quite good at "tough bargaining" with the Egyptians!!

Day 7 - Monday, February 26th

During the night we cruised from Kom Ombo to Aswan. When we moor at these towns we can be anywhere from the first boat at shore to the 6th. These boat captains are amazing! They pull up parallel to the lobby doors of the last boat moored so that as we walk from our boat to shore, we walk through the lobby's of the other boats we are next too - and passengers from other boats walk through ours. It is amazing to see all of these boats side by side out into the middle of the Nile and unfortunately we didn't take a picture of this incredible sight!

Our first visit of the day is to the Unfinished Obelisk. This gigantic obelisk is semi-finished and if it had been completed would have weighed 1,197 tons and stood 134 feet high. a flaw was discovered in the granite and so the obelisk was abandoned and still partially attached to the rock.

From here we drove across the first dam of Aswan to the Aswan High Dam. Our Habibi, who is a political professor (and visiting Archaeology professor at private universities) in his other life, gave us a very good condensed version of the political history of Egypt from the time King Farouk's power was taken away (26 July 1952) and Colonel Nasser was elected President in 1956 to the present day. The associations with other countries, the choices made that were not good for Egypt, the problems that have occurred for and in Egypt because of decisions made these last 50 years.

The construction of the Aswan High Dam increased the agricultural & hydroelectricity production of Egypt and saved the country from famine but the environmental consequences have been high. The construction of the dam formed Lake Nasser and destroyed monuments and temples of Ancient Egypt, silt that previously flowed through the length of the Nile is held up in the Lake. The lack of silt forces the farmers to use harmful chemicals and has changed the plant and animal life in the river. If this dam broke (or was destroyed), the enormous Lake Nasser would be freed and the entire Nile Valley civilization could be wiped out in 7 hours - from Aswan to Alexandria.

One of the temples affected by the creation of Lake Nasser was the Temple of Isis on the Island of Philae. It was partially submerged after the building of the first Dam and the threat of greater flooding with the completion of the High Dam was a great concern. In the 1960's the rescue of the temple complex was organized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, & Cultural Organization). Between 1972 & 1980, the complex was disassembled & removed stone by stone from Philae and reconstructed 20 meters higher on nearby Agilkia Island, which was even landscaped to resemble the sacred Isle of Isis. We were taken by motor boat to the Temple of Isis, a beautiful, feminine feeling temple. It's surrounded by water (of course - it's on an island!), beautiful flowering trees and just shear loveliness! It was a lovely temple to see on such a sparkly, sunny day!

Next stop on this very busy day was to a perfumery. The Nubian people, the native Egyptians, grow the flowers and supply the flower essences for perfumes around the world. They have for sale, the essences that are supplied to Channel, Hugo Boss, Clinique, Yves St. Laurent, etc., and beautiful perfume bottles. The essences are very strong and powerful and last for years in the perfume bottles - they last longer than the perfumes that are created from them.

This is a very busy day!! Our next adventure is a felucca ride. A felucca is the traditional canvas-sailed boat of the Nile. They are so quiet and peaceful to sail on. We sailed around Elephantine Island, past the Botanical Gardens and the Mausoleum of the Aga Khan. The felucca boats are Nubian family businesses. Our boat is sailed by 2 brothers who also entertain and sell traditional crafts on the boat! One of the brothers sang us a song in his language and then showed us the hand crafted wares he had for sale - carved wooden camels & donkeys, camel bone jewellery & letter openers, crocheted hats. All for a very good price of course and many of us supported his industriousness!!!

A few of us more adventurous tourists (Helen, Ian, John-from N. Saanich, B.C., Les and I) left the beaten track and explored the back streets of Aswan. This had a totally different look and feel than what we got from the street along the shore line. We did do a little business with some of the vendors and got a taste of the everyday life of these Egyptians!! We have pictures!!!

Our entertainment on board this evening was Nubian! Another Whirling Dervish, singers and dancers, it was very African sounding and lively!!!

Tidbits from today:

• The Nubian people are the original Egyptians - about 320,000 in population - no written language oral only - only Nubian's are allowed to speak the language - aren't allowed to marry outside of their culture (although how they will control this I don't know)

A bit of this and that!!

