Egypt

Back in Africa.  A few hours in an airplane and one goes from the modern world and all of its conveniences to the chaos that is Africa.  Given the unrest in Egypt since January’s revolution, we decided to take a sheltered view of Cairo. This was not to be the place where we would go native.  Official reports say that tourism has decreased by 40%.   In reality it is probably closer to 80 or 90%.  Tourists are likely outnumbered by the vendors and those dependent on tourism.  Mustafa, our wonderful tour guide met us before we even went through passport control, with visas in hand and guiding us through the maze and getting us to our minivan and to our hotel.  I’ve never stayed in a five star hotel in my life, but we decided on the 4 seasons Nile plaza as it was secured like Fort Knox.  Upon arrival, we immediately headed to the swimming pools (note plural) and enjoyed a poolside dinner.  Nothing not to like about this place, except that our basic dinner cost more than a Cairo police officer makes in a month ($80).

Day two we had a blast.  There is nothing quite like seeing something for the first time in person that you’ve seen thousands of times in books and movies.   Be it the Acropolis, Parthenon, Colosseum, Pantheon, Eiffel Tower, the canals of Venice, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, etc. The Pyramids of Giza are simply stunning.  We visited the Pyramids early in the morning, with the blinding light from the desert sun and sands shocking our pale faces and my robust scalp.  Normally there are 25,000 visitors each day at the pyramids and on this morning there were only a couple hundred.  We were easily outnumbered by vendors selling postcards, camel rides, tee shirts, cheap souvenirs and jewelry, along with multiple flavors of the Yassar Arafat type Bedouin head-dress.  The pyramids are simply an amazing site to see.  They are absolutely enormous, and are in remarkably good shape given their age of 4,500 odd years.  Interesting tidbit is that they used to be covered with a very clear, hard, smooth polished limestone so that they would shine like a mirror to their sun god Amen-Ra. Over the years this finish broke off (except for at the top of the second pyramid) and they are now the familiar stepping stones.  One used to be able to climb them but that was banned in the 60’s after several accidents where one falling from the top tended to bounce all the way to the bottom.  Bummer as climbing would have been a Janssen family trip highlight.  We then had a few tourist adventures.  A brief camel ride was really fun until the halfway point when the “drivers/walkers” out of sight of their boss, asked to take our picture on the camels and afterwards accosted me for tips.  On a walk around the pyramid we came upon a very nice police officer who expressed his thanks for our being in his country and posed for a picture.  Unbelievably he then asked for a tip and he wouldn’t give up despite my protests and those of my guide.  After two blocks, since he was so persistent and more importantly since he was carrying a gun, I relented and gave him 1 euro (about $1.40).   It was interesting and shed a lot of light on the police in Egypt.   So much corruption, so much disorganization, so little respect for those they so feebly attempt to protect and to serve.  Our guide told us that there were many great police officers but many bad ones.  I can see that earning $80/month that if this guy found one sucker per day like me he could double his monthly income.   We also saw the “Cheops boat” which was a boat that accompanied the Pharoah Cheops (his Pyramid is the largest).  This 140’ boat was built from Lebanese cedar, painstakingly put together with ropes, equipped with oars, and never saw the water.  It was scrunched into a pit and buried beside the pyramid in brand new condition, to be used by Cheops in his afterlife for sailing through the sky.  It would be an incredible feat of engineering for an advanced woodworker today, let alone 2500 BC.  We also visited the inside of Cheops’ pyramid, climbing 1/3 of the way up to the top, inside through some incredibly tight tunnels.  I’ve never been in such a stuffy, claustrophobic place in my life.  I was expecting a cavernous cathedral inside the pyramid but it was just a tiny room in the middle about 15x30.  Of course the attendant of the room (probably a policeman), was trying to explain everything when we couldn’t understand and didn’t want him in our faces.  We departed and of course he wanted a tip for his obnoxiousness but I stood firm and we escaped.   So other than the policeman you won’t see any more blog photos with street vendors or cops.  After lunch at a local restaurant, we spent about 3 hours in the National Museum.  Reading and watching the revolution and how the museum almost fell but with only a few things being looted, I was expecting a modern building with high tech security.  Here are countless invaluable treasures and to my surprise the building was a complete dump, crammed with treasures so old it made your head spin.  The old saying that it is what’s on the inside that counts, and that was true for the museum.  The kids were engaged for at least 3 hours with the treasures of King Tut, innumerous statues and coffins, weapons and tools, and of course the royal mummies.  Shocking how the mummification of a 3500 year old Pharoah is so well done that you can see hair, complete fingernails, and on the most important kings, very distinct Morgan’s toes.  The Egyptians were incredibly wealthy, incredibly sophisticated in their use of tools, and in general incredibly civilized thousands of years before the Greeks. 

In earlier times we would have chosen to see more of Cairo but we intentionally cut short our time there and headed about 400 miles southwest to the White Desert.  This is an ancient limestone sea bed and over the past 50,000 years sandstorms have cut through the seabed, with the hardest sections of limestone left standing as pillars and mounds of every shape and size imaginable.  We camped two nights in accommodations that would generously be described as 1 star.  We ate local food (bread and vegetables) at each meal, and those who were physically able (everyone but me) sitting Bedouin (cross-legged) style at a 14” table.  The kids ate more vegetables in two days than they have in their lives, and I like to think gastronomic experience was cleansing.  The desert is spectacular.  We enjoyed warm but not hot days and cool nights.  The scenery is unlike anything I’ve ever seen except for photos of the surface of the moon.  We ventured about for most of the day in a Toyota Landcruiser and climbed small mountains and monuments, threw rocks off of cliffs, jumped off sand dunes, and of course played a lot of pass and catch with Hayden’s football.  We’ve now taught two Africans to throw a tight spiral with the football.  No small feat as our ambassadorship of goodwill tour continues.

