Now, where did I leave off...oh yes, I wrote last about our trip to Sinai. Let's just say that Mt. Sinai is very tall and it's no easy climb. Joe and I forgot our flashlights at home which was rather inconvenient for our night climb. Luckily the man at the bedouin tent at our hotel offered to sell us a "deluxe" flashlight with 3 batteries, not just two. We bought two, just in case.
Unfortunately, as we set out on the mountain "trail" we could hardly see where we were going. One of the flashlights cracked (quality "deluxe" plastic), so poor (big) Joe had to hold it together the whole climb. The light faded in and out. So, there we were, climbing a mountain in the pitch black night with one flashlight in the lead. While we climbed, bedouin men would come by hawking their camels. Every now and then, camels would come up behind us and pass us by. We were all deadset on climbing the mountain without the assistance of a camel; however, we didn't realize the pitfalls of sharing the trail with camels -- camel terds. Sorry to be so graphic, but half of the climb was spent with our eyes glued to the ground, hoping that Joe would light the way with our one flashlight so that we would not land in a steaming pile of camel dung.
We climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed...Those camels started to look all right. Finally, we reached the steps where the camels were no longer an option. 700+ steps. We made it, though. There were tons of other pilgrims climbing up the mountain with us and as we reached the peak, we found a spot among them on the cold rock to watch the sunrise. It really was beautiful, but we didn't waste any time climbing back down the mountain. Without an ounce of sleep, Joe and I were exhausted!
After Sinai, we took our bus to our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh. I don't know about Joe and Jan, but it was heaven for us. It almost didn't feel like Egypt. No taxis to climb in and out of, hardly anyone to bargain with, and just the bright blue water and beach. I wish I had more to tell you about our stay at Sharm, but I think my sister summed it up well - "It's paradise." We laid by the pool, lounged by the beach, ate from the big breakfast buffet. Joe and I decided to be smart and wear 40 SPF sunblock that we picked up here in Cairo. Big mistake. You'd think that 40 would protect a fair-skinned girl like me, but no. It just didn't happen to be waterproof. Joe and I were roasted badly after twenty minutes or so in the Red Sea sun. Apparently, it's a bad idea to expose skin that hasn't seen daylight in almost a year. My burn made the third day a little miserable, but still relaxing.
We bought (big) Joe some snorkeling gear, so he got to float around and look at some of the amazing coral and fish. The last day we took a glass-bottom boat ride which was really cool. It was like looking at a huge aquarium right beneath us. The Red Sea is known for it's snorkeling and diving for a reason.
After all that relaxation, we were actually ready for a change, but it was a little hard coming back to the hustle and bustle of Cairo. There's not much that is relaxing in the city noise and smoggy heat. We've spent the last couple of days touring Coptic Cairo where we visited the purported site where Moses was drawn out of the Nile, one of the places the Holy Family stayed in Egypt, and the place where Mary drew water to wash Jesus. Then, we shopped till we dropped (almost) in the Khan El Khalili. Today, we did something a little more American and went to The War of the Worlds.
I have to say, it's been great having Joe and Jan here. They have really held up well under a lot of the pressures of Cairo life and they are such wonderful guests! We are just glad that we are not saying good-bye for long, as we are following them back to the States. They are patiently awaiting their ride to the airport right now. They leave at 2 am and we leave at 10 am. We'll be back in the U.S. about 8 hours after them. We definitely can't wait!
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
July 2, 2005
It’s been a good week now since Joe and Jan arrived to the wild country of Egypt. I’ve had only time to post a few pictures, but I thought now that school is finished (Yeah!), I might actually write about what they’ve been up to. I’m certain that they have seen more of the sites in Egypt in one week than we have in a year. They’ve been very busy, but while Joe and I imagine that they are getting burnt out, they just keep on going.
What have they seen? We’ve made it to the Pyramids at Giza where Joe and Jan had their first taste of haggling and harassment Egyptian-style. You can’t leave the Pyramids as a tourist without a picture with a camel and some imitation Pyramids in hand. We got there late and almost had the Pyramids entirely to ourselves.
We made our way through the bustling Khan el Khalili market a couple of times already. Joe and Jan are quite the bargainers. There is just so much to buy, and so many people willing to sell to us. Perhaps we seem a little cheap to them, as we argue and bargain over 10 pounds here and there. As we bargain, I look over at Jan and see a look in her eyes like, “Why are they haggling over $1.67?” It’s hard for us to think in U.S. Dollars. 10 LE is 10 LE here. You can get quite a bit of groceries or a few taxi rides for that amount.
Speaking of taxis, probably hardest to contend with for Joe and Jan has been the taxi rides. Cairo is a city of traffic, and not just your regular traffic. They drive like crazy people here. (Only I’ve figured out that it’s actually quite an organized system.) As we veer through traffic, narrowly avoid pedestrians, and screech to a halt in the heavy Cairo traffic, I look over and see Jan clenching the seats from the middle of the back of the taxi.
Honestly, I don’t know how they are holding up so well. As we were working, we sent them with a car and driver to explore a few other Pyramids at Sakkara and Darshur. They also made it to the Citadel and the Egyptian Musuem without us. The driver of the car spoke English and gave them a tour of the City of the Dead, where Egyptians now live amongst the cities’ old tombs. Joe and I will have to take the same tour. It sounded fairly interesting.
