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Wadi El Natrun
Coptic Monastery of St Michael Hey all!!
Forgive me father for it's been a week since I last blogged.....
Well folks, forgive the extended period between updates, however, finding reasonable internet in the desert was a bit tricky (dial-up speeds anyone??) and apart from the fact that I really had better things to do than find a good internet cafe (like sleeping, but more on that later).
So where was I when I last left you? Ah yes, end of day one (gotta love people who answer their own questions, hehe). Well, as I blogged earlier, there was only one other person on the Siwa Oasis trip besides myself, and that would be the jovial, chatty Lynette. A Perthite (for which we won't hold it against her), who recently packed up her gear in Oz and set herself up in London (like all good Australian's do), before embarking on a trip to Greece and Turkey (including being at Gallipoli on Anzac day), before heading down to Cairo to do Egypt. We were supposed to be joined by her best friend Leah (i'm guessing that's how it's spelt Linnie), however some troubles back home forced her to miss this part of the trip.
Wadi El Natrun
Coptic Monastery of St Michael Anyhow, we were accompanied by our tour leader Mostafa, and our trusty driver Ahmed.
Leaving Cairo on the 13th May, our first stop was Wadi El Natrun, some couple hours drive from Cairo (I forget how long exactly as I've quickly accustomed myself to Egyptian time). My first impression whilst heading to this area steeped in Coptic Christian history, was that this town resembled that of the place where Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett stop the tour bus at in the movie Babel (for those who haven't seen the movie - watch it!!). All dust and donkeys, the locals busy with their everyday lives, while we plow on through in our glasshouse of a van, shielded from the poor conditions that these people live in, and may never know of anything else. Regardless, we reach the Monastery of St Michael (obviously the english translation - I forget the Arabic transiliteration). We are greeted by one of the monks who instructs us of the importance of the area, and leads us on a tour of the monastery - giving us a glimpse of tempo and feel of monastic life. For those geeky enough - yes, the buildings look like they
Wadi El Natrun
Waiting for Luke Skywalker to pass by (i'm such a nerd) were plucked out of Tatooine in Star Wars.
Leaving Wadi El Natrun, we make our way towards the Mediterranean Sea and El Alamein, a town that in itself is unnoteworthy, but is particular significance in WWII, where the Allied Forces managed to have an important victory over the Axis (no, not the Axis of Evil, but rather the German/Italian forces). We visited the War Museum and were given a spectacular multimedia demonstration (i.e. cassette tape and man with a pointer on a giant model map) of how the Allies and Axis battled to a fro over the desert. There were displays of uniforms and weaponry, as well as recovered letters of servicemen to their families - all of which made for a poignant air of respect for both sides of the war.
Following the War Museum, we visited the Allied Forces War Cemetary - of which there are some 70,000 (i could be exaggerating...) graves of soldiers which the battles claimed. Here, amidst the desert and bleakness of Egypt, it seems like a lonely place to be laid to rest. The memorial however, is a picture of tailored beauty, given this inhospitable environment, and a more fitting tribute
Wadi El Natrun
Inside the production hall at the Monastery with our monk I couldn't picture in a place like this.
Onwards, and we make our last pit stop at a roadside coffeehouse near Matrouh before we made our 3hr drive across the desert to Siwa. Sitting on the terrace of this ramshackle building as the sun starts to cascade on it's arc towards the horizon, sipping on egyptian tea (shai - which is quite sweet), the calm that settles over me is one I haven't felt for a while. We spent a little time here, maybe too little - however it was a taste of things to come. Geez, I love road trips!!
Through the desert we speed, and as the light fades, and the violet-orange hues of the sunset cool the sand and the shadows of the van get longer and longer, I learn that Egyptians have no idea how to use their headlights or high-beams. This made dodging oncoming semi-trailers interesting. The lack of roadkill was interesting too, and whilst discussing the finer points of dodging kangaroos back home (and for those who know me, they know that I am not good at actually dodging them, hehe) - we brake to ensure that we do not collide with
El Alamein (War Museum)
Picture of Aussie troops in WWII the 6 camels that are crossing the road ahead.
After night fall we reach Siwa, and I am awoken from sleep as we slow down to enter the township. Traffic increases, by way of donkeys pulling carts, motorbikes and pickup trucks. The illuminated Ancient Fortress of Shali and the Mountain of the Dead punctuate our way into the centre of town where we arrive at the "Siwa Safari Paradise Hotel" - our beds for the evening.
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