I have been re-reading what I've written to date and feel that I've not gone anywhere near doing justice to the wonders and glories of this ancient world. I haven't touched on the fact that a lot of the pillars in the temples are carved in the shape of papyrus stalks - all with either closed buds or open flowers. Or that a lot of the temples were built over the time period of many Pharaoh's lives. Or that some of the cartouches in the temples were left blank because the workers got tired of carving the ruling Pharaoh's hieroglyphic name in the cartouch only to have to chip it away and put in a new Pharaoh's hieroglyphic name. Or that each Pharaoh tried to out do the preceding Pharaoh by having his paintings and carvings more lifelike and elaborate than the Pharaoh before. I haven't told you the story that our Habibi told us of the protector of a Pharaoh's concubines who did such a good job of protecting the women during the Pharaoh's absence that they were all pregnant on the return of the Pharaoh. As a punishment, the Pharaoh cut off one arm of this man. Perhaps, the Pharaoh cut off the wrong body part!!!! There are so many things that we learned as we went through the temples and the sites that I remember as I look at pictures and think back on our tours, but are so hard to put to paper. I hope that as you read my account of our adventures you will forgive me for not giving you more actual information. I truly wish I had taped all of what our Habibi said to us during our tour - I truly wish he would write a book!!!

I hope that all of you know that as the blog gets bigger, some of the posts are "hidden". To get these back to read - or to see just what we've put on, look under Sarah's post "Why we are doing this". Beneath the picture of Les and I is the title "Blog Archive" - the number beside each month indicates the number of posts from that month. Just click on the name of the month and all of the posts from that month will appear. You can go back and forth, month to month to read about our adventures.

I have failed to mention one of our Habibi's favorite sayings - "mashi mashi habibi" - which means "okey dokey my love"! When he explained, gave us directions, told us to be careful, laughing with us about something, he ended with - "mashi mashi habibi". I will always remember this phrase when I think of our Habibi. When he told us about options for activities he would say something like - and for those Habibi's who want to shop...or...those Habibi's who want a sheesha...or...watch your step Habibi...or...or...or... - can you tell that we came to love our Habibi!!!

Our Habibi also informed us that in Egypt things like - traffic lights, traffic lanes, taxi meters, cross walks - all are for decoration ONLY and mean nothing to an Egyptian!!

Day 6 - Sunday, February 25th

We moored in Edfu during the night and were woken to the call to Mosque! We were the first boat to moor and so we were closest to shore. The view was great! The mosque, shops, horses and carriages, some birds on the shore. The day is sunny and bright, whatever was in the air yesterday is gone.

Our first temple visit of the day is to the Temple of Horus. Horus was the son of Osiris and Isis who were the children of Geb (earth) and Nut (sky). Horus is one of the most famous gods of Ancient Egypt - he was the god of the sky, a symbol of divine kingship, and the protector of the ruling king. Every pharaoh was an incarnation of the falcon-headed Horus, who according to legend conquered Seth, the evil god of Upper Egypt. Seth, the god of turmoil and confusion, murdered Osiris, Horus' father. Horus avenged his father's death and so became the god of order and justice. Therefore the pharaoh in Ancient Egypt became Horus on earth, the ruler of the two lands - Upper and Lower Egypt. During one of the many fights that Horus fought against Seth, he lost an eye. This "Eye of Horus" has become the symbol of victory over evil. Now I'm sure you are asking yourself why I've gone into such detail about Horus...well...the reason is...Les has decided that Horus is his favorite god and I'm sure all of you will hear and see a lot of Horus in the years to come! (Think new tattoo!!)

The Temple of Horus is a relatively new temple - construction started only about 2100 years ago - in 237 BC and continued to about 51 BC. The pylons (front walls) of this temple are so impressive with the sunken reliefs still so very clear. The statue of Horus (which is inside the temple walls) as a falcon, is the picture that I've put on the blog announcing our return to the UAE from Egypt.

