12 - 13 December 1993

by Phil & Joyce Carta

Twenty-five hours later the announcement is made, "Will Mr. and Mrs. Carta please identify themselves to a flight attendant as they deplane." At the bottom of the airstairs we are greeted by a Delta "redcoat" and Israeli Security. After a series of questions - proving we were indeed not terrorists, just very tired - we get into a tiny car with flashing lights and are whisked across the tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv to an unmarked 737. With its passengers all boarded, engines whining and the requisite acolytes scurrying around we are quickly handed boarding cards and rushed up the airstairs. Welcome to the 4 times weekly El Al "unmarked and under cover of night" flight between Israel and Egypt - an uneasy business truce in an uneasy corner of the world.

The following is the diary of our first trip to Egypt in 1993. We've been there several times since but the first visit is always the memorable one. A few things have changed since 1993, but the restaurant in the Islamic Bazaar is still there.

Copyright 1994 Phil and Joyce Carta.
All Rights Reserved.

Sunday/Monday, December 12-13, 1993.  The Trip

With our connecting flight from New York being delayed, we ended up spending our 6 hour layover in Paris instead of Tel Aviv, resulting in a few anxious moments before our 15 minute connection. But Delta Airlines was as good as usual and arranged for the private transfer to the El Al flight. The Delta redcoat confided to us to report our luggage as "lost" when we got to Cairo as it most certainly wouldn't make the transfer; but Delta would do everything possible to ensure it was on the next flight - two days later. Fortunately, we travel light and had only the one checked piece.

Other than that, the flights from Ft. Lauderdale to Atlanta to Paris to Tel Aviv and finally to Cairo were uneventful. Comfort was ours as we flew Business Class, courtesy of Frequent Flyer mileage. Making up for the miserable meal out of Paris due to a caterer's strike was a fascinating real time video flight update which showed all sorts of flight information as we flew: speed, altitude, head/tail winds, temperature, time to destination - plus a charted route map showing our location.

At the airport we changed money into Egyptian pounds (LE, worth about 30¢ each, broken down into 100 piasters to the pound) and made arrangements to collect the "lost" luggage. When we were not met as arranged we checked in at the Tourist Authority and learned the first rule of how to get along in Egypt - baksheesh. We "found" several helpful souls who pointed, opened doors, smiled and performed various other essential services, in return for a little remuneration: baksheesh. But more about the almost religion of baksheesh later.

And, after only 5 stops to ask for directions, we were deposited almost at midnight at the Hotel Salma, an ok place. Faxes were awaiting Phil which demanded immediate attention and by 11:45 we were actually in bed (twins but very comfy so who cares?!!) asleep.

Tuesday, December 14 Cairo

We awoke to the call of the muzzerin (and to barking dogs, crowing chickens, etc.). It was a beautiful day and we couldn't wait to get started. Shower was ok - breakfast made it such that we weren't hungry when we finished (baked beans??). We secured a taxi which let us off across the highway from the Egyptian Museum - forcing us to get up close and personal with another Egyptian characteristic: traffic. It took us only about 10 minutes to cross 6 lanes of suicidal Egyptians before reaching our goal. Once inside, after politely refusing "guide" services, we split up. Joyce, an inveterate amateur Egyptologist, got to spend the next 5-1/2 hours in awe (it was larger, fuller, bigger and grander and more stuffed than we could ever have imagined). Phil, on the other hand, had his own "adventures." Being a male he was more approachable for "special services" whereas Joyce was never approached alone. He took a 2-hour walking tour of the area around the Museum and got a "great deal" offered on papyrus - the painted unauthentic artwork - starting at 10 LE each and, after repeated not-interested refusals, was priced at 5 for 7LE! Our first introduction to another Egyptian pastime: haggling. He was also shown mummies (off limits these days) and other secrets by museum guards - the technique was a summons with a little cupped hand - already positioned to receive the required baksheesh.

Phil had another guard approach and ask if he was English or Canadian. When he said "American" the guard replied "Aaah, America #1, Egypt #2!"

After we closed the place we walked about 3 miles along the Nile to the Floating Restaurants - Phil's inspiration for our first evening meal - and we decided upon the Golden Pharoah - the most incredible vessel we've ever boarded. (It should be mentioned that we were not yet "Egyptianized" and so did this typically western activity, to our later chagrin.) Outside a flock of Horusses decorated the barge and inside there were gilded columns, paintings of near naked Cleopatras, etc. It was complimented by a band playing old U.S. hit parade tunes, slightly off key, but the singing was worse. The meal was a buffet of excellent, though westernized, food and we floated south then north with pretty views of other floating restaurants! The cruise lasted over 2 hours and the entertainment progressed to a belly dancer, followed by a juggling whirling dervish (you had to be there).

We also got introduced to another Egyptian characteristic: unreserved honesty. We got to the restaurant early so we ducked into a neighboring floating bar for 2 Stella Locals, an interesting though unassuming brew. A little contretemps with the bill was settled with our receiving an extra bottle of Stella, which was promptly confiscated upon boarding the Golden Pharaoh. "Easy come, easy go" we assumed. But, just as we were leaving the Golden Pharaoh the security chief returned our brown bag several hours later with a typically broad Egyptian smile.

Wednesday, December 15 Cairo

Although we planned to spend most of our time in Egypt on an organized tour, we arrived several days early to get our own feel of the country and of Cairo. This day we got more than we bargained for.

Westerners are afforded great courtesy in Cairo. Everyone, even passersby on the street, greeted us with "Hello!" and "Welcome!," paths were often cleared and even the teenage militia with Kalishnikovs smiled at us everywhere. At one point, in a hidden sub-alley in the Islamic warren, blocks from the nearest street, Joyce was literally mobbed by at least a hundred 3-1/2 foot tall schoolgirls who just had to say hello and touch her. Blonde westerners are rare in that quarter. The Cairenes are proud of their achievements and every cab driver dutifully pointed out each hotel with the legend, "Five Star!" We started out by taxi this day and drove by the Nile Hilton ("Five Star!") to the Islamic Museum where we saw a spectacular collection of what has to be the world's largest and best museum pieces from throughout the Islamic world - carved stone, stucco, woodwork, glass, ceramics, gold, silver and bronze, tapestries and tiles, plus meticulously illuminated Korans.

From the museum we charged off cross country through side alleys and accurately reached our goal: the bazaar. Bazaars in Egypt are the basic retail marketing areas. Mazes of tiny streets with houses, stores and workshops typically overflowing with goods and pouring out into the street. We quickly learned to avoid the "Tourist Bazaars" where everyone becomes annoyed with the persistence and brazenness of the vendors - and where prices are high.

Rather, we frequented the "local" bazaars: a series of broader and tiny alleys, dirt-paved, surrounded by mud brick three story buildings from which drip laundry, cats and sometimes people. The immense area is divided into specialized sections: shoes, fruit, metals, sewing machine repair, saddle and tack, woodworking, etc. Through it all race an assortment of people, motorbikes, donkey carts, cars and trucks - controlled chaos. Ground floors are shops and "factories," actually small workshops.

Goods are interesting and inexpensive. We were never pressured to purchase. And the vendors were honestly interested in showing off their artistic skills, without necessarily expecting us to buy everything we saw. The people were, well, themselves.

This first day we got to learn more about Egypt than we did the entire rest of the trip. We hadn't gone 20 minutes into the before we met and hooked up with Mahmoud - who made our day and our trip so far. The bazaar is daunting (but safe) to the uninitiated, but when you suddenly find yourselves equipped with a native Cairene, born and raised in the bazaar, who has the day off from school and wants to practice his English - you have Mahmoud.

