Our night out for dinner on the river was also my birthday. What a way to turn 65! A belly dancer and conpanions had me on the floor with them. As you can see, Cliff was most interested in the belly dancer. It will be a birthday to remember.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Authenticity
We bought little models of the pyramids to give the grandkids. They actually said "Made in Egypt". If I went to NY and bought a model of the Statue of Liberty in a souvenir shop, I wonder where it would be made.
Security and Safety
I mentioned earlier the fact that foreign tourism is such an important part of the Egyptian economy. Therefore, security is of primary importance. There were guards everywhere. Every site we visited had lots of visible, armed guards at the entrance and throughout the facility. The day we toured Cairo and spent the day on a bus, an armed guard (in a pinstripe suit), named Mohammed, rode with us. At every stop he was first off the bus and milled around nearby while we were inside a building or park.
You may recall a few weeks before we traveled, Hamas had broken through the border into Egypt and it was some time before the flow of people was curtailed. The American propaganda machine was quick to point out that it was unknown how many terrorists managed to get into Egypt. I always felt well protected. One couple in our group decided to go out for dinner on their own and asked at the hotel if they would recommend a place nearby. They were accompanied by two armed guards to a nearby restaurant. I must admit I never saw foreigners out on their own.
Safety is a whole different issue. I don't know how many times we laughed and asked where OSHA was. The age of our group members was middle range, not all senior citizens as you might expect. Of the 38 of us, only about 8 were retired. Yet three in our group tripped and fell. Stairs had no railings. The temple floors were uneven and dangerous. No safety instructions were given on the boat. We discovered a life jacket under our bed and there were no life jackets on the transport boats (I looked).
As with the street traffic, the water traffic appeared to have no rules. The boat we took to the island temple of Isis was one of about a hundred others. Coming into dock meant literally pushing your way among the other boats to get to the point of disembarkation. All the boats bore the scars and scrapes of being pushed around. As passengers, we were bounced around a bit.
Boarding and leaving the boats was also an experience. I described getting onto the cruise boat, but getting on and off other water vehicles was quite creative. Once, we walked across piled sandbags as a gangplank. To get on and off the sailboat (falucca) , the pilot pushed out a plank about 18 inches wide and propped it from boat to shore. He and a companion then held a pole as a railing so we could get on the boat or off to shore. Don't look down and walk quickly (my thoughts but not spoken). This was not a trip for people unsteady on their feet.
Our tour guide reminded us repeatedly not to eat any food that wasn't cooked or drink water from the tap. The first class hotels were an exception. I think any place that charges $20 for a drink in the bar better have drinkable water.
Yet, we never had an accident or major mishap. No one in our group got sick (maybe a little motion sickness on the river). We traveled safely and saw many wonderful sights. It just works. Maybe we Americans are overprotected and coddled. Flying within the country, we could even have bottles of water and wear our shoes to get on the plane.
You may recall a few weeks before we traveled, Hamas had broken through the border into Egypt and it was some time before the flow of people was curtailed. The American propaganda machine was quick to point out that it was unknown how many terrorists managed to get into Egypt. I always felt well protected. One couple in our group decided to go out for dinner on their own and asked at the hotel if they would recommend a place nearby. They were accompanied by two armed guards to a nearby restaurant. I must admit I never saw foreigners out on their own.
Safety is a whole different issue. I don't know how many times we laughed and asked where OSHA was. The age of our group members was middle range, not all senior citizens as you might expect. Of the 38 of us, only about 8 were retired. Yet three in our group tripped and fell. Stairs had no railings. The temple floors were uneven and dangerous. No safety instructions were given on the boat. We discovered a life jacket under our bed and there were no life jackets on the transport boats (I looked).
As with the street traffic, the water traffic appeared to have no rules. The boat we took to the island temple of Isis was one of about a hundred others. Coming into dock meant literally pushing your way among the other boats to get to the point of disembarkation. All the boats bore the scars and scrapes of being pushed around. As passengers, we were bounced around a bit.
