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The Blue Mosque - Mosque of Asunqer
Yes, it's slanty from an earthquake in the 1990's. On Darb el Ahmar.Hello all: I thought I should at least give a brief overview of my parents' trip here to Egypt for the second time as for some reason I didn't do it when they were here 2 years ago!?
Here are some of the highlights:
- Dinner at Al Azhar Park as the sun was setting. Mom and Dad loved it.
- The "little explored" street of Darb el Ahmar - I was only introduced to this street in November, and I love it. There is a lot of history packed into this little street that runs behind the Citadel, on the edge of City of the Dead, behind Al Azhar Park and out to Sayada Zeinab/Attaba area. My parents found this street to be amusing. I think they liked our free guide at the Blue Mosque (that man is there every day!), and we even got to go into an old, old villa that was being renovated. This was new to me, too. Of course, we stopped in to see my favourite weavers (first time for me to see a loom used and not just sitting in a museum), and then we ended at Bab Zuweila and the Tentmaker's Market.
Blue Mosque
The tiles that make the Blue Mosque, Blue! - a trip through the everyday market by my house. Seems like an ordinary thing, but the funny part happened first to my mom. I told mom and dad to follow in my footsteps exactly through the market, except that mom didn't do this - I had already crossed the alley to avoid the meat hanging down in the narrow alley walkway, but my mom didn't - she looked up just in time to avoid walking into an exposed piece of hanging, dripping meat, tail still attached! We also had to move out of the way for a herd of about 30 sheep and their owner who was riding a donkey.
- Alexandria - mom and dad saw the main tourist sights 2 years ago, so this time we relaxed. We spent a day at Momtazah Gardens (very nice), enjoyed dinner at some lovely restaurants, and generally relaxed together.
- visits with Ahmed's family - we managed to get my parents and Ahmed's parents and sisters together a couple of times, much to the delight of all. Despite language barriers, all was well with people to translate, and they all seem to enjoy each other's company.
- The Western Desert
Mom's villa
Mom is checking out her newly renovated, really old villa. Also on Darb el Ahmar. It doesn't look like much, but check out the windows in the next photo. - after the grueling 6 hour drive from Cairo to Baharaya Oasis, we met our awesome guide, Mohamed (brother of Sami, my first desert trip and Magdi, my second desert trip). This was a very different trip for me as I have spent most of my time out here just passing through the oasis to get picked up and then taken out the desert for a few days. This time I spent time in the actual oases of Baharaya and Farafra and got more of a sense of life out there. Of course, I enjoyed seeing many of the sights I saw a year ago in the White and Black Desert. It's always fun showing other people the places you know in odd places like the middle of nowhere! Ahmed and I will always remember getting nearly "attacked" by the huge praying mantis outside of mom and dad's hotel room window. Mom and dad will always remember the hand-sized spider that was above my mom's bed, inside the mosquito netting at the Badiwayya Hotel in Farafra, where after yelling to my dad to "Come here quick," Dad said "Wait, I want a picture of this thing. Hold up your hand
beside the spider so I can get perspective!" It was sort of nice staying in a bed, even one made on bricks, though I think sand is a bit softer! It was windy this time of year, but still stunning. I LOVE THE DESERT!!!
The entire trip was awesome, even more so than last time because Ahmed traveled with us. Now, if I can just get brother Michael here next year, all would be well!
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