Mahmoud, a 24 year old engineering student with 1 year left before graduating, dressed in Reeboks and jean jacket with exported US slang hooked up with us by asking Phil, "Are you Egyptian?" (Actually, Phil got that a lot. Maybe he should have shaved twice a day.) So a conversation was struck and then a friendship and Mahmoud became our impromptu guide for the rest of the day. And we went places and saw things that we never would have been able to otherwise.

Starting out through the bazaar we headed to the spice market where Mahmoud negotiated great prices on cumin, curry, saffron and "Egyptian spice combo." Man-to-man he confided to Phil, "Don't worry I won't charge you anything. I want to practice my English." Through back alleys - some of which were only 2 people wide - we walked and peeked into doorways and "Salaamed" as we went. Mahmoud seemed to know everyone.

In a grungy back alley between 800 year old buildings (originally a camel trading market) we stopped for hibiscus tea ("karkaday shai") and a water pipe ("sheesha"). We talked politics as carpets were stacked, cats hunted, prices haggled and life was lived at its most basic levels. From there we moved to an inlaid box "factory" - smaller than my spare bedroom office at home. Ebony, camel bone and mother of pearl inlaid in mahogany, highly polished, intricate and beautiful. We bought 4 and then, because Phil didn't have the exact amount (he was LE5 over), we were given another 3 as gifts! And then we were served tea with chairs dragged over from the cafe across the alley out of which several Arabs were booted to accommodate us. We admired their beautiful work and in general were treated like Emirs. The owner had his son run down to a warehouse and bring back some expensive and absolutely beautiful pieces for us to admire: and there was always the slight chance that we would buy. The next stop was a saddle shop where Joyce couldn't resist a tasseled black and orange decoration - breastplate, bridle and reins - which Mahmoud haggled down from LE150 to LE 100 as Phil modeled! Mahmoud then brought us to a place that not many foreigners ever see. Down a back alley through another back alley, etc. he took us to a workshop where they were sewing gold thread and gilt on black velvet squares with religious writing. It was explained that these were for the sacred stone in Mecca - probably for pilgrimages made by Cairenes.

Then it was time to grab a bite to eat. Mahmoud directed us to a dingy little restaurant. Four tables with table cloths that were washed just last week and a sidewalk-front little kitchen overflowing with pots full of exotic and wonderful smells. Mahmoud ordered a little of everything and it was wonderful (salad, vegetable, lamb, chicken, beans and rice). It was our first taste of real Egyptian Arabic food and we ate until we were stuffed. The staff was so pleased that we were enjoying the food that more kept coming! When the bill came, Mahmoud was a bit apologetic for having ordered so much. But we gladly paid the grand total of $5 (!) and continued on our adventure.

Of course, after such a great lunch, it was necessary to visit the, ahem, facilities. Well, facilities isn't quite the proper word as the local "pissoir," which was connected with the local mosque, was of the hole in the floor with standing space variety. And coed to boot! Chalk up another one in the experience column.

From there we walked up to near the Citadel of Saladin, the medieval bane of the Crusaders, through the old cemetery, the oldest part of Cairo - had coffee and another water pipe on the way out - and after exchanging addresses, Mahmoud found us a cab, accepted the LE30 we pressed on him and we thanked him for a day we'll always remember.

Later we met some of our tour group, which would commence in the morning. We had a quick dinner in the hotel with Vicky from Australia and then dashed back out to the airport. Phil successfully negotiated his way to the absolute hidden back recesses of the terminal building to the unmarked El Al office and success. The system works, we got our bag and, more important, the clean clothes in it.

We didn't sleep well - probably the excitement of clean underwear in the morning!

Thursday, December 16 Cairo

We met the rest of the group at 7:30 for breakfast. Every country seems to have its own "special" breakfast, which becomes both predictable and tiresome, and Egypt is no exception. Hibiscus juice, hard rolls with lardy butter and honey, dried out salami and weak coffee, all forever accompanied by Zamphir's (Master of the Pan Flute) Greatest Hits.

Are we ever a mixed group! We may be the only Americans in the group with New Zealanders, Aussies, Irish, Brits and Canadians. All very nice people and the typical group bonding will prove to form some lasting friendships. In typical Carta fashion, we've decided to forgo the group as they tour the Egyptian Museum - we'll do the Bird Market (stuffed crocs and other curios) and meet them later at the Citadel for the afternoon's tours.

We took the bus to the Egyptian Museum with the group and then walked probably another 4 miles south through the bowels of Cairo to the Ibn Tulum Mosque and through the Southern City of the Dead (an expansive cemetery in which about 500,000 squatters have set up housekeeping and ridiculously low rents), finally ending up at the Bird Market - which turned out to be 4 bird stands with tons of seed and cuttlebone.

Having run that gauntlet we made it back to the Bird Market and sat for some karkaday tea and 2 water pipes - where we met Ahmed and Ham - distributors of the pipes. They got Phil involved in a wacko photo session which had them shooting film willynilly - we can't wait to see these shots - not a single one is straight! We then walked up to the Citadel where we met our group half an hour later. We spent the time people watching outside the entrance.

Actually we were the ones being watched, or rather being gawked at as the fascinating object of attention. Everybody knows "Hello!" and all the girls (even the strictly garbed ones) seem fascinated with Joyce and her short blond hair. With the group we then toured the Citadel and the Mohammed Ali Mosque and got the 10-minute Introduction to Islam from Medhet our Egyptologist for the next two days. Then we were taken on to the Bazaar, which by now we're experts in. With a few members of the group, we wandered around different areas than we had seen the day before. We actually started out in the Tourist section and that lasted fewer than 10 minutes. There was too much high pressure and too many Heads of Tut - so we broke away and high tailed back to the native bazaar. We ended up at "our" lunch spot for more rice, beans, salad and tea. They remembered us and seemed overwhelmingly pleased that two Westerners liked their place enough to return. We were even ceremoniously shown to our "usual" table.

Phil took pictures of the owners and his crew; their delight was overwhelming. We returned (on time) back to the bus where we learned our compatriots were less than thrilled with the bazaar and that their Egyptian Museum tour was a fast blur of artifacts. We are thrilled that we're touring "our way." Dinner was an adequate buffet where we got to know each other better and where we determined that not all of the group are enthusiastic amateur Egyptologists like Joyce. In fact, there were not 10 of us who wanted to do the optional tour of Saqqara and Memphis so the tour company was not able to take us.

Friday, December 17 The Pyramids!

The day dawned cloudy or smoggy...not a good day for viewing or photos. The pyramids, when we came upon them, were like mystic shapes in the sheltering fog - distinguishable by the surrounding Arab "din" and the ubiquitous camel drivers and other "independent businessmen." And what can you say, of course they're wonderful and spectacular - it would have been nice to have had more time at them but this is a group tour and an effective common denominator is achieved. When we decided to document our holiday the question of the antiquities came up. And, Joyce being a talented amateur Egyptologist, we could probably fill a book with our observations and the retelling of ancient facts and myths. Unfortunately, others have beaten us to that and there are enough excellent sourcebooks available that we have decided describe this trip without significant reference to the antiquities. We hope the readers will understand and forgive us; there is more than enough adventure and experience to describe. So we will concentrate on modern Egypt and what we observed and experienced and leave the antiquities for another time and place.

Nonetheless, we entered the tunnel in the second largest pyramid, Chephren's, and went through to the vault. Although their reasons are sound, one still feels a bit cheated by not being permitted to take flash photographs in the tombs. (The flash will damage the wall paintings similar to how peoples breath is raising the humidity level and causing damage to the limestone walls of many of the tombs. It's truly an unfortunate situation for which there is no easy solution. Tourism is Egypt's #1 business but the art of touring is literally eating away at the tourism sites. Hopefully, they will be able to reach a balance between being able to observe the antiquities and the damage caused by those observations.)

