Thursday, January 31, 2008

Hebrew; Ant Invasion

I just saw a notice that Blogger (the site hosting this blog) is now available in Hebrew.  Just in case I feel inspired, I guess!  Actually, I continue to prod along with my Hebrew studies, even though I feel like it's basically futile, because when am I ever again (after leaving Israel) going to use Hebrew?  I take have a weekly private lesson and also have recently started meeting with a conversation partner (we meet an hour each week: 30 minutes of English and 30 of Hebrew).  And I keep wondering why I am doing this.  I have to admit though, it does come in handy during my daily life here.  Most people do speak English.  But some don't.  Also, there are many occasions where being able to read Hebrew is really helpful (at the grocery store, reading street signs, etc.)   So, it does help alleviate the general sense of alienation one might feel not speaking the language here.

Rain = Ants in the House

You might have heard that Israel has had some pretty extreme weather this week.  Snow in Jerusalem.  Three straight days and nights of thunderstorms here on the coast.  It was pretty strange.  There was one clap of thunder so loud the other night that if Jesus was going to rise again, he would have then.  I started thinking about building an ark.  It just kept going and going.  
And now peace and tranquility have returned (at least weather-wise).  And so have the ants.  I was just going to lie down on the sofa with my book and rest for a bit when I noticed ants swarming that particular area of the living room.  I should have known.  They did this the last time we had really  heavy rains.  They come in via the hole in the wall where all the wires for our sophisticated sound/plasma TV system are (which we don't really use because we don't have any sophisticated stereo systems or plasma tvs).  

Question: When you vacuum up ants, could they potentially crawl back out of the vacuum cleaner?  These are the sorts of things I really need to know.  

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Wacky Japanese

Sweetie and I were thinking back to our days in Japan last night.  I was telling him how I was always limited when purchasing kimono fabric because I need "extra large" kimono fabric (it is sold in rolls), which is longer than the usual.  This is the only way to make a kimono that fits me.  Anyway, I'm sure this is a problem all my non-Japanese readers are familiar with (not).  In fact, most of my Japanese readers won't be familiar with this either because they either a) Aren't massively oversized like I apparently am or b) Don't buy or wear kimonos.

Anyway, Sweetie remembered that when he was living in Tokyo, he had to go to some "Tall and Large" store in Aoyama to buy a suit jacket.  And, the suit jacket had buttons that said "Cornell University."  No joke.  I couldn't stop laughing.  This is just soooo typical of wacky Japanese usage of English.  Sweetie actually bought a jacket with Cornell University buttons ALL over it, because that's what was available for an oversized "gaijin" (foreigner).  

Sweetie actually STILL has the jacket and showed it to me.  TOO FUNNY!!!  

Possible future career for me
It is looking more and more like my return to the working world is not too far off.  So, I've been thinking about what I should do, since I am most definitely not going to be returning to my former career.   I thought perhaps I could be a cultural advisor to Japanese who are not familiar with Japanese traditional culture.  I can do such things as: teach them how to whip up a bowl of powdered green tea, how to properly fold a scrolls (this after seeing one so-rare-that-I-would- have- sold-one-of-my-limbs-for-it, seriously mangled because someone didn't roll it up properly), how to build a really good charcoal fire,
how to fill and empty an iron kettle, how to make azuki (sweet bean paste) from scratch, and other assorted tasks that are slowly dying out.

Another possibility is Random Household Crisis Management.  In the past two weeks, I have restored power to our home by fiddling with our sparking switchboard (Sweetie said, "You should do it.  You're good at it."  Ha ha); I eliminated a loud buzzing coming from the switchboard during an extended power outage (turned off our garden light timer); and today I was the brainchild behind the dramatic rescue of my Hebrew teacher's fancy new cell phone from a deep drainage trench covered by a narrow grate (I taped a plastic bag to the end of an umbrella and then she was able to flick it into the bag with the handle of my Swiffer).  All very exciting stuff.  I can see you 
are all riveted.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Blog Slacker

Sorry I've been a bit of a blog slacker this week. I'm feeling slightly uninspired. Maybe it's the yucky winter weather.