Now that we’ve finally finished school, we are on our vacation as well. Today we are in the Sinai. We took a private mini-bus with a driver. We set out today along the Red Sea heading for the Sinai and St. Catherine’s Monastery. I’m writing now from our hotel. The trip today was, of course, very Egyptian. All was going well, our bus was driving in both lanes, speeding along happily, until all of a sudden the road went out. We spent some time driving slowly over a rocky desert road. The driver got a little frustrated and took us off-road onto a desert path for awhile. We all began wondering if we would have to get out and push if the bus were to get stuck. Who knows if they were doing some sort of construction or if they just never finished the road. One never knows in Egypt!
The paved road finally resumed after we all started to wonder if we would ever make it out of the Sinai. We arrived at our hotel in the middle of nowhere. The hotel itself is not too bad. There is a huge swimming pool (which I won’t swim in for fear of indecency. That’s okay, (big) Joe said it was freezing). The only problem is that we’re here, surrounded by silence in the basin of the mountains with nothing to do! Now, this was just fine with me. I’ve been longing for nothing to do and took a nice, long nap this afternoon. We had a nice buffet dinner this evening, and thankfully another busload of tourists showed up to give the place some noise. We enjoyed a nice evening in the Bedouin tent they have set up on the grounds. We had some tea, sat on cushions and listened to a little Arabic music. Maybe a little touristy, but it’s fun to pretend for awhile!
In two hours, at one a.m., we will wake up and climb Mount Sinai. The debate is whether or not we will take the regular path or whether we will take the 3,700 and some Steps of Repentance. (My) Joe, of course, wants to take the most difficult route, the Steps of Repentance. Apparently, you can take time off a purgatory or make up for your sins if you climb the steps. You get even more “points” for climbing them on your knees. We’ll see. I’m sure I’ll update you after tomorrow and as we enjoy the resort we are going to in Sharm el Sheikh.
What have they seen? We’ve made it to the Pyramids at Giza where Joe and Jan had their first taste of haggling and harassment Egyptian-style. You can’t leave the Pyramids as a tourist without a picture with a camel and some imitation Pyramids in hand. We got there late and almost had the Pyramids entirely to ourselves.
We made our way through the bustling Khan el Khalili market a couple of times already. Joe and Jan are quite the bargainers. There is just so much to buy, and so many people willing to sell to us. Perhaps we seem a little cheap to them, as we argue and bargain over 10 pounds here and there. As we bargain, I look over at Jan and see a look in her eyes like, “Why are they haggling over $1.67?” It’s hard for us to think in U.S. Dollars. 10 LE is 10 LE here. You can get quite a bit of groceries or a few taxi rides for that amount.
Speaking of taxis, probably hardest to contend with for Joe and Jan has been the taxi rides. Cairo is a city of traffic, and not just your regular traffic. They drive like crazy people here. (Only I’ve figured out that it’s actually quite an organized system.) As we veer through traffic, narrowly avoid pedestrians, and screech to a halt in the heavy Cairo traffic, I look over and see Jan clenching the seats from the middle of the back of the taxi.
Honestly, I don’t know how they are holding up so well. As we were working, we sent them with a car and driver to explore a few other Pyramids at Sakkara and Darshur. They also made it to the Citadel and the Egyptian Musuem without us. The driver of the car spoke English and gave them a tour of the City of the Dead, where Egyptians now live amongst the cities’ old tombs. Joe and I will have to take the same tour. It sounded fairly interesting.
Now that we’ve finally finished school, we are on our vacation as well. Today we are in the Sinai. We took a private mini-bus with a driver. We set out today along the Red Sea heading for the Sinai and St. Catherine’s Monastery. I’m writing now from our hotel. The trip today was, of course, very Egyptian. All was going well, our bus was driving in both lanes, speeding along happily, until all of a sudden the road went out. We spent some time driving slowly over a rocky desert road. The driver got a little frustrated and took us off-road onto a desert path for awhile. We all began wondering if we would have to get out and push if the bus were to get stuck. Who knows if they were doing some sort of construction or if they just never finished the road. One never knows in Egypt!
The paved road finally resumed after we all started to wonder if we would ever make it out of the Sinai. We arrived at our hotel in the middle of nowhere. The hotel itself is not too bad. There is a huge swimming pool (which I won’t swim in for fear of indecency. That’s okay, (big) Joe said it was freezing). The only problem is that we’re here, surrounded by silence in the basin of the mountains with nothing to do! Now, this was just fine with me. I’ve been longing for nothing to do and took a nice, long nap this afternoon. We had a nice buffet dinner this evening, and thankfully another busload of tourists showed up to give the place some noise. We enjoyed a nice evening in the Bedouin tent they have set up on the grounds. We had some tea, sat on cushions and listened to a little Arabic music. Maybe a little touristy, but it’s fun to pretend for awhile!
In two hours, at one a.m., we will wake up and climb Mount Sinai. The debate is whether or not we will take the regular path or whether we will take the 3,700 and some Steps of Repentance. (My) Joe, of course, wants to take the most difficult route, the Steps of Repentance. Apparently, you can take time off a purgatory or make up for your sins if you climb the steps. You get even more “points” for climbing them on your knees. We’ll see. I’m sure I’ll update you after tomorrow and as we enjoy the resort we are going to in Sharm el Sheikh.
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