Egypt &
Jordan
September 26
– October 18, 2010
I
have been interested in Egypt for many years. When I was teaching math,
geometry was my favorite subject to teach and study and there is a lot of
history of geometry from ancient Egypt. The pyramids are built with a
tremendous degree of mathematical precision and with a great degree of
knowledge about geometry. I am also a birder and I love to travel looking for
birds – especially new species. So when Victor Emanuel Nature Tours
offered a trip to Egypt that promised to combine both culture and birding I was
very excited to go. When my friend Lennie Stovel said she was interested too
the decision was made and we signed up to go! We left Sunday morning from San
Francisco and arrived 17 hours later in Cairo. My first view of Cairo was from
the air and my impression was Brown – brown desert, brown houses –
everything brown. Our Egyptian guide, Abdullah who also met four other people
at the same time, met us. It was a smooth flight for us – we had
reasonable food and we each managed to sleep a bit. But as of this writing I
canÕt remember much of our arrival night. We arrived Monday evening and we went
to our hotel. I remember trying to get some Egyptian currency at the airport
but my ATM card didnÕt work but LennieÕs did. Eventually I had to borrow money
from Lennie because I couldnÕt get my card to work – in fact one of my
credit cards didnÕt work either so I ended up borrowing money throughout the
trip. I did try calling the U.S. but that didnÕt work either. Anyway Abdullah
drove us to our hotel – the JWR Marriott in Cairo – a rather
luxurious hotel but it was nice. The group met for dinner in the hotel and we
were able to meet each other and our leaders. We came from several different
countries. One leader, David Bishop currently lives in Australia but he was
formerly a policeman in England where he grew up. Our other leader Erik Forsyth
currently lives in New Zealand but he was born in Scotland and moved with his
family to South Africa when he was 11. One participant, Gerard Phillips was
born in Ireland, moved to Los Angeles as an adult, worked in Northern
California for several years (as a biology bum), moved to New York and
currently lives in Ontario, Canada. You can just imagine the fun accents with
the group. The rest of our group: Stephen and Michel Bloom (Centennial, CO),
Katie Cattanach & David Charles (Denver, CO), Malcolm and Fran Yorkston
(Cape Coral, FL), Janet Baas (Tarzana, CA) Wilmer and Frankie Crain (Fort
Myers, FL), Ivan Clark and Jennifer Minogue (Rockwood, Ontario) and of course Lennie Stovel of Palo Alto
and me of Menlo Park. This turned out to be one of the nicest and most fun
group of people I have ever traveled with. We really did have a good time
together and enjoyed each other. So we had dinner – our first of many
buffets – while I understand the efficiency of buffet dinners for a group
they did get tiring after a while and they all seem to run together in my
memory. So for the most part I canÕt say if there were any really good meals or
not. I also canÕt really say that we ate Egyptian food. I think we ate food
cooked by Egyptians for tourists. I ate a lot of meat, bread, and cooked stuff
because we were discouraged from eating the raw fruits and vegetables. It
worked for the most part because very few of us got sick on this trip.
Tuesday 9/28/10 After a good nightÕs sleep
we were ready for our first big day in Egypt – the Giza Complex. As we drove from the hotel Abdullah
pointed out some of the sights to us. Grand Cairo is on the East side of the
Nile along with 5 islands on the Nile. The Pyramids are on the West side of the
Nile – something to do with the ancient Egyptians watching the sun set
and the land turned dark so that became the burial site. The Nile River flows
north so it is often referred to as the upside down river but it is not the
only river to flow north. The Northern part of Egypt is referred to as Lower
Egypt and the Southern part is Upper Egypt. The two parts have not always been
under one government. Unfortunately since the Aswan Dam was built in the south
the Nile River has become very polluted. Also there are no crocodiles on the
Nile River between the dam and the northern point where it goes into the
Mediterranean Sea. They were removed after the dam was built. We watched for
glimpses of the Great Pyramid as we drove West crossing the Nile until we were
finally there. What an amazing sight – our first real look at the only
survivor of the Greek- listed Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Of course it
looked just like the many pictures I have seen of it but how thrilling to see
it for real. This pyramid was ordered to be built by Khufu (Cheops) the second
king of the 4th Dynasty (Old Kingdom 2500 BC). It took 20 years to
build and was to be his tomb. The site and precision of this pyramid is
absolutely amazing. I wonÕt go into the mathematics of the various dimensions
but the engineer had a great knowledge of mathematics. No wonder some people
think aliens came and built this complex. There are two other pyramids in this
area – those of Khafra and Menkaure (both built around 2500 BC) KhafraÕs
pyramid still is covered with lime at the top and MenkaureÕs Pyramid was
covered with granite – some of which is visible. Much was removed by both
the grave robbers over the centuries and by locals as they used some of the
stones to build modern buildings. We spent a lot of time just walking around
gazing at this scene – of course there were many busloads of other
tourists doing the same. We took lots of pictures including the one pointing to
the top of a pyramid – got to do the rituals. We also went into the
Museum of the Sun Boat. The boat was discovered in 1954 and reconstructed out
of the different parts for a total of 1224 pieces of cedar planking. It had
been buried in the sand and covered with stone slabs. It is thought that this
boat transported KhufuÕs body to his pyramid which would make this a very old
relic 4500 years old! Then we went to visit the Sphinx – the protector of
the KhafraÕs (Chephren) pyramid. It is huge – the body of a lion with
ChephrenÕs head. Unfortunately its nose was shot off by Mamelukes who used the
head for a target for their cannons. But there is also a story told that
Napoleon shot off the nose but that is probably not true. There are a lot of
theories about the nose. Anyway it too was a very impressive. We ate lunch at
Mena House Hotel – a well-known luxurious hotel in Cairo. Since it was
built in 1869 it has a lot of history with a lot of famous people staying
there. We did have a good lunch and enjoyed checking out some of the
furnishing. The chandeliers were absolutely amazing. I canÕt remember the rest of the day. I also know we did
some birding around the hotel – went on a golf course and had a nice
buffet dinner in the hotel.
Wednesday 9/29 We were up at 3:30 AM this
morning headed for the airport. The bus was late because of some VIP in town
but we made it in time with our box breakfasts. We went through several layers
of security and got different answers each time about whether we could carry water
on board – I canÕt remember the results this time as it happened over and
over again. Security was very present on all flights and very random and
inconsistent. We flew to Abu Simbel, which is near the border of Sudan,
situated on Lake Nasser. It was very very hot but the hotel was charming and we
had a pleasant room with lovely views of the Lake. We had lunch here and maybe
a rest before we went to see the temples. During this day we did see a good
number of birds – during much of our visiting of the antiquities we were
always on the look out for birds. In ancient times Abu Simbel was Nubia, which
to the Egyptians of the New Kingdom was the gateway to Africa. I didnÕt know
what to expect of the temples at Abu Simbel so I was really amazed. This temple
was discovered in the early 1800Õs. Ramesses II (reigned from 1279-1213 BC)
commissioned two temples to be built and they took about 14 years to complete.
They were hewn in the rocks and the fa¨ade is about 110 feet high – it is
amazing to think about how they were carved – the depth of the temple is
about 200 feet deep. The four seated statues of Ramesses II are each about 65
feet high. The carvings inside would take many days to carefully look at them
all and study them. There are many stories written on the walls. Our guide,
Mohammed told us how to read many of these writings – he had studied them
in school and was very knowledgeable. The Sanctuary was designed so that the
rising sun would shine directly in on February 21 and October 21. In 1960 Egypt
asked Unesco to help move these temples to higher ground, as they would be
flooded by the rising levels of the lake, which was rising due to the building
of the Aswan Dam. They were moved between 1964 and 1968 – almost as big a
feat as the original building of the temples. Next to Ramesses Great Temple is
a smaller temple for Queen Nefertari – his chief wife. This temple is no
less impressive and no less powerful to visit. The temple includes statues to
Hathor – the goddess of love. This was a truly amazing place. I think we
did some more birding before we returned to our rooms for shower and dinner. We
had an interesting shower. No matter what I did it flooded the floor and when I
started to clean it up I realized that not only did it go out into the hall, it
went outside in from of our front door. At that point I went to the office and
told them to send a mop and bucket and dry towels. – It happened the next
night too. This seemed to be the trip where I had several interesting (i.e.
difficult) shower experiences. Makes for a good story and a little excitement
at times.
