Egypt, final installment

Next stop the Sphinx! We heard more about Egypt's history as we checked out the Sphinx and surrounding tombs and embalming chambers. Then on to see more of the town of Giza.Our next stop was a perfume factory, but they didn't make perfume as far as we could tell. They produce flower essence. This place is owned by a Bedouin family and they have an oasis out in the desert where they raise flowers etc that are used to extract the essence. They crush the flowers between 2 granite wheels with a hole in the middle and the essence drips out. This is sold to large perfume countries around the world. No oil or water is added, it is 100% pure. The essence is used as a base for massage therapy, aromatherapy and perfume. There was also a glassblower that made ornate bottles.We went to a papyrus shop and learned the method of making papyrus and then did a little shopping.
It was 4:00 and finally time for lunch. We had lunch at a local restaurant with the pyramid view and then went to check into our hotel. It also had a pyramid view.
We were picked up by our tour manger and driver for the drive to our Nile River dinner cruise. Driving through Cairo after dark was quite an experience. This is another place where there are 6 lanes of traffic on 4 lanes of road. The cars are all driving like they are pebbles rolling down a hill, every which way. In fact we almost got hit by one guy and then we saw him about one block later. He had hit a nice van and the people had yanked him out of the car and were hitting him. Anyway, Cairo at night is really an experience. We passed donkeys, camels, bikes, horses, nice cars, women in burkas, little holes in the wall where people were cooking etc. I tried like mad to take it all in. There were people everywhere.

We arrived at the dinner boat and had a nice cruise.There was also a belly dancer. Actually she was more a boob dancer than a belly dancer. She really had quite a technique. There was also a Bedouin dancer that was really great. It was a man in a dress with 3 layers of skirts. He could really get them going on all different levels. Roscoe tells us they are called a whirling dervish.

The next day we did it all in reverse starting at 4:20 AM. We were back on this ship by 9:30 AM which was a great feeling. We were beat. On the way to the airport we were shocked to see the city going at full steam at 4:30 I asked Ackmed what was going on. He said, “It's Cairo! It's always busy.”

Sail away was at 1 PM and it was a great view of the harbour. We also saw a sand spout for lack of a better name. It was really windy, notice the spout in front of the mountains.

Egypt, Continued

We went to the panoramic view area and there were many camels. In this are you rode out into the dessert with a view of the pyramids. If you took the ride around the pyramid area where we saw the first camels you rode among the people in a parking lot. This was much better.

The first challenge was getting on the dumb thing. We each had our own camel. I got on mine first. Even when they are down on the ground they are big!!!!! These seemed to be much bigger than the ones we saw in Oman, but we weren't trying to ride those. There was a stirrup on one side and I did get on. Then up he went. I the man kept telling me to lean back and I was, but still almost went flying. The back legs were first, then the front. It was really, really scary. Once I was up I was trying to watch Jeff, but I was sliding off the side. I finally did get myself situated and scared or not, I was doing it. Off we went down a big sand dune and we had to really lean back again. We thought it was hard to take pictures from a bus, try taking them from a moving camel!

It was just beautiful. No one was around us. The pyramids were in view and it was silent. We went along, sometime with the man holding the rope and sometimes not. Jeff's took off and wanted to go back to the staging area. Then the guy was trying to get Jeff and I was in charge of mine. It was really fun. It lasted at least 30 minutes, but probably more. As Liz noted, the neatest part was when we heard the Muslim call to prayer echoing across the sand, riding a camel with the pyramids in view. I will never forget it. It was really, really neat. It gives me goose bumps even writing about it.

To be continued...
NEXT: The Sphinx, and more.

Egypt, continued

Egypt, continued:

Finally, THE PYRAMIDS!!!!! How on earth did they do it? Here is some information from Wikipedia.

The Great Pyramid of Giza, also called Khufu's Pyramid, is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now Cairo, Egypt in Africa, and is the only remaining member of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years. Visibly all that remains is the underlying step-pyramid core structure seen today. Many of the casing stones that once covered the structure can still be seen around the base of the Great Pyramid. There have been varying scientific and alternative theories regarding the Great Pyramid's construction techniques. Most accepted construction theories are based on the idea that it was built by moving huge stones from a quarry and dragging and lifting them into place.

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the main part of a complex setting of buildings that included two mortuary temples in honor of Khufu (one close to the pyramid and one near the Nile), three smaller pyramids for Khufu's wives, an even smaller "satellite" pyramid, a raised causeway connecting the two temples, and small mastaba tombs surrounding the pyramid for nobles.

At completion, the Great Pyramid was surfaced by white 'casing stones' - slant-faced, but flat-topped, blocks of highly polished white limestone. Visibly all that remains is the underlying step-pyramid core structure seen today. In AD 1301, a massive earthquake loosened many of the outer casing stones, which were then carted away by Bahri Sultan An-Nasir Nasir-ad-Din al-Hasan in 1356 in order to build mosques and fortresses in nearby Cairo. The stones can still be seen as parts of these structures to this day.