This week's adventures included a trip to Jaffa, which is an older, mostly Arab part of Tel Aviv in the south of the city. I needed to have a microchip affixed to my car's gasoline tank (diplomats used to buy prepaid cards for purchasing gasoline at a reduced rate, but now they are switching to microchips). That took longer than expected, though I have to say that standing around in the bay of a garage in Jaffa was an experience. I saw a horse towing a cart loaded with furniture and two men through the streets, among other things (that's actually a pretty common sight in Jaffa and even in Tel Aviv).

After that I had several hours to kill in Tel Aviv because I was meeting my new Hebrew/English conversation partner in the early evening. Killing time in Tel Aviv is not one of my favorite pastimes. I find the city incredibly unattractive and not especially fun.

Since it was a beautiful day, I decided I'd go sit on the beach and read a book. Bad idea. Basically, every minute some creepy Israeli guy would come up to me and try to start a conversation. I wonder, if you saw someone reading a book, would you think, "That person reading a book really look likes they want to have a conversation with a complete and total stranger right now!" Probably not. Anyway, needless to say, after about 5 minutes, I decided sitting on the beach wasn't working.

I walked back to the center of the city and found a row of benches in a quiet part of the city. There was one woman sitting there with a baby in a stroller, so I took that as a good sign that it would be safe and relatively free of freaky men. It was. Not a single person bothered me in the span of about 80 minutes. It was lovely. I also witnessed someone picking up after their dog.  Wonders never cease.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Car Trouble, Bet Shean

On the final day of our Galilee adventure, we visited Bet Shean -- one of Israel's most impressive sites for Roman ruins. As we were leaving Pilgerhaus, I felt something happen with the car. It stuttered apruptly at the top of a hill. But, it kept moving, so I didn't pay too much attention to it.

Well, after visiting the fantastic ruins at Bet Shean, the car wasn't very happy when I tried to start it. The ominous "check engine" light was lit. Not good. We checked the oil level, consulted the owners manual (which seemed to indicate the problem was something related to emissions), and decided to go on our merry way.

We safely made it home and yesterday I finally took the car into the garage. It took the ENTIRE day. I left at 0730 and didn't get home until 1730. Ug. And though the bill was more than I was hoping it would be, it could have been worse. It turned out to be a "faulty sensor." The car was also in desperate need of an oil change because the previous owner virtually never used the car and so hadn't changed the oil in about 18 months. When I went over the bill with the service assistant, I noticed that the oil itself (not including filter or labor) cost over $100!! Was there gold in that oil or something? When I questioned him on it, he said that's the recommended oil. Indeed. Recommended for their profits, I think. Anyway, the waiting room was pretty luxurious and made my long wait tolerable. I suppose my oil money helps keep those leather sofas in good condition.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

In POTUS's footsteps

For some reason, our travels lately have either had a world leader following in our footsteps (Sarkozy in Egypt) or us following in a world leader's footsteps (President Bush in the Galilee).  

I can only say that it was very fortunate our schedule found us headed to the Galilee one day behind POTUS.  As you might guess, his visit entirely shut down the roads in the area (for about 3 hours).

Our first full day in the Galilee led us first to a lovely little church right on the Sea.  Church of St. Peter's Primacy -- where Jesus supposedly appeared to his disciples for the third time after rising from the dead.

It was a beautiful setting and the church itself was populated mostly with Korean Christians, some of whom were weeping as they prayed.

Outside, we saw nuns having a jolly photosession with a rather rotund Franciscan.

After that, we tried in vain to locate the famed Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes.  We ran into a young Korean couple trying to do the same.  We determined that it must have been behind a locked gate that was labeled something entirely different.

So, we ventured on to Capernaum -- a site on the president's itinerary.  It was inhabited from 150 BC to 750 AD.  The ruins of a synagogue where Jesus might have taught is located there.

After that, it was time for a little break, so we drove up into the hills of the Golan Heights and made a stop off at Katrin's Golan Heights Winery.  We enjoyed tasting a few wines and bought some to take home, as well.

