Egypt, part 1 1/2

Forgot to mention we went for a Nile dinner cruise our second pre-tour evening! There was a house band doing covers of everything from Louis Armstrong to Madonna, a whirling dervish, and a belly dancer. The views outside were nothing compared to the cruise we took on the Danube last year, but it was a fun evening nonetheless!

 

 

Egypt trip

Dave and I decided there was no way we were going to be this close to the pyramids and not see them, so a couple of weeks ago we headed to Egypt. The taxi ride from the house to the airport actually took longer than the flight from Tel Aviv to Cairo!

 

Upon landing, the security was incredible! Being an El Al plane, we were parked further out on the Tarmac that the rest of the planes, and there were Egyptian militry personnel with AK-47s at all four corners of the plane, plus an armored vehicle with a spotlight on top. Having the visas beforehand turned out to be a major timesaver; we waltzed right through immigration. Insight Tours picked us up at the airport and took us to our hotel, the Conrad Cairo; which turned out to be very nice, with high quality rooms and impeccable service. There was always someone somewhere cleaning or polishing, and everyone wanted to know if they could do anything to assist you. The air conditioning in our room was not quite cold enough, and they send someone up in 5 minutes to clean the filter and check the thermostat. Also, at turndown service the first night you are presented with a menu of 8 pillow choices for your ultimate comfort!

 

Because El Al only has two flights a week to Egypt, we had to arrive two days early for our tour. We booked a local tour guide to give us some local flavor while we were waiting (and because it’s difficult to leave the hotel in Cairo on foot to explore.) Our guide, Emad, picked us up the next morning after an excellent late buffet breakfast at the Conrad. It was immediately apparent that he and Dave shared the same sense of humor and were going to get along famously. In addition to being a lisenced tour guide (requiring a huge amount of schooling in Egypt!) he doubled as our bodyguard (which is what he did while he was going to school.) He took us to see the City of the Dead, and to see how papyrus and the local essential fragrance oils are made. Of course, we couldn’t resist buying a little something each place even though he assured us we were under no obligation

 

 

Upon returning to the hotel, we changed into nicer duds and headed to dinner at the buffet (excellent, again) and then to the casino in the basement for a few hours of fun. No craps table, but Dave played poker and blackjack and I got my video poker fix.

 

The following day Emad picked up to go to the local market to try our bargaining skills. It is right next to the mosque of the grandson of the prophet Muhammed. Before the market we visited another famous mosque that is a school for the teaching of Islam. Emad said that many of the world’s famous imams and clerics have passed through there. I had to cover my head and we both had to remove our shoes, but they don’t seem to object to tourists wandering around snapping pictures.

 

 

 Afterwards we went for a drive into the countryside to visit a goverment-funded school where they teach young children to make carpets for a daily wage (after regular school is done for the day.) It was a bit sad to see children working instead of outside playing; but Egypt has no welfare-type programs, so the kids that aren’t in the carpet schools are usually out in the streets selling trinkets to supplement the family income. One carpet can take as long as 6 months to make! Here I am trying my hand at a knot- the gentleman on the left was pleased enough he offered to let me stay and work for a carpet. Alas, the one I fell in love with was $1500 and my visa was only good for a month  (Oh, and that lumpy bit is a money belt with my passport in it – not my back!!!)

 

 

Our next stop (and the true destination of the day – Emad was very good at breaking up the drive with interesting breaks to stretch our legs and wallet) was Dashur, to see the first pyramids of the trip. It’s not a big tourist destination like the sites we were slated to see on our main tour, so it’s really amazing to see the pyramids rise up out of the desert with no tour buses or buildings around. We went inside the Red Pyramid, which was neat, but really difficult. The shaft is only 1.5 metres high (so that you are required to "bow" before the king), 65 metres long, and descends at a really steep angle:

 

The Tourism Police ride camels on the job – they really are the most efficient form of desert transportation!

 

 

After all that exercise, it was time for a late lunch. Emad took us to a charming restaurant/circus/oasis/farm nearby. The meat was cooked on a little grill on the table:

 

 

And I got to hold a 3 month old baby lion!

 

 

That ended our two pre-days. I’m going to break the rest of the trip into several blog entries for reading comfort. Stay tuned!

Still Don’t Panic!

Figured I’d be the first to post this: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/08/israel.rockets/index.html

 

and then to reassure you with another map. The pink arrow still represents where we live, and the new green starburst to the north is Nahariya, where the rockets were fired this morning.

 

 

As you can see, it’s closer than Gaza, but still a nice buffer distance away. Dave is at a training session at a hotel just down the road from the house (it pays to live in a vacation spot!) AND just in case, our miklat (Hebrew for bomb shelter) is all set up downstairs with our camping toilet, plenty of water, canned food, reading material and two mattresses. Oh, and plenty of pet food and wine  

 

   

 

The miklats here are actually pretty cool! Here in Caesarea, someone is always knocking down a house to build a new, bigger one. Dave watched one being demolished over the course of several morning while he was running. By the third day, nothing was left but the miklat, which the workers tried to destroy with a bulldozer, backhoe, and wrecking claw. Finally they had to give up and load it onto a truck to be carted away – they are truly indestructible!

 

The dogs got all wet and sandy running with Dave on the beach this morning (Moshe picked December/January to get over his fear of the ocean…) so I have to go clean them up and then go swim laps myself. At least I get to do it in a nice warm, indoor pool!

 

Better late than never!

Here is a Hanukkah blog that Dave wrote for me last week, right before this whole Gaza thing started and I forgot all about it.

 

We have been fully getting into the holiday spirit here in Israel with Chanukah by celebrating by cooking latkes, eating too many sufganiot  and enjoying the holiday weather in Haifa on the beach. 

 

 

 

No snow, but lots of rain during the week and 70 degrees and sunshine on the weekends J  Almost every night has been a party invite for candle lighting of the hanukiah (or what many non-Hebrew speakers refer to as a Menorah).  Menorah is actually the word for lamp in Hebrew.