We were absolutely wowed by the pyramids. You hear about them your whole life and suddenly, there they are. Unbelievable!

There were people with camels in the area surrounding the pyramids. Our guide, Naveen, told us that this is not the place for the ride. She said we needed to do it from the panoramic view site. She was very right. She also told us not to say we are from the USA. She said everyone will overcharge us. She said to say we were from the UK, Canada or Australia. Jeff told her that they all have more money than we do now with the exchange rate. She said the people don't know and when they think US they think rich!

To be continued...

NEXT: Camel ride!

Egypt

Egypt

Eastern Time plus 6 hours

We docked in Safafga, and the tours that were offered from the ship went to Valley of the Kings. We heard that Valley of the Kings was an excellent trip. One drawback was that the bus ride was extremely long. It was supposed to be 3 ½ hours each way, but the way back was 5 hours alone. It was a huge convoy across the desert. At one point there were 200 coach buses traveling with armed guards including 1 armed guard on each bus as well as all of those in vehicles. The convoy took 1 ¾ hours to pass through each little town or crossroad. The police stopped traffic; cars, donkeys, camels, trains… you name it, so the convoy could pass. This was all reports from other passengers so I can't say it is absolutely correct. I guess that when they got there it was extremely crowded, but very neat. Breathtaking! Kazzie did that trip and loved it, so get it on her blog.

Jeff and I had decided that if we were in Egypt, we were going to the pyramids. We set up a trip with a private tour company about a year ago and everything went like clockwork. We were the first ones off the ship, our flight schedule had changed and it was leaving 1 ½ hours earlier than we had originally scheduled. They said that if we could get off by 6:30 we would be OK. We got off at 6:35.

We were met by a driver and guide to take us to Hurghada to fly to Cairo.

There were high winds and a lot of blowing sand. We drove along the coast and the visibility was quite low. Everywhere you looked there was sand, even right along the Red Sea. Sand and sand dunes… We also saw many, many bags and a lot of trash blowing and up against fences. Due to the long expanse of nothing but sand, it could have blown from 100 or more miles away. It was hard to take pictures due to all of the blowing sand and dust in the air.
Everything went smoothly and we arrived in Cairo at 9:30 and headed to the pyramids. As we passed through Cairo we saw at least 10 miles of apartment buildings that were built and empty, half built and empty, or finished, but looked unfinished. They often just leave rebar on the top or pillars on the top just standing up in the air, but the building is still finished.


To be continued...
NEXT: The Pyramids!

Calling in from Cairo

I just spoke with Mom-- they are spending the night in Egypt.

She said that this afternoon, they took a camel ride around the pyramids, in the desert. She and Dad each had their own camel. She said that they were rather isolated, could see the pyramids in the distance, and then they heard the Muslim call to prayer coming across the desert. She said it was surreal. Can't wait to see photos!

Liz

Salalah, Oman

Salalah, Oman Eastern Time plus 8 hours As we left the ship we were greeted by this band and these young girls that were heavily made up. They seemed to be between 8 and 10 years old. A man on our ship gave them these clown noses and they really got a kick out of them and so did the adults. We exited the port and went through security. All we had to do was hold up our tourist permits. Easy one this time. As we drove out of the port area along the Dhofar Coast all I noticed was brown dirt, sand and rocks. Event the land right along the water was brown. Something was wrong with my camera settings most of the day and so the pictures ended up very light. It was very, very bright and once again we had to deal with bus windows. We also saw many camels roaming. We were told they are not wild camels. They are all owned by someone but they let them roam free during the day. The camels all return home at night for dinner. These were all one hump camels. The larger the hump, the more valuable they are. This is because they have more fat which is desirable. Our guide also discussed racing camels which go for as much as 6 Million US.

The fishing village of Taqah was once an ancient trading port. We visited the fort and Taqah Castle.

We saw a wedding celebration in this tent. Their weekend is Thursday and Friday and this was Thursday so we saw three different weddings.

A fine example of medieval Islamic architecture, the twin-domed mosque is the tomb of the prophet Mohammed Bin Ali, who died in 1135 A.D. We also looked at the adjoining cemetery. We were amazed at the number or rocks in this cemetery. It was hard to see what was what. Women's graves have 3 stones and men's have 2 stones, but the entire place is covered in other stones.

Dhows still moor in the small bay of Mirbat. It was once the ancient capital of Dhofar, a trading centre dealing in frankincense, horses and slaves.

These ruins near Taqah are Samhuran and date from 1500 B.C. Samhuran supplied Pharaonic Egypt with frankincense. Its fortress is often called 'The Queen of Sheba's Palace'. The great queen once ordered an entire shipload of frankincense for her lover, King Solomon.

Next stop was on Banana Road for coconut juice. This is the home of coconut and banana plantations. They have many varieties of bananas including the red banana.
We also passed the Sultan's Palace gate.

The port of Oman was pretty and the water was a beautiful color. We skipped dinner and stayed on deck for sail away.