We took in the solar boat (wondrous!) and finished at the Sphinx, which, according to Medhet, could be 2,000 years older than the Cheops pyramid and may have been very well covered by water. We also got to ride camels across the desert. It was a true riot: we were in the lead with "Moses," a Walter Matthau of a camel- who tried to take off my hand when I patted his head! We spent less than 4 hours altogether but it was time very well spent. Lunched at "Felafel" - an Egyptain-style chain restaurant in Giza: cheap, good, but not speedy (a microcosm for the whole country). At lunch it turned out that there were only 7 of us who wanted to visit Memphis and Saqqara, not enough for the tour leader to organize. However, we are quickly learning how to take matters in our own hands so we convinced Medhet to take us (for a small fee, of course).

We proceeded to hire a large taxi and off we went. Unfortunately only 3 hours to spend really leaves you thirsty for more - but that's better than nothing. Memphis was ancient Egypt's first capital city - i.e. the first capital in the world. It was interesting for the statuary and for the fact that every step one takes in the area could be on top of something priceless that's still buried. We learned that Medhet works as a hieroglyph translator (his day job) and he gave us a fascinating demonstration of how it's done. It was a surprising pleasure to have a real Egyptologist guide us, not just a student or actor. At Saqqara we could have spent weeks - the Step Pyramid, the causeways, Users and Idut's tombs (where the glyphs and paintings were of scenes of daily life). It was too, too short. The Pyramids, Memphis and Saqqara simply can't be seen in one day. Fortunately, we were able to return to Memphis and Saqqara at the end of the trip.

We went back to Cairo for a quick shower and on to the Giza station to board the overnight Wagon-Lits sleeper train to Aswan. The accommodations were cute little 2-bunk sleepers with a fold down table for immediate meal service: very comfy and spacious even by Lilliput standards. We were disappointed that dinner was served in the cabins rather than in a common dining area like on American trains. The airline style dinner was barely tolerable and unenhanced by eating in the cramped space of the cabin. After dinner many of the group congregated in the club car where a bartender organized an impromptu belly dance session by using a towel as a scarf and jumping up onto a table and shimmying. He then picked Joyce to wear the ceremonial scarf and do the dance. She survived and then got to pick her poor successor and so on. Even Phil got picked - and he shimmied with the best of them.

Saturday, December 18 The Train

We had our best night's sleep so far. Train motion is very conducive to rest and we would recommend this train ride to anyone. What we watched out the windows probably hadn't changed much in millennia (with the exception of the occasional car). We passed Luxor in the night and "Inshaallah" (God Willing) our arrival in Aswan could have been 11 am or 2:30 pm! Everything was so green outside. It seems like they're growing quantities of alfalfa, sugar cane, turnip-type root crops and the ever present beans (fava and chick peas). Besides green, colors are uniformly brown/sand, constructions are mud brick and very low. Frequently houses have doors but no roofs---??

We pulled into Aswan Station around 11:30, assembled into a minibus and drove the 3 blocks to the Cleopatra Hotel. This place was jewel of a surprise: modern, clean, first-rate by any standard with much larger rooms that the Salma. Aswan, as we saw by our quickie walking tour through the bazaar, is delightful, pretty, laid back, exactly what the guide book said. We grabbed an Aswanian pizza for lunch (different and good) and then set off for felucca sailing at 2ish. In these amazingly maneuverable and fast little boats we sailed around Elephantine Island over to the Agha Khan Mausoleum which did have wonderful views of the whole area. On our way back down through the ever present bazaar we bargained for T-shirts and gallabeyas - more or less successfully - and came away with two more items to pack. On the trip back we saw flocks of falcons roosting on a nearby sand dune and soaring above. Horus, the falcon-headed god. Very impressive. In the evening, having been talked into the Philae Temple Sound and Light show by the group, we forked over LE38 each and got a whirlwind tour through the temple followed by the usual sound and light garbled text - much to our disappointment. It was a typical S and L show (mythology, golden throated announcers, rousing music, etc.) but just seemed tacky compared to the majesty of the site. Give it a skip.

After dinner a group of us retired to the corner "cafe" for tea and sheesha (water pipes) and chatted until 10:30. This is the traditional Egyptian equivalent of our bars and pubs. The only difference is that local women do not enter these places. Exceptions are made for Western women, who are also allowed to smoke. But if looks could kill, the old Egyptian women who peered at Joyce and the others would have a worse record than Ted Bundy.

Sunday, December 19 Abu Simbel

This was promised to be the earliest morning call -- or the latest night. The phone rang at 3am. Fortunately Joyce was up and ready for it because it sounded like an angry camel. Assembling for coffee and to pick up our brown bag breakfasts we boarded a bus and set off. Military checkpoints along the way reminded us that we were on the main border road from Egypt to The Sudan - as tourists, of course, we were waved through.

After more or less successful attempts at sleep we stopped at sunrise (5:30ish) at a camel rest stop on the 40-Days Road from The Sudan to Cairo to bring the young camels to market. Of course there were the obligatory knife sellers and camel driving whip sellers which we skillfully avoided (it does get easier as time passes). Why do they think I would ever have need of a camel whip? We reboarded and made Abu Simbel by 7:30. One excellent thing about our tour company was they believed that the best time to see things is early in the morning. Not only is the light excellent and the air cool, but there are no tourist hoards to contend with. By the time we left Abu Simbel it was still not crowded. And we got back to Aswan with the meat of the day still before us.

Arriving at Abu Simbel we virtually had the monument to ourselves. (We couldn't begin to imagine what these places are like in the normal high season. Tourism was off 85% last December!) Abu Simbel is remarkable on 2 fronts - the majesty of the sites and the incredible engineering to move them, including the creation of 2 artificial mountains to provide adequate backgrounds. Starting with the Temple of the Sun, another of Ramses II monuments to his own grandeur, we were guided through and told the basics of the Battle of Kadesh. It was tourist level info but we could get a full appreciation for the beauty of the carvings and the vibrant colors that can still be seen. Of course we couldn't spend too much time but we did fully see the Nefertari monument with its wonderful Hathor columns and extraordinary bas relief. Exiting through the mountain, which is really the 2nd largest dome in the world, covered with rock to look like the original mountain, we passed the systems and technologies and listened to explanations of how it all works. Incredible.

Back on the bus, we made it back to Aswan by 12:30 - - having made excellent use of our morning with still a full day to go. We shared lunch with Tony and Tony (who soon became known as Tall Tony and Other Tony) at the local "Koofta" stand where we all had "mixed grill:" some kebobs of roast lamb with some round sausage things (which we later discovered to be innards of varying kinds), tomato salad (Joyce's new favorite food with coriander, mint, onion, pepper), tahini (Phil's new favorite food), green salad veg in a pita -- do it yourself style. It was delicious and more than filling. It was hard to part with the $2 to pay for it.

Negotiating for a cab after lunch we visited the Aswan High Dam. Surprisingly it was not too impressive in size nor situation, nothing like Hoover in scope. Next was the day's local "adventure." We got the cab to take us to Kalabsha Temple, another rescued jewel from the flooding of Lake Nasser. This massive temple was moved from Nubia some 50 kilometers south and situated just behind the High Dam on an island. We were astonished by the fact that this monstrous temple, along with the inordinate amount of work to move it, is almost inaccessible. Its approach is by back alleys through a boatyard and across a quarter mile of water. It is definitely not on the tourist route and is barely mentioned in the guidebooks, probably because of the hassle and inconvenience of getting there. In fact the four of us were the only tourists that afternoon. We were delivered to Kalabsha by an unscrupulous boatman who called himself the "Chief of Baksheesh." In between fending off his admiring glances and comments to Joyce, trying to keep him rowing and arguing over price, we did finally arrive. He sang songs and asked our names. "Say 'Anthony!," said Tony to Tony, trying to avoid the inevitable. The boat was maybe 12 feet long and Chief used untrimmed two by fours as oars. The arrival at Kalabsha was just as ratty as the departure: derelict boatyards, smelly fish bones, tramping trough the old and the cruddy and the landfill material.