Thursday 9/30 Today I finally started
keeping notes but I donÕt know if that will make my journal more accurate or
not – I canÕt seem to read my writing all the time! Oh well if you
werenÕt on the trip you will never note the errors I make and if you were on
the trip IÕd be glad to hear of any corrections! This morning we got up at 5
and did some wonderful birding. We were supposed to go birding on Lake Nasser
but our police escort was late and our leader David refused to wait for him.
David is not a patient man and we think he didnÕt want to go on the boat
anyway, we would have waited. A note about security – since the 1997
terrorist attack on tourists Egypt has taken tourist security very seriously.
That attack cut way back on tourism – one of EgyptÕs main economic
sources. Everywhere we went we had a police escort. Some were very careful to
stay with us at all times – herding us together and keeping watch over
us, some were friendly talking to us about our families and travels, others
were more casual. But two things they all had in common – they were
dressed in a very nicely tailored pinstripe gray suit and tie and they all had
a large machine type gun bulging under their coat. Oh their shoes were well
shined too. I donÕt know if I felt more protected with them or not but at least
the word is out – leave us alone. For the most part they were all in the
lobby waiting for us regardless of the early hour we were leaving. So I donÕt
know what happened here but we were disappointed that we didnÕt get to boat on
the Lake. But we did go to some great birding spots along the water, a marshy
area and down to the shoreline of the lake. We saw a wide variety of birds and
we also saw a variety of people living out there – it is an interesting
mix to see fishermen out living in straw built huts, banging on boats to scare
the fish into their nets, wearing their galabeyas, and talking on their cell
phones. Egypt seems to have good cell phone reception throughout the country
– no matter how far away from the larger cities. While birding we were
treated to many birds in migration as well as the local birds. Eventually we
went back for an excellent lunch and rest. It was very hot so we moved very
slowly. We were on the edge of Lake Nasser so we walked down to the waterÕs
edge and walked around the very attractive hotel. Looking at my photos will be
the best way to see the style of this place. Some people went swimming but it
was actually too hot for me to care about swimming – too hot to walk
there and back, and then IÕd be in the sun all the time. We went back to bird
the marsh in the cooler part of the late afternoon and then came back for
dinner. Some went back to the temples for a light show that was presented but I
stayed back thinking IÕd take a relaxing shower. Of course I had a problem
– couldnÕt get into my room and it took them quite a while to figure out
what was wrong – thought they needed new batteries for the door but
finally tried what I has suggested at first, re-key my card. So I took my
shower – with the subsequent flood – packed for tomorrow and went
to bed.
Friday 10/1 Today we got up at 5:30 and
left for the temple so we could be there at sunrise. It was awesome. First of
all there were almost no other people there and it was quiet and serene. Of
course it was cool which was a real treat and it was so impressive to see the
sun rise and illuminate the statues. Then we drove to the airport for our short
flight to Aswan. Security was very light here. We were met by our bus and
driver and driven to the Aswan High Dam – there wasnÕt a lot to see but
it was very interesting. It was amazing to think of all the antiquities that
were buried by this dam as well as the ones they saved. There was a very impressive
sculpture representing a lotus blossom (a symbol of Upper Egypt) to commemorate
the completion of the dam in 1971 and the cooperative work of the USSR and
Egypt. We all took photos! From here we went to the Nubian Museum. It was
opened in 1998 being helped by UNESCO to preserve some of the Nubian treasures
and history that was buried by the Dam. It was a very well designed and
presented museum. Some of the statues there go back to 2000 BC. We went to our
boat on the Nile – the Sonesta Nile Goddess – a very luxurious
boat. The boats dock parallel to the docks – 4 or 5 deep so we had to
walk through the lobby of 3 other boats in order to reach ours. They are all
very elegant. We had lunch on the boat and then did some unpacking and
arranging in our room. We had plenty of space to spread out. After lunch we took a small boat for a
ride on the Nile – great birding along the shore and around the islands.
We visited the temple of Philae on one of the islands – dedicated to the
goddess Isis. When the high dam was built the temple was completely submerged.
In 1972 a dam was built around the temple by a Dutch engineering company which
enabled them to drain the temple and then they sawed it into 47,000 pieces and
transported to a higher island. The oldest building goes back to the 30th
Dynasty (about 300 BC). Here we saw a Nilometer – it is like a well and
water from the Nile comes into it. A Nilometer was used to tax the people
– the higher the level of water the higher the taxes. We went back to our
ship and cleaned up for dinner – a very nice buffet with different foods
from some of the other buffets. I think this was the night we had a roast
turkey to choose from. I ate a lot of meat on this trip because I pretty much
stuck to cooked food. I didnÕt eat any meat for over a week after I got
home. Lennie and I decided to send
out our laundry to be done and I soon discovered that I hadnÕt emptied my
pockets completely and worse of all I had left my notebook in my pocket. After
several frantic phone calls I got my notes back the next day – I really
wouldnÕt remember anything without my notes which includes the birds I saw.
Saturday 10/2 I got up and out at 5:30 AM
to watch our boat leave Aswan. It was lovely up on the top deck – cool
and alone. The docks were busy with getting ready for the tourists later in the
morning. Everywhere we went we were greeted by street vendors selling us
something. They were very persistent but I just said no thank you and pulled my
hat down and kept walking. But there were some in our group who bought lots of
things. We stopped about 28 miles north of Aswan and disembarked in order to
visit Kom Ombo. The town has about 60,000 people today and they have a large
number of sugar factories. The temple here was built by Ptolemy VI 180 BC. This
temple had an ancient Egyptian calendar which our guide explained to us. They
had three seasons of four months each. Each month had three weeks and each week
had ten days. I think the three seasons were planting and growing, harvesting
and preparation, flooding. As of this writing I realize how much these temples
blend in my mind – looking at my photos helps. Once again we saw some
amazingly well preserved hieroglyphics, statues and other carvings. We learned
that you look at the direction the birds are facing in order to tell if you
read the hieroglyphics from left to right or right to left. Sometimes you also
read them in columns from top to bottom and then bottom to top. This temple
also had a Nilometer. These no longer work since the building of the high dam.
It was interesting to get some insight into the writings. Hieroglyphics was
used until about 500 BC and was then replaced by Demotic writing. The discovery
of the Rosetta Stone in 1799 led to the ability of modern society to read these
writings – a fascinating story. For me one of the great things about
traveling is the experiencing in some way the history lessons I have read about
in the past. Now I can renew that information with new interest. After this we
went back to our ship for lunch. A few of us went into the captainÕs deck to
meet him and see the boats controls. He has been a pilot for 30 years and knows
the river well. There are several low spots that are important to know.
Apparently experience counts for most of the training. He wore the galabeya and
turban and had a very old face with very pale blue eyes – the color of
the Nile. After this I did some shopping – there was a jewelery store on
board the boat and I had coveted a necklace with my name written in a cartouche
for years. So this was the time to buy it. The shopping was very casual and
easy and the jeweler assured me that my name wasnÕt too long. Then I really
wanted to get one for Sophia but what about Vincent. Since men do wear
necklaces I decided to get him one too – he can always use it as key ring
or something else if he doesnÕt want to wear it. So my souvenir shopping is
done because I got a pretty little box for Kenneth and Judy. The cartouches
were delivered the next day. (Fortunately I had two credit cards with me as one
wouldnÕt work but the other did. When I got home and called the company they
apologized, gave me 1000 bonus points and said it wouldnÕt happen again. I sure
did have money problems on this trip. Fortunately I had rich friends to borrow
from.) We spent a couple of hours resting on the boat as it traveled down the
river (North). Egypt was in the middle of a hot spell – it was 120
degrees outside. I caught up on my bird list and also sat at the window of our
room and watched the scenes go by. It was absolutely beautiful and amazing. Of
course everything along the shore was green. We passed several small islands
that had nice birds to look at. There were several cities and farms as we went
by. Some were modern with lots of large buildings and a variety of styles, always
with a minaret standing above everything. Many smaller houses were unfinished
on the second or third story – with rebar sticking up waiting for the son
to marry and build another level for himself and his wife and then family. In
the afternoon we stopped at Edfu and took a bus to visit the Temple of Horus.
