It’s a dark and stormy night in Cairo. I’ve spent the past few days visiting the sites. The tour started today; we have an Egyptologist accompanying us and he is giving lectures and assignments. Essentially I’ve gone to Egypt school.
Mostly my fellow travelers are 40+. We're half North Americans and the rest are Brits. Surprisingly there's no Australians.
Without exception every tourist destination (including this hotel) has airport level security. One and all is passed through a metal detector, and the ubiquitous guards are armed with machine guns. Tomorrow we leave Cairo, and the tour director informed us we will have a police escort through the Western Desert.
Coptic Cairo
Hanging Church
A small percentage of Egyptians are Christian. This church is built on the remains of a Roman tower. This place of worship isn’t actually hanging from the tower it’s sitting on top. Although part of the tower has been dismantled, it is obvious this structure was built to last. Vancouver builders may want to take note.
It is said that Jesus and his folks stayed in this location for three months; the family roamed Egypt for three years.
The Roman Tower
Church Interior
Newer Mosaics in Church Courtyard
The Hanging Church
Islamic Cairo
Mohammad Ali Mosque
Although slightly tarnished, this mosque covered with alibaster is worth a visit. This mosque is approximately 200 years old; it overlooks the city.
Khan El Khalili Market
This 600 years old market or souq is bursting with Middle East trinkets; each merchant’s main goal in life is to extract as many tourist dollars as possible. Although a bit of an assault on the senses – I thought it was fun. Did manage to bargain a scarf down to $10 from $30. It felt like a deal!
Tutankamen exhibit and worth the price of admission.
The Pyramids
Over the three weeks I was in Egypt I visited the Giza plateau three times. My first visit a pest named Ali followed me around for an hour trying to convince me to ride his camel. These guys will not take no for an answer. Don’t make the same mistake I did….just ignore them. Arrrgh….
To get away from the "vermin" I entered the interior of the Great Pyramid. You must navigate a steep 100-foot tunnel before getting to a much roomier corridor. Everything, in the tomb, of course, was removed long ago. Apparently, many of the thefts were inside jobs. I was surprised to find absolutely no interior decoration; the elaborate painting and carving came later in the tombs and temples.
When on tour we visited the Pharaoh’s Boat Museum located next to Khufu the largest pyramid. The 3000-year-old boat was designed to carry the Pharoah to the afterlife. I finally saw the Sphinx, which is not next to the pyramids like it looks in pictures, it's located down a hill.
When I returned to Cairo after the tour I went horseback riding around Giza, and the desert beyond. Quite enjoyed the ride but three hours on Sheba was probably over my limit - ouch!
The Tour
This is our route.
2 comments:
Looks like you are having a good time. You must be glad that the other travellers are the same age as you. Are they a bunch of cool cats?
It's not easy to find Wi Fi in the Western Desert. They still use donkeys for transportation. The web might be a few years away.
The other travellers are nice. Either a similar age or a little older. A cross section. There's an actual nuclear physicist on the tour.
We've seen many monuments. I've been in a few pyramids now. This morning it was a balloon ride. The ride was so gentle; you'd think it would be terrifying but not at all. I really enjoyed it.
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