Melanie and Steve, Around the World in _

Posted 8:59 PM by MelanieandSteve
EGYPT, FOR THE SECOND TIME: 14-26 October (written 26 November)

CAIRO... This would now be our third time in Cairo. It was beginning to feel like home.

--CAIRO... COPTIC CAIRO: Coptics were the Christians who refused to convert to Islam when the Muslims swept through. Their old town, old as 2000 BC, has torn narrow streets, a skyline of steeples, and roads lined with sarcophagi. Our quiet afternoon there was blessed with exceedingly friendly locals. Every car tooted a 'hello' as drivers leaned across their seats to wave, and pedestrians stopped to talk. People in homes leaned out windows to greet us. One named Nagi invited us in to meet his family. We saw the place where it is believed that young Jesus and the Holy family stayed after fleeing King Herod and we also saw where they believe baby Moses was set among the Bulrushes in a tar filled basket.

--CAIRO... FIRST DAY OF RAMADAN: We arrived on day one of the Month of Ramada when Muslims fast during the day. "When in Rome"... Melanie decided to join in its observance. She found this month of fasting to be a time of learning, introspection, and sharing. Muslims fast for several reasons - primarily to empathize with poor people who suffer hunger and thirst year round, but also for bodily cleansing. The quiet Cairo streets were almost devoid of tired hungry people during the day, but the nights were alive. People shared in community feasts and then relaxed over tea and Sheeshahs (water pipes) all night after sunset.

--CAIRO... FIRST NIGHT OF RAMADAN: DINNER WITH FRIENDS AND ALL OF CAIRO: We planned to have dinner with Sabrina, Martin, Tray, and Stephanie, friends we'd met in our hostel, but it turned out we ate with practically all of Cairo. The streets were lined with locals enjoying tea and sheeshahs. We sat with them and enjoyed conversation and tea.

--CAIRO... LIKE CHRISTMAS WITHOUT THE COMMERCIALISM: Ramadan felt like Christmas with its Good Will Toward Humanity, but minus crass commercialism. No over-played carols in the stores, and no sales or shopping crowds. There were some "Ramadan Lights" and at times firecrackers. For good will, we were invited almost daily for evening meals. Twice we joined people in their homes and several times we ate among friendly locals on the streets or in shops. The generosity and love abounded. No money was ever expected or accepted.

THE NILE: We caught an overnight train to Aswan, a hub for temples and River fun. The train ride followed the Nile. We were amazed to see how green and fertile the Egyptian landscape was. Over and over we saw children trotting along their farms bareback on donkeys.

--NILE AND ABU SIMBEL... POLICE CARAVAN TO ABU SIMBEL: Security in Egypt can be tight given it's proximity to Israel, Palestine, and the Sudan and due to past domestic terrorism. To get to the great temple of Abu Simbel near the Sudanese border, we had to catch a 4 hour-long ride by Police Escort departing about 3:30am.

----NILE AND ABU SIMBEL... THE TEMPLE Abu Simbel was an amazing tribute both to the building skills of ancient Egyptians and to modern humanity. In the 1960's, a new "High Dam" on the Nile caused the water level to rise, threatening to burry the ancient temple. Several countries joined funds and creativity to avert the tragedy and literally moved the temple. The feat included burying the original temple in sand to protect it from the jarring, cutting it up piece by piece, building a new mountain on higher ground, and precisely reassembling it leaving no evidence of incision. Deep inside the original temple were statues of Ramses II. Twice a year on 20 Feb and 20 Oct, the dates of the Pharaoh’s birth and Coronation, the sun would shine on them. The new placement of the temple maintained this solar relation.

----NILE AND ABU SIMBEL... ON THE WAY HOME FROM ABU SIMBEL We saw the Temple of Hathor, the High Damn, the Island Temple of Philae -which was also moved to avoid destruction by rising water-, and the Unfinished Obelisque - once destined to be the World's largest obelisque but hindered by a fatal flaw in the granite. We learned that Abu Simbel and Philae were two of 20 temples moved by a team of nations including the U.S.. As a thank you, Egypt gave gifts to several nations. It literally gave a temple to America. It can be seen in the New York Metropolitan Museum.

--NILE AND NUBIA... NUBIAN MUSEUM AND NUBIAN PEOPLE: The Nubians are a special ethnicity of Egyptians related to southern black Africans and living in the "Upper Nile" far to the south. They have their own villages, cultures, music and dance. They ruled Ancient Egypt in the 25th and 26th Dynasties. We learned about them at the Nubian Museum. Then, as we walked home along the Nile, we happened to meet a special Nubian man named Galal who invited us to his home for dinner.

----NILE AND NUBIA... NUBIAN FAMILY: We hopped on a motorboat with Galal to his village, Negal Mahata, passing on the way the "first Cataract", Elephantine Island covered with bulbous rocks, and a shoreline of ancient hieroglyphs. The village on a dusty hill had curving roads lined with small homes, as well as some abandoned buildings and community kitchens. Several people we passed called out greetings and many invited us for tea or a meal. We had to decline as we planned to join Galal's family. At Galal's home overlooking the village, we met Adowia, his wife, and their five beautiful children.