There were a lot of horse drawn carriages here used as taxis to take tourists
to the Temple – but our guide said he has had them leave tourists behind
so we took a bus. This was a beautiful temple with the claim to be the
best-preserved ancient temple in Egypt being still intact. It was begun in 237
BC by Ptolemy III and finished 180 years later by Ptolemy XII, CleopatraÕs
father. In addition to all the wonderful columns, statues, and wall writing/pictures
we saw a bat here so now we have started a mammal list. Went back for dinner
which was served non-buffet style which was very nice. We had a choice of
several items and it was all very good. During the night we will be going
through the locks at Esna – I had hoped to see that but I didnÕt wake up
during the night so I missed that – oh well.
Sunday 10/3 Today we are in Luxor and
spent a lovely day here. Luxor was called Thebes during the Greek period
– Luxor means Ņthe city of palaces with 100 gatesÓ. We went into Luxor to
first visit the Temple of Karnak – the largest temple in Egypt maybe in
the world. It covers 62 acres and dates back to 1200 BC although the area was
lived in before that time. It was continually added to and in the fifth and sixth
centuries Christian monks lived in the area and converted areas for their use.
We spent a long time here gazing at all the wonders to be seen. It is almost
incomprehensible to look at these antiquities and realize how old they are.
There was one place that still had a mud brick ramp up the side which explains
how the carving was done. They started from the top and worked down. Eventually
the rain and weather would remove the mud brick and leave just the buildings
with all the writing on the walls. It is still very hot although it is cooling
down – maybe 100 degrees! We decided to visit a papyrus store which would
offer refreshments, restrooms, and air conditioning. (As an aside here –
in Egypt we had to Ņpay to peeÓ. Every public restroom – even in the
airport – had someone there to collect money from you. Sometimes they
offered you toilet paper for the money and even if you said no thanks they
still said you had to pay. It got very annoying partly because we often did not
have small change and they never wanted to give us change. It really is just a
form of begging.) Anyway we were glad to visit the papyrus shop. There they
showed us how they make papyrus – it makes so much more sense to see it
done. Of course then we were given the opportunity to buy something. I finally
decided to buy a Ņtree of lifeÓ – it had five birds on it and we are a
family of five. I had them write Bowen in hieroglyphics on it. I havenÕt
decided what to do with it. IÕm going to get it framed and show it to the kids
– if they want to hang it IÕll give it to them. If not IÕll hang it in my
home. (They liked it and decided to keep it! Good.) Anyway it was a fun stop.
On the way back to the boat we stopped to take photos of The Winter Palace
– a famous hotel in Luxor. It was built in 1886 and figures in several
books that I have read, so I wanted a good look. It sure looks elegant. Back
for lunch and a two-hour cool down rest and then we headed back to downtown for
the Luxor Temple. The Luxor temple is located in downtown Luxor – what a
mix of ancient (1392 BC) and modern. We had to drive through and around all of
the traffic associated with a busy city of some 200,000 people. People were
dressed in both the western style and in traditional. There were a lot of men
in galabeyas – even those doing construction work. Women were dressed in
western style but with head scarves, and others in black robes, and still
others in colorful robes. Leading to Luxor Temple was the Avenue of Sphinxes
between Luxor and Karnak temples. There were 600 stone-carved sphinxes but over
time they were buried under sand and the city grew on top of them. They are now
being excavated and many buildings have been moved from the downtown area and
several more are going to be moved to complete this processional road. A lot has
been done and so much more is to be done. It is interesting to see the
commitment of the government to continue this work. But then tourism is a major
economic factor. We continued here to have armed guards – seldom even
thought about them. King Ramesses II statues are in front of the Temple. There
is also a statue of Tutankhamun and his wife. In one court area 26 statues were
discovered in 1989 – there is an amazing wealth still to be discovered.
Again the whole area was amazing and I canÕt describe it in any more detail
than I have of other. IÕll have to refer to my photos. This area also has a
Mosque of Mohamed Ali inside of it. (1820-1840)
Monday 10/4 Today we first visited the
mortuary temple of Hatshepsut – the only temple designed in terrace form in
Egypt. She is the only woman to have ruled Egypt for a lengthy term –
starting in 1473 BC. She ruled for 20 years. This temple was built deep in the
mountains and consists of three levels of terraces. Most of her statues portray
her dressed as a man – including the artificial beard on many statues.
Many of the columns, walls and ceilings still had a lot of color in the
carvings and writings – it was really a beautiful temple. They are still
doing excavation around this area so who know what more will be found. There
were many balloonists in the sky near by. Then we went to the Valley of the
Kings – what a lively active place. There is still a lot of excavation
being doing and there were lots and lots of people. Walking around you donÕt
see much – just lots of hilly, sandy desert, everything is under ground
so we walked into three of the tombs to see what was there. You walk down a
long passageway that is wide enough for two people – one group walking
down the other up. The walls are covered with beautiful hieroglyphics –
much of it in color as though it was painted yesterday. The writing tells the
story of the afterlife – how the king will journey and what he will find.
Sometimes the story of the king is also told. The ceilings were often painted
too – sometimes with stars and sometimes other kinds of animals and
designs. There was nothing else in these tombs as they had all been robbed.
Some of them had the sarcophagus in the tomb but the mummies were elsewhere.
Some mummies had been moved in ancient time and when they were found they were
eventually moved to a mummy room in the Cairo museum. I didnÕt go into the tomb
of Tutankhamum because it was a narrow and low passage and I didnÕt feel like
crawling. His mummy is in there but all his treasures are in the Cairo museum
or on tour in the United States – I saw them last March in San Francisco.
Photos were not allowed in the tombs but the pictures on the walls are embedded
in my memory – forever I hope. It was so wonderful to see something I
have read about for so many years. It just amazes my mind to think of the work
that went into building these tombs and then the work to rediscover them. After
this we visited Habu temple – and what more can I say. Wonderful scenes
on the walls and ceilings. On the way to our lodgings for the night we stopped
and took photos of the Colossi of Memmon. They were from 1394 BC and were all
that were left when the building they guarded collapsed in an earthquake in
27BC. They were 60 feet high. Sometime during this day we had lunch which my
notes said was luxurious but I donÕt remember anything about it. I also
commented that it was hot - hot and I had no energy. We were eventually driven
to Crocodile Island (now being called Kings Island) where we were to stay for
two nights. We did bird around the hotel a bit but not much seen. This hotel is
spread out over a wide area and has two very elegant swimming pools. How people
can sit in this heat and sun bathe in the sun is beyond me.
Tuesday 10/5 Today we divided into two
groups – it was a hard choice. I would have liked to see Dendera Temple
but it involved an all day cruise on another boat to get there so I chose to
stay and do some birding at a nearby marsh. We drove to a farming village with
a local birder who knew the area and then we walked along the irrigation
ditches to the Ashraff Wetlands. It was interesting to see the farmers and
their families and the homes they lived in. A wide variety of home styles
– some small and some larger. Most people were dressed in traditional dress.
At the marsh area that I believe was along the Nile River we did see lots of
birds and it was pleasant to do some good birding with birds close enough to
study and see well. It was a pleasant morning. We went back for lunch and an
afternoon rest. It was cooler today, which was nice. Later we went to a sewage
treatment plant for more good birding. Birders have probably been to more
sewage treatment plants that the average traveler. We ate dinner before the
other group got back – they had a good day too – wish I could have
done both activities but no regrets about my choice.
Wednesday 10/6 Today we left early
(5:30) as we headed to El Gouna on the Red Sea coast. We were traveling in a
large bus so we had plenty of room to stretch out. Busses used to have to
travel in a convoy but no longer. I do think we had our usual police escort.