We had worked up an appetite tasting all those wines, so we headed to the cute hillside town of Rosh Pina for a bite at Lehem Erez -- a chain of bread shops/restaurants.  After strolling around the town a little, we headed back toward Tabgha (where Pilgerhaus is located).  Near Tabgha, we stopped at the Church of the Beatitudes -- located on a hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee.  The Church there is modern and new, but the views of the sea and the Golan Heights on far side of the sea are really spectacular at sunset. Sweedle and I settled down with cups of tea from the kiosk and enjoyed the view.

Then, we headed back to Pilgerhaus. Before entering the gate, we made one last-ditch effort to find the Church of the Multiplication. We had a key from Pilgerhaus that supposedly got us into a private gate to the church. So, we tried it and it worked, but the gate seemed to head to the Fransican monastery and not the church. Anyway, we walked aimlessly down the road on the other side of the gate. Then we came to a complex of buildings. We could see what appeared to be the church, but we couldn't actually find a way in. We circled around the buildings, clearly walking where no man had walked anytime recently as it was all overgrown. Then, we wandered past what looked like living quarters and then a dog started barking. It was after this that we stumbled upon the entrance, but by that point, one of the monks had come out to see what the barking was about. We apologized and explained how we got there and the young German monk very kindly led us into the church. It was absolutely stunning. Out of respect, I didn't take any photos, but they still had their nativity set up, with very tall real trees around it and twinkling white lights. Also, the church has some of the most amazing mosaics I have ever seen in Israel. It was well worth the effort!

And for my koi-loving readers, they even had a koi pond!
 

Friday, January 18, 2008

Back to Israel

After five days in Cairo, we were actually very happy to return to our home and fresh air in Israel.  I checked out our garden, which is continuously metamorphosing due to the mild climate here.  The narcissus is blooming and smells heavenly.  My camellia still hasn't bloomed, but it can't be long.  The parsley was alive and well (thank goodness, because I use it a lot in cooking and it's in a sensitive spot near the construction site behind our house).  One plant, however, was missing from its perch above the herb garden and Sweetie found it smashed up in the detritus of the construction site.  The workers apparently knocked it down and just trashed it.  Sweetie rescued it and replanted it into two pots (since the one it was in was broken).  

Unfortunately, my Cairo cough turned into bronchitis, and after several days of coughing up a lung, Sweetie and I visited the doctor (he was also coughing by then).  Antibiotics and cough syrup with codeine.  Oh happy days.

Two days later, Sweetie's daughter Sweedle came for a two-week visit, so we were sort of forced into recuperation.  I spent the first half of her visit at home, awaiting the delivery and installation of our new dishwasher.  Such is my exciting life.  The dishwasher that came with the house was complete crap and we had suffered with it for 8 months.  Pulling the first load out of our new dishwasher was close to a religious experience for me.  I couldn't believe that glasses can actually have the lip marks removed by a dishwasher.  

We did manage a long weekend to the Galilee to see the sites with Sweedle.  I did all the driving in the luxury sedan.  We began with a visit to Akko (or Acre), which is about 80 minutes north of here.   We walked through the bustling market.  I restocked on Jordan almonds.  We strolled along the seaside.  Then, had lunch at the very famous Uri Buri fish restaurant.  It was a bit of a sacrifice for me, as I had to settle for the vegetarian options (though I was pleased that at least they had some!), but I really thought Sweetie and Sweedle should eat there because it is so renowned.  Sweedle especially loved her St. Peter's fish.  And my dessert - baked pear with marzipan, served with cinnamon ice cream, was heavenly.

After that, we drove east and found our lodging for the next two nights -- Pilgerhaus.  Both Sweetie and I had heard about it from our predecessors and this was our first visit there.  We had reserved a suite with two bedrooms -- it had a balcony with gorgeous views of the Sea of Galilee.  The only problem was that we couldn't get the heat working.  Usually, that wouldn't be a problem in Israel, but it was unusually cold (frost predicted in some parts) and we were all huddled in our coats around a small space heater that was having no impact.  We finally asked to be moved.  We ended up in adjacent rooms in the newer wing of Pilgerhaus -- rooms that had functioning heat.  

We found out when we checked in that we would have to venture off the premises for dinner, because their cafeteria was under renovation and meals at their restaurant had to be booked in advance.  One of the staff referred us to a nearby Lebanese restaurant.

