Ok, one time we got taken for a ride on camels. More about that later. The other time, while wandering around the Great Pyramid at Giza, brother Doug and I were separately sold Egyptian trinkets by two fast-talking salesmen. Here’s the dialog from my guy:

“Where are you from? America? I love Americans. My wife is from Washington D.C. Here is a gift for you because I love Americans and want to give you this scarf. No, no money, it’s a gift.”

Within 30 seconds I had a second scarf (for my wife) and several vaguely pyramid-shaped stones (for my kids). And then the scarf was tied around my head, Yasser Arafat style, and he was taking my picture in front of the pyramid.

“Let me give you a little something for all these presents.” I had maybe $10 in Egyptian pounds in my pocket. I gave him 100 pounds ($6). “No, that’s not enough. Some give me $50, some $20.”

“But that’s all I have (fingers crossed behind my back.” And I have to catch up with my group.” It took me another 10 minutes to end the transaction.

Doug’s dialog was almost exactly the same, except his guy’s daughter is a student in California. I don’t know how much he took Doug for (it’s not polite to ask the fleecee how much fleece he lost) but they parted more amicably than my guy and I did. Another guy approached me; his is from Chicago. Another guy offered me 10,000 camels for my wife, Judy.

I was sorely tempted by the 10,000 camel offer until, that is, I rode on one. Then I was just plain sore.

Of course, Doug and I went camel riding (of course the two Judys didn’t). For 10 bucks U.S. we were mounted onto a kneeling camel. “Lean back,” was the instruction at which time the camel arose to his feet (or her feet? I didn’t check). I figured out what “lean back” meant about halfway through the camel’s rising, at which point I almost did a swan dive over the head of my camel (they get up hind feet first). The ride was kinda fun, if bumpy, and the blankets were more comfortable than a leather horse saddle.

Now I’ve taken some risky pictures in my day. I once photographed an on-coming locomotive while standing in the middle of the trestle at Onawa (the engineer frantically blew his horn to get me out of the way). I once dived into the Pacific Ocean to photograph an eight-foot Galapagos shark (I had a visual sighting but no picture). But let me tell you, one shot with my iPhone from the back of that camel and I tucked the phone away and held on with both hands for dear life. The thing would sway from one side to the other with no other purpose apparent to me than to dislodge me from his back and deposit me in the Egyptian sand. The young fellow leading my camel on this 20-minute journey was nice enough to take my picture.

All of this took place at the site of today’s main event: a visit to the pyramids in Giza, the town across the river from Cairo. There are three pyramids in this complex plus a real life sphynx carved from a single piece of stone.

Let me quote from Wikipedia to give you the historical background.:

The Giza pyramid complex, also called the Giza Necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Menkaure, along with their associated pyramid complexes and the Great Sphinx of Giza. All were built during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. The site also includes several cemeteries and the remains of a workers’ village.

The site is at the edges of the Western Desert, approximately 9 km (5 mi) west of the Nile River in the city of Giza, and about 13 km (8 mi) southwest of the city centre of Cairo.

The Great Pyramid and the Pyramid of Khafre are the largest pyramids built in ancient Egypt, and they have historically been common as emblems of ancient Egypt in the Western imagination.^[1][2] They were popularised in Hellenistic (Greek) times, when the Great Pyramid was listed by Antipater of Sidon as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is by far the oldest of the ancient Wonders and the only one still in existence.

The Pyramids of Giza consist of the Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Cheops or Khufu and constructed c. 2580 – c. 2560 BC), the somewhat smaller Pyramid of Khafre (or Chephren) a few hundred meters to the south-west, and the relatively modest-sized Pyramid of Menkaure (or Mykerinos) a few hundred meters farther south-west. The Great Sphinx lies on the east side of the complex. Current consensus among Egyptologists is that the head of the Great Sphinx is that of Khafre. Along with these major monuments are a number of smaller satellite edifices, known as “queens” pyramids, causeways and valley pyramids.^[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giza_pyramid_complex

These pyramids are thus 4,600 years old and still standing. The major cause of destruction has been scavenging. They were once coated with an external layer of fine-grained limestone. During the Middle Ages builders from Cairo borrowed the exterior facing material and repurposed it, rather than quarrying their own material.