Also there were a lot of police check points along the way – in fact
there were lots of them all over Egypt so I stopped even noting them down. We
had some kind of permits and lists that the driver gave each time. Only once
was our bus boarded and our passports checked – I think that was on the
Sinai Peninsula. Whenever we reached an intersection instead of stop signs or
signals there were heavy moveable gates that were placed so that a driver had
to zig zag through the intersection – one direction at a time. This
worked to stop drivers from speeding through the intersection crashing cars
coming across. Seemed to work – also all these corners had police on duty
– sometimes in a tower with the riffle pointing out of the small window.
Sometimes they were just sitting around chatting but most had a moveable metal
shield – 6 feet tall, on wheels, with a small lookout hole. We also
noticed the water pipes along the road – they are moving water from the
Nile to the desert – there is a new huge project going on to bring Nile
water everywhere in Egypt. Coming from California I just shutter thinking of
this greening of the desert and what the future holds. Lots of little villages
along the way as well as larger suburban areas. In the less rural areas more
people were dressed in the Western style – especially the men. The women
were dressed in various degrees of traditional and modern – but
practically all had headscarves. In the rural areas men mostly wore the
galabeya some with and some without the turban. There were some large farms and
some small – growing vegetables, sugar cane, corn. The air was very thick
partly from burning the fields. But there was never a clear day in Egypt –
the smoke, the sand blown from the desert, the industrial pollution kept a
constant haze over all. Eventually we reached the Red Sea port of Hurghada and
drove north of here to El Gouda – our resort for two nights. I was
absolutely amazed at this place – it is huge. And it is only one of many.
Throughout our stay here we saw many of these resorts along the coast and this
isnÕt a coast like the coast of California. It is a coast that is a desert.
They are using hydroelectric power for desalination of the water from the Red
Sea. They also are pumping more and more water from the Nile. No one seems to
use solar power and there is no answer as to why not. When I asked who visits
these places one answer was Ņthe Russians come on Wednesday and the Germans on
FridayÓ. There are resorts built specifically to accommodate certain countries.
Our resort was very elegant and rich but it was a long half a mile between
reception and our room. Someone drove us and our luggage to our room but we
still had another 3 flights of steps up to our room. Of course we had a
tremendous view of the Red Sea and the Sinai Peninsular across the way. We were
a little late for dinner as we had some problem finding our way but on the way
back to our rooms we got totally lost. We asked a worker for help and even he
didnÕt know the way. We ended up down by the sea with no way to get to our
room. After a couple of days we found our way better but I didnÕt deviate one
inch from the known path – especially at night. The level where we ate
dinner had a large courtyard as well and also several shops which we all
checked out and some people found some neat souvenirs. The dinner was the usual
buffet but it was good. One night they had hamburgers and I really enjoyed one.
I do realize that when traveling one must be flexible about food but every so
often it is nice to have something familiar. It was breezy and hot here so our
laundry dried very quickly on our deck. It is nice to have a deck for laundry
instead of hanging it around the room every night!
Thursday 10/7 We were supposed to go
snorkeling today from a boat but David decided it was too rough for us to go
out. He tried to convince us he was only concerned with our safety but since he
didnÕt talk to the captain of the boat we didnÕt believe him. We knew he didnÕt
like to go on boats as he got sea sick so we figured this was just an excuse
– especially when later in the afternoon we saw several boats come back
with a boat load of people who had been out snorkeling all day. Oh well instead
we went birding to a near by farm – called El Gouna Farm. There were
security guards here to keep people out. In addition to farming the owner was
also doing recycling which was illegal (?!) and he didnÕt want people to see it
or photograph it. But we were allowed in because Abdullah knew the people.
While we walked along the road to bird we started noticing a lot of lovely sea
shells in the sand – this place used to be under water. I collected a lot
for my grandchildren. We saw a few birds here and then did some birding along
the coast by out hotel, had lunch, and a two hour rest. Lennie and I enjoyed
the swimming pool and also did some laundry. Later we drove down to the port
and did some birding there (and saw the boats coming in with the snorkelers).
At one place the security guards wanted to stop us – they really donÕt
understand birders. David (our leader) has a tendency to just ignore them and
walk on past but then of course we are stuck. Fran did a great job of
distracting the guard and explaining to him what we were doing, let him look in
the scope all of which worked very well and maybe even makes it easier for the
next birder. Gerard was even able to sneak in a couple of photos when the guard
wasnÕt looking. Looking forward to seeing those photos. Back to the hotel
– a nice dinner and the usual one-mile walk back and forth from our room.
No wonder I didnÕt gain any weight on this trip!
Friday 10/8 We did some early morning
birding around the grounds and golf course but they use sewer water to irrigate
the grass and it was rather unpleasant so we didnÕt bird too long. We left for
our flight to the Sinai Peninsula flying an hour from Hurghada to Sharm el
Sheikh on the southern tip of the Sinai. My seatmate for this trip was a young
man named Nemo. He talked to me a lot about the current economic status of
people in Egypt. In many ways it was a rather depressing discussion. First
there is no middle class in Egypt – people are either rich or they are
poor and there is little help for poor people. Even though education is free
the better schools are expensive and so is college and even if you are bright
there is no help for you. You need to find someone who is willing to help you.
There are a lot of very rich people and it isnÕt clear where they get their
money but a lot of it is from the Russian mafia and a lot of the money is from
laundering the money. There is no health care unless you are rich (sounds
familiar). He took great pride that he was a professional man doing hair in a
high-class resort in El Gouda. He was flying to Sharm el Sheikh to vacation for
a couple of weeks with his brother who works there. His wife and I think his
child live in Cairo. In order to work as he does he has to pay many thousands
of dollars to the person in charge for insurance. The way he described it I
thought it sounded more like a bribe. IÕm not sure I understood everything
correctly but later one of our guides – I think the one in Sinai told us
much of the same thing. He gave me a pound coin to remember him by – I
managed to keep it to this day although there were a couple of times when I
really needed it to Ņpay to peeÓ. We arrived at Sharm el Sheikh – now we
are in Asia – new bird list! We picked up our armed guard and loaded up
in our bus and headed north on the road on the eastern side of the peninsula.
We were headed to St. CatherineÕs Monastery. The desert scenes were absolutely
amazing – deserts with mountains in the distance. Everything was stark
and brown but there was a beauty to the place. It was absolutely impossible to imagine
Moses and his people living in this desert for 40 years – there was
nothing growing. And yet we did see some Bedouins living out here. The best I
can find out is that they live with a few wells dug by the government and use
camels for much food plus a few vegetables they grow. They do make some money
from a few roadside stops for tourists but I really donÕt understand how they
live. There are power poles so they have electricity in many places and I think
cell phone reception is everywhere. When we arrived at our hotel in the evening
we found that some of our suitcases were soaking wet from a faulty air
conditioner in the bus. Mine was one of them and it was a mess – more
than my clothes it was my stuff that was ruined. I had some medicine that I had
to throw out plus a case with pens and pencils that just disintegrated. My
papyrus also got wet and although I dried it out and then rewet it and
flattened it when I got home it was never back to the original. So I had to
take everything out of my suitcase and wring stuff out and spread it out
– we had a very small room so there wasnÕt much room to do this.
Fortunately we had an extra bed so I could spread things out there. When we
left the room we left the air conditioning on high so that helped dry it faster
but it took a long time. Fortunately my room mate offered me sympathy and a
beer because I got no sympathy or help from the leader – not even when I
told him IÕd need extra time in order to repack. It was about this time I lost
all patience with David. I didnÕt let him ruin the rest of my trip but IÕd
never travel with him again. Fortunately we had the other leader, EriK with us
and he was wonderful and always did what he could to help us and always could
make us laugh. Anyway I managed to get all the sympathy I needed from the group
and I managed just fine. Sometimes that is all a person needs! This hotel was
pretty decrepit with short shower curtains, water that sometimes worked and
sometimes didnÕt, poor lighting and poor service. The food was pretty bad too.
The thing is this was the best hotel in the area. Lots of people come to visit
St. CatherineÕs and if there is nothing better they get the business. Sad way
to run a hotel with no sense of pride.