We were greeted on arrival by a tiny little Nubian who fed a tamed fox for our entertainment. He stuck to us like glue (very tactile people these) and ended up providing a custom tour for Joyce. He showed her just about everything including some terrific intermediate frieze artwork between classical Egyptian and the Greek influence, some demotic script on the wall, the cell of St. Simeon, and some pretty scary stairs up to the ramparts. Phil, Tony and Tony (Larry, Darryl and Darryl?) amused themselves by playing in the Nilometer and prancing along the roof of the temple. (Nilometers were used by the ancients to measure the height of the Nile and to predict flood levels.)

We headed back to the beach and Chief was waiting. One quickly learns not to pay until the complete service has been rendered. On the way back to Aswan we stopped at the Unfinished Obelisque which, were it not stressed and could have been used, would have been the world's largest and probably dedicated to Queen Haphetshut.

That evening the group jumped into 2 taxis for a destination not on any map. On top of a hill with a beautiful panoramic view of Aswan we enjoyed a veritable feast whose centerpiece was a kind of Nubian Lasagna with some sort of meat slices on the side (camel? goat? whatever...). It was thoroughly delicious. The dancing that took place later went from the boringly commonplace to the evening's true entertainment - the Nubians getting all of us to join in - and with the exception of Phil, who took pictures of all that happened, we danced and danced and worked up another thirst. So the whole group of us went back to the bazaar for more hibiscus tea and sheesha - this time apple-flavored and very smooth and long lasting.

Monday, December 20 The Doma

Today we got to sleep blessedly late, had breakfast, packed and took off for the bazaar to spend our last few hours before boarding the boat for the obligatory "Nile cruise." We wandered around and got Bedouin earrings for a friend from a Nubian trader whose shop was stuffed with silver, boxes, plates. It was like Tut's tomb in a 10' by 5' area. We wandered more around the bazaar, shaking off the persistent shills (many of whom probably should have been in school), buying spices (little red and black beans, like incense) and hibiscus flowers for tea. We also bought dried dates after being invited to sample 3 or 4 of the more than 7 or 8 varieties. Actually, it was not the seller who invited us to try the dates, but the previous night's taxi driver. Apparently sampling wares is an accepted practice.

The next several days were scheduled to be aboard the Doma, a 43 meter (about 140 foot) motor yacht, leisurely cruising down the Nile to Luxor. It was a larger boat than we expected, with good sized cabins (bunk beds and a tiny sink). The upper deck was largely canopied and there was an open platform where we went shoeless, sat in the sun, read and played cards.

It was also one of those rare Travel Planning mistakes we've ever made. From now on we have learned to use 4- or 5-star boats as the quality difference between boats and land hotels is significant. We still think that 3- or 4-star hotels are best for land touring, however.

We learned that the Aussie "Black Bitch" game is the same as Hearts. Phil learned the basics of Euchre and 500 (an Aussie game) and had a really fabulous lunch of extraordinary potatoes, rice, tomato salad, etc. We spent the first afternoon moving north (down river) at a pretty good clip and around 3:30 docked at the Temple of Kom Ombo. The temple, impressive from the water, would probably get few visitors if it were not for the extensive river barge traffic. It's a weird blend of Ptolemaic, Classical Egyptian and Roman with paintings of medical instruments and scenes that testify to its past as a treatment center. Some of the frieze work is in mint condition and you can see the level of detail in each figure. The Greek influence is apparent from the columns and the start of 3-D effects in the bas relief. There's also mummified crocs and a sub flooring the priests used to "speak" for the gods. There were lots of tourists here, mostly French and German, the latter exhibiting their Zig Heil methodology of touring. From a French group we learned that one group of surgical instruments shown was gynecological, truly disclosing the discomforts of life ca. 0 A.D. But, we all enjoyed our hour on land and after running the gamut of bazaar folks who seem to spring up wherever tourists gather we made it back to the Doma. A couple of interesting notes: (1) the exhibition, for piastres, of an adorable white baby donkey who captured everyone's attention, and quite a few piastres...they are an enterprising people, and, (2) the immediate attention of the tourist police to a transaction that was seemingly dubious in the officer's eyes - nice to see they do protect the investment we represent.

We sailed on a few more hours and then anchored (or rather tied to a tree more appropriately) for the night. Joyce joined an impromptu sheesha party with the crew on the beach while Phil played cards. Sheesha is a very civilized habit, encouraging good conversation and conviviality.

A note about the Doma cuisine: it seems that each meal features a type of salad, at least one starch and maybe a meat. We've had rice, pasta, potatoes, pancakes and small rolls (which got harder at every serving) for each meal. Dinner sometimes features a soup. The meat was unremarkable. The first night's was reportedly beef but if so, there were a lot of miles on that cow before it hit the grill. The salad and vegetable are always ok. Desserts are "local," meaning not ok. Meals are, however, predictably similar.

Tuesday, December 21 The Doma

We awakened to the sounds of the intrepid crew casting off at about 6:30, so even though we cheated the muzzerin, the Arab world conspired to see we got up early nonetheless. This day started out chilly and turned to downright cold as we all successively donned more layers. It was probably in the 40s or 50s, unexpected in this part of the world. Because it's rarely this cold, there's no hot water on board (just like in our Florida office buildings) so washing was minimal.

Breakfast, to the dismay of all, was not eggs and bacon, but more tomato salad, halvah and some sort of pancake with feta cheese. We didn't know it then, but this was a sign. We sailed another 2 to 3 hours and reached Edfu around noon. We disembarked and got into horse drawn carriages (calashes) for the short ride to the Temple of Horus. Cabbed with new friends Kathleen and Alan (from Vancouver) with a Muslim cowboy driver who let Phil drive and who apparently expected baksheesh for the privilege.

The Temple of Horus is accessed through a tourist bazaar (what else!) and, even though the entry to the courtyard is from the rear, the walk around to the 36 meter high Pylon Gate entry - it is the highest completed gateway in Egypt. The Temple is really an excellent example of exactly how the classic temple structures were designed and used even though this temple is relatively modern, circa 0 AD. A good prelude to everything we'll see in Luxor.

We spent an hour touring all the ins and outs, including the birthing room and all the flights of stairs that enabled the priests to perform the complex Horus-Hathor ceremonies.

Before reboarding the calashes back to the river one of our group embarrassed herself (and us) by accepting as a "present" a very expensive garment - when obviously it was for sale only. She walked off with it and the merchant followed her back to the cafe where he took it back. (We think "words" were exchanged but it was hard to tell.) All was soothed with the giving of a less expensive token, but this is the kind of faux pas we take pains to avoid.

Lunch was served on board featuring very good fried eggplant. Rice and beans and tomatoes rounded out the meal. Phil said it was just like eating Morros, classic Cuban beans and rice, at home. We spent the afternoon lazing and chatting in good company.

It was about this time that we started to realize that all this time on the boat was getting to be a drag. Between Aswan and Luxor there were only 2 shore stops. There's not a lot to do on board and 3 days was too much time allocated. We are of the "frantic" school of touring: if I spend that much to get there I'll be damned if I'm going to relax! The tour company is British and we saw here an accommodation for the British type of traveler. The evening was especially frustrating because we were so close to Luxor and we were stuck moored on a deserted bank killing time with drinking games and huddling under blankets reading our guidebooks and dreaming about more worthwhile pursuits.

Wednesday, December 22 The Doma (still...)

By 7 in the morning we had already steamed for an hour and had gone through the locks at Esna. By 8, the one scheduled activity of the day was accomplished, we were once again chained to the shore. Moreover, we had been advised not to go ashore because of the political problems in Egypt. Fortunately, there's nothing in sight but sugar cane fields and sand, so little purpose would be served by going ashore anyway. Three days is one too many for the Doma.