After the White Desert it was back to Cairo for a quick flight to Luxor and a trip up the Nile.  We boarded our mini-cruise ship “Alexander the Great” and enjoyed 4 days of brief tour stops to see various temples and monuments as we traveled south “up” the Nile.  The Nile is the longest river in the world and also the only major river that travels south to north.  The Egyptian Pharaohs had enormous temples built in their honor from Alexandria all the way south to Abu Simbel on what is now Lake Nassar a couple hundred miles south of the Aswan High dam.  We stopped at 4 major temples and it was fascinating to see how exorbitant these were (and many still are).  We had a fantastic guide named Ahmed and the kids really displayed a great knowledge of many of the ancient gods and deciphering many hieroglyphs.  Sydney and Halle enjoyed mummifying Hayden, and we all enjoyed a boat taxi ride to a local “Nubian” village where we all were able to hold a small crocodile and get temporary (or so I was led to believe) hieroglyph tattoos.  All in all the boat tour was relaxing and a great way to see the sights as the country drifted by.  We could have enjoyed a week on the boat rather than 4 days.

After 4 days of great living on the boat, we ventured off to Lake Nassar for one day and two nights of fishing for nile perch.  Do an internet search on “Nile Perch” and you will see pictures of these beasts which can weigh over 300lb.  Unfortunately our luck wasn’t with us and the only fish we caught was Halle’s 2 lb. tiger fish. These are nasty little beasts.  I'd like to believe they are incredibly rare and difficult to catch and easily worth the $500 per pound we spent to catch the nasty little bugger before releasing it.  The fishing was an adventure, fishing from a small boat with a guide with very limited English and no conversation skills.  Meals and nights were spent in the hold of a supply boat, along with several hundred flies and mosquitoes and the lingering smell of cigarettes from the crew who used this room during the day.  Being out on the lake was great but after many consecutive days relatively “on the go” we were anxious to board our plane to London and get back to the small things that we overlook in the civilized world:  functioning toilets, showers, no bugs, soft pillows, etc..   I don’t want to give the impression that we are road weary; but perhaps we are a small bit.  Egypt was great to visit.  I would recommend it to anyone at this time but it takes a lot of patience. We felt safe throughout.  The people were very kind and their ancient history is so ancient yet so advanced that it is mind boggling.  It's not a stretch to say that it is not much more advanced today.  By the end of our visit, however, Egypt was becoming a grind.  I was sick of everyone expecting a tip for the smallest service that I didn’t ask for or necessarily want (I can carry my bag 100 yards to a shuttle…it doesn’t take 4 people).  I was tired of paying high prices for food and drinks in the confines of our hotel or boat when a block away the same would be offered at 1/10^th of the price we paid for “safety”.  I was sick of the aggressive street vendors that wouldn’t take no for an answer.  I was tired of poor communication and the cultural differences that are everywhere in a Muslim country.   Women are treated very differently.  Many people just wouldn’t engage at the same level with Traci and the girls.  I was tired of seeing the dirt and garbage and grime in such spectacular lands. 

The next few months will be very interesting in Egypt.  The country has such amazing assets and just about every person we spoke with was optimistic about the country’s future.  They thought the media’s portrayal of discord between Muslims and Coptic Christians was blown way out of proportion and was being instigated by the ruling military council.  It will be fascinating to observe and I am thankful that we had the opportunity to visit.



Across the endless desert lands there rode a mighty carvan



The Cheops "solar boat"



Looking up the great pyramid



Base of the great pyramid

Thank goodness the Police!  A sucker born every minute



Normally there are hundreds of people at this nearest location to the Sphinx



Traci and Halle from the balcony of our Hotel in Cairo.  From the penthouse to the..



s...house.  Rest stop on the way to the white desert...about 50 miles SW of Cairo....the best and only stop

Limestone columns in the white desert



Keeping my wife and children safe at all times...yes that other formation looks like a chicken and it was ridden hard by all the kids



Sydney has always had such amazing balance



Lucky man

Moustafa and our crazy driver in the white desert



Why walk when you can jump?



Water taxi on the Nile



At a set of locks on the Nile.  Kids cleaned up nicely for dinner!



Temple at Edfu.  Again no crowds.



Inside the world's oldest known dedicated room used as a library



Our guide Ahmed in the "pharmacy" room of the Temple at Edfu

He deserved it



dhow



Morning coffee on the Nile

Our new pet



If you give a kid a camera



Aswan High Dam.   Kids loved saying dam.  Homeschooling is going so well!



Airport shuttle buses are a big hit



Our cruise ship



Abu Simbel



Inside Ramses II temple at Abu Simbel....Pictures are forbidden but I couldn't resist this one of Traci attempting to teach the girls about the god of fertility.



Hayden in his element



..but not to be outdone by the girls