Saturday 10/9 We were up and left at 4 AM to go to a tree farm for some
birding. Again there was security but it was pretty lax and Abdullah knows the
owner. When we got to the gates there was no answer to our knocking. We joked
about our security guard shooting off the lock but he actually climbed the
fence and went and got the farmers to let us in. A Bedouin group owns this farm
and until they lost their water supply 2 years ago this was a very lush and
rich oasis in the desert. I am not
sure what is going to happen with the farm now but there are still palms and
date trees surviving with the little water they do have. There were lots of
birds around so we had an enjoyable time birding around here and certainly
added to our bird list. Then we went back to our hotel for a quick and very
mediocre breakfast. Leaving the air conditioner on helped, as my clothes and
stuff were almost dry. We then loaded up and went to visit St. CatherineÕs
Monastery – the oldest continually operating monastery in the world. It
was started in 527 AD and has been protected by successive governments and
religions since then. It is said to be built where several Old Testament events
occurred including the burning bush, which they claim, is still growing there.
It is at the base of Mt. Sinai where Moses is reputed to have received the Ten
Commandments – amazing to think that we were birding here in such a
special place. We visited the Monastery, which is an amazing place, but it was
absolutely packed with people, which takes away a bit of the spiritual feeling
for me. I just canÕt feel comfortable around crowds. The old icons on display
were awesome – just beautiful and so well preserved for the hundreds of
years old that they were. After a good visit we went back to the hotel for a
poor excuse for lunch and then packed up and loaded our suitcases in a repaired
bus. I requested a dry spot for my suitcase because I had my turn for the wet
spot – no one laughed. We took the long drive back to Sharm el Sheikh
where we were booked into a very luxurious resort hotel. My that shower felt so
good. We decided to send our some laundry, which was returned the next day,
packaged like it was new. Also we had free Internet which was nice – I
used it a bit to catch up on email but it was slow and didnÕt upload the photos
to facebook but it was nice to use it for a bit.
Sunday 10/10/10 Today we finally got to
snorkel. We left at 7 AM for Ras Mohammed National Park on The Red Sea at the
southern tip of the Sinai. We had many many security stops along the way. We
had a local guide, a snorkel guide, and a security guard on the bus with us in
addition to Abdullah and David and Eric. More of them than us! This was
absolutely the most amazing snorkeling IÕve done. First the setting was so
different. I had to walk out a long way before the water was deep enough to put
on my flippers and lay down to float without touching the bottom. Then you start swimming against the
current as more and more fish come into view – absolutely every color in
a box of crayons. Then while you are easily and softly floating and enjoying
the fish suddenly – without warning the coral reef drops off –
straight down and you are floating over a sea of vivid blue with no bottom. It
is almost impossible to describe. It is completely disorienting – almost
with no top or bottom. There are absolutely no landmarks as you lay there
floating. Since the fish mostly stayed near the edge of the coral I mostly
floated around there. We did have a snorkel guide but since I didnÕt trust him
to keep track of me in addition to 14 others and as I didnÕt keep up with the
group I just kept popping my head up to check on the location of the shore. But
I mostly just lay there and tried to remember the fish I saw. I even saw a
small reef-shark swim under me. It was a wonderful experience. I donÕt know how
long we all stayed out but eventually we came back in and had cokes and
Pringles! After a while a couple of people went back out but I decided to walk
along the cliffs and I was amazed at all the fish I saw along there –
including a manta ray. Eventually we went back for a shower and a buffet lunch
– buffets are nice since we donÕt all have to arrive at the same time so
we could all shower first. In the afternoon we went to a nearby sewage pond
(one more checked off my world list) and in addition to other birds we saw
thousands and thousands of white storks migrating through but roosting here for
the night. It was awesome and then we ended the evening with great sightings of
sandgrouse – it was great. Next to the sewage ponds were a lot of people
riding ATVÕs with various groups. Apparently it is a major attraction for some
people to ride out in the desert with all the dirt and dust and noise. We went back for a nice dinner and bed
– good day.
Monday 10/11/10 Today we had to put our
bags out early – before breakfast so we did, leaving our backpacks and
other carryons in the room – on our bed, we went to breakfast. During
breakfast Gerard told us the trouble he had with an employee who came to pick
up his luggage and argued with him about a bag he had taken that Gerard said he
would pay for. Erik joked with us about them coming in to check the mini bar
and then locking us out – he said it had happened to him. Well sure
enough when we went back after breakfast our outside bags were gone and we were
locked out of our room. So I marched back to reception (a 5-10 minute) walk and
did my David Bishop imitation demanding that the key be changed so we could get
our stuff. The manager had no explanation how the employee could just ignore
that we had our stuff in the room – all they are worried about is that we
be sure to pay for anything we used from the mini bar. Marching back to our
room I ran into David and Erik and I laughingly told Erik that while he was
just joking about being locked out it wasnÕt a joke – we really were. He
went upstairs and told the manager he owed us an apology but the guy never did
apologize – even when I returned the key and told him we had our stuff.
In a way it was sort of funny – adds to my repertoire of stories to tell.
IÕll bet in a few years I can make an even better story. Anyway we flew to
Cairo – must have been uneventful because I made no notes – or most
probably it was just more of the same. We had a long bus ride through Cairo
– the traffic just crept along. I would hate to have to face this traffic
everyday. Abdullah pointed out many sights to us and we just enjoyed the scenes
– some of which we had seen before on our long ago first day in Egypt.
Lots of traffic, lots of soldiers, policeman, guards in front of large
homes/embassies, old next to new, poor next to rich, dress western and
traditional. This is an amazingly crowded city and that it functions as well as
it does is in itself amazing. We went to our hotel – another Marriott but
a different one. This one is on the island Zamalek. It was built in the 19th
century but has been refurbished since then with two towers of rooms. As the
group was escorted off to one tower for their rooms Lennie and I were sent way
way down the hall to the other tower. I made some joke about us being isolated
from the group so we wouldnÕt cause any more trouble but did we luck out. We
were on the 9th floor and had a stunning view of Cairo. It was an
amazing view in the daytime but that didnÕt come close to matching the view at
night. We both spent time just enjoying the view – especially at night.
The moon was perfectly situated to be part of our view, which was anchored by
the Cairo Tower – the tallest structure in Egypt and supposedly the
tallest concrete structure in the world. It is 187 meters (613 feet). It was
built 1956-1961. At night not only
was the tower lit it had a changing pattern of colors and designs – it
was wonderful. Standing there at the railing and listening to the sounds of the
city filled my soul with built in memories of my love of large cities having
grown up in a city. Oh, we could also see the Nile as part of our view and at
night the boats going up and down looked like Christmas decorations. We offered
to share our view with anyone who wanted to visit us and a few people did come
up for our balcony party. Of course the first thing we had to do was get to our
room. Our key card wouldnÕt work in the elevator – the first time we
tried Gerard was with us as he was on the 7th floor (but with no
view!) so he let us up to our floor. Our keys worked fine for the room but not
for the elevator. It took 3 or 4 times going back to reception to get the cards
working for the elevator – the last time I had the clerk come with us.
Funny thing was later that night someone else was having the same problem so I
let them up – then I thought maybe I had let burglars into the floor. Oh
well – I think their system needs working on. We had lunch today on a
boat moored on the Nile and then went to the Cairo museum. The museum is all
you may have heard about it. Photos are not allowed so I have none but I do
have memories. It was built in 1901 and has over 120,000 artifacts in the
museum. We looked at only a fraction of them! The oldest piece in the museum is
from 2960 BC – (the first pyramid is from 2600 BC.) We spent some time on
the first floor looking at several items as Mohammed told us about them. Then
we went to the second floor were all the objects from the King Tutankhamen tomb
are stored. They are just amazing. There was a separate room where some of the
jewelry and his golden mask are displayed – just beautiful. We spent as
much time there as we could but after a few hours enough is enough so we went
outside to get some fresh air. I tried to look at books in the bookstore but it
was so small and so crowded I just couldnÕt shop. I picked up a couple of
notebooks but that was it. Eventually we went back to our hotel. Each time we
went in and out of the hotel a bomb sniffing dog checked out our bus and we
continued to have an armed guard with us at all times. Every time we came
downstairs to meet to go out there he was waiting for us – often a
different one each day. They just became part of the scenery. Back for dinner
which turned out to be one of the best dinners for a while. It wasnÕt buffet
and we were offered a choice of three different main dishes and I know mine was
good because I noted it in my notes. Then Lennie and I went up to our room and
just enjoyed our view from the balcony.