So, after a not very satisfying breakfast (tomato salad is great, but every morning?) we wiled away the hours reading and looking at the scenery - the same scenery actually, for about 2 hours as we anchored at a small island with natives who made obscene gestures at some of the gals on board and who wanted to trade sugar cane for ballpoint pens. Whoever introduces the Bic to Egypt is a guaranteed Donald Trump.

We finally got moving, only to veer off to an apparently uninhabited island to pick up someone who apparently came on board with our lunch. This was completely inconceivable and we prefer not to dwell on it. After another hour's sail we "docked" (spikes nailed into shore with lines attached) on a cultivated island to kill who knows how much more time.

Another obviously wasted day, and we (just Phil and Joyce, that is) made the suggestion that we push on to Luxor and anchor there tonight. Amazingly, to us, our shipmates were happy to stay put. Such a procedure was, of course, "mish mumkin" (not possible) so we suggested the next best thing: GET US OFF THIS BOAT!!!

Backs to the wall we deserted and jumped ship. The captain accommodated us by finding a dry shoreline and putting down the gangplank. Schlepping our luggage over a couple of dunes we found the main road between Aswan and Luxor. The boat had run out of rice for dinner so a cabin boy was also dispatched to go into town to get some. The captain was helpful, flagged down a passing service taxi, negotiated our LE6 fare and we bid farewell to the captain and his crew. Of course, the day wouldn't be complete without the taxi driver having no idea where our hotel was and we got a free tour of Luxor. That cost us an extra LE 1. We walked into the hotel where we were scheduled to be the next night and Phil negotiated the travel agents' price for a large, clean room with a tub and a TV. After a delightful and very welcome hot shower we took off for one of our not-yet-patented "Learn The City Yourself" Walks. After the Doma this was just the right medicine. Our journey took us all the way down the Corniche, all the while fending off persistent calesche and taxi drivers, one of whom insisted we should carry his greetings to Clevon Jones in the U.S.! We enjoyed an 8 mile excursion all around Luxor and saw its tourist and native sides. We saw Luxor Temple lit up for night and we could only wonder how Ramses II might have reacted. We think he would have approved.

We stopped for Koofta and pita with all the trimmings and had tons of food for $3.50. You can live like an Oriental Potentate here. The bazaar feels very comfortable to us. The magic power of "La, la shokran" ("no, thanks") does fend off the majority of advances although Phil was stopped once and asked to buy whiskey for a local.

That evening we watched a little local TV. They have some amazing public services ads, "What to do if your child has swallowed lye", "Don't swim in the river...bilharzia germs", "Don't smoke cigarettes or sheesha", this last complete with interior x-ray views of nicotine destruction. Very convincing, but then probably 95% of the male population smokes.

We also dipped into a pita bread factory (a storefront of maybe 800 total square feet) and got a friendly, annotated tour of the bread making process - wonderfully efficient and very labor intensive. We were offered a pita fresh out of the oven and steaming hot. It was heavenly. As we turned to leave the bakers at the oven screamed at us, "Baksheesh! Baksheesh!" We had neglected to tip the staff. It took LE2 to get out of there. Well, it cost LE1.95 if you count the free pita.

Thursday, December 23 Luxor

We awoke to calesche sounds and, after turning on the TV, to teletype Arabic accompanied by (what else?) Zamphir, Master of the Pan Flute! We hoped breakfast here would be an improvement, something more Western, and ... Yes! Eggs - in little rolled pancake form but eggs nonetheless. Our group dragged in at 9:30 looking exactly like they'd spent another night on the Doma. They had the morning free for recovery but we took a calesche to the Luxor Museum. It is a little jewel with a very carefully chosen and well displayed (humidity and temperature controlled) selection from all Egyptian periods. Of course Phil bargained down Mustapha, the calesche driver, from a start of 40 to 10 LE for the drive, and his bargaining prowess continued when he paid LE6 for the perfect map of Egypt ca. 1595 A.D. originally priced at LE20.

Luxor turned out to be the best part of the entire trip. Historic, clean, friendly, good shopping, good food ... We met the group at 12:30 for the afternoon touring. We boarded calashes for the 3 km ride to Karnak, which is a place that's truly hard to describe. "Massive" comes to mind, as does "overpowering" and also "omnipotent yet fallen on hard times." Luckily, we have our best guide of the tour so far, clear to understand and really filled with facts (although when Joyce later heard a French version of the Karnak Temple tour we realized that they got the same thing we got just about verbatim - the "Official Karnak-Luxor Guide Script"). We spent about 2 hours there and saw the Amun complex with its holy lake, which is really the only area they allow the casual tourist. It struck both of us that it was very fortunate that sand filled up both Karnak and Luxor and thus inhibited wild-eyed, obsessed early Christians from defacing everything. The other fact of life here we find so strange is that little baksheesh men apparently have authorization to stake out areas in these temples and snare the unsuspecting tourist into parting with piastres to see something he could have easily found on his own. Legalized extortion in a word.

From Karnak we caleshed (new word) over to Luxor Temple and spent the rest of the afternoon there - in awe. We tried to absorb the atmosphere of the place and were so glad to have seen it at night as well. Whereas Karnak is daunting because of its size and scope, Luxor Temple is more manageable to appreciate and has the grace of integrated design. Karnak took 1400 years to assemble; Luxor temple was the dream of one family. One is amazed by the sheer grandness of the complex and of the masterful engineering which went into it over the years. and the 3 kn long avenue between Karnak and Luxor, lined by statues of lions all the way is breathtaking, even though parts of it are still buried under the newer city.

Friday, December 24, Christmas Eve, Valley of the Kings

Today's wake-up call was comparatively "late," 4:30, and we assembled at 4:45 for tea and to collect breakfasts. Today is the day of the donkey ride to the Valley of the Kings. We took the ferry west across the river and took pictures of the 2 ferries because few would believe the descriptions of these floating derelicts. After docking and a quarter mile walk to the road, we met the donkeys, who seemed to almost all be white and frisky, got matched up and set off in the pitch black night. Whooping and hollering and no doubt waking up everything and everyone on the ferry access road, our intrepid group laughed our way to the Valley of the Kings. The donkeys definitely had a mind of their own and their objective was playing "keep away" from the donkey boy in the back of the pack with the big stick! Without warning they would suddenly start trotting fast or even canter and steering was problematic, but we covered 11 km in 1 hour as the sun turned the mountains pink and then golden and finally brown. Passed a surprised fox on the way, the same kind as on Kalabsha Temple island.

We should say a word about tack. These donkeys don't carry 1 gram extra fat and all are afflicted with protruding vertebrae. The saddles consequently are like the molded horse forms found in tack shops to try out new saddles: solid, built up and (unlike the forms) loaded with cushions to absorb shock. Since there are no stirrups, mounting is a matter of luck and having a donkey boy give a strategic push. Bitting was with a thin low-port type with nose and curb chain, painful in the wrong hands. The gaits are very flat: the faster the speed, the smoother, like all equines. All in all a ride you could easily do all day without too much suffering.

Our guide again was that very competent lady (Nadia) who first took us to the tombs of Ramses IV, then Ramses IX and finally Seti II. What struck us was how unprepared pictures make you for the actual experience of entering and viewing a tomb. The extent of the preparations, the carving, painting and finishing work, especially the bas relief which in the mortuary arts reaches really its perfection, is beyond initial comprehension. It is ironic that these works were never intended for human eyes. After those 3 tombs, Joyce paid the extra LE10 to see Tut's which has been open for the past 4 months now. It was interesting to size up the actual space after seeing all the stuff that came out of it. The sarcophagus and gold coffin are still there, as is the mummy, the only identified mummy still in the Valley of the Kings.

