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| Wednesday, 10-Aug-2005 00:00 |
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Day 3 (42) - Abu Simbel, Egypt
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Well the stomach was literally giving me the shits and still laying me out like you wouldn't believe. But I am in Egypt and seing the most amazing sights created thousands of years ago.
Today we were off at the ungodly hour of three in the morning to join the convoy out to Abu Simbel and the Great Temple of Ramses II. The Temple is now situated above Lake Nasser after a huge effort to remove the two temples from harms way caused by the creation of the High Dam.
Once carved out of the side of a mountain, the temples were cut into pieces and moved to a higher location. The temple of Ramses II was dedicated to the Gods Ra-Harakhty, Amun, Ptah and to Ramses II himself.
Coming around the recreated mountain you are greeted by the sight of four imposing and colossal statues of a seated Ramses II. THe detail on these staues is amazing especially given they are some 3000 years old. The heiroglyphs inside the temple depict Ramses II in battle - some of these still contain colour. In the innermost chamber, the four Gods of the temple sit on their thrones. The temple is aligned in such a way that on the 22nd of February and the 22nd of October the first rays of the rising sun light up the inner chamber and three of the four Gods - the God Ptah is never illuminated.
The second temple is the Temple of Hathor dedicated to Ramses beloved wife, Queen Nefertari. Basically it a smaller version of the first temple but is instead fronted by six massive standing statues - two of Nefertari and four of Ramses II.
Both temples overlook the waters of Lake Nasser, the largest artificial lake in the world. From the temple viewpoint, the waters of the lake stretch from horizon to horizon.
The temples blew me away - the four statues of the seated Ramses in particular (even though one of them lay half in ruins). The temples position and the craftsmanship behind their creation make this place one of the most stunning I have visited. Simply awesome. Very cool.
A three hour return trip to Aswan enabled the majesty of the temples to sink in - Ramses II was certainly a man who thought a great deal of himself. Lunch and a bit of bazaar wandering followed before some time in the pool.
Dinner was to take place at a traditional Nubian village. An eventful boatride was to take us there - we stopped at a riverside trinket market, picked up some hitchhikers on the river, crashed into a submerged rock and enjoyed the sights of the Nile from the boats roof.
The Nubians build their houses of mud brick and due to the constant heat it is well ventilated and open. Shoes are removed at the entrance and the inetrior courtyard is covered with Nile sand. The owner of the house described the histroy of his people, how Nubian society functions and how Nubian families function.
After a delicious meal we sat and enjoyed the close and quiet atmosphere. One of the children, a girl of about 3 years, adopted me...sitting on my knee, gifting me with sand (???) and paying me lots of attention.
Once again it was a very eventful day...a great day experiencing the wonders of an ancient civilisation. Its just a shame that I have not found their modern day contemporaries to be nowhere near the same calibre of people.
* Some of these photos are from my fellow travellers.
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| Tuesday, 9-Aug-2005 00:00 |
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Day 2 (41) - Aswan, Egypt
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A most heinous journey...I lost count of the number of trip I made to taht manky train toilet but I got fit running back and forth. No sleep due to major stomach cramps and nothing to take my mind off of it all..Aus was not good!
But finally Aswan came into view and we headed off to the hotel. By the time we checked in, cleaned up and went down to lunch it was one in the afternoon. Not that lunch was going to do me any good! While the others spent the afternoon exploring the Temple of Philae with a dodgy guide, I snoozed in my room and tried to get over the gastro. Much rest was needed!
Sometime by the pool before dinner and then early to bed. A wasted day for me!
* The photos of Philae are from several of my fellow travellers.
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| Monday, 8-Aug-2005 00:00 |
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Day 1 (40) - Cairo, Egypt
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Well its finally arrived. "It" being the tour through the Middle East. "It" being the one constant of the past 7 months. "It" being the fulfilment of a dream I have held since I was just a wee boy - to see the wonders of Ancient Egypt.
But "it" didn't start off smoothly. I was once again struck down with a severe case of gastro...it might have had something to do with the Bostan Hotel placing my (and other) meals on the floor of the elevator when bringing it to the roof top restaurant. I was not the only one struck down on the first day...the sisters Slootjes joined me in misery...Marÿke almost boycotting the first part of the day due to the way she felt.
However, we all made it onto the bus and began the 35 day tour with a quick look around the Egyptian History Museum. I say quick because apparently if you spend one minute looking over every piece within the musuem you would be in there something like 4 years!! (Can't recall the exact amount of time but four years rings a bell for some reason!) Something like 40,000 artifacts are contained within the building including the mask of Tutankhamun.