Tuesday 10/12 Cairo in the morning was so
quiet – almost no traffic – so different from 10:00 last night when
we finally went to bed. We easily drove out of the city headed to Saqqara
– on the way we could once again see Giza – such an interesting
juxtaposition next to the modern city. On the way we once again got to watch
daily life going on in the small villages. We arrived at Saqqara before 8:00
when they open so we had some time to do a bit of birding. It was lovely being
the first group into the complex. Saqqara was the cemetery of Memphis, which,
in ancient times was the capital. The tomb of the first king of the third
dynasty was designed around 2600 BC. It is one of the oldest stone buildings in
the world and the oldest Pyramid of Egypt. Imhotep was the master builder of
this Step Pyramid and the first in history to use limestone instead of tiles
for construction. This whole complex is a work in progress with lots of digging
still going on – it was most interesting. Then we had a lot of fun. There
were a group of camels with their handlers up on a level – I really
thought about it but fortunately Lennie didnÕt – she just asked one how
much it would cost to just sit on a camel for a photo – he said ten
pounds (about two dollars) so up she went while the cameras clicked away. So as
soon as she got down I asked her for ten pounds saying it was for the
grandchildren and up I went – all decked out in proper attire that the
man thought I should wear – oh what I do for my grands. And that was
it - one after another people from
our group took turns riding the camels, David even rode it around and with his
Australian hat he looked so natural and then Erik kissed the camel. The camel
owners really had a lot of fun with us and it was great to do this without a
load of other tourists around. They began arriving soon. The advantages of getting
up early!!! When I got home the third question my granddaughter asked me was
ŅDid you ride a camel?Ó so thank you Lennie!! We enjoyed our time here and then
went to the museum for this complex which was new and very well laid out
– saw some wonderful artifacts. One thing I saw that I wished I could
have photographed was the line between the brown and the green. There was a
solid line showing how far the Nile River spreads its water into the desert
– it is so distinctive. We stopped to eat at a tourist type restaurant on
the way back and it was very good. They served each of us half a barbequed
chicken that we saw cooking on our way in plus lots of other food – too
much but very good. Then back to the hotel. In the afternoon a shopping trip was
planned to a large market and some good bookstore. I couldnÕt face the traffic
or crowds again and besides I hate to shop and I have no money anyway so I
didnÕt go. This turned out to be a good choice for me – I wandered around
the hotel to check it out. I read that this was the largest hotel in the Middle
East and incorporates the Al Geziral Palace, which was built as a guest palace
for the inauguration celebration of the Suez Canal in 1867 and has played host
to European monarchs. It was part of the estate on this island belonging to
Khedive Ismail one of the leaders of Egypt before/during the British Empire. I
also checked out the shops in the hotel and found the perfect bookstore –
lots of choices. I was able to lay out the choices of books and unmolested I checked
them out and chose the perfect book on the history of Egypt. Then I went back
to my room and sat on the deck with a cup of tea and watched the city and
listened to the sounds of the city and read my book. Eventually everyone came
back and we enjoyed a nice buffet dinner.
Wednesday 10/13 We were up at 3:45 AM this
morning for a 4:30 departure. We picked up a box breakfast at the restaurant
and headed east to the desert. When we first stopped at 6 AM it was still very
cool – I could have used a sweater if I had one but by 8 AM it was warm.
We were out looking for birds when we noticed a military camp across the way
– we kept expecting them to come chasing us away. The road didnÕt have a
lot of traffic but there were several large trucks hauling stuff to wherever
they go. We only saw two birds and not much military activity. We would have
liked to suggest they do some clean up – even way out here there was a
lot of garbage in the desert. Egypt is not very good at garbage collecting
– it often looked like it was just a case of dump the garbage anyplace in
the desert. I wondered if they even have garbage collection and dumps. We headed north and east to the Red Sea
and then to Suez. We stopped along the way to walk through a break in the fence
to the shore of the Red Sea where we were able to find a lot of ŅgoodÓ birds
along a sand bar. Again there were a lot of water sucking resorts in the desert
along the shores of the Red Sea. We stopped at a restaurant in Suez where we
could see the canal although there wasnÕt much to see. The canal is one way so
ships must wait to pass through and there were a lot of ships waiting on our
side. We had a good lunch – not buffet and then about dessert time we
started seeing raptors and we saw hundreds if not thousands of raptors
migrating through, it was amazing and it just didnÕt stop. But eventually we
had to leave and return to Cairo. We all dressed up for dinner and had a nice
farewell dinner at a different restaurant in the hotel complex. We were saying
good-bye to Egypt and to three of our companions who would not be going to
Jordan with us. All in all it was a good trip and certainly lived up to my
expectations. We were so lucky to have such a great group of travelers.
JORDAN
Thursday October 14 – We left Cairo early
this morning for Amman, Jordan. Security was pretty tight – much more so
than flying internally in Egypt. And then did we have a greeting when we got to
Jordan. We had to go through very tight security to enter the country–
x-ray luggage and pat downs – and after paying the entrance fee we almost
didnÕt get to enter. Almost all of us were pulled aside – they didnÕt
like our binoculars. We knew ahead of time that they didnÕt like spotting
scopes – you had to buy a permit ahead of time for them. David had one
and they never even checked his scope or his permit – it was just the
binoculars they didnÕt like. IÕm not sure what they thought we were going to
use them for and they didnÕt accept or understand the study of birds at all.
Finally Erik said he wanted to talk to the head of security so off he went with
one of the guards and whatever he said or did he finally came back and we were
allowed to enter Jordan. Of course we got in trouble right away because we saw
some good birds outside and we pulled out our binoculars and walked on the
grass to follow the birds. The guards chased us off the grass and made us load
up in the bus. (It reminded me of being chased off the grass in East Berlin
some 23 years ago.) Finally we loaded up on our new bus – meeting our driver,
our Jordan history guide, Hajjad and our Jordan birding guide, Anwar. We drove
west until we reached the Dead Sea and then drove south along the edge of the
Dead Sea. It was so thrilling to see the Dead Sea – famous from Biblical
times to the present. It was sort of strange to realize that we could see the
shores of Israel on the other side – we didnÕt even need our binoculars
for that. Later at night we could see the lights of the Kibbutzes across on the
western shore. In fact throughout our stay in Jordan I was very much interested
in all the Biblical history in Jordan – I just hadnÕt thought about it
before. The Jordan River is the
border for Jordan and once I saw a sign pointing to the baptismal site of Jesus
by John. Another time a range of mountains was pointed out where Mount Nebo
was, the place where Moses climbed to look over and see the Promised Land (in
Jordan). Also up on another mountain was the tomb of his brother Aaron. Of
course looking at Biblical maps it is clear that Jordan is carved out of what
was formerly the Holy Land belonging to some of the tribes of Israel around
2000 BC. We just donÕt think of Jordan as being part of the Holy Land any more
– but it is. Eventually we parked at the Dead Sea so people who wanted to
swim could. Of course we didnÕt know about this ahead of time so our swimsuits
were buried in our suitcases. One person did swim and several people went out
wading. I put my index finger in the Dead Sea – it is very thick and oily
feeling. Because of the high salinity a person will float on top –
apparently it is even hard to get your legs to stay down so you can stand up in
the deep areas. Lots of people were covering themselves with mud, which is
supposed to cure everything – wrinkles to rashes. This was a high-class resort
area along the Dead Sea – people come from all over to stay here. The
Dead Sea is 1385 feet below sea level. The minerals around the Dead Sea have
been used for thousands of years. Minerals for Egyptian mummification were
obtained here and phosphates – used in fertilizers – are still
exported from here as they have been for centuries. The Dead Sea was a place of
refuge for King David and a health spa for Herod the Great. I rather forget the
rest of the day – we had a barely palatable lunch at some tourist buffet
and we drove until well past dark to stay at a rather less than satisfactory
hotel for two nights. Now if we had been prepared for this hotel and we had
arrived in daylight it might not have been so bad. But this place had no
electricity and we didnÕt expect this so many of us had arrived with dead
batteries that needed to be charged. I did not have my flashlight on hand and
not seeing well in the dark left me in an uncomfortable position. Also Lennie
needed electricity for her CPAP machine in order to sleep so we were concerned
about that. (Erik very quickly took care of that when we arrived – a long
extension cord from the solar power source worked very well.) The worst part of
the hotel was the location. It was a thirty-minute ride on very bumpy dirt
roads in total darkness to get to it. Our bus stopped at ŅreceptionÓ – a
building next to the last of the paved road. Then our luggage and we were
transferred to very beat up and dirty trucks for our ride out. We later found
that one ŅtribeÓ took people to the hotel and the other ŅtribeÓ took people
from the hotel. These tribes were people who lived on the desert –
originally in tents but by encouragement from the government they were mostly
living in houses in a town of sorts and were cooperatively working together to
get water to their community and doing some farming. Finally we arrived at the
hotel where we had a very mediocre vegetarian dinner, outside, by candlelight,
next to some other guests who were smoking! We werenÕt too happy but eventually
we got showers and went to bed – I had stuff strewn all over the room
from looking for my flashlight. But we slept well even though it was hot in the
room.