When we arrived at the restaurant, the Arab waiter suggested a selection of mezzes (salads) to us to start with.  This is pretty common practice.  He did say that they were not included in the price of the meal (as they usually are).  That was fine, because usually it's a very minimal charge.  Well, when he brought out the salads, there were at least 12 small plates of salads.  It took up our entire table.  And I felt like something strange might be going on.  So, I asked how much they cost.  He said 35 shekels each.  !!!!!!!  So, for the salads alone, we were going to be paying over $100!!!!!!!!!!!!  We all said: "No.  No. No.  No way.  Take some back."  He said, "I told you they weren't included." Ummm....yeah...that is true.  But we didn't know he was going to try to rip us off in an epic fashion!  He wouldn't give in and then ultimately, another waiter came over and managed to spill a huge class of water all over Sweetie and that was it.  We all stood up and walked out and drove off.  

So....with that very bad taste in our mouths, we drove down the road to a Chinese restaurant Sweetie and I ate at once.  It was delicious and our entire meal for 3 people cost less than 4 of those stupid salads would have.   I had never experienced someone so brazenly trying to take advantage of my foreignness in Israel before.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Sightseeing in Cairo

Cairo wasn't particularly photogenic, so I don't have many pictures of our sightseeing there. We hired a guide for a half-day and went to some of the sites in Old Cairo. It was all fascinating, particular having visited Christian sites in Israel. It really put all the pieces together as far as the history of Christianity goes. For example, we saw an underground area in a church that is supposedly where Mary, Joseph and Jesus hid. Also, we saw a synagogue near which it is believed that Moses was found among the rushes.

We also visited the Egyptian Museum -- which holds so many pricless, ancient treasures, but it was truly appalling to see the conditions under which they are kept. The museum was in very poor condition and many (rather, MOST) items were not even labeled. But, it was amazing to see King Tut's treasures, etc. after having been to the places where they were found! It really gave us a complete picture of the history of ancient Egypt.

But, in the end, Cairo was not a very pleasant place for us. It is severely overcrowded. The streets are very scary (there are no traffic patterns to speak of) and everything is so dirty. It actually made us happy to return to Israel!

Speaking of which, the flight from Cairo to Tel Aviv was a complete nightmare. It was full of Israelis and was completely chaotic from the beginning. We had to push our way through the additional security line at our gate and a fight nearly broke out between an Arab man and Israeli woman there due to the pushing. Then, on the plane, there was an old man who seemed to be completely senile. He kept getting out of his seat, trying to get off the plane, etc. This cycle kept repeating. Then, an Israeli couple came on and kept trying to sit in business class even though they didn't have tickets for business class. They didn't seem to understand that if you bought an economy ticket, you sit in economy. It was so self-righteous. And it further delayed our takeoff.

Then, before the plane took off, two Jewish Israeli men started arguing two rows behind us. It was extremely loud and disruptive, and though I don't know what they were saying, it was very offensive. Many people: women, men, young ladies, etc. eventually started shouting at the men to stop (after several minutes of shusssh!-ing from various sectors of the plane didn't work). Nothing was shutting them up and I think it must have turned nasty as the woman behind me starting saying: "Enough! That's not nice!!"

I was fixated on trying to calm Sweetie who was worried a riot was going to break out any second. Then, as we are literally accelerating on the runway to take off, a woman gets up out of the last row and starts walking toward one of the arguing men, trying to calm him. Everyone started screaming, "Sit down!" The chief flight attendant got on his PA and said, "SIT DOWN! SIT DOWN NOW!" It was complete insanity.

The men continued arguing, but that wasn't all that was happening. I noticed once we reached the necessary altitude that the flight attendants were congregating about 6 rows back. And I saw one of them carrying a glass panel with a plastic frame around it that looked suspiciously like a window. Then, I saw one flight attendant, with a very concerned look on her face, gesturing for the woman seated at the window to move away from it. Sweetie looked back and thankfully didn't see the replacement window and thought something completely benign was going on. I didn't bother to tell him that one of the windows had cracked (or popped out or something) and they were presently replacing it and that we were probably all about to be sucked out of the plane and plummeting to our deaths in the Egyptian desert.

Well, as you might have guessed, we survived. But I have never been on such a frightening plane ride in my life!