Boarding and leaving the boats was also an experience. I described getting onto the cruise boat, but getting on and off other water vehicles was quite creative. Once, we walked across piled sandbags as a gangplank. To get on and off the sailboat (falucca) , the pilot pushed out a plank about 18 inches wide and propped it from boat to shore. He and a companion then held a pole as a railing so we could get on the boat or off to shore. Don't look down and walk quickly (my thoughts but not spoken). This was not a trip for people unsteady on their feet.
Our tour guide reminded us repeatedly not to eat any food that wasn't cooked or drink water from the tap. The first class hotels were an exception. I think any place that charges $20 for a drink in the bar better have drinkable water.
Yet, we never had an accident or major mishap. No one in our group got sick (maybe a little motion sickness on the river). We traveled safely and saw many wonderful sights. It just works. Maybe we Americans are overprotected and coddled. Flying within the country, we could even have bottles of water and wear our shoes to get on the plane.
Monday, February 25, 2008
People/Religion/Transportation
Because we only met two Egyptians (other than waiters and store clerks), our tour guide and Egyptologist who traveled with us at all times, the only things I can relate about the people is from observations, so consider the source.
We were told that 90% of Egyptians are Muslim and 10 % Christian. There are 200 Jews living in Egypt and if you believe our guide, they get along famously. In Cairo we drove past the oldest Mosque in Egypt which was within view of a Christian church and a Jewish synagogue. Watching the people, most men dressed in the floor length shirt-like attire (thobe). However, you would see business men in western attire and the youth in jeans. There was a conspicuous absence (in my view) of women out and around. After school and at the end of the work day, you did see some women usually with head scarves and pants or long robes. Few places did you see women working. The morning is usually when women in the hijab (headscarf) and robes were out, I imagine to purchase food and things for the day. Whereas you saw men milling everywhere. I am sure this is because of the Islamic role of women. We saw very few Burkhas. Our Egyptologist was a Muslim woman but did not wear a scarf. She said it was optional. However, I assume she felt more comfortable (or thought we did) with all Americans without the scarf and in her bluejeans. Once we left the city and were on the river, we saw women only in the towns and then fully covered in religious garb. All the men working the fields wore the thobe; the ferry drivers, the camel owners, everyone had the long robe.
We heard the call to prayer five times a day: sunrise, noon, afternoon, sunset and evening. It could be heard everywhere. While we were watching a light show at the pyramids and the announcer was booming from the speakers, the calls were still heard.
In the evening, the population milling about changed. I saw numerous young couples, girls with headscarves and pants and the guys in western clothes. Seldom was a woman alone or even with other women. The numerous coffee shops had men sitting around smoking hookahs and having coffee or tea. One evening after our tour, our guide offered to take us to a tea house and hookah shop. It was very quaint. We sat on pillows on the floor. The walls and ceiling were carpets. We were served tea and the hookahs set out and each of us was given a plastic mouthpiece for smoking. A “band” came and serenaded us briefly with local instruments. You should have seen Cliff who has never smoked in his life. There was a lot of coughing around the room. I chose not to try. But I understand it gave a buzz. It was a true Arabian experience.
Because the city of Cairo is so large there is tremendous congestion with cars. But there was little to no traffic control. I saw no traffic lights. It seemed each man (99% male) for himself. And they drive with the horn. When we stepped onto the balcony of our hotel room, the noise was quite deafening. Once we got out of the city, the train followed the river and was a major form of transport. River taxis or ferries carried people across the river. Bridges were scarce. On the farms along the river, donkeys were prevalent as beasts of burden and transportation. I could see no roads , cars, or trucks, though there may have been some inland more.
Next edition, safety and security.
