Thomas journals

December 23rd: this morning we awoke in a thick fog surrounding the train, which evidently slowed our progress considerably. Simple breakfast provided by the train steward, then we disembarked at Giza Station. The travel guide met our train, took us to the Residence Hotel in Maadi to drop our bags, thence on the Tour of Old Cairo: restored with the help of US funds, now more a tourist site than an old city. The new city has literally been built on top of old ruins, such that the original old buildings are a couple meters belowground now. But the alleyways and churches are clean and dry, after the restoration. Several old but still-active Coptic and Greek Orthodox Churches, and an old synagogue clearly not in use though beautifully restored. The newly-rebuilt Coptic Museum is particularly attractive, both in its architecture and its presentation. The country's Department of Antiquities takes pains to note that it protects even Christian and Jewish religious sites; not onl...

December 22nd The aerial balloon ride was a once in a lifetime experience. Our skilled Egyptian pilot flew us to a height of 1500 feet to catch the wind that gave us a 360 degree view of the sun coming up over the Nile and the moon going down behind the Theban Hills.  Descending over farmland, our gondola brushed the tall blades of sugar cane which Barb feared hid snakes -- we deftly landed just on the other side on an unplanted portion of the field. We had two nice surprises while leisurely exploring Luxor later that day -- running into a Palestinian family from the cruise in the Luxor Museum, and later finding newlyweds Ankit and Parul, also from the cruise, in an Egyptian fast food joint. We took them with us back to the rug shop and Parul was master at demanding her price for several rugs, as well as a "proper bag" (not plastic) for her purchases. India had taught her well. We enjoyed our last evening at Desert Paradise Lodge with a long talk with Farida over a delici...

December 21st We were packed up and ready for our last tour of the cruise - to the temples of Karnak and Luxor and we were not disappointed. One could imagine the grandeur of the procession from one temple down the sphinx-lined promenade  to the other temple. Now only two churches stand in the way of restoring the parade route - and Evangelical Presbyterian Church and a large Coptic Cathedral. We enjoyed our last day with the friends we had made on the four day cruise and we said many goodbyes before leaving the ship and moving on to the West Bank of Luxor to the Desert Paradise Lodge in Gourna, a small village across the river from the city of Luxor. We were amazed at the place - an oasis of calm and beauty in the desert. We had 2 spacious rooms with modern bathroom and kitchenette that opened on to a beautiful garden area and small swimming pool. The Egyptian meals were fresh and delicious and our hosts gracious and helpful. We highly recommend this place! Farida, the owner's ...

December 20th A 6a.m. wakeup call got us ready for this day’s exploration of the Valley of the Kings and Queens on the West Bank of Luxor. We awoke to find our ship beside 5 other cruise ships – all tied together at the dock. For the still mentally asleep, it was confusing as we walked out of our ship and then through the lobbies of 4 consecutive ships before disembarking. A short bus ride took us to see the Colossis of Memnon: 2 huge monolithic statues, standing (well, rather sitting) over 50 feet tall, slowly crumbling but still impressive. Then we drove onto the expansive Valley of the Kings. Though 62 tombs have been discovered so far, we saw active work being done to unearth more. Our ticket and time allowed for entry to only 3 tombs – we chose tombs 2, 6 & 11 as recommended by our guide. These were the tombs of Ramesses IV, IX and III – all were incredible in that the paint on the walls was still visible and in some areas vibrant though thousands of years old. ...

We awoke rested – all but for Christopher who succumbed to a sore throat and fever, which we began treating immediately so he can enjoy the rest of the trip. The ship pushed off at 9AM and began the leisurely cruise downriver, north towards Cairo. The wind topside made it quite chilly so Cole and Barb opted to watch a portion of the trip from the large port hole in the minuscule fitness room while working out. We arrived at Kom Ombo in time for a mid-morning walk to see the Temple of the Hawk and the Crocodile in the town named “the City of Gold.” The temple is unique in that it is symmetrically split for the two deities Solek (crocodile headed man/god) and Haroeris (falcon headed man/god.) Back through the gauntlet of souvenir vendors to the boat for lunch, and then watching the passing view from the huge window in our stateroom, intermingled with napping and watching movies. Occasionally we went up top to better follow our path up the Nile to Edfu, but it was very ch...

An early morning pickup from the hotel with four boxes of breakfast arranged by our travel agent May Sedky of See Egypt.  Much quicker ride back to the airport as less traffic at 6 AM. The early morning light allowed us to see "the other side" of Cairo - crumbling slums much like the back side of the Kulri Bazaar Road in our former home in Mussoorie, India. Exteriors of even tony apartment buildings show the wear due to temperature extremes and natural sand blasting. The Cairo airport is modern, efficient and the EgyptAir employees polite.  Our travel agent escorted us to security, quite a nice service when you are blurry and in a new airport.  An easy domestic flight got us to Aswan by late morning.  We were met by the local See Egypt agent who extolled us with the benefits of the smaller, quieter Aswan over the noisy, crowded city of Cairo. We arrived at our boat, the Swiss Movenpick Radamis II, with time for some sun up on the deck, and meeting our...

 Our first night in Cairo We met son Christopher waiting at Shepheard's Hotel a fair distance from the airport -- downtown.  The hotel is old but charming and history-filled: Jim and Gloria stayed there on a romantic getaway from Israel in 1966.  We walked around the city for a bookstore to buy an Egypt travel guide -- found the book, and near Tahrir Square a good shwarma for supper, as well as unusual mac and cheese with salty ground meat inside and on top. The boys still hungry, they had a muffin and milkshake back at the hotel cafe (they had ordered a waffle -- something lost in translation) while Jeff and Barb had a good, cold Egyptian beer in the pub. Everyone at the hotel was warm and welcoming; touts on the street backed off politely. Almost cold, certainly breezy. Cairo is a cross between Delhi and NYC -- busy and bustling.  Fell deeply asleep despite the street noise outside Shepheard's Hotel.

We have all wanted to visit the pyramids, the sphinx, the temples of the pharaohs, chaotic Cairo.   After four months in (relatively) barren Saudi Arabia, we dreamed of meeting up with Chris somewhere in between Austin and Jubail, in the center of the arab world, and also enjoying some family and rest time on a cruise down the Nile...a romantic idea for centuries.    Past family trips have been shorter and more spontaneous, with more emphasis on do-it-yourself and going low-cost.  This time, because of the foreign nature of the place and its chaotic and frankly untrustworthy reputation, and because we are earning more now, we decided to splurge on a travel agent arrangements -- once the cost is sunk, we relax and enjoy the itinerary without having to negotiate the taxi or the restaurant or the tourguide or the ticket booth -- the obnoxious hawkers still swarm us at each stop.  Something in the culture makes these hawkers more irritating than those in I...

From Dammam to Cairo - a bird's eye view Flat sand as far as the eye can see Ripples in the sand - as if a side-winder has moved along the dunes Irrigated crop circles near the western border are the first sign of civilization Mountains rising up from the desert are black and gold, looking like volcanic remains rounded by the wind Sun glinting off the water as we leave Saudi Arabia and cross the Red Sea to the Sinai Peninsula Clearly spotting the Straits of Tiran, and identifying Mt. Sinai - the tallest peak Then sculpted sands and scrub desert to the Red Sea again - a huge expanse Looking back to the jagged coastline of the peninsula Huge barges and tankers waiting off the coast of Egypt Planned beach front community -- a green oasis with houses set in the shape of a flower - first sign of civilization in Egypt Mining making craters of white in a mountain, then flat terrain filled with houses, highways and industrial parks before we touch down in Cairo. --Barb