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Cairo: Sailboats and Seedy Buildings

Our first full day in Cairo, we relaxed and visited the hotel's gym (pretty nice!). Then in the afternoon, we joined some of Sweetie's friends who live in Cairo for a sunset felucca (sailboat) ride on the Nile. They had brought champagne and gluhwein and it was absolutely lovely!

Then, we joined them for dinner at their apartment. They're diplomats, so I expected a certain standard of quality. Well, the lobby of their apartment building looked very seedy. Sweetie immediately veered toward the stairs, while I braved the elevator with the daughter of Sweetie's friend. I noticed she pressed both floors 6 and 7. Hmmm....Weird. Then she said, "The elevator doesn't stop on 6 while it's going up, so you have to go up to 7 and then come back down." Then, she so kindly added, "In Egypt, they don't fix the elevators until they completely break down." THANKS FOR SHARING. So, needless to say, when it stopped at 7, I jumped off and took the stairs down to 6.

Anyway, after that brush with disaster, we had a really lovely dinner and enjoyed some homecooking!

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Some General Egyptian Observations; Onward to Cairo

Let me take a break in my trip report to offer a few random tidbits about Egypt:

-- Cigarette smoke is very pervasive. Lots of people smoke and the Egyptians seem to have a very fluid concept of smoking sections/tables/hotel rooms. Basically, here's the deal: you walk into a restaurant and they ask if you want smoking or non-smoking. Either one you choose, you're going to be seated at the same table. Your table is only "non-smoking" in the sense that YOU are NOT smoking at it. I'm not kidding.

-- Cairo has the most polluted air I have ever breathed. I consider myself fairly resilent despite my problems with chronic allergies. I have visited China and suffered no ill-effects from the pollution and also lived for a year in Tokyo, one of the world's largest cities. But in Cairo I developed the "Cairo cough" -- a irritating, dry cough that just won't go away. I felt as if I had a cold all the time. I will spare you the gory details, but let's just say that I really couldn't wait to get back home to cleaner air.

-- Egypt has some really wonderful food. Kushari -- which is best bought on the street. Hummus -- a souped-up and richer (but I think healthier) version that what you find elsewhere in the Mideast. Tiny lemons that pack a whollop of flavor. Cinnamon tea.

Back to the trip report:
Cairo
Our boat trip wrapped up after a week (sadly -- they practically had to drag me off) and we headed back to Cairo.  The plane trip was mercifully short.  As Sweetie and I boarded, we realized that our seats were toward the rear of the plane.  Ok, fine.  But, as we walked back, suddenly the rows became much much much closer together and our row had ZERO leg room.  It actually looked like they had put a row in between two normally spaced rows.   The lady in the row in front of me-one seat over reclined her seat and she was virtually in my lap.  No kidding.   During the flight, Amro walked to the back of the plane, saw our row and did a double-take.  Then, in his typical positive demeanor, he commented, "Wow, you will get to know your neighbors VERY quickly back here."  

Once in Cairo, we were taken to the Grand Hyatt where we had booked a Nile view room.  Not feeling like venturing out, we settled on dinner at Okashi, a Japanese restaurant in the hotel.  It was surprisingly good!  And interesting to watch the Arab teppanyaki chef's grill tricks:-)  

Day 10 - Aswan: Gardens and Market

In the morning, Amro took Sweetie, me, and one of the other boat guests to the nearby Kichner Island to visit the botanical gardens there. It wasn't as fancy and well-kept as I was hoping, but relaxing and still worthwhile.

Then, we returned and were off on the motorboat again to a special lunch that the staff set up for us on an island opposite us. "Granny" (the oldest guest at about age 80) joined us - getting off the boat for her first time that week and unfortunately injured herself getting into the motorboat. Sweetie alerted the staff and they ran back to the Nesma to get the first aid kit. "Mom" (Granny's daughter) wrapped Granny's hand so many times you would have thought Granny broke her wrist instead of cut her thumb). Anyway, "Mom" said she always wanted to wrap someone's hand up like that:-)

The staff had set up a glorious table under umbrellas, decorated with flowers and palms. It was so much more than we expected. All the effort they had put into it was amazing. It was so scenic and relaxing. And as usual, the food was out-of-this-world delicious.

