http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/wandering_walrus/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from wandering_walrus en-us Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:01:56 +0000 Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:01:56 +0000 After my trip to Bethlehem I spent a few days in Jerusalem before returning to Amman Jordan. The word Jerusalem means city of peace a place where people of many faiths can coexist peacefully. Unfortunately Jerusalem has often been anything but a city of peace throughout the ages with Jews Muslims and Christians each claiming it as their own.The Old CityJerusalem is split into East and W http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/West-Bank/blog-34558.html I had planned to take the early 6am bus from Saint Katrin village to Cairo. That way I would get in to Cairo in the early afternoon with plenty of time to find a hotel catch up on emails have a decent dinner and so on. But you know what they say about the bestlaid plans...I'm sorry...I woke up at 5am and caught another amazing sunrise on my walk over to the bus station. The bus was sittin http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/blog-29884.html I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the West Bank. Five days was not nearly enough I would have liked to have seen more of Jerusalem and Bethlehem and gone a bit further afield to Jericho Ramallah and so on. But the cold reality of a plane to catch in Amman Jordan in two days time couldn't be ignored. Farewell to the West Bank and IsraelI checked out of my hotel in Jerusalem and inquired about ta http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-41653.html This entry wraps up my time in the Sinai with the exception of the ride back to Cairo which probably deserves its own special entry. But I'm getting ahead of myself....Sunrise in the SinaiThe Dutch guy and I awoke at 3am to watch the sunrise from a nearby mountain actually he awoke I hadn't slept a wink the entire night. We walked through the silent village with planets and stars shining bri http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/blog-29316.html St. Katherine's MonasteryThe morning dawned crystal clear and it was a nice change of pace to inhale clean fresh air in contrast to Cairo's noxious fumes. It was also blissfully quiet. Really the village was everything that Cairo isn't calm peaceful and rejuvenating.The village is only about 2km away from St. Katherine's monastery so the Dutch guy and I hiked over. St. Katherine lived in http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/blog-29170.html Note I'm currently in Cairo and classes have started but I have some major catching up to do on this travelogue. Hopefully over the next few days I'll be able to get up to speed.ElevationOn Wednesday November 23 I left Cairo for the Sinai. There were a few moments when I was unsure if I would ever actually get out of Cairo though. Leaving my hotel three of us crammed into an elevator went http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/blog-29165.html Going to Bethlehem for Christmas has been one of my goals for some time now. And after having made it to Jerusalem on December 23rd that goal was now tantalizingly within reach...In search of a processionI had hoped to join an official procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem according to my guidebook one happened every year on December 24th. Due to the Israeli checkpoint and other problems thou http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/West-Bank/blog-34163.html Though Amman Jordan is about 45 miles from Jerusalem as the crow flies and would normally only be an hourlong bus ride on a highway this ignores the fact that between the two cities lies one of the most disputed pieces of land in the world. Consequently getting from Amman to Jerusalem can be a timeconsuming and patiencetesting process.Crossing JordanThe first step was to get out of Amman a http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/West-Bank/blog-33976.html Last weekend I took a quick twoday trip up to Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast.So much history and yet...Alexandria has a lot of history behind it. Unfortunately most of it no longer exists.The great lighthouse Pharos one of the seven ancient wonders of the world Gone destroyed by an earthquake and replaced by a fort. Supposedly some of the granite blocks in the fort were salvaged fro http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/blog-31879.html After five weeks in Egypt on December 22 I flew from Cairo to Amman Jordan with the hope of making it to Jerusalem and Bethlehem in time for Christmas.Goodbye EgyptCairo is a place you either love or hate depending on the day. On some days the chaos hustle and bustle and peoplewatching are great. You revel in the cars and donkey carts vying for position in the streets haggling over prices http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-33541.html Last weekend I visited Islamic Cairo a slight misnomer as this area of Cairo isn't more Islamic than other parts but it is the old historical district packed with markets mosques and madrasas.How bazaarThe most popular area with the tourists by far in Islamic Cairo is the Khan alKhalili market. Part genuine marketplace and part tourist trap anything you could ever want to buy is locate http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-31117.html After living in Cairo for any amount of time you quickly learn the ropes for two fundamental skills using taxis and crossing the street.Zen and the art of using taxisCairo's underground metro system covers a relatively small area and the city buses are invariably packed so the best way of getting around town is to catch a taxi. Luckily every second or third car here is one of the thousands of http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-30635.html Last Saturday I visited the Egyptian Museum essentially a warehouse for an amazing array of Pharaonic artifacts. On Sunday I visited Coptic Cairo a bastion of Christianity in an overwhelmingly Muslim country.Egyptian MuseumThe Egyptian Museum is the place to go to see all things Pharaonic statues sarcophagi daily utensils and on and on. As one of my guidebooks says looking at all of this http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-30354.html So many people have written about the Pyramids that it seems highly unlikely a mere mortal like me can add anything noteworthy. But maa'lesh...Good briceThe hassle and hustle at the Pyramids is the stuff of legend so I was fully prepared to be hounded within an inch of my life. My British flatmate yes I'm picking up new English phrases and I took a bus from downtown out to the Giza plateau http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-30218.html On Sunday November 27 I arrived at the International Language Institute known hereafter as ILI to register and test for my Arabic classes and search for more permanent accommodation while in Cairo.SecurityI was surprised to walk around the corner spot the school and see a guard with an AK47 sitting out front. Apparently the number of foreigners there merits such attention. I must confess http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-29887.html Cairo also known as Umm adDunya Mother of the World. There is the idealized Cairo of my mind pyramids and palm trees and then there is the Cairo around me incessantly honking cars dirty air beautiful mosques and too many other impressions to list. It's like when I went to Tokyo and was overwhelmed only this time it's magnified by a factor of 10.I have made it safely here to Cairo http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-28294.html ... in the Middle East give or take a day. It's hard to believe the departure date has almost arrived. This is the travelogue of my sixweek trip to Egypt and Jordan and hopefully Jerusalem and Bethlehem as well and this posting is really a test to make sure everything's working before I get over there. The current trip itinerary is November 20 depart Seattle. November 21 arrive in Cairo. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-27958.html