We were told that 90% of Egyptians are Muslim and 10 % Christian. There are 200 Jews living in Egypt and if you believe our guide, they get along famously. In Cairo we drove past the oldest Mosque in Egypt which was within view of a Christian church and a Jewish synagogue. Watching the people, most men dressed in the floor length shirt-like attire (thobe). However, you would see business men in western attire and the youth in jeans. There was a conspicuous absence (in my view) of women out and around. After school and at the end of the work day, you did see some women usually with head scarves and pants or long robes. Few places did you see women working. The morning is usually when women in the hijab (headscarf) and robes were out, I imagine to purchase food and things for the day. Whereas you saw men milling everywhere. I am sure this is because of the Islamic role of women. We saw very few Burkhas. Our Egyptologist was a Muslim woman but did not wear a scarf. She said it was optional. However, I assume she felt more comfortable (or thought we did) with all Americans without the scarf and in her bluejeans. Once we left the city and were on the river, we saw women only in the towns and then fully covered in religious garb. All the men working the fields wore the thobe; the ferry drivers, the camel owners, everyone had the long robe.
We heard the call to prayer five times a day: sunrise, noon, afternoon, sunset and evening. It could be heard everywhere. While we were watching a light show at the pyramids and the announcer was booming from the speakers, the calls were still heard.
In the evening, the population milling about changed. I saw numerous young couples, girls with headscarves and pants and the guys in western clothes. Seldom was a woman alone or even with other women. The numerous coffee shops had men sitting around smoking hookahs and having coffee or tea. One evening after our tour, our guide offered to take us to a tea house and hookah shop. It was very quaint. We sat on pillows on the floor. The walls and ceiling were carpets. We were served tea and the hookahs set out and each of us was given a plastic mouthpiece for smoking. A “band” came and serenaded us briefly with local instruments. You should have seen Cliff who has never smoked in his life. There was a lot of coughing around the room. I chose not to try. But I understand it gave a buzz. It was a true Arabian experience.
Because the city of Cairo is so large there is tremendous congestion with cars. But there was little to no traffic control. I saw no traffic lights. It seemed each man (99% male) for himself. And they drive with the horn. When we stepped onto the balcony of our hotel room, the noise was quite deafening. Once we got out of the city, the train followed the river and was a major form of transport. River taxis or ferries carried people across the river. Bridges were scarce. On the farms along the river, donkeys were prevalent as beasts of burden and transportation. I could see no roads , cars, or trucks, though there may have been some inland more.
Next edition, safety and security.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Economics/Tourism
On our recent trip to Egypt our guides gave us a lot of information which I have not been able to substantiate on the internet. So, what I give you may only be second hand propaganda. Bear with me.
We landed in Cairo. We were told that Greater Cairo was the second largest city in the world next to Mexico city with 25 million people. The traffic and pollution would attest to that. Eighty percent of the country's population lives in Greater Cairo and ninety percent lives along the Nile River. The rest is the Sahara Desert. These statistics are not validated by my research.
We were told the three top sources of income were US aid (first), tourism (second), and agriculture. Tourism is evident. We have traveled a lot and I have never seen tourism like it was here. Yet, talking to people here, few have been to Egypt. Every burial ground, temple, pyramid, museum or other site we visited was a crush of people. In one of the temples we wanted to see a solar boat used by gods to travel to the other side It was located in a room in a temple the size of a small bedroom, about four steps up. There was a constant push of people so that it was difficult to move up the steps or push your way back down the steps. When we visited the National Museum in Cairo our guide told us we were lucky there were so few people. I can't imagine what a crowded day would look like. Guides were not allowed in the smaller rooms for reasons of space and people movement
When Egypt experienced terrorist attacks in the 90's, the industry naturally suffered so as you can imagine they work very hard at making it safe (a discussion of another Chapter). At that point, the tourist sites needed to be controlled more by monitoring access. However, the trinket and souvenir vendors suffered. So now, all visitors to these sites must "walk the gauntlet" of hawkers and it is oppressive. One must move quickly and continuously forward. never even glancing at the wares to keep the vendors from harassing you. In Peru, if you said no, they left you alone. Here, just a glance was an encouragement. You'd be touched, goods thrust at you, they'd follow you and hound you. And this was tolerated to promote the economy. I felt it a discouragement to visiting.