And the wine was great as well. Egyptian wine was included in the cost of our trip and I have to say that Obelisk makes a very drinkable red and even more drinkable white. Very worthwhile. I think Granny and Mom had their fair share of the white for sure:-) Sweetie and I probably could have had even more, but then I would have even MORE than 10 pounds to lose, so it's just as well.

After our amazing lunch, we had a special tea time at 5PM. We were taken our on the motorboat for some birdwatching among the beautiful islands at Aswan. The area is a protected nature reserve and the ride was absolutely fabulous and quite possibly my favorite event of the trip! We saw so many unusual birds. I only wished that I had a telephoto lens for my camera. Definitely will have to get one before we go to Africa!

After our birdwatching boat ride, we headed straight to Aswan for the market. It was relatively civilized -- well-lit and not too crowded. Sweetie and I made a few purchases (spending a grant total of about $7 for two scarves and some tea).

Dinner wasn't far off by the time we returned from our excursion (does it sound like we were eating all the time? But actually there were usually 6 or 7 hours between meals). Scrumptious cauliflower soup, risotto with mushrooms flavored with saffron and tumeric, canneloni with spinach and potatoes. Then, the chef brought out a huge and extremely decadent chocolate cake as it was our last dinner. They chef and Haras looked at me questioningly, and I said "Yeah I'll have a piece!" All week they had given me fruit for dessert instead of the rich cakes that the others had (which I decided was just as well, because it helped keep the weight gain down!).

Monday, January 7, 2008

Egypt: Day Nine, Kom Ombo

Cruising into Kom Ombo, the so-called "dramatic" view of the temple, which overlooks the Nile, was somewhat marred by 2 cruise ships moored right in front of it. We ran the gauntlet of shop keepers and boys selling bracelets as we made our way up to the temple, which is dedicated to both Sobek, the crocodile god, and Horus the Elder. There are two separate temples, side by side. It was very scenic -- looking out over the Nile. There were a lot of hieroglyphics about healing and also showing tools for embalming.

Being Spoiled
Some general trip notes:  The steward Haras always puts a smile on our faces, remembering our favorite beverages even when we don't; waiting to greet us with a tray of delicious fruit drinks (apple, mango, guava, orange, etc.) after our excursions; surprising us with exotic mixed fruit drinks in the late morning when we're cruising (mint and orange; strawberry/mango/guava, etc); keeping us satisfied with tea morning, noon, and night; and refilling our lunch soup bowls for us.  

Mustafa, the chef, cruelly tantalizes our tastebuds in the hours before lunch, with rich aromas of garlic and spices wafting their way to the upper deck. Some favorites of mine so far: corn soup, baba ganouj, hummus (very different from the hummus you get in other countries -- heartier, with more lemon), salad with corn/carrots/pomegranate seeds, kidney bean salad, roasted potatoes, etc. Mustafa is a culinary genius and very attentive to my food restrictions. We'll be thinking of him for the next month as we try to get all this weight off!

Ali, who cares for our rooms, surprised us last night with a man made out of pillows, wearing Sweetie's jacket and my sunglasses. We took pics in bed with the "man." Here you can see one of Ali's other creations.

This morning we all got up and took a walk with our guide Amro  around the idyllic island where we had moored.  Amro pointed out that Bales (the company we booked the trip with) accepted no responsibility for any cow dung we stepped in:-) ).  The island was quiet, full of nature, and beautiful.

Today we are cruising to Aswan.

Aswan
We took a small motorboat across the river, which is dotted with many scenic islands, to Aswan.  Then we hopped on a minibus to the Old Dam and the New Dam.  The New Aswan Dam is ENORMOUS.  It's 1 km across at the base and 40m across at the top and generates 2/3 of Egypt's electricity.   It was very scenic with a great view of Lake Nasser and there was a park on top of the dam.

After that, we took another boat to the Temple of Philae.  It had gorgeous views since it is on an island (it was relocated years ago from a nearby island that was submerged 9 months of the year after the building of the new dam).  There was quite a bit of damage done to it and lots of Christian crosses were carved inside (it had been turned into a church at one time).  