We had time to "shop" after leaving the temple. Lots of vendors in this area - they know where to go for optimum exposure to us bargain hunting tourists! At the beginning of our tour I was a bit saddened by the fact that we weren't getting a lot of shopping time. But as the days have gone by, I have come to understand and to thank our Habibi for the the very short amounts of time he allows us to be "harassed" by the vendors! It is so very overwhelming to be constantly pushed and prodded and, for lack of a better word, harassed, by the vendors that short spurts of time in their vicinity is more than enough. As you walk by their booths, you can't even slow down without being harangued. And don't touch anything - you might just as well buy it then - "no" does not mean "no" to these guys! But if you keep a sense of humour and are firm and just walk away sometimes they got the hint! A half hour of shopping was always more than enough, after that amount of time, we were tired out and losing our hold on that sense of humour!! One thing I noticed all over Egypt is that Les' tattoos got a lot of notice and a lot of fearful respect. I think they made some people afraid of him and always when he said "no" they got it!

Our afternoon was spent cruising to Kom Ombo. We sat on deck, listened to classical music and watched Egypt float by. (Edvard Grieg's, "Peer Gynt" played at one point!!)

On arrival in Kom Ombo, we visited the Temple of Kom Ombo. This temple building is totally symmetrical with 2 entrances, 2 halls, & 2 sanctuaries because it is dedicated to 2 gods - the left side to the falcon god "Horus the Elder" & the right side to the local crocodile god "Sobek". It is a lovely sight in the evening and the shadows and lighting made the story our Habibi told us of how the High Priest at the time used "smoke and mirrors" to get more money from the Pharaoh much more interesting!!

This was the evening for our traditional Egyptian food, entertainment and fun! We all changed into galabeas (Egyptian clothing). Our robes and headdresses made us feel very Egyptian and we all had a great time! The food was fabulous, as always, but it was all Egyptian - lamb, rice, kofta, and much more, with the famous "om ali" for dessert. The crew entertained us with Egyptian singing and music, we played a few games, conga danced our way around the lounge, laughed lots and had a great evening.

Tidbits for the day

• again Walid (our Habibi) explained the differences in the temples we saw today compared to other temples we've seen - and what makes these ones important - and what are the most important things to notice
• life on the Nile south of Luxor is different than north - here in the south more vehicles, houses, factories & garbage can be seen
• we mostly have to pay to use the toilets - always a woman at the door with the toilet paper in one hand and the other out for an Egyptian pound (really only about 20 cents)

Day 5 - Saturday, February 24th

Today will be a big day - The Valley of the Kings Day!!! We were off the Giselle and on the road by 7 a.m. Today is less sunny than we've had, not smoggy, not windy, not hazy, just different. We drove through the town where the carvers of the tombs lived and it is still very populated and life here seems to have not changed a bit in the centuries that have passed.

Habibi spoke at length to us on the way to the Valley of the Kings and continued on once we arrived. He will not be allowed to lecture us while we are in the tombs and we can go into any 3 that we wish. Of course he told us the 4 best to tour and also explained that even though we could go into Tutankhamun's tomb (for an additional charge) there really wasn't much left and that the treasures are in the Museum in Cairo. The entrances to the tombs all seem to lead off a trail that weaves its way through the valley and not all tombs are open either because of danger of cave in or current archaeological work occurring.

Between Les and I we went to all 4 of the best tombs. Together we went to Tomb #2 for Ramses IV and Tomb #11 for Ramses III. Les went to Tomb #6 for Ramses IX and I went to Tomb #8 for Merneptah. Because these tombs have been closed for centuries and they are protected from light, wind and the elements, the preservation in them is outstanding. You can clearly see the painted surfaces (the paints are from natural dye sources - plants, ground up minerals, etc and that lasts much longer than our dyes today!) - in some places the walls aren't carved, they are painted and in other places they are carved and painted. But the images are so clear. It was very warm in the tombs, and some of them were a long way down, I really thought it would be cooler in them. The trails used by the tomb carvers to get from the small town to the work sites are still noticeable in the hills. This was a very magical area (I know, I seem to say that about everywhere we go, but... ) you can feel the power and the energy here still.

From the Valley we drove to the Temple of Hatshepsut. This temple from first sight looks like just a front wall carved onto the face of the cliff. But...once you climb all of those steps you can go inside the temple. Very different!! There is much excavation going on here and a lot of re-construction has occurred. It is thought that Hatshepsut is the Egyptian Queen who found Moses floating in the basket in the Nile.