Around 1,000 CE the ruling authority (a foreigner; Egypt lost its independence for good to Alexander the Great in 331 BCE) ordered a shaft to be opened into the side of the Great Pyramid. His hope was to find untold riches in the Pharaoh’s burial chamber. He got lucky; the shaft intersected the pyramid’s built-in passageway that led to the burial chamber. Unluckily, the chamber was empty, probably robbed long before. But that work was good luck for us, because Doug, my Judy and I all clambered through narrow, low-ceiling passageways to the see the empty sarcophagus.

An added bonus: today, January 26, is the day after Independence Day in Egypt. The Arab Spring demonstration that led to the downfall of President Morsi occurred on January 25, 2001. Morsi, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, lasted about a year before the military ousted him from office. For us it meant that there were lots of Egyptian kids and their families at the pyramids, far outnumbering tourists, especially Americans. A number of teenage girls asked to take selfies with us. Lots of fun!

We broke for lunch around 2 PM: mixed Egyptian grill in a restaurant overlooking the sphynx. See the pictures for details of the sphynx. While viewing the sphynx, I was interviewed for Egyptian TV Channel 1 – my impressions of Egypt and tourism in Egypt. “Tell our audience whether you think they should come to vacation in Egypt.” I, based on less than 24 hours in country and despite my experience with the scarf salesman, shamelessly plugged Egypt as a prime destination for American tourists.

In all, a great day under sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 60s. We

We have down time from our return (about 3:30 PM) until the welcome dinner at six. Normally I’d be out viewing the Nile River on foot. It’s just across the street from our hotel. But tomorrow we have an early start to go by plane to Aswan. Wakeup call at 2:00 AM and on the bus by 3. Tomorrow night we’ll be on board our ship to cruise Lake Nasser, the huge man-made lake behind the Answan High Dam.

And by the way, we won’t have Internet service on board, so you’ll have a couple of days respite from my prattling.

Day 2? What happened to Day 1? That’s tour group speak; Day 1 was departure from Tampa. Day 2 is arrival in Cairo. Day 3 will be the first day of touring.

We arrived at 4 PM and so the only thing I can do tonight is to report initial impressions.

• Flying on approach to Cairo International we had a good view of the ground. It looked like one giant sand dune. Even the buildings appeared to be something you would make in a sandbox. The only green we saw was right along the Nile river. But that’s Egypt for you: a giant desert with a verdant green swath that for 5,000 plus years has made Egypt what it was then and is today. I was going to say that everything appears earth colored, but that’s not quite right. Everything is shades of sand. OK, maybe the haze distorted the colors.
• Nope, our in-flight impression was correct. Everything is sand colored. We saw only one building that was painted non-neutral colors in the 45-minute trip to the hotel. It’s quite a switcheroo from your typical South American city where the buildings present a broad pallet of bright colors.
• We traveled in a small van (eight fellow travelers this load) with small windows and it almost killed me, photographically speaking. The sun was setting and one vista after another passed by with no good camera angle. The mosques and minarets were silhouetted by the sun, which was muted by a heavy layer of haze. Nat Geo cover material. Maybe tomorrow night.
• We had to buy a visa for $25 each at a kiosk. The passport guy glued it into our passport and gave it an official Egyptian stamp. What a nice souvenir. Well worth $25.
• We were met by a representative of Odysseys who escorted us to the hotel. While waiting in the passport line there was a floor tile inscribed with the word “Uber.” I asked our guide, “Do you use Uber here.” “It’s great!” he replied with a smile. “What about renting a car and driving in Cairo?” “Don’t. It’s crazy.” Of course, everyone says their city has the craziest drivers. Pastor Charlie preached the other day and said he’s in trouble, theologically, because of the naughty things he says while playing golf and driving in Tampa traffic. And after the ride in from the airport, I can tell you that Pastor Charlie would be in big trouble with Allah too.