Several more boat rides were involved to make our way back to the Nesma.  On our final jaunt, the young man controlling our little motorboat skipped over some rocks and we stalled out.  We drifted...and drifted...
and wondered how much time would pass before someone realized we were missing....Finally though, he managed to restart it and before long we were safely back on the Nesma at its very private mooring, surrounded by sunflowers and bougainvillea.  We promised not to tell anyone....

Egypt Day Eight


Yesterday we left our somewhat noisy dock at Esna and sailed to Edfu where we visited the Temple of Horus, after driving through the town market. The temple had a huge wall (pylons), much like Karnak, and is considered the best-preserved temple. It's "only" about 2,000 years old, though. Nevertheless, lots of heads have been chipped out (thanks to the Romans, who didn't want the Egyptian gods to have any power when the Romans took over the temples, so they chipped out all the faces).

One guy made a lame attempt to get some baksheesh -- we thought he was taking us up to the roof of the temple (which I heard had amazing views), but it was locked and he didn't have the key (and he obviously knew that). Very lame. He asked for money, but I turned him down, disgusted by his lame effort.

Edfu was a nice temple, but after Karnak, it was probably difficult to impress us.

Afterwards, we sailed on to a private mooring at an island on the Nile. Once it was dark out, we watched Death on the Nile in the boat's salon. Which then of course made us all careful about locking our doors at night:-)

Dinner was outside, as it was a special barbeque night for us. It was scrumptious -- tahini, babaganouj, eggplant moussaka, lentil soup....Yummy.

The music teacher from the school on the island where we docked came to the boat and played the oud and sing after dinner. He also had a small entourage of two drummers with him. It was fabulous and one of the boat staff had us all up and dancing.

Today we set off at 0830, sailing toward Kom Ombo after passing quarries where they got rock for the temple and pyramids. Likewise, there were small temples built into the rock at the quarries.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

More on Day Six: cruising


This morning we were awoken by Muslim prayer calls blasting into our room. We expected them because we heard them last night. It's right before a big festival, so they've been going on longer than usual.

We're cruising now -- and we're into a mountainous area, with the desert very close to the river on the east bank. There are lots of ancient villages on the west bank - really like time has stood still. There are fishermen, women washing rugs and dishes in the river, and kids helping or player soccer on the banks of the Nile. The kids all wave and shout "HELLO!" or say, "What's your name?" Also, we see lots of people on mules.

Our boat has room for 12 guests, but there are only four others besides us: "Granny," who is about 80, her daughter, and the grandchildren (two boys, ages 12 and 14). As I write this, the boys are having a water bottle jousting match behind me on the upper deck.

Friday, January 4, 2008

Egypt: Day Six: Karnak


On Monday, we went to Karnak after breakfast on the boat. It was huge - very tall walls at the entrance and the entire site is 67 acres or something like that.

The massive, tall columns in the famous hippostyle hall were awe-inspiring. We got "shown" into Hatshepsut's Temple by an old Egyptian guy, knowing full well that some baksheesh (a tip) was going to be necessary. The entire time the old guy was pointing out "beautiful" paintings in the walls, all I could think was, "We have no small change. Crap." This was the story of our entire trip. Egypt runs on baksheesh. Everybody wants baksheesh. Everybody wants to do something for you (show you some "special" part of a temple, take your photo, carry your bag, etc.) in order to get some baksheesh. But the problem is that the baksheesh receivers end up with ALL the small change in the nation of Egypt. And we had none. The banks had none. No one else had any. Very frustrating. So, we ended up telling the dude that we had no change. He was very quick to offer us change and pulled out some crisp bills for us from a sizable wad of cash in his pocket. Hysterical. He had nicer bills than we did.



If you've ever seen the old movie "Death on the Nile," then you might notice that one scene was filmed in Karnak. Anyway, we could have spent hours there (or perhaps days) but we had to get back to the boat (after our guide stopped off at Luxor Temple to buy us some bootlegged photo postcards of the Valley of the Kings that we really wanted). We had to hurry back because our guide wanted to beat the rush at the lock at Esna, and we certainly beat it, but JUST. We pulled right into the lock behind a cruise ship and didn't have to wait at all.