Next we went to the Colossi of Memnon. These 2 statues of Amenhotep III originally guarded Amenhotep's mortuary temple and are all that remain. They are very impressive in height and are currently being worked on - there is a lot of archaeological digging going on in this area as a lot of tombs have been discovered under the roadway here.

Alabaster is found in this area and so it stands to reason that there will be a lot of "Alabaster Stores" here! Habibi took us to one. Whenever Habibi takes us to these "stores" we can be sure that they are the best quality, cleanest, and most reasonably priced. We get an education on the production of whatever art form is displayed and special offers if we purchase. Free soft drinks, tea and very clean bathrooms are available for our use. Habibi corrects the vendors if they try to over charge us and is always available to help us differentiate between the phony and the good quality. After our visit, Habibi presented us each with a lucky scarab made at this store.

Now...back to walk the gang plank onto the Giselle! From Luxor we cruise toward Edfu, going through the Esne Locks. Now here we begin an adventure that I will NEVER forget!! As we approached Esne we knew that we would have a wait before going through the locks - there were other cruise boats ahead of us and of course first come first served. And in this case, lots of fun would be ours during this time of waiting!! Habibi told us today about this experience but words did not even come close to describing this event. The vendors of Esne are very ingenious. They don't wait for us tourists to come to them, they can come to us, no matter where we might happen to be - even if it's in the middle of the Nile River!! We could see in the distance lots of little boats rowing like mad toward us. Here was the approach of the "Floating Market" - this market could be 20 or 30 boats that will attach themselves onto our boat. Small 2 man boats - 1 rower and 1 hawker hooked themselves onto our boat. The rower keeps the boat as steady as he can, and the hawker stands on the prow of the boat and shows shawls, galabeas (Egyptian robes), rugs, scarves, whatever he might have for sale. He engages you in interest for his goods. And don't forget, we are up on the sun deck and they are 4 stories below on the Nile. He yells, "Hey lady", "hey my friend", "what's your name", etc., etc., etc. Whether you are interested or not (and let's face it, we were interested in anything he might be selling) he wraps up tightly, in a plastic bag the goods and then tosses it up into the air. Watching this, you think it will fall right back down to him but in some strange way, as the package gets to our height it just magically swings over, sometimes almost into our hands, but most certainly lands on the floor. This is truly the funniest thing!! My new friend Helen and I were together on deck when all this excitement and noise started. When the first package "arrived" we laughed so hard we could hardly open it. But we soon became expert in negotiating for what we wanted. By this time Les and Ian joined us and assisted in the bargaining. The price began at 750 Egyptian pounds for a shawl/blanket type article - but if you want more the price could go down! And so it went up and down - our offer - the counter offer. The seller didn't want anything to come back to him but money and he kept sending up shawls of different colours (but he knew exactly what he had thrown up to us) and the bartering was vicious! When we offered a low price the seller would put his hands on his hips, shake his finger at us , shake his head and yell "you come up and I'll come down". We'd offer a bit more and he'd shake his finger and laugh - it was such a good show! We finally got the price down to 150 Egyptian pounds for 3 shawls and our little salesman sent us up another plastic wrapped package that we were to put our money into and throw back down to him. This fun was going on all over the sun deck of the Giselle! Some of the packages both with just goods and with money in them were missed by the sellers, but there were a couple of boats behind that were catching all the "missed" bags and returning them to the rightful owner. All of this lasted right up until the moment we were approaching the lock and then we could see them all rowing like mad to the next boat waiting their turn. We did laugh about this spectacle and talk about it for days to come!

We enjoyed a lovely candle light seafood sit down dinner this evening. We all dressed up a bit and enjoyed not having to line up at the buffet.

Tidbits from the day:

• saw a lot of hot air balloons taking off from an area very close to the Valley of the Kings - apparently a morning ride over the Valley is very popular
• today Walid told us about the education system, compulsory military service and the method they use to encourage young people to further their education by finishing school and going on to university, our Habibi certainly always does give us way more than just the facts
• Habibi told us we should have paid 30 pounds each for our shawls. We paid 50 Egyptian pounds a piece and were happy to pay the additional 20 each for entertainment!!! (At 50 pounds we paid $10 Canadian dollars for each shawl - worth it to us!)