Flights were pleasant enough and uneventful. Nine hours to Frankfurt, a two-hour layover and four hours to Cairo. We actually connected with Doug and Judy in Frankfurt. They’re on a later flight, but we spent a few minutes together before our flight was called.

It’s 6:30 PM Cairo time, we’re checked in to the Kempinski Nile hotel and are about to go for dinner here in the hotel. Two choices: Italian or Turkish. “Which one?” Judy asked me. “Never mind. I know you’ll want Turkish.” After almost 48 years of traveling she knows Old Jon won’t go for the ordinary. This ain’t Turkey but it’s closer to Cairo than Italy.

Now it’s 8:30 and we’ve finished dinner. Three specials were offered: Lamb shank in a pastry shell, an eggplant dish and lamb shank over rice. I ordered, “Special 1 for me and Special 3 for madam.” “What???” asked Judy, suspiciously. “Trust me.” She did and they both were great.

It’s breakfast at 6:30 AM an introductory meeting at 7:30 and on the bus to the pyramids at 9:00. Morning prayers? Fajr is at 5:19 AM tomorrow and Sunrise at 6:49. It’ll be a busy morning. Prayer times, it turns out, are dependent on sunrise. I can send you the link if you want to calculate it for your location. Fair warning: it involves calculation of an arccosine.

 

“Are you crazy” is the typical reaction we get from friends and especially family when we announce our next trip. Yes, it’s the Middle East. And yes, Amman, Jordan, where we will visit, is 500 miles or so from Baghdad, Iraq and only 125 miles from Damascus, Syria. But, hey, they say them thar pyramids are really somethin’ and maybe we’ll get to ride a camel. What can I tell you? It’s a bucket list destination.

A big plus: brother Doug and his Judith Anne are going too. We’ll have a blast. I’m the big brother, but Doug better not count on me to save him if the camels turn ugly. The two Judys get along really well so they’ll keep us from squabbling too seriously.

Here’s a map to give you a frame of reference (click on the map to expand it.

We leave, tomorrow, January 24 (Judy’s birthday), fly to Cairo and spend a day visiting the pyramids. Next we fly to Aswan and board a ship to cruise for three days on Lake Nasser, the body of water formed when they built the Aswan High Dam back in the 1960s. Then, we board a different vessel and sail the Nile from Aswan to Luxor. Finally back to Cairo for some museum work. The focus will, of course, be the 5,000 year history of Egypt. And hopefully we’ll learn a little about Egyptian culture and the current status of Egypt and its citizens. This will be our first visit to a Muslim country so we’ll be on the lookout for that aspect of life in Egypt.

The trip extension starts with a flight from Cairo to Amman, Jordan and then on to Petra. Petra dates back to maybe the 4th century BCE The Romans took away independence from the nomad-turned-trader merchants   during the 1st century CE. An earthquake did great damage in 393 CE, pretty much ending occupation of the site. Petra was “discovered” in 1812, leading to its becoming the tourist attraction that it is today.

Finally, a road trip across the desert to Amman where we’ll see some more historical sites.

We return home to Tampa February 12.

As usual, I’ll be writing up daily descriptions of what we see and do and posting them up here on jonandjudy.com. Judy will probably add her thoughts too. We’ll post the occasional snap shot as well. 

If you’re reading this, it’s probably because I sent you an email from our master travel list. I’ll send an email to that list every time I post. You can click on the link that will take you to the latest blog entry. If you’d rather not be bugged by emails, let me know and I’ll take you off the list. You can check out jonandjudy.com whenever insomnia strikes or you can just ignore the whole thing and get a personal summary the next time you see us in person. But if you know someone who’d like to be added to the list, let me know.

Of course our ability to post will depend on Internet access which, as we’ve learned, can be spotty at times, especially aboard ships in less developed parts of the world. So if you don’t hear from us, don’t worry. We’ll post updates as soon as we can.