Dinner was fabulous. My special menu included: tomato soup, pasta salad set on red cabbage, fried cauliflower with ginger mashed potatoes and stirfried veggies and noodles, and dessert (I always got fruit while the others got cake. Which was just as well because I put on 10 pounds during the week even without the cake).

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Egypt: Day 5, Hot Air Balloon

I did not sleep well the night before our hot air balloon ride, as I was worried we would miss our 5AM wake-up call.  We were taken in the Nesma's trusty little motorboat in the dark to the nearby "dock" (just crash the boat into the rocks and cement and you're docked!).  We had to wait a minute because there was a row of people doing their morning prayers toward Mecca at the top of the steps to the street.  A minivan came soon thereafter to pick us up.  It was still dark and we were taken down a dirt road, behind some houses (thinking, "WHERE is he taking us??) The driver dropped us at the local "haunt" and said to wait five minutes.

Imagine this scene: not yet 6AM.  Dark.  Dirty.  The place was a cafe/water pipe smokehouse and was pretty ratty. It was also full of about 15 Egyptian men (not a single woman besides me), many of whom were in the local dress (literally, a dress). Most of them were smoking.  They were all watching some old Egyptian movie that involved various men peeping at the silhouette of a woman who was changing clothes behind a curtain.  Reminder: I was the only woman in the place.

It was all very strange and surreal.  I noticed Sweetie smile at one of the men who walked in, trying to be friendly and act like it wasn't the completely weirdest thing in the world that we were sitting there, but the guy smiled back and then looked at me.  All I could think was that Sweetie's smile might have meant "She's yours for a price" in the local body language.

I have to honestly say that I have never been anywhere that felt more different from what I am used to.  The traditional dress of Egyptian men really just added a dimension that you wouldn't get in say, South America.

Well, finally, we met up with hordes of tourists who came over from the ugly big cruise boats on the opposite bank of the Nile.  The launch site was literally right next to the mortuary temple of Rameses II (somehow I think launching hot air balloons from next to 3,000 historic ruins would not be allowed in most countries).  As soon as we arrived, the huge crew piled us into the gigantic basket (room for 32 people) and we were up, up, and away as the pilot gave Sweetie and me an impromptu safety briefing while aiming bursts of flames into the balloon.  Apparently, all others had their safety briefings on their cruise ships.  This then also explained why we were asked to enter a compartment in the basket that was right next to the pilot.  I ducked every time he fired that thing.  I don't know how my hair didn't go up in flames.

Anyway, I was exceedingly nervous the entire ride given that the only other time I was in a hot air balloon, WE CRASHED.  

The pilot, to his credit, did a great job of directing us over scenic areas of the  Valley of the Kings and Queen Hatshepshut's Temple.  Also, sunrise over the Nile was gorgeous.  

The landing involved us skirting the rocky desert floor while the crew of about 20 men raced through the desert on foot until they reached us, at which point they all grabbed hold and dragged the balloon to the "road" (the pilot kept saying he would land us on the road, but I didn't see any roads.  How the "road" differed from the plain rocky desert floor, I'm not sure).  

I felt much better once we were actually out of the balloon.  We walked to our minivan, where some young local boys were begging.  Very sad.  One boy actually ran after our minivan, reached up to one of the windows, and then he fell when the van started going too fast.  He got up safely and limped away, but it really made me very sad....

When we got back to our boat, breakfast was ready.  After breakfast, we got back on the trusty motorboat and went back to the Valley of the Kings (which we had floated over earlier in the day).  Deja vu.  We went into three tombs there, in addition to King Tut's tomb, where we were able to see King Tut's mummy!  It's on display for only a few months!  Very lucky for us.  The etchings/paintings in all the tombs we entered were fascinating and extraordinary.  

We headed to Queen Hatshepsut's tomb after that -- it's in a great setting but is almost entirely reconstructed.  It was very HOT there.  

After that we visited one tomb in the Valley of the Queens.  There was a fetus "mummy" there, but basically only bones were left.  I could have done without that, I think.  

We went back to the boat for lunch, a nap, a shower, tea and cookies (every day at 5PM), and then Sweetie and I took the motorboat to Luxor and walked along the bank of the Nile.  We checked out the famous Winter Palace Hotel (French President Sarkozy stayed there a week later with his girlfriend).