Day 4 - Friday, February 23rd

We were up and off the boat by 7 a.m. today - sleeping in isn't an option on this trip if you want to see EVERYTHING. We seem to leave earlier than the other tour groups on the boat and it's fine with us. When we get to the Temples and sights there aren't a lot of other people around and we get a great look at things and we get a lot done before the heat of the day is unbearable.

Our first visit today is to the Temple of Hathor. This temple is fabulous. The roof is intact and every surface is either raised or sunken relief, lots of painted surfaces that can still be seen especially in the ceilings. The Christians who lived in the temple centuries ago caused a great deal of damage - their cook fires caused smoke damage to the ceilings, they carved out the faces of Hathor in the carvings on the walls. A huge relief on an exterior wall shows Cleopatra making offerings to Hathor. Caesarion, her son by Julius Caesar is clearly shown as well. It is mind-boggling to understand that these carvings made about 3000 years ago are still clear enough for us to see easily.

We cruise back to Luxor after all tour groups have returned to the boat. A number of us sat up on the sun deck watching life on the Nile flow by, getting to know each other, comparing traditions and life experiences between Canada and Australia. Watching how the Nile people live is in itself is a constant education and source of incredibility - we watched a man reach down, clear the oil slick off the top of the water, scoop up a cup full and DRINK the Nile water! Now, this would kill us with our queasy, clean living stomachs but the Nile living Egyptians can handle it!

We arrived in Luxor in the very early evening and our armed guards left us. We enjoyed a horse and carriage ride to the Luxor Temple that is dedicated to the Theban triad of Amuc, Mut and Khonsu. What an amazing temple this is. By the way...every temple we see seems to be even better and more inspiring than the last! But this temple is beautiful! The avenue of sphinxes (which once stretched almost 2 km. from Luxor to Karnak) but now is not that long is still incredible; the huge pink granite obelisk; the two enormous seated colossi of Ramses II, the enormous front wall...all leave you breathless. This temple is very special in many ways (according to our Habibi!) Not only is it a temple dedicated to Egyptian gods but there is a Mosque and one of the antechambers was converted into a church by the Romans in the 4th century AD. There is a belief that many treasures are still buried under the Mosque but because it is holy ground it will not be desecrated. We were still at this temple as the sun set and the lighting within it really brought out the magic - so lovely!!

On our way back to the Giselle, we stopped at a place where they make Papyrus paper pictures. One of the makers showed us how the papyrus paper is made and how to tell the difference between the authentic papyrus paper and the banana leaf paper that many street vendors try to pass off as papyrus. The paper is then painted on by art students and these pictures sold from this shop. Most of the pictures were scenes taken from actual reliefs in temples throughout Egypt. Les and I found quite a few that we liked and our Habibi looked at them and told us that most we had chosen were scenes from the Temples at Abu Simbel (this will be an important fact on day 8 of our tour-remember it!!!).

Back to the Giselle for a relaxing dinner and an evening of Egyptian entertainment. Egyptian musicians, a belly-dancer (not the dancer of many veils as we see at home - this young lady didn't move with quite the same vigor and had more of an evening dress on), and a "Whirling Dervish". We'd never seen such a dancer. Constant circular movement with clothing that flipped and moved as if watching a multi-coloured spinning top. It was dizzying!!

Tidbits from today:

• on the way to the Temple of Hathor in Dendara we travelled by farms and saw no vehicles (except for the armed guard that stayed with us until our return to the boat) - the farmers use donkey carts
• houses have no roofs because there is no rain - the animal shelters do have long grasses on top to protect the animals from the sun - all people are in traditional dress - homes are made of mud/straw bricks - lots of lush crops of banana, date, sugar cane, wheat
• Habibi explained the way of life, history, culture, economy of today and in the time of growth of the temple
• today was the first time I've ever "walked the gang-plank" - as we left the Giselle
• houses and apartments in urban areas are left unfinished (you can see the re-bar coming through the concrete at the top of buildings) so that the owners don't have to pay the construction tax
• Habibi constantly tells us when we should tip, what we should pay for goods for sale at any site, and he warns us of any scams that might occur
• the staff on the Giselle are talented, funny and helpful - the head chef-Medhat; the waiters - Mohammed, Mohammed, & Sabry; matre d' - Saady; the bartender - Magdy; and the many whose names we didn't discover all took such good care of us