We had the luxury of boating down the Nile River from Luxor to Aswan on a three day cruise. As you cruised and looked back or forward there was a steady stream of cruise boats very much like the one we were on. Our boat held about 120 people. I would be generous to call the docking ports harbors. The river boats pulled up parallel to each other by shore. If your boat was on the outside, you walked through the others, then across a gangway, to the shore. I can only assume these boat companies had some agreement between them as to who could park next to whom.
As we cruised, the fertile Nile Valley was quite beautiful. The ancient Egyptians considered three seasons. One was the Inundation. This is when the river floods and nourishes the soil. Now there is the Aswan Dam which controls the floods and the land is irrigated. You will see pumping stations at regular intervals along the river.
The banks are well defined. You will see the green valley on either side for varying distances, surroundied by the sandstone hills. And the agriculture is lush. However, there is no evidence of farm machinery. It appears to be done by hand and animal. Donkeys are beasts of burden as well as transportation. Fruits, vegetables, wheat and cotton are all grown.
There appears to be a lot of poverty. I did not see, as with most large cities, areas of tremendous wealth in contrast. It may be there and just not visible
The visit to the pyramids in Cairo was similar in tourism problems. However, as you walked about the site, there were security guards on camels but also locals on camels who wanted to give you a ride. We were warned not to do this because once they got you up, you would not get off until you had handed over all your money. Frequently we saw guards chase them away. Also, we were advised not to shake their hands because they would not let go. Not sure why this is tolerated but being aware made it less of a problem. However, you did see people who either didn't know or didn't heed the warnings.
As I reread this, it sounds quite negative. I don't mean it to be. Yet the information is accurate from my experience. I believe the Egyptians need to work on managing crowds better. The visit was definitely an enlightening experience and I am glad we did it.
We landed in Cairo. We were told that Greater Cairo was the second largest city in the world next to Mexico city with 25 million people. The traffic and pollution would attest to that. Eighty percent of the country's population lives in Greater Cairo and ninety percent lives along the Nile River. The rest is the Sahara Desert. These statistics are not validated by my research.
We were told the three top sources of income were US aid (first), tourism (second), and agriculture. Tourism is evident. We have traveled a lot and I have never seen tourism like it was here. Yet, talking to people here, few have been to Egypt. Every burial ground, temple, pyramid, museum or other site we visited was a crush of people. In one of the temples we wanted to see a solar boat used by gods to travel to the other side It was located in a room in a temple the size of a small bedroom, about four steps up. There was a constant push of people so that it was difficult to move up the steps or push your way back down the steps. When we visited the National Museum in Cairo our guide told us we were lucky there were so few people. I can't imagine what a crowded day would look like. Guides were not allowed in the smaller rooms for reasons of space and people movement
When Egypt experienced terrorist attacks in the 90's, the industry naturally suffered so as you can imagine they work very hard at making it safe (a discussion of another Chapter). At that point, the tourist sites needed to be controlled more by monitoring access. However, the trinket and souvenir vendors suffered. So now, all visitors to these sites must "walk the gauntlet" of hawkers and it is oppressive. One must move quickly and continuously forward. never even glancing at the wares to keep the vendors from harassing you. In Peru, if you said no, they left you alone. Here, just a glance was an encouragement. You'd be touched, goods thrust at you, they'd follow you and hound you. And this was tolerated to promote the economy. I felt it a discouragement to visiting.
We had the luxury of boating down the Nile River from Luxor to Aswan on a three day cruise. As you cruised and looked back or forward there was a steady stream of cruise boats very much like the one we were on. Our boat held about 120 people. I would be generous to call the docking ports harbors. The river boats pulled up parallel to each other by shore. If your boat was on the outside, you walked through the others, then across a gangway, to the shore. I can only assume these boat companies had some agreement between them as to who could park next to whom.