After Tut, we had two obstacles to climb. Well, actually only one to climb: about a thousand feet up to the top of the ridge above the valley where we would again meet up with our donkeys. They are fine on relatively flat ground, but are not strong enough to carry a person on their backs up or down steep hills. The other obstacle were the ubiquitous and amazingly persistent alabaster vendors who accosted us on the trail. There we were, trying to negotiate a steep, rocky trail without slipping and rolling back down into the valley, and we also had to say "La, La" to miserable figurines and trinkets. Typical vendor's spiel: "You want a nice scarab? Alabaster. 100 pounds. Very nice. 10 pounds . . ." They would stop cutting the price around 4 to 5 pounds, but just how many scarabs does one need anyway? (For us: zero.)

The donkey ride across the ridge was a highlight of the trip. We traversed the mountain over terrain that could only be called ruggedly Biblical, high above Queen Hatshepsut's Temple, with a fantastic view of it and many of the temples to the east. We could see across the fields all the way to the Nile. The distinction between the green farmlands and the brown desert was all too apparent. We rode about 7 or 8 kilometers back to a small town where the donkeys took off, knowing the way home.

As there were many more treasures here, and the afternoon was free, 9 of us conscripted Nadja to take us to 3 further stops, The Valley of the Queens, The Rammasseum and Hatshepsut's Temple. She arranged for a pair of taxis and we took off. At the Valley of the Queens we saw a prince's tomb, a young son of Ramses III. The frescos and patterns were much more open and airy. Fewer prayers needed to be written so more space was left for art, graphically pleasing to today's tastes. Leaving there we taxied to the Ramasseum, the funerary temple built by Ramses the Great and the home of the column which inspired the poem "Ozymandias." The huge but toppled Ramses column is in the process of being catalogued and reassembled by the Egyptians (they intend to raise it again) and it would be worth the the journey just to see it.

Finally we got to Hatshepsut's Temple which has, in Joyce's opinion, the absolute best bas relief, particularly of her expedition to Punt (present day Somalia). Haphetshut was the only female to rule Egypt as a King (Pharaoh). The excavation of the temple even turned up the trunks of 2 myrrh trees she planted in the front garden. Colors could still be seen vividly and, even with the desecration that took place after her reign, the temple is a serene monument to what must have been an exceptional queen (king).

On the way back we stopped at an alabaster factory and worker's home built right over a mine. We got a demonstration of hand versus machine finishing of alabaster. Joyce was offered a quickie, unauthorized but baksheeshed, mine visit to see how it was done. There were lots of the usual heads, statues, pots and vases. We resisted with no difficulty but others succumbed. Reluctantly, we headed back to Luxor. The others in the group finally realized that we were "serious" tourists when we invited them to join us for a jaunt back through the bazaar. They were all bushed and opted for the hotel. Several later confided that they had thought we were wimps for having jumped ship ... but now realized that it was they who were the wimps for staying!

So we left the group and headed back to the bazaar to "our" Koofta stand for a quick tide-over before dinner. We wandered the bazaar some more before heading back to shower and change for Christmas Eve dinner. Since it was Christmas Eve we opted to splurge and take a caleshe to a local fancy restaurant. Amazingly to us, on leaving the hotel we were summoned by someone who turned out to be Mustapha's brother-in-law who insisted that he be our driver. (When business is slow they really pick out their marks and stick like glue.) Whoever he was, he proceeded to take us through back streets to the bazaar. The look on his face when Phil pointed out that the restaurant was the other way was priceless! We guess he never expected a tourist to be wise to his tactics to up the price! Anyway the restaurant was an upscale native place where we were the only English speaking folks (the rest were French) and had a very good meal of upscale Koofta (Phil) and grilled pigeon and Egyptian moussaka for Joyce. She did want to try the pigeon as it's a local specialty and it was very good but a lot of work for little return. It was a good day, and a good Christmas Eve, probably the best day of the tour.

Saturday, December 25, Christmas Enroute to Hurghada

After an excellent breakfast of more rolled up egg pancakes we walked back to the bazaar, refusing numerous calesche offers as we walked. They can't seem to understand that Westerners could actually prefer to walk. One stopped us and said "Karnak Temple?" to which Phil replied "Yes, about 2 km straight ahead!"

We stopped by the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute to see what programs Joyce might be able to get in on but they were closed for the holiday. We wandered through the bazaar again, pricing malachite pyramids and hematite bracelets. We got back to the hotel in plenty of time to load up in our very tiny minibus for the 4 hour drive to Hurghada.

There's not a whole lot to say about the trip. The mountain landscape was wild and different, the route was sprinkled with army-type installations. The bus was cramped and we were glad to see the Red Sea come into view. It is a remarkable seascape - no vegetation to speak of, just a strip of water dividing the sand of Egypt from the sand of Arabia. The sea is very calm and still, and a beautiful, almost Caribbean spectrum of blues.

Hurghada, on the other hand, is more of a raised pimple of a town: garish, sleazy-looking, all of it very new so the construction is constant with its attendant dust and mud. Hurghada is a big deal resort in Egypt but I would liken it to a seedy Freeport to Sharm El Sheik's Nassau. Definitely "down market." We arrived before dinner and had a very mediocre hotel meal. The "La Bambola" is a tourist resort filled with Germans. In fact, there wasn't a free room in the house. Phil rushed off to see about diving arrangements for the next 2 days and was disappointed to learn he could only make 2 dives a day and the only night dives they did were on Wednesdays and of course we weren't staying over a Wednesday

Sunday, December 26 Hurghada

Phil set off after breakfast and before the rest of us went off snorkeling. We (the snorkeling group) piled into 2 taxis (did I mention previously that driving in a taxi was like having a near death experience?) which took us about 15 minutes further south to the dock. Hurghada is about 13 km in length and very spread out. Our vessel, the Gizza could probably comfortably hold about 20 so we had lots of room. We went about an hour out to Magawish Island with coral formations and very clear waters. The visibility was excellent and we all piled in. Water temperature was about 75 and the sun was warm with a little breeze. This was, apparently, the best snorkeling in this area. How does it rate next to other good areas? Mediocre. The coral was better than 50% dead and there were relatively few fish. There were lots of different critters, as Phil would say, some types I recognized as the same and others were of a similar family to our home species. The clarity of the water is exceptional, and the sun was warm, but not hot, so the balance of the day that was spent on the boat chatting and reading was very pleasant. Seas were calm. After lunch, a delicious tiny little fried fish, the usual rice, etc., we traveled to an island and anchored about 50 feet off it. Some of our group made landfall so they could lie in the sand but it really didn't seem worth the effort. After a very short snorkeling stop after lunch which was on an almost barren, dead reef, we headed back. We got back around 4 and took a nice hot shower.

On the other hand, Phil had an absolutely marvelous day of diving, ranking in his Top 10. It took all day to do two dives because they traveled almost 3 hours to the first site. It was one of those rare days with flat seas so they could dive a site about halfway between Hurghada and the tip of the Sinai Peninsula. A shallow spot just off the main shipping channel in the middle of the Red Sea, it is the graveyard of several wrecks. The first dive was one of 4 wrecks, a medium size freighter that he could penetrate to a certain extent. It was in only about 80' of water with at least 100' visibility. After years of Caribbean diving, he was now facing tons of fish that all had the right shapes, but the colors were all scrambled! We won't go into the usual litany of "critters" except to mention that he finally saw a Lionfish and several 200 pound Lumphead Wrasses.. They are commonly seen in aquaria in the States but not in the Caribbean. Also astonishing was the quantity and variety of soft corals. Basically of white, blue, yellow, brown and purple, each one was of a different pair: white and purple, blue and brown and so on.