Day 3 - Thursday, February 22nd

Today we fly to Luxor to begin the "cruise" part of our trip. We left the hotel at 6 a.m. for our 8 a.m. flight. But, as Walid says,"Egyptian time" which meant we really took off at 8:45 a.m.!! During the 50 minute flight we could watch the Eastern and Western Deserts and the very lush Nile Valley below. Lots of crops are grown in the Nile Valley - sugar cane, banana trees, date palms, grains. Very beautiful!

Before going to our boat, we bussed to the Temple of Karnak. Now you have to understand that this is our first look at a temple and oh my goodness, NOTHING can prepare you for the sight. The oldest parts of this temple were built almost 2000 years before Christ. The pillars, stones, carvings, painting (that is still visible!), row of sphinx's. Can you imagine why we were stunned and speechless? In the Great Hypostyle Hall you could almost hear and feel the Pharaohs, their Queens and servants. When we were in the museum yesterday we saw statues & coffins & artifacts but this has brought it all to life. I don't think anyone could see this and not be affected 3500 - 4000 years after construction. Walid spoke to us at length on the way to the temple and as we progressed through explaining the politics of the time; construction methods; meaning of the papyrus shaped pillars, statues, painting, carvings...nothing was missed by him. Our Habibi does his very best to help us understand what we see and he makes sure we get the most of each site. By the Sacred Lake at the side of the Temple is a statue of a scarab beetle. The superstition is that if you walk around the scarab statue counter-clock wise 3 times and think of your heart's wish it will come true! So, of course we did just that and time will tell if the superstition works!

When we left the Temple we experienced our first real "shopping" opportunity. (Outside of the Citadel we did have a small taste of this.) The Egyptian vendors are VERY forceful! They toss or push into your arms their goods and start at a very high price for them. If you aren't interested to purchase you almost have to throw the items back at them. They are very adept at avoiding taking back their stuff. If you want to purchase you start countering with a very low price and so the bickering goes back and forth - "lady, lady, you break my heart" "lady, lady, just looking" "lady, lady, no hassle" "lady, lady, where you from - Canada Dry" "you come up - I'll come down" and so it goes... If you walk away after giving your final price they will follow you and say "ok, ok", and name the last price they said, as if you would forget what you offered. Often you will get the item for what you want to pay but they make it seem like you are stealing from them!

Now, off to our boat the MS Giselle! The Giselle is owned by Insight Travel and is very old world in look - lots of wood and charm. There are only 60 staterooms (maximum of 120 passengers) and all have a huge window. Central curving staircase goes from bottom level (dining room) up to 1st level (lobby and rooms) to 2nd and 3rd levels of rooms (our room is on the 2nd level). The 3rd level also has the lounge area and 2 small stores (jewellery and t-shirt/souvenir). From the 3rd level you can use a different small staircase to go to the outdoor sun deck which has covered and open lounging area, bar, and swimming pool. Our group is joined by 2 groups from other tour companies. Ok, so there is one thing about the boat I personally am not crazy about...I can't have an iron...now those of you who know me well, know that I am the ironing queen...I'm not sure how I will survive!!!

And so we cruise to Dendara today. Apparently the area between Luxor and Dendara is not overly safe (I can say this now because obviously we are back from Egypt safe and sound!!). This is an area of radical Coptic Christian and Shiite Muslim people and not all cruise boats come up this way. We have armed guards on board and they will stay with us until we sail back to Luxor tomorrow. During the night another cruise boat docked right next to us and we could see their armed guard on duty all night with his machine gun pointed out toward the river. A police boat came by regularly too during the night.

We had dinner on board and scrumptious it was! There is a very large kitchen staff who do a beautiful, yummy job! We got to know our group and of course, as always, it's easy to find kindred spirits. We had lots of fun getting to know Ian & Helen from Adelaide, Australia and 3 very wild and wacky ladies from Ontario - Sandra, Carol and Brenda! I can tell we are going to have loads of fun with these 5.