Friday October 15 – We woke up early
– at first light so I spent some time repacking my stuff. I thought I had
2 hours until Lennie reminded me that there was a time change between Egypt and
Jordan but I quickly managed to eat some of the awful breakfast – thank
goodness I had my mojo bars. I ate several of them here. I enjoy vegetarian
food and often go without meat at home but this food was not good at all. We loaded up into several pick up
trucks for our very bumpy ride to our waiting bus. The young man who drove us
did speak some English and he told us he had 100 goats Ņbig and smallÓ. He
wasnÕt married and didnÕt have children. The rest of the day was spent mostly
in the bus – driving through the desert. We made several birding stops
for interesting birds. We did not have a police guard traveling with us but we
did see a few checkpoints along the way. People in Jordan drove much more
carefully than the drivers in Egypt. Our birding guide Anwar told us he grew up
in the eastern desert of Jordan – living a Bedouin life style but
recently moved his wife and baby son to Amman. His parents came to Jordan from
Syria in the early 1940Õs. He also told us he is a Druze – which I
believe is another subset of the Muslims. We drove around the outside of the
Dana Biosphere Reserve to the Visitor center where we stopped to eat our bag
lunch and enjoy the views (along with a nice flock of Chukars). We stopped
along the way at a small town to buy some water and some fruit. Some kids were
around and they were so friendly – not asking for money but just being
kids and wanting to have their photos taken. People in Jordan were very
friendly and almost without exception told us ŅWelcome to JordanÓ. Along this
drive we saw several farms growing a variety of vegetables including lots of
tomatoes and melons. We asked where the water was coming from and were told
that the water was being piped from Artesian wells in the desert. It really was
a stark picture of the greening of the desert. Coming from California I
probably have a less optimistic view of their water future than the people and
the government do. Fortunately we finally got back to our lodge in daylight and
got to see the road in daylight that we had driven the night before. Our driver
who was about 50 spoke very good English that he had learned in school. He
showed us his house and his daughter out in front. He said he only had a few
goats because it was too expensive to buy feed since there wasnÕt enough left
to graze them. His wife also raises a lot of chickens for the family. I think
he said he had 7 children. He told us the camels out grazing all belonged to someone
who watches over them with binoculars. We asked him who usually stays at our
lodge and what they do. He said they mostly hike the area and some visit the
local Bedouin and a local copper mine. I asked several guides about the Bedouin
– in Egypt and Jordan – and IÕve been told that Bedouin is a life
style not a race/cultural group. But they have strong family ties and in this
area the government worked with the two Tribes so that they worked together to
improve their life styles. Our driver showed us the school as we drove out and
told us it was for Bedouin children only. It was nice to arrive back at our
lodge in daylight so we explored the lodge and the area. It was quite a
pleasant place and would have been more pleasant if we could have driven in once,
stayed a couple of nights birding or sightseeing and then driving out –
only once each way. But there wasnÕt really anything to do there unless you
just wanted to relax, read, talk, star gaze. We went up on the roof and enjoyed
those activities up there. At night it was so dark you could really see the
milky way and oh so many stars. We joined at the tables before dinner and
caught up on our bird lists. I will have quite a job making my bird list when I
get around to it. Then we had our dinner – not good at all – I
donÕt know who could really say they enjoyed it but maybe the locals eat like
that. Off to bed for hopefully a good nightÕs sleep. Thank goodness we found
out last night that the solar provided enough electricity for LennieÕs CPAP
machine!
Saturday 10/16 Today we left at 4:30 for
Petra. Our guide drove a short cut to Petra last night and found it open (road
construction had closed it.). This route cut a couple of hours off our trip so
we were able to arrive at Petra by 7 AM. Once the sun was up we enjoyed seeing
the small towns including New Petra. When Ancient Petra was rediscovered in the
19th century local people started living in it until the city was
made a World Heritage site in 1985 and the government built New Petra and moved
the people there. I have wanted to see Petra ever since the Treasury was on the
cover of the National Geographic Magazine and I first read about it in 1998. I
must say I was not disappointed with Petra. We started walking the half-mile or
so down the road until the place where the mountains narrow and we walked
through something like a slot canyon. There were several other ancient carvings
and caves dating back many centuries – all B.C., but IÕm not sure how
old. A group of people called the Nabataens controlled this area and attained
great wealth through caravan trade so many cultures influenced this area,
Romans, Syrians, Egyptians. As we walked in this canyon it gradually turned
right and suddenly there was the Treasury – awesome. This building was
carved out of a rock mountain about 1200 BC. Like the pyramids it is hard to
picture how mere mortals did the work to make this place. The stone has a bit
of pink in it so it is sometimes called the Pink City. It was an amazing site
and we spent some time resting here and enjoying the site. Just 8 years ago
more was discovered here – under the building are more rooms probably
used as tombs, so much is left to be discovered here. At this point I would
have been content to turn back but that is only because I didnÕt study or know
what was ahead. We ended up walking another 2 miles to a restaurant were we
would have lunch. Along the way we saw many more ancient buildings and carvings
showing that this area was a thriving and busy and large city. The Roman
influence was evident in many of the areas – probably from the first 2 or
3 centuries AD. Christianity came to Petra around the 4th century
and there is a Monastery there that I wished I had visited. Tradition also says
that Petra is the area where Moses struck a rock and found water. Aaron is
supposedly buried near here on a mountaintop. The people had a very advanced
system of collecting water. On one side they had a channel to carry water to
animals and on the other side they had a channel with filters to carry drinking
water for the people. Petra declined under Roman Rule and an earthquake in 363
AD destroyed many buildings. Anyway it was a wonderful walk down to visit these
places. We had heard that Jordan worked hard to protect their children but we
saw a lot of very young children hawking postcards and books – it was
really sad and they were such cute charming children. We eventually met the
group – had the tourist buffet lunch and then returned to the bus. Some
took donkeys back to the bus but some of us walked back. After two days bus
riding it felt wonderful to walk and it was great to see the Treasury one last
time. Of course Lennie and I were the last on the bus but we are used to that.
From here we drove straight to Amman – about 3-4 hours stopping at a bus
rest stop for a short break. We checked into our hotel and after some
arrangements we met for dinner – our last together. It was nice to have
electricity to charge up our stuff that we have become dependent on and to take
a good long shower before dinner. We said our goodbyes to several of the group
who were leaving in the early morning. Five of us leave late Sunday so we made
plans for the next day and then we all had a good nightÕs sleep.