We were guided through the museum on a whirlwind tour of about an hour and a half by a very knowledgable guide. He covered the three periods of Ancient Egypt and all its pharoahs as well as the civilisations pre- and post- pharoanic dynasty.
King Tut's display was marvellous...the jewellery exquisite...the mask just plain amazing. However, I was more impressed by the other artifacts that littered the museum...those item that showed the intelligence and creativity of this ancient civilisation. At the end of the tour we spent a few minutes gazing at the mummified remains of the various recovered mummies of pharoahs and their queens including the greatest of the pharoahs - Rameses II.
With my stomach still churning, we left the musuem and headed for the perfumery and some lunch. Even this early I knew that Egypt will call me back one day...two hours in the museum being nowhere near enough to sate the appetite - and of course Lindie will most likely want to come and see the place!
A meal of koshary - rice, pasta, lentils topped with a herby tomato based sauce - was served at the perfumery. Yum even if the stomach was rebelling (and made me pay for my indiscretions later on!!)
The perfumery show cased its traditionally made wares - they use only the oils of flowers in their perfumes...no additives! We tested sevral scents upon which many brands such as Calvin Klein and Hugo Boss have been based. Outside the perfumery a scent of a different kind threatened to overwhelm. In the canal running down the centre of the street piled masses of garbage amongst which were two decomposing horses - definitely one of the most sickening things I have smelt and witnessed (the rubbish and the horses!)
But all that was soon forgotten as we arrived at the wonder of wonders - the Pyramids of Giza. To say I was eagerly anticipating this visit would be a mega understatement. Words fail to capture the awe these creations inspire in a person. They are phenomenal in both their size and precision.
To give you some idea of what it meant for me to be there in front of the pyramids you have to go back to when I was a little tacker. My dad was forever buying books when I was growing up. The ones that captivated me the most were those detailing the ancient civilisations and the mysteries that lay behind them. I used to dream and wonder about them all, but Egypt in particular. Since that time I have always wanted to be here.
The pyramids are massive - I know you go there knowing that they are big but you get blown away by their sheer size when you are actually right there in front of them. Entering the tombs and knowing that millions of tonnes of stone lay above you is incredibly daunting but the knowledge that it has stood that way for thousands of years is very comforting.
After the pyramids visit was concluded a short camel ride followed. This allowed us a panoramic view of the sprawling mass of the city of Cairo set as a backdrop to the pyramids. After being hassled constantly by the guide for baksheesh and a few photos later we hopped on down to see the Sphinx and the valley temple.
Now I had always imagined the Sphinx to be huge so I was somewhat disappointed when I was finally confronted by it. It may have been because it is set against a backdrop of the pyramids which obviously totally dominate the area. Still it is incredibly impressive given it is in one piece carved out of the rockface.
Next stop was the papyrus maker. A short demo of how papyrus is made and how to test its authenticity was followed by the sales pitched - I reneged.
Last stop for the day was a nearby hotel and pool...a most excellent addition. Though nowhere near cold enough, the pool water did offer some respite from the heat. By this stage my stomach was giving me hell and I had yet to eat dinner...and incredibly intelligent me decided to have a few beers!
The terror of terrors awaited for someone in my condition...a 12 hour train journey to Aswan with one toilet amongst two carriages and a bout of gastro that had me in a sweat...fun, fun, fun! And a few interesting toileting experiences followed.
Fellow members of the tour are:
* Rob & Michelle
* Stu & Tash
* Al & Karen
* Dave & Sam
* Merren
* Carina
* Clara
* Zoe
* Aaron
* Grant
* Jo (Tour Leader)
* Paul (Driver)
* as well as the six of us.
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| Sunday, 7-Aug-2005 00:00 |
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Day 39 - Cairo, Egypt
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Money, money, money! So goes the song and so went us! We needed hard currency for the trip...a mix of US and Euro to help us get through the Middle East...problem was we weren't able to find any places in Morocco that would sell to us and now were having a wee bit of trouble here in Cairo.
Finally we did manage do find a bank that would first give us Egyptian Pounds (after our cards were rejected from numerous ATM's) and then a currency exchange to convert our Pounds to USD. A little bit of excitement whilst all that was happening...a car's engine had blown a gasket or something and erupted in flames just down the street from where we were. Masses of smoke filled the street and a fire engine made good time to get there - arriving not long after the first signs of trouble.