Tidbits from today:

• the area around Luxor is green; lots of people working in the fields; cattle, donkeys, goats, sheep - all very skinny; use donkeys to pull carts - not very many vehicles seen; lots of "rubbley" looking places
• view of the Nile Valley from the boat - homes along the banks look like they are right out of the Old Testament and are built right on the banks; families bath in...wash clothes and dishes in...play in...drink from...the Nile; cattle graze right alongside; lots of farm land; houses; herons; other birds; small towns; Mosques; Coptic churches; palm trees; banana trees
• At the end of the day, I sat by the huge window of our room and listened to the Nile flow by. This is a trip of a lifetime that words can't describe. It is very like being closer God and IN the bible - at least pictorially! This area is definitely centuries behind the 21st.

Day 2 - Wednesday, February 21st

Our 26 member tour group met in the lobby of the Marriott Hotel and settled in to meet our guide and get started on our adventures. Walid is our guide and little did we know at this time just how special he would make this exploration of Egypt! Walid informed us that we would be called "Habibi" group. Habibi means "beloved" and we came to love our own Habibi, Walid!!

Walid has degrees in Archeology, Politics, and Commerce and is passionate about the history of his country, the culture of the Egyptians and the politics. Every explanation and description of what we were seeing was colored with every ounce of knowledge Habibi could impart to us.

Our first stop of the day was the Citadel of Salah El Din and Mohammed Ali's Mosque. The Citadel was home to Egypt's rulers for almost 700 years - originally founded in 1176. The upper terraces of the Citadel offer spectacular views of the city. Mohammed Ali's Alabaster Mosque is enclosed in the Citadel is was built in the mid-19th century (he was regarded as the founder of modern Egypt). Walid had given us a lesson on Islam before we arrived and so had a very respectful tour with a little more understanding of the Muslim faith than we had before. The size and beauty of the Mosque was just a teaser for the size and beauty of the temples we would see in the next days.

The Egyptian Museum was next. We saw the originals of statues, coffins, jewellery, linen cloths, furniture, effigies, a war chariot, all items that we've seen copies and pictures of. And then...the Tutankhamun Galleries...life sized statues, clothing, hunting implements, jewellery, couches and beds...and...Tutankhamun's fabulous death mask. For Les seeing the death mask was worth the price of the whole trip!! The Museum is very old and considering the priceless treasures that it houses, not at all secure or particularly safe for the artifacts. For instance the glass cases that contain fabrics, some as old as 3500 years are cracked and in sunny areas of the museum. (We discovered later in the tour that a new Museum is being built near the Pyramids of Giza - thank goodness!) One piece that we saw only a copy of (the original is in the British Museum) was the "Rosetta Stone". This piece was found in 1799 and had a text in 3 scripts: hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek. In 1822 Thomas Young translated the demotic text and identified the cartouches of Ptolemy and Cleopatra. At the same time, Jean-Francois Champollion also deciphered these names and others, compiling an extensive list of symbols. He realized that there were separate types of hieroglyphics with different functions and so discovered the basis of the writing system used in hieroglyphic texts.

In the evening we drove to Giza for the Pyramid Sound and Light Show. The Pyramids are not outside of Cairo anymore. The growth of this huge city (the current metropolitan population is 16.1 million) has encroached on the area surrounding the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. Our first glimpse of the Pyramids was awesome - really...who gets to actually see the pyramids in their lifetime?? We are so lucky!! Up close you can feel the magic and mystery of them. It helped immensely that the crescent moon was clear and present (and the crescent was on it's back - something we never see in Canada!). The light show was beautiful, it incorporated history and facts with dialogue and lights. Next week we get to come back in the daylight to explore some more.