Between the dives they encountered a pod of dolphin. While the captain called the pod and corralled them, the divers prepared to jump in and snorkel with them. It was amazing to see a dozen people in the water with the dolphins coming right up to them. They seemed to like being petted and touched. It was difficult not to hold on for a ride. It was one of the best 15 minutes of his life, Phil said with a smile as wide as the Sahara.

Dinner that night was at a local Greek restaurant which may have been our best meal on the trip. We were joined by Alan and Kathleen and had a good time. Phil had soup, hummus salad and some sort of beef stew in sweetened wine sauce which he loved; my dolmades and moussaka may have been my best ever.

Monday, December 27 Hurghada

With an overcast sky, a brisk wind and considerably more chill than yesterday, the snorkel group bundled up and set out for our first destination, which proved to be an all day tie up at "Little Grifton Island." I didn't go in (way too cold for me and no warming sun to speak of) but those that did said it was comparable to yesterday's first stop, maybe not quite as good. The boat boys, though, considerately threw food overboard to attract big fish and we were fortunate enough to see a huge wrasse and an even bigger grouper. We spent the best of the day anchored off the island. At about 200 yards out no one braved the swim, even though it was standable in places on the dead coral. Which is something they seem to do here with no regard for the consequences. I was also amazed that the boat boys took pieces of live coral and a live clam just for the shell. Apparently "Green" hasn't spread to the Red Sea. Phil left with another group member, Ursula, for his day's diving. She did a quickie introductory course to enable her to make one dive, to see how she likes it. Phil spent most of the morning briefing her on the basics, dove along the top portions of a several thousand foot deep wall at Umm Gamar and then joined her for some spectacular reef diving.

Dinner was a revisit to the Greek restaurant which attracted the rest of the group as well, and, like the night before it was a wonderful meal. Prior to that, however, our tour escort passed the word that there had been a tourist shooting in Cairo: seven Austrians were wounded in an attack on a tourist bus in old Islamic Cairo. The news put a somber mood followed by gallows humor on the group and gave rise to a lot of speculation about what could be done in Cairo when we arrived there the next day. Islamic and Coptic Cairo were pretty much off limits (actually we had passed the mosque where the shots were fired during one of our bazaar jaunts) and we contemplated a day tour back to Memphis and Saqqara, to actually spend time at these sites.

Tuesday , December 28 On the Road to Cairo

A 6:30am on-the-road start was called for by the schedule but breakfast at the hotel first was the unanimous vote as we all had enough of the 2-dry-rolls-in-a-bag-take-along! Since the plan was "Cairo by 1 pm" we had to make tracks - it's about 450 kilometers between the 2 cities.

This turned out to be, unequivocally, the bus ride from hell. Phil fought his cold which he had mystically commanded to wait until after the diving. And Joyce fought Ramses Revenge (all the street food finally caught up with her). All of us fought staying awake on the bus and the driver fought everything else on the road in the suicidal cat and mouse traffic games they play. So many of us are sick at this point - ol' Ramses has been busy. We made a number of "necessary" stops: one with designated "Boy Dunes" and "Girl Dunes." Paralleling the Red Sea north there are only 2 colors in the landscape - the blue of sea and sky and the dust color of the sands. No green, nothing "floral" or even living...it was almost lunar in quality. Turned west just south of Suez so we didn't pass near the canal and we did make the Salma Hotel by 1 pm. At dinner that night we firmed up plans to revisit Memphis and Saqqara with Alan and Kathleen who had not been before and, since it was probably safer to get out of Cairo for the day, this was an excellent idea. Of course Joyce could have happily spent weeks in Saqqara alone...

We had two days left in Cairo before we headed back home. But we had planned to visit the areas which were now considered too dangerous for Westerners. So we firmly decided the best course of action was to leave Egypt a day early and spend it in Israel since it was on our route home.

Wednesday, December 29 Memphis and Saqqara

Our last breakfast in the Salma was again to the lyric strains of Zamphir. Baked beans...what else! The 4 of us negotiated for a cab and, getting a satisfactory price of about $21 for the day, set off first for the Mena House to drop Alan and Kathleen's luggage. They will be immersed in Oriental splendor for their last 2 days in Egypt. More important, Joyce will be able to tell her mother, a veteran traveler, that she was there and saw it so she'll really feel the trip to Egypt was complete. The Mena House is virtually across the street from the Great Pyramid and ranks as one of the most luxurious hotels in the world. This is doubly meaningful being situated in Egypt where luxury is hard to come by and the climate itself conspires against cleanliness.

Back in Memphis Joyce played tour guide and handled questions as best she could. It was thrilling to see the limestone colossus of Ramses II again and we had more of a chance to stay and browse at our leisure. We continued on to Saqqara and had our driver wait while we spent almost 4 hours roaming from the Djoser complex to the Tomb of Ti (who was a royal hairdresser), to the Serapeum, the burial place for the mummies of the sacred Apis bulls of Ptah. The Serapeum was one of the highlights for Phil. The place is cavernous. It is an underground complex of long, wide and high tunnels built like catacombs and discovered really by accident in 1851. The solid granite sarcophagi looked to be about 18 feet long by 8 feet side by 10 high. And chamber after chamber held its honored bovine. This must have been particularly creepy to its rediscover, M. Mariette, as some mummies were still in place. We saw no mummies, however. From there we took in the royal vizier and his son "Hotep & Hotep" for short, and were overwhelmed by the quality of the tomb art: boat building, beer making, metalworking and other scenes from daily life were beautifully executed. Through a hole in the tomb was a statue of Hotep peering out...it was like looking back across time. And, of course we needed to revisit User's pyramid, Idut's tomb (I think Joyce's favorite) and the ceremonial causeway which once connected Saqqara to Memphis. All 4 of us were happy with the sights, the pack of sightseeing and the day.

Returning to the Mena House was a revitalizing experience in itself. As Joyce's mother has testified for years, it is opulent, luxurious, etc., etc., and it was clearly in the throes of preparation for a Grand Event: metal detectors at the doors, checkpoints and obvious security staff. Which all became clear later. Alan and Kathleen had a room in the old section with a direct view of the Great Pyramid. We had an early dinner in the coffee shop which was a good, solid "OK" As we said goodbye to them on the front steps a cavalcade of limousines began to arrive. It could only be that the PLO/Israeli peace talk group was coming to dine! And the doorman couldn't rush us off the steps fast enough!

We made it to the Cairo Airport in ample time. This was even after convincing the taxi driver that he was going to the wrong terminal and, after he turned around, enduring a half mile back down the highway on the wrong side. We then got to endure the six (6!) levels of El Al security checks (which raised national paranoia to absurdity) and finally were airborne, again in an unmarked plane.

Landed on time in Tel Aviv just before midnight, made arrangements for a room in Jerusalem and grabbed a "sherut," a shared taxi, for the hour drive. We had come into the country with little idea of where to stay. In fact, we had planned to stay near the airport, but the friendly people at the tourist assistance desk suggested going to Jerusalem. And that was indeed the right route to pursue.

By 2 in the morning we made it to the Ron Hotel and into bed. We were very cold (they're as fresh air fanatical as the Scots with open windows in late December) and feeling mixed emotions on leaving Egypt. But it was the right thing to do and we were looking forward to seeing a new country.

Thursday, December 30 Jerusalem

We slept late until 9:00, gleefully anticipating good, hot bagels but ended up resigned to the fact that we'll just have to come back to Florida for them. Breakfast at the Ron Hotel was more cold veggie salad, cheese and bread. Filling, but not like a bagel. Setting off our first stop was the tourist info center. It was very close and convenient because the Ron had a wonderful location less that 1km from the Jaffa Gate, a main entrance to the Old City. Not originally expecting to spend any time in Israel, we had not done any planning. But with a little help, we decided there was really a lot we could see and do. So, after a quick call to Delta Airlines to ensure there were seats available and a call home to ensure the animals would be taken care of, we decided to extend the trip another day.

