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Published: April 15th 2010
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11 April 2010
We left Luxor on overnight train again back to Cairo. This time we all met as a group in the club car. Sarah again played cards and we went to bed. A sleepless night for me but the kids and Tim got a bit of sleep. We arrived in Cairo at 4am, and were unable to check into our rooms. So more playing cards in the foyer and we had some internet access and were able to contact mum and dad. We had free day so we hired a mini van and headed to Sakkara and Daffour.
This is the area were the Egyptians were figuring out how to build pyramids. We went inside the red pyramid which is actually coloured yellow. There was a long shaft to climb down hunched over into the centre of the pyramid. There were several chambers inside with very high cathedral rooms. There was no decoration in there at all. We had a walk around to the east face of the pyramid. There were no other tourists there at all and an Egyptian Antiquities Police officer with a rather large gun approached us. We thought we were in an area
we shouldn’t have been however he simply wanted us to take a photo of him so he could ask for some baksheesh. He obviously had the faith of god that the safety on the rifle would work as he comfortably rested the gun pointing at his crutch as he took our photograph in front of the pyramid.
We took a short ride to have a look at the bend pyramid; obviously the engineer got the sack for that one. We then went to see the step pyramid which was the first large stone structure ever made and the first attempt at pyramid building. This was designed by Imphotep who was the Leonardo Da Vinci of ancient Egypt. There is a small museum dedicated to him explaining how he changed Egyptian building from wood, thatch and brick to stone. It was a fascinating museum and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, in most of these museums you cannot take photos, same in most of the temples and churches.
That evening we said goodbye to our old group and met the new guide and 3 new people that we would be travelling with all the way to Istanbul. We went and had
a lovely Egyptian dinner with the new group. We all had koshary which is a mix of macaroni, noodles, rice, lentils, chick peas and fried onion.
Left Cairo the next morning and headed toward the Suez Canal. The canal is the biggest earner for the Egyptian government. It is well protected from the view of tourist with big sand banks built up. It looks quite funny to see huge ships cruising along in the desert. We spent the night at St Katherine’s and climbed Mr Sinai (2300 metres, started at 1500 metres) that afternoon. It was a pretty full on climb, but survived and even enjoyed it. Mt Sinai is where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. We also saw the supposed burning bush; not very impressive really, it wasn’t even smouldering. The St Katherine’s chapel was built around 500 AD and very interesting. Mohammed the last prophet in Islam recognised the importance of the manuscripts held at the cathedral and gave some sort of protection documents so they have been preserved over the years. There were many people there, some tourists and others on a genuine pilgrimage, kissing the remains (a finger bone) of Saint Katherine.
From St Katherine’s to Sawa Beach Camp. We drove through the desert landscape, very harsh country with a few Bedouin camps. We were very excited when we saw the Red Sea and also we got a beach front hut. Lovely accommodation although very basic i.e. mattress on the floor in a beach hut with mosquito net. Gorgeous fresh juices all $1.50. We went snorkelling that afternoon and really enjoyed the lovely coral and fish, fantastic visibility. We could look across the Red Sea and see Saudi Arabia. We really relaxing time here which was a nice change from the flat out pace. Tim and the girls saw an octopus when they went snorkelling the next day.
Our trip into Jordan was interesting to say the least. We waited a million years to get tickets and be allowed to enter the port area. We finally got on the boat, called Queen Nefertiti, and the only seats we could get were right near the toilets, which are another story in themselves. Waited another million years for the boat to get going. Interesting journey, which coincided with one of the five Islamic prayer times. After watching just about everyone wash in the
toilets to prepare for prayer, they then lined up and proceeded to pray in the aisles of the ferry. Upon arrival, we exited the ferry through the car hold. This was another adventure as we were told to exit which Sarah and Rachel did. Tim and I however were stopped and told to get our bags and were separated from the girls. It all worked out in the end but just about took all day for a 1.5 hour trip.
Aqaba in Jordan was gorgeous. We had a fairly good look around the town. Very different to Egypt, there is garbage collection, streets are neat and tidy. Drivers stop at red lights and sometimes at pedestrian crossings. No beeping, well not as much as in Egypt. We even found a Gloria Jeans there and enjoyed lattes and free wi-fi.
In the afternoon we took a bus to Wadi Rum. Wadi means valley/river and Rum is just a name, nothing to do with alcohol at all. It was a really scenic area with many magnificent eroded mountains sticking up out of a flat plain. We enjoyed a four hour jeep safari through the area looking at the sights. This
is where Laurence of Arabia was based during World War I and we actually saw the remains of his camp. We also enjoyed a climb and subsequent run down a large sand dune. Heaps of fun. We had a traditional Bedouin meal of chicken and vegetables cooked in the ground. We slept under the stars on a rather cool night but we given really heavy warm blankets. Tim had taken bait and was crook all that night and the next day.
After no showers at the desert camp we headed for Petra early the next day. We arrived in Wadi Musa and were not able to check into the hotel so went to Petra. Petra is Jordan best known archaeological site. The site is a city carved into rose-red sandstone and covers a huge area. It was the setting for one of the Indiana Jones’s movie. We saw lots of tombs, the Treasury which is the largest most preserved tomb of King Aretas (9BC to 40AD). Pretty impressive site and we enjoyed it for 2 days.
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Liz
non-member comment
wow
you are seeing some amazing things! i've only read about the pyramids - seeing them in real life must be something else! keep blogging - am loving the read and the photos, xLiz