Blogs from Egypt, Africa - page 8

15 Nov J'ouvre la portière et sors enfin de la petite voiture noire, cirée et presque miroir de Yassine. Il est minuit. La musique Pop qui propulsait le taxi depuis l'aéroport se déverse sur la ruelle alors que j'apparaît au cœur du Caire. Yassine croyait me faire plaisir avec sa musique de discothèque, lui qui ne parle pas un mot d'anglais. Rock Music que je lui avait pourtant demandé au départ de l'aéroport alors qu'il actionnait la radio. Mais, tout sourire, il m'avait répondu Yassine en se pointant, lui qui croyait que je venais de me présenter. J'ai souri aussi, sans rien ajouter. J'ai laissé croire à Yassine que j'étais monsieur Rock Music from Canada. Devant moi, une devanture discrète annonce le Freedom Hostel, third floor. Le bâtiment est défraîchit et paraît plutôt lugubre dans la ... read more

So here we are, one year into this global pandemic. Is anyone else ready to be done with this already?! Mask-wearing disputes aside, the past six months of “Covid Times” have seemed dimmer than the first six, at least in terms of my writer’s block. I’m sure the winter blues haven’t helped, especially when I’m used to being warmer places! But I genuinely did intend to publish this blog sooner, and then found my motivation to write absolutely lacking. I guess I’ve found it easier to express myself through media other than written word, but mostly I’ve been upset that this is the last travel story I have to share...at least for now. I still can’t believe it’s been over a year since my trip to Egypt. I didn’t know then that the world was on ... read more

http://www.heygo.com 12th February - Luxor The construction of the Avenue of Sphinxes began during the New Kingdom and finished during 30th Dynasty rule of Nectanebo I (380-362 BC). Around 1,200 sphinx statues are thought to have lined this road together with barque chapels stocked with offerings. The Avenue is one of the most important archaeological and religious paths in Luxor, as it was the location of important religious ceremonies in ancient times, most notably the Beautiful Feast of Opet where once a year during the festival Egyptians paraded along it carrying the statues of Amun and Mut in a symbolic re-enactment of their marriage. The Sacred Road was first discovered in 1949 in front of Luxor temple. Subsequent excavations between 1958 and 1964 increased the initial exposure, revealing the Avenue from Luxor temple to the rea ... read more

Tutto sembra ancora normale quando arrivo in Egitto il 5 Marzo 2020 per una continuazione fuori programma del viaggio africano appena concluso, poi l'11 Marzo l'OMS dichiara la pandemia. Il 19 viene chiuso l'aeroporto internazionale; il giorno 24 viene annunciato un coprifuoco che inizierà il giorno seguente dalle ore 19.00 alle ore 6.00: tutti i negozi, ad eccezione di farmacie, alimentari e panetterie, dovranno chiudere alle ore 17 e rimanere chiusi per tutto il week-end (venerdì e sabato); i ristoranti potranno servire solamente cibo da asporto, i caffè lungo le strade dove bere un buon tè sono anch'essi desolatamente serrati. Vengono isolate alcune province e città; viaggiare è ancora possibile, sconsigliato o vietato del tutto: non riusciamo bene a capire. Rientriamo di corsa al Cairo, che sembra essere il posto più adatto nel quale poter rimanere ... read more

Our leader Khaled keeps telling us that the next thing we do will be the best ever, and I keep wondering how that could be so. We got up early, had breakfast at 6, and left the Feluccas. We traveled by support boat to the dock where our bus was waiting. This bus driver’s name is Abraham. We are still traveling north, this time by bus. We stopped at the Temple Kom Ombo. It was originally an Egyptian city called Nubt, meaning City of Gold (not to be confused with the city north of Naqada that was also called Nubt/Ombos). Nubt is also known as Nubet or Nubyt (Nbyt). It became a Greek settlement during the Greco-Roman Period. The town's location on the url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nil... read more