Sunday 10/17 We have enjoyed traveling with Frankie and W.O. but
today we were extra glad. They were leaving at midnight on the same flight as
we were so they planned an excursion to the city of Jerash – the largest
and best-preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world outside of Italy
and they asked us to join them. I had not even heard of this and I was
delighted to be able to go. Also since we had VENT make our airline
reservations we assumed they would have arranged for a day room for us for
Sunday but they hadnÕt. Since none of the leaders were willing to make such an arrangement
we thought weÕd be stuck hanging out at the airport for 6-7 hours but W.O. went
and made arrangements to keep their room until 6:00 that night so we were able
to store our luggage there and then come back after our tour and shower and
change – what a treat. We joked about W.O. and his four wives – the
maximum number of wives allowed in Jordan! (Janet joined us for the day also as
she too left at midnight.) So it was a happy group that waited in the lobby for
our guide that morning. Our guide was a man in his 50Õs who had been doing this
for 23 years so he was excellent in the information he gave us. We loved
driving through Amman hearing some of the history – current and past.
Amman used to be called Philadelphia – so named by Ptolemy II Philadephus
the Hellenic ruler of Egypt around 250 BC. We were told that Jordan was a very
modern country in so far as educating girls as well as boys and requiring and
paying for education up until college. There are private schools that are
better but they cost a lot of money so often the oldest child is educated and
then expected to help the younger ones, especially when it comes to college. I
think our guide has 7 children and 2 or 3 are in college – nursing for
one, dentistry for another and he is very proud of them. He has only 1 wife
although 4 are allowed – if you can afford to treat them all equally.
IÕve heard this before but I donÕt think many do have four wives and wives as
well as husbands can request divorces. In Jordan we observed most men were
dressed in the Western Style of dress and woman mostly had head scarves but
many had Western dress, a few had the black robe covering from shoulders down,
some have very colorful robes instead. Different names mean different things so
IÕm a bit confused on what to call these robes. We saw only a few women out in
public with their faces covered – I saw more of those at tourist sites or
in the airport. The cities we saw in Jordan were more colorful than in Egypt
– most houses were painted white and some distant view showed why some
cities were call the White City. We continued to Jerash – about an hour
north of Amman enjoying the conversation and the sites. We had no checkpoints
along this route but we did notice police giving tickets to drivers –
here traffic laws are obeyed. When we arrived at Jerash we were greeted by the
usual hawkers and a large bus parking area. But once in the ancient area we
certainly had a pleasant surprise. It was very much larger than we expected and
very well preserved. While Jerash has evidence of human occupation going back
6000 years the buildings go back to the first or second century BC. The first
structure we encountered was HadrianÕs Triumphal Arch – that Emperor sure
got around. His visit here was in 129 AD. This city was the center for trade as
well as a cultural center and government administration. At its peak in the 3rd
Century it had a population of about 20,000 people. By the 5th
century Christianity had found its way to Jerash and many churches were built.
A Persian invasion in 614 AD and the Muslim conquest of 636 AD along with a
series of earthquake in 749 AD led to the demise of the city and the population
sank to 4000. It remained abandoned until rediscovered in 1806 by which time it
was mostly buried in sand. Excavation started in 1925 and continues to this
day. Being covered by sand is why it is so well preserved. We could read the
letters on many of the walls and columns and found very recognizable letters.
In fact in one place we found my sonÕs name written – Kenneth. One neat
experience occurred when we went to sit in the amphitheatre. While there our
guide asked the bag-pipers to play for us and we had a private playing of the
bag-pipes and drums – in full regalia. It was very moving and we really
enjoyed it. We continued wandering around the area visualizing the streets
teeming with people and shops. In the stones of the road you could see the
chariot ruts. It was really a lovely day. Our guide took us to a shopping place
which was fine with us as we did find some more things to buy – I got
some soap made in Jordan with ingredients from the Dead Sea. I thought that was
a rather appropriate souvenir. Then we went back to our hotel – our day
wasnÕt over yet. We were hungry so wanted to eat someplace. We asked our guides
for recommendations near our hotel but we werenÕt too clear about the location
and type. But meanwhile Lennie noticed a Lebanese restaurant downstairs in the
hotel so we checked out the menu and decided to try it. Turned out to be an
excellent choice. We had a delightful waiter name Jamil. He was charming to
begin with but when he found out Lennie and I were from California and lived
near San Francisco we had a new best friend. When he found out I was born and
raised in San Francisco he was really excited – he loves San Francisco
– he has photos of all the landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge and so
forth – but he has never been to America! Anyway he made some suggestions
about ordering things since we didnÕt know what a lot of the items were so
Frankie, W.O., Lennie, and I went along with his suggestions. We ordered one
serving of lots of different things and then we ate family style. It was so
much fun and so very good – we ate and ate and laughed and laughed. It
was a lot of fun and Jamil enjoyed us too. He is Palestinian but he was born in Jordan and has a
Jordan passport. We heard this often – the Palestinian refugees always
consider themselves temporarily living in Jordan even for decades. But Jamil assured
us his boss was Lebanese. The food was very good – probably one of the
most memorable ones on the trip – in a good way. We finally realized that
we were the only ones in the restaurant and the reason the staff was sort of
standing around was because it was past closing time – they were too
polite to chase us out. But we left feeling good about the experience. Lennie
and I took a photo with Jamil, which we emailed, to him – hope he got it.
Then Lennie and I walked around the block – just to sightsee a bit. Many
taxi drivers asked us if we wanted a taxi and when we said ŅnoÓ almost without
exception they replied ŅWelcome to JordanÓ. The Jordan people really wanted to
let us know how they welcomed and liked Americans. Rather nice I have to admit.
After walking we went up to W.O.Õs room and took turns taking a shower and
packing up for the journey home – so nice to have the room. At 6:00 we
went downstairs to hang out in the lobby, which proved to be most interesting.
The lobby seemed to be a meeting place for the rich and famous. There were
several men dressed like Arab Sheiks in white garb with the red and white check
head dress who were being interviewed – possibly by a journalist who then
went on to interview some other men dressed in business suits. There was a man
dressed like a photo journalist (vest with large pockets – big cameras)
taking photos. There were groups of men drinking tea sitting in a circle and
the size of the group kept changing – bigger and smaller as people
– mostly men – came and went. And the variety of dress in these
groups was most interesting – the afore mentioned Sheiks, men in business
suits, young men with long bushy hair and hiking type clothes – a few
women very much dressed up in evening type business clothes. The greeting
between the men was also fascinating to watch – they always stood –
sometimes shook hands sometimes not. Sometimes they hugged with brief air
kisses on each cheek and sometimes firm kisses on each cheek often followed by
words in the ear. What a lovely and entertaining international scene. There
even was a pianist, an attractively dressed tall, thin, blond woman – the
only blond in the area. Eventually we got our luggage and went out to meet our
driver who took us to the airport where we had to go through about 5 layers of
security to leave Jordan – they donÕt mess around. One guy totally tore
apart the stuff in my backpack – never told me what he was looking for
and never found anything. I hate having them go through my stuff – I
threw my food away. Eventually we were on the plane headed for home – 11
hours in the air – I watched one movie (Cairo Time – again) and
slept some. We had a 4-5 hour layover in NYC so Lennie and I each bought some
Internet time and caught up on email and facebook. Then we had a 5 hour flight
home to San Francisco – we both agreed that was the longest flight ever
– I thought weÕd never get home. LennieÕs brother picked us up which was
a treat so I was home by about 2 or 3. I took a shower and then went out back
and picked 2 buckets of tomatoes, which I have been enjoying all week. It was a
great trip and I had a good time but it is nice to be home – eating fresh
fruit and vegetables, drinking tap water and enjoying my own schedule.
As
of 11/1/10 I have that I saw 166 species on the trip, 160 species in Egypt and
30 in Jordan. I had 81 new life species, 4 of which were in Jordan. My current
life list is 2627 from my travels in about 29 countries. This list needs to be
checked against the master list that our leader should be sending us soon.
Written
mostly from my memories on 10/24/10
Revised
on 11/7/10
again
on 11/27/10
Penelope
Bowen