As we cruised, the fertile Nile Valley was quite beautiful. The ancient Egyptians considered three seasons. One was the Inundation. This is when the river floods and nourishes the soil. Now there is the Aswan Dam which controls the floods and the land is irrigated. You will see pumping stations at regular intervals along the river.
The banks are well defined. You will see the green valley on either side for varying distances, surroundied by the sandstone hills. And the agriculture is lush. However, there is no evidence of farm machinery. It appears to be done by hand and animal. Donkeys are beasts of burden as well as transportation. Fruits, vegetables, wheat and cotton are all grown.
There appears to be a lot of poverty. I did not see, as with most large cities, areas of tremendous wealth in contrast. It may be there and just not visible
The visit to the pyramids in Cairo was similar in tourism problems. However, as you walked about the site, there were security guards on camels but also locals on camels who wanted to give you a ride. We were warned not to do this because once they got you up, you would not get off until you had handed over all your money. Frequently we saw guards chase them away. Also, we were advised not to shake their hands because they would not let go. Not sure why this is tolerated but being aware made it less of a problem. However, you did see people who either didn't know or didn't heed the warnings.
As I reread this, it sounds quite negative. I don't mean it to be. Yet the information is accurate from my experience. I believe the Egyptians need to work on managing crowds better. The visit was definitely an enlightening experience and I am glad we did it.
Brief Synopsis
First for a preview of our Egypt trip. We flew to Cairo and then on south to Luxor where we visited the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. This is where various ancient royalty were buried hidden in the sandstone hills. We entered various tombs including three of the Ramses Kings. Each tomb has numerous chambers and intricately decorated walls and ceilings. This is where King Tut's tomb is but only his mummy is still there. The artifacts have been moved to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo which we visited. We visited the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Temple of Memnon.
In Luxor we boarded a river boat for three days. We stopped at Edfu and visited the the Temple of Karnak, the largest found so far. Our guide said only 30 % of the antiquities have been found as yet. Then we stopped at Kom Omba to see the Ptolemaic Temple of Horus and Sobek, walked around a granite quarry where we saw an unfinished obelisk to get a sense of the size and huge task of placement. We landed at Aswan and took horses and carriages to the Temple of Horus which is the best preserved temple. We visited Philae's Temple of Isis which is on an island. From here we flew back to Cairo and had an evening dinner on a river boat. We were entertained by a belly dancer and a whirling dirvish. In Cairo we visited the main pyramids, the ones you usually see in photos. They are right at the edge of the city which seems so out of place. We could actually see them from our hotel room. Beside the pyramids is the sphinx with the funeral temple where they prepared the bodies for burial. It was only after the pyramids were looted that they began to bury the royalty in tombs hidden in the hills. That evening we went to a sound and light show at the pyramids to conclude our stay.
View Larger Map
In Luxor we boarded a river boat for three days. We stopped at Edfu and visited the the Temple of Karnak, the largest found so far. Our guide said only 30 % of the antiquities have been found as yet. Then we stopped at Kom Omba to see the Ptolemaic Temple of Horus and Sobek, walked around a granite quarry where we saw an unfinished obelisk to get a sense of the size and huge task of placement. We landed at Aswan and took horses and carriages to the Temple of Horus which is the best preserved temple. We visited Philae's Temple of Isis which is on an island. From here we flew back to Cairo and had an evening dinner on a river boat. We were entertained by a belly dancer and a whirling dirvish. In Cairo we visited the main pyramids, the ones you usually see in photos. They are right at the edge of the city which seems so out of place. We could actually see them from our hotel room. Beside the pyramids is the sphinx with the funeral temple where they prepared the bodies for burial. It was only after the pyramids were looted that they began to bury the royalty in tombs hidden in the hills. That evening we went to a sound and light show at the pyramids to conclude our stay.
View Larger Map
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