Blogs from Egypt, Africa - page 308

It was only a few hours flight from Dubai, to Egypt. The airport wasnt so great. When we were landing I saw a lot of rubbish just beside the runways, and people just all over the place. When we got to the terminal, I was kinda shocked to see an airport of this standard.... I guess it was my first taste of the good old culture shock. The airport pretty much looked like an old bathroom that had never been cleaned before. When we were going through passport control, I was a little confused. It seemed some of the richer local men found it okay to cut in front of like 30 people at a time. I was so pissed, but hey, I wasnt in Melbourne anymore. Anyways, David and I found our bags easily, but ... read more

Spent a week in Cairo, teaching and installing. very bizarre experience... read more

Nov 18, 1993 *City official name :Suez *Founded date : *Location :As Suways Province *Elavation :? ft (? m) *Area :Approximately ? square miles (? km²). *Facts :Suez (Arabic: السويس as-Suways) is a port town (population ca. 497,000) in northeastern Egypt, located on the Gulf of Suez, near the mouth of the Suez Canal. having the same boundaries as Suez Governorate, at the northern extremity of the Gulf of Suez, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It has two harbors, Port Ibrahim and Port Tawfiq, and extensive port facilities. Rail lines and highways connect the city with Cairo and Port Said. Suez has a petrochemical plant, and its oil refineries have pipelines carrying the finished product to Cairo. Suez is a way station for Muslim pilgr... read more

Christmas in Egypt 1953 Christmas and the Muslim holiday of Id al Adha occurred at approximately the same time, providing enough time off that I could plan a trip to fulfill my long time wish to see the pyramids. By this time, I had a new roommate. Caroline had arrived from Beirut, where she had been teaching in the American school. She was an American who had studied in an Egyptian university. When Carolyn learned I was going to Egypt, she insisted upon giving me a letter of introduction to her Egyptian friend, Soroya, a fellow student in the university who was now married and teaching in a Cairo university. After I arrived in Cairo, had checked into my hotel, and made arrangements for the following day, I called Soroya, expecting to squeeze in a visit ... read more

In the morning we boarded a ferry to take us across the Nile from Luxor to the Valley of the Kings. In the Valley we entered several of the tombs, including King Tut's tomb and the tomb of Rameses VI (d. 1137 BC). I think the tomb that stands out the most now is that of Rameses VI. The decorated walls with multitudes of painted figures depicting Egyptian theology and myths were a fantastic sight. Our guide through the Valley was excellent. He was very knowledgeable about Egyptian archaelology and history and eager to tell the story. At the tomb of Rameses VI, he explained in detail the paintings depicting the Egyptian myth of the day and night. The sky goddess Nut swallows the sun and then gives birth to it the following morning. The painting ... read more