Entering the old city we opted for a 4 hour walking tour, an excellent decision as we were blessed with the best guide we could have: an iconoclastic former history professor who could tell a story about every stone we passed. The 4 hours we spent with him we hated to see end. We walked through all 4 quarters of Old Jerusalem, hearing a mix of '67 war stories, Biblical tradition and archeological fact. We hit all the usual hot spots; here are some brief impressions:

• the rebuilding of the Jewish quarter (decimated by the Jordanians in the '67 war) was masterful, completely in keeping in form and style with the older sections;

• the security checkpoints on entrances to the Wailing Wall had metal detectors which beeped with every person who passed through, but were ignored by the automatic weapon toting security personnel;

• female relatives in the Women Only section standing on chairs to watch their young boys bar mitzvahed;

• the ancient public relations job perpetrated by the Moslems, ie. inventing significance for The Dome of the Rock to gain presence for Jerusalem as a Moslem city;

• the Crusader architecture;

• the whole "give the customer what he wants" attitude, the Stations of the Cross are a perfect example (they were created by the locals after the Crusaders demanded to see where the stations were);

• the fact that the more you saw at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher the less you thought about organized Christianity (we learned that they used to hire Moslem thugs to separate the fighting priests);

• the cleanliness and relative low pressure sales hype of the bazaars compared to Cairo;

• the distinct impression that we were the only non-Jews in the city; and,

• that despite the history, the hatreds and the virulent graffiti, Jerusalem doesn't erupt in bloody violence daily. Too many people have too much regard for the "Golden City."

We grabbed a quick pizza slice at a "dairy" pizzeria (Kosher, of course, so pepperoni pizza was not on the menu) and took in the Wohl Archeological Museum. Built to house the 100 BC (or BCE in modern parlance) era ruins unearthed by the '67 war bombing. What an experience looking down and into houses and streets almost 2000 years old with mosaics in place, baths and reconstructed furnishings. Some people did live well back then.

However it was now 5pm and we're slowly realizing that tomorrow is Friday but it's also the Sabbath or "Shabbat," which means just about everything shuts down for all day or a lot of it. That nixed our plans to do two museums tomorrow (a real disappointment since the David Museum and the Israel Museum, home of the Dead Sea scrolls, were two of the biggest draws in Jerusalem for us) or really anything else except the 1 day bus trip to Masada and the Dead Sea. So we booked it at the really outrageous expense of $104.00 (not including lunch).

We wandered around the walking outdoor Ben Yehudin Street pedestrian mall near our hotel until we found a local Middle Eastern place. This restaurant was "meat" so no dairy products. Throughout Israel everything is kept kosher. This proves to be quite a strain for us non-kosher types as things like a simple pepperoni pizza just don't exist. Two people can't even have a grilled cheese and a roast beef sandwich in the same restaurant. To say nothing of the utter nonexistance of a cheeseburger.

Friday, December 31, New Year's Eve (for us) Masada / Dead Sea

We met the tour bus at the corner which brought us to the central collection point. As we drove through the city we noticed how everything was closed. They even publish sunset and sunrise times in the paper so everyone can maintain the ceremonies properly.

Fortunately, although we never even thought to ask, we were on the English Tour bus and our guide was an energetic young gal who was a professed Messianic Jew. They believe in Jesus as the Messiah but still regard themselves as practicing Jews. She was firmly convinced that we're now in the "end time" foretold by the Book of Revelations. Everything happening in the contemporary world, especially the reassembling of the Jews in Israel, is the harbinger to the Apocalypse. We were both of us startled by the infusion of Biblical story as hard and fast fact in her patter. However she did a credible job of providing us with many stories and facts, not all of which we believed. Jerusalem is extremely hilly and green. That was especially evident as we left the city to drive east and then south to Masada.

We drove past the cave where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, some Bedouin Tribesmen, lots of farming miracles (the "dates will bloom in the desert" prophesy), the Jericho area (about to be turned over to the Palestinian Free State, assuming the 2 sides can agree) and past military checkpoints featuring 16 year olds slouching with Uzis. After 90 minutes we spotted Masada, the majesty of which was somewhat abrogated by the required snack bar and souvenir stop before our ascent.

Masada is the thousand foot high natural fortress upon which a thousand Zealots perched around 73 AD. They were the last group of a population which the Romans were trying to eliminate, and put up a valiant fight as the Romans encircled Masada for 3 years. The Roman encampments and encircling wall are still quite visible. After other techniques failed, the Romans proceeded to build an earthen ramp. They rolled a battering ram up the ramp and breeched the walls -- only to find that all the Zealots had killed themselves rather than be captured (or so the story goes).

You can walk up the mountain or ride the cable car and it is quite a sight. The plateau is large enough for a good size Florida style housing development, which is close to what Herod had in mind. The mount has two major palaces, store rooms, baths, swimming pools (the cistern complex alone was fascinating) and later Byzantine monasteries and chapels. No wonder the zealots could hide out in well-stocked comfort for 4 years.

As much as anything else, the Roman's breaching ramp inspires amazement at the tenacity and determination. Most of the structure is clearly visible, as are the camp sites that surround the plateau -- and the only thing anyone can say with certainty about Masada is that the Romans took it through engineering dominance.

The day, though, had passed its high point because the next stop was Ein Gedde (which we believe translates to "Soak the Tourists"), the Dead Sea resort and spa. First of all, the weather on the 31st was not cooperative; overcast, cloudy and mucky/misty. Secondly, the Dead Sea is, well, dead...as in Devoid of Life. It looks dead. It smells dead. Nothing grows or moves around on its banks. Warning signs abound: Don't get the water in your eyes, in your mouth, in open sores. Plus we were told the water was oily feeling. All of the above, plus the fact that it was a bit nippy (and the bathing suits we had with us we really didn't want to subject to this awful grey sludge) kept us both from sampling the dubious delights. Having been steered to the cafeteria for a high priced lunch we didn't want, we then killed the next hour in typical fashion for us: mocking our the overrated attraction, including those devotees who smeared the famous Dead Sea black mud all over themselves and looked like human silhouettes. What we regretted is the fact that this wasted hour would have been put to such good use at Masada. But that's the downside of tour groups. (In truth we knew that the tour stopped at Ein Gedde but, failing to ask, we assumed that more time would be spent at Masada. We learned a lesson here.)

On returning to Jerusalem we faced a real dilemma. In a country that doesn't recognize New Year's Eve (our New Year's Eve, that is) and that really rolls in the sidewalk on "Shabbat," where were we going to find dinner...let alone a Festive Dinner? Our initial search was fruitless. Although the downtown area was as alive as San Juan or Parguera, Puerto Rico the night before, this evening there were only us and cats. Surprisingly, there were few police in the downtown area.

We need not have worried. We found 3 restaurants that would have served well and decided on the Italian one as the easiest choice for Joyce's still delicate stomach. Blessedly, this place was not Kosher -- pepperoni pizza does exist in Israel! We enjoyed a thoroughly delightful meal with a carafe of local wine which was considerably better than Egypt's "Chateau Ptolemy." We picked our timing right because every other Westerner in the city must have been waiting to eat by the time we were finished. In bed by 10pm -- because our wake-up call was coming at 2am to make the cab back for the 6:30am flight.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Saturday January 1, 1994 The Trip Home

Starting out with a 2:00 AM wake up call to take the cab to the airport for the 6:30 flight and after enduring another barrage of bureaucratic paranoia we boarded and flew home. It was one of the longer days we've ever lived, about 28 hours of solid travel. We even saw the new year in twice...all in one day. But, it was another experience of a lifetime.

WHEN CAN WE GO BACK TO EGYPT???

(That question's been answered as we have been fortunate enough to return several times since...)