Managed to do a bit more sightseeing later that day. Walked out to the Nile and climber the Cairo Tower for a bit of a looksee over Cairo. On the way to the tower we played the Egyptian version of Russian Roulette - crossing one of the streets to get to the river...a constant stream of traffic and no pedestrian crossing! The views from on high were amazing. You really get to see just how huge Cairo is - it is a sea of unfinished buildings (something to do with taxation we were later told). And we got our first look at the pyramids!!! Albeit a distant one through the haze.
That night we had our first meeting with the other members of the tour and got the lowdown for the following day.
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| Saturday, 6-Aug-2005 00:00 |
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Day 38 - Cairo, Egypt
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Our journeys on this day took us out to the bazaar. We spent a few hours just wandering through the little alleyways gawking in the shops and stalls. Marÿke got into the swing of things and tried on a belly dancing outfit whilst she and hannah haggled over the cost of some shirts. Not all of the stalls and shops were open so the bazaar wasn't entirely busy when we began looking around. By the time we were ready to leave, a great deal more people were wandering about.
My expectations of what Cairo was going to be like turned out nothing like the reality. I guess the glory of Ancient Egypt rang in my head and thoughts of the pyramids skewed my perception. Cairo is ugly - well the bits we visited anyway. Its is dirty and polluted and run down. It is a city weighed down by the huge number of people who are crammed into the sprawl that is Cairo. The city never seems to end when you look out over the roof tops. Not that you can see overly far as a pall of pollution just hangs above the city as the millions (I guess given there's some 17 million people here) of cars make there way through the streets.
But beyond that it is still an experience...definitely crossing a busy street in Cairo is an experience - you want an extreme sport, try that...it doesn't get more extreme than that. Just walk out and hope they stop! The people are a mix of friendly to pushy depending on tehe situation you find yourself in...and you always have to be wary of the friendly ones as they all seem to want to get something more out of it beyond the normal baksheesh.
Had dinner in a restaurant near to the hotel that night with a couple who were going to be on the Oasis tour with us - Michelle and Rob.
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| Friday, 5-Aug-2005 00:00 |
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Day 37 - Cairo, Egypt
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The very first impression of Egypt and Cairo I received on the ride to the hotel last night was that I could not believe how hot the place was. OK, I knew it was going to be hot, but this was at 2 in the morning and we required the air con in the van on the way to the hotel.
Well that was nothing to the stifling heat of the day! Actually, I'd say its not actually the heat but the oppressiveness of the air...its just so thick you feel like you are wading through it when you are out and about. And then its not helped at all by the pollution...cars and trucks and buses everywhere. Rubbish lined the back streets and the rooftops. It was quite a shock on our first day out and about.
The late arrival and pretty much sapped us...especially Marÿke who endured a gruelling flight to Cairo via Istanbul. The heat and humidity sapped what remained. We lethargically roamed a portion of the city, up to the Egyptian Musuem before retiring back to the hotel and the air conditioning. Along the way back I stopped off at a barber's to get some 4 weeks worth of fuzz removed from my face. The dude lathered me up and gave me one of the closest shaves I'd ever had. Kind of freaky to just sit there and let a total stranger put a razor to your throat. Thought he was finished at the end of the shave but, no, there was more! He pulled out a length of cotton, twirled it around his hands and into his mouth and then proceded to pluck the hairs of my cheek and upper face in some odd impersonation of an ostrich ducking its head. He then applied this "stuff" that stung like buggery, brushed me down and sent me on my way. A very odd experience but I must say it left my face feeling very refreshed but still very hot.
It would take some time to acclimatise to this heat - very different to what we experienced in Morocco.
That night we did a cruise along the Nile...a decent feed, some belly dancing and a whirling dervish type dancer (can't remember specifically what he was). It was a good night after a somewhat draining day.
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| Thursday, 4-Aug-2005 00:00 |
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Day 36 - Casablanca, Morocco
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Our last day in Casablanca...Marÿke was off early to the airport for her 10 hour flight to Cairo via Istanbul. The rest of us were not due at the airport until the afternoon. In the meantime we continued our efforts to exchange some money.
Along the way an ATM swallowed my card and I had ahell of a time trying to convince the bank manager that it was indeed my card at that it wasn't fraudulent (AIB bank cards have no expiry date printed on them which is deemed illegal in Morocco!)
Meanwhile, Chook had lodged a memory card with a phot shop to get it burnt onto CD. On his return to the shop just before we were to head off, he found taht the shop was closed for siesta. Unbelievably as we are looking in the shop window, we find someone who knows the owner and where he lives. Chook manages to get his goods and there is a mad dash to the train station - we make it with a couple of minutes to spare!