Tidbits from today:

• Habibi tells us about everything we pass (you will read lots of "Habibi says..." in my descriptions of our tour!)
• Went passed the area where leather is tanned - beside an ancient aqua-duct - horse or donkey carts are used to move the goods throughout the area - leather drying on roof-top racks - fur & "stuff" thrown and left on the streets, dogs & cats rummage through this - people live here too
• Passed the Northern Cemetery "City of the Dead" - homeless people inhabit some of the tombs and now the living and the dead coexist side by side
• Armed soldiers are everywhere - either hand guns or AK47 Russian semi-automatic or machine guns - we go through security machines everywhere (including the hotel) - most times the machines just beep and beep and no one stops to check the reason why
• The area around the Pyramids of Giza is at least 1000 years behind the rest of the world - donkeys & horses are used for transportation, with or without a cart - aqua-ducts full of garbage - trash everywhere - shops line the streets to the pyramids - alleyways (imagine a picture from the time of Christ; robed people, donkeys, horses) - derelict buildings & rubble - merchants & food sellers; bakeries, meat shops - slow moving people - Hard Rock Cafe beside t-shirt, sheesha pipe, book, souvenir & jewellery shops
• Our tour group consists of new friends from: Australia (Adelaide & Brisbane), South Africa, U.S.A. (Washington & Oregon) & Canada (N. Saanich, B.C.; Picture Butte & Edmonton, Alberta; Oshawa, Guelph, & Belleville, Ontario; & Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Day 1 - Tuesday, February 20th - Arrival in Egypt and First Impressions

I am still very overwhelmed by our tour of Egypt and want to go justice to all that we experienced and saw. I want our family and friends to know that words and photographs will never do justice to; the magnitude of size, grandeur, comprehension of age of the temples, pyramids, statues and artifacts; the beauty of the fertile fields along the Nile River, the amazement of seeing people live still as I would imagine life looked during the time of Christ, the beauty of the Mosques and the Coptic Churches, the noise, traffic, pollution of Cairo. We spent 12 days in a completely different world and enjoyed every second soaking up as much as we could.

We arrived in Cairo and were met by the Insight Travel agent who led us through the maze of passport/visa control, helped us gather our luggage and through one more passport control. As we drove from the airport to the hotel he regaled us with a running commentary of what we were seeing, facts, interesting tidbits of life in Cairo, laughter while watching our amazement of traffic in Cairo. On arrival at the Cairo Marriott he handed our bags to the porter, produced our room key, gave us our instructions for meeting with the entire group the next day and wished us well. I wish I had gotten his name. We knew that if he was an indication of our Insight Travel experience of Cairo we were definitely in for a good time!

Our first impressions of Cairo are of unbelievable traffic, horns, pollution, people, Mosques and Churches everywhere, apartment buildings that look like they were bombed out but are definitely inhabited and have scads of satellite dishes on the roofs, garbage, motor cycles (some with 3 or 4 people on them, some with a woman passenger in her robes sitting side-saddle), bicycle riders weaving in and out (some with baskets of goods on their heads). We couldn't look fast enough to take it all in!

The Cairo Marriott Hotel was built around the palace created for Empress Eugenie of France when she attended the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. It's a beautiful hotel right by the Nile River, with a large out door cafe, lovely decor inside and out, and a casino!! How happy was Les to make his contribution to whatever Egyptian charity the slot machine money goes to!!!

Being the brave soul that he is, Les suggested that we go for a walk in the evening. We walked over the 26 of July St. Bridge to a street that had lots of activity. We passed by shops, sheesha(water pipe)/tea cafes, bakeries, meat markets and hundreds of people. It was exciting and just a bit unnerving. Crossing the street is insanity! Many drivers do not put on their headlights at night, no one stops for pedestrians, 2 lanes of traffic often hold 4 or 5 lanes of cars, traffic lights are never obeyed. But, we did make it back to the hotel safely!

Back at the hotel we enjoyed a mid-eastern dinner at the outdoor restaurant. A couple of old women sit and hand make the best pita bread you've ever tasted, cooking them in an open fire oven right there. Les enjoyed his sheesha after dinner and I must admit that I tried it too. The apple flavoured tobacco goes through the water reservoir at the bottom of the pipe before coming out the pipe. It's very smooth and aromatic!

And so went our first day in Cairo, Egypt!!

We are back in the UAE from Egypt!

We are back in the United Arab Emirates after the most amazing vacation in Egypt! I am currently writing all about our adventures, please check back in a few days to read about our "Trip of a Lifetime". (Temple of Horus at Edfu - this is the granite statue of the falcon god Horus)