Work out that secuirty in Casablanca isn't worth a damn as Chook accidentally smuggles his pocket knife onto the plane.Shite security in Casablanca Airport...Chook leaves pocket knife in day pack which makes it on board. It is quite odd to fly Royal Air Maroc...people who wish to sleep forgo the usual eye mask and just put the blanket over their heads. Looking back along the plane its like the plane is filled with cadavers; sheets pulled over their faces.
Land in cairo and have the fastest customs experience ever. The guide pretty much just takes us through without very much fuss at all. Finally make it to Hostel Bostan and hit the beds at about 3 am.
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| Wednesday, 3-Aug-2005 00:00 |
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Day 35 - Casablanca, Morocco
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See what happens when you find a decent bed? Yay a sleep in!
A very lazy day ensued...not a great deal was accomplished. But one incident stood out. Marÿke went to develop some film. On collection of the photos she found that they were ruined with black marking all across them as though the ink had run...inspection of the negatives showed that these too were damaged. Well international relations plummeted after that as we tried to get Marÿke her money back and an apology for ruining the photos. A big argument ensued and tempers flared - things were thrown, voices were raised, fingers were pointed, harsh words exchanged and tears shed.
Beyond that little bit of excitement, we spent some time in the medina doing a bit of shopping. Also looked for a place to exchange our dirham but found that it was very difficult to do - the banks flatly refused to do it saying they required a receipt.
As I said, a lazy day.
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| Tuesday, 2-Aug-2005 00:00 |
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Day 34 - Casablanca, Morocco
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Well we knew it was gonna suck and it did...terrible night's sleep and a cold shower in the morning to boot! Time to find a new hotel. Option number 1 from the previous day had vacancies and we moved right in - aah the luxury of hot showers and firm beds all for 5 dirhams more a night each!
Then it was off to the post office to try and send away all our litlle purchases. Basically, Bryce and I get laughed at for trying to send a tajine (read large ceramic cooking pot) through the Moroccan postal system. Were lucky enough to have a guy direct us to another post office where they deal with larger items but were met with the same incredulous looks. Finally convince the postal workers that regardless of what may happen, we want to send off our tajines. After stuffing it in a box and filling it with newspapers I knew it was the last time I would see it whole but I small part of me hoped it would make it ok! (Lindie received it about 10 days later and texted me asking me what is was! All she received was what looked like a box and lots of ceramic bits!)
Anywho, it was an interesting experience nonetheless.
Spent that afternoon having a gander at the Hassan II mosque. Th emosque has the world's largest minaret tower standing some 200 metres tall. Apparently it can hold about 120,000 people inside and another 80,000 in the forecourt. It is quite an impressive piece of work - the more so being situated against the sea and without any of the bustling city close by.
That night we discovered the Quality Burger! The name says it all...
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| Monday, 1-Aug-2005 00:00 |
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Day 33 - Casablanca, Morocco
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Casablanca bound...we try to get a taxi to the train station mid-morning but for some reason are not able to hail one. Big thanks to the police officer for hailing down a couple in the midst of doing his job...he even argued with the driver and pretty much forced one of the taxi drivers to take us. A mad taxi ride ensued as the driver sped to the train station - I think he had an appointment somewhere as he kept looking over pieces of paper as he drove usto the station.
On reaching the station we paid the driver what the policeman told us to pay him only to get yelledat. Apparently it is extra to carry the bags on the roof! While that was happening, Marÿke, in an attempt to get her pack on her back without straining to lift it, tumbled out of the taxi in a fit of laughter.
A couple of hours later we arrived in Casablanca. Our first choice of hotel was not able to cater for us all so Chook and Hannah went off to find us some accommodation while the rest of sat and drank soft drinks (of which, since we arrived in Morocco, we seem to be drinking copious amounts). Chook and Hannah return with accommodation found, noting that it was pretty dodgy, but we were just relieved to dump our packs.
Note to all though, do not stay in HOTEL FRANCE if you are staying in Casablanca. Cold showers that you have to pay for, one toilet for the floor (though at least it wasn't a squatter), and beds that act like hammocks! In fact the beds were so bad that Chook and Hannah threw their mattress on the floor while we pushed all our beds together and slept across ways to try and avoid the sag in the middle.
After a brief rest we headed off to explore Casablanca. Had a bit of a wander through the medina and attempted to find Rick's Cafe using Lonely Planet directions - don't try it because you'll get no where! Didn't manage to find Rick's Cafe but did find another bar and were there til late drinking and playing cards.
Then it was off to those beds...urrgh!
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