----NILE AND NUBIA... BREAKFAST DONE RIGHT WITH PARTY INTO THE NIGHT: We arrived at sunset. We would learn how Muslims properly enjoy evening Ramadan "break fast." As the sun set on the rooftop where we would eat, we heard the town's loudspeaker resound with the "call to prayer". The Imam (speaker) announced when to end fasting and when to pray. We began with dates and juice to jumpstart our starved stomachs. We drank Abaray (water, sugar, lemon juice, and bread crumbs.) Adowia went inside to pray, Galal prayed there on the roof, and the kids quietly played and giggled. After prayers, the family gathered around the feast of salads, dips and lots of fresh Egyptian flat bread. We had no individual plates and we all ate from the community spread. After eating, play began. When the kids pointed to the Macaroni, Melanie jokingly said “Macarena” - and that started everything. The kids jumped up and performed their version of the Macarena dance. After that, dancing and music, laughing and joke telling never stopped. The kids demonstrated folk dancing and belly dancing while Galal drummed on a wooden chair. With Galal translating, they told us jokes. We treasured meeting this beautiful family.

--NILE ASAIL: ... We liked Galal so much that we hired him and his Felucca (sail boat) the "Elizabeth", to take us down the river. Newly painted, his boat was the best looking felucca on the river. Galal decked it out with cushions, shade covering, and even a hammock. Co-captain Rajeb, was appropriately nicknamed Adaloon, or 'for sure nice'. For three nights and four days we glided on the glassy water stopping only for riverside temples, cooling swims, evening bonfires and sleep. Still observing Ramadan, in the mornings, we'd eat at 3:30 am and then fall back to sleep. Around sunrise, Galal would untie the boat and we'd drift peacefully to the pink curtain of sky. This could have made a morning person out of the worst of us.

----NILE ASAIL... READING RIVER DAYS: For the most part, we spent our days adrift relaxing, talking, reading, and writing. Our 'location-appropriate’ books included "Death on the Nile", parts of the Koran, a book on Hieroglyphs, the History of the Palestinian/Israeli struggles and (still working on) Dracula. Melanie also read "the DaVinci Code" which had several references to ancient Egyptian beliefs. We shared great conversations with Galal and formed a special friendship.

----NILE ASAIL... SIGNIFICANT STOPS: We moored our boat several times. Once, we stopped at a boy's family farm. The boy asked us to follow him and he proudly showed us his farm, introduced us to family members, and offered us fresh fruits. We also stopped at several temples including Edfu Temple (well-preserved thanks to having once been mostly buried) and Kom Ombo Temple (remarkable for it's beautiful waterfront plot of land). We floated by the Tomb of Nobles, Kitchener Island full of birds and greenery, and Agha Khan III's Mausoleum. Along the shoreline we enjoyed lush greenery, kids splashing in the water, camels grazing, and donkeys braying.

----NILE ASAIL... SAND SURFING BY THE SAILS: Galal surprised us by pulling out a home made wooden sand surfboard. Having pulled ashore, we found a steep hill and practiced sliding down. The hard part was getting back up since the sand was painfully hot to walk on.

----NILE ASAIL... DRUMS, DANCING, DELIGHTS AT NIGHTS: Ashore, Galal displayed his talents as a Nubian drummer when he and several of his friends played and sung for us around a large bonfire. It was a perfect last night assail. We were sad to leave in the morning.

--NILE AT LUXOR: Another Police Caravan. We disembarked our Felucca and joined a caravan to Luxor where temples, adventures, and new friends awaited.

----NILE AT LUXOR... ANCIENT SITES: At the Nefertiti Backpacker's hotel, we were in the center of everything - a block from Luxor Temple, next to the Avenue of Sphinxes, and a short ride from the best of all temples, the Karnak. Right out the door were souks (markets) and restaurants. The day we arrived, we caught a horse and carriage to Karnak with its huge hall of massive columns and hieroglyphs. The next day, we crossed the Nile by ferry to explore the Valleys of Kings and Queens as well as the tombs of the Nobles and the Colossi of Memnon. The tombs in these desert valleys were so well preserved. Paints and colors were still vibrant, and they gave us an impression of what the older faded temples would have once looked like.

----NILE AT LUXOR... PEOPLE: HASSAN, MOHAMOUD, AND THE MAITRE DEE

--------NILE AT LUXOR... PEOPLE: MOHAMOUD: Walking through the souks, Steve struck up a conversation with Mohamoud, who had a question about a spam email he had received. In thanks for Steve's advice, Mohamoud invited us for tea and a long conversation.

--------NILE AT LUXOR... PEOPLE: HASSAN: As Melanie journaled on the hotel's rooftop terrace, she met another man, Hassan. He treated her to tea and snacks while he enjoyed a Sheeshah pipe. Conversation about culture and religion, philosophy and politics lasted for hours and Steve eventually joined. Hassan invited us for dinner the next day with his family on the West Bank. There, we enjoyed a beautifully home cooked meal in their very special home.

--------NILE AT LUXOR... PEOPLE: THE MAITRE DEE - We wanted to bring Hassan and his family an appropriate host/hostess gift. We asked the Maitre Dee at the nearby restaurant for advice. Instead of just answering us, he dropped everything and took us to town to help us select just the right thing. We picked up some local karkaday (hibiscus) tea, nuts, and saffron spice.

HOME BASE CAIRO ONE LAST TIME - THE FOURTH STOP THERE: and there was still more to see.

--HOME BASE CAIRO... SAQQARA: We'd seen "the Giza Pyramids" during our first stay in Cairo. Now we wanted to see the grand daddy of pyramids. Saqqara was the first and oldest pyramid - AKA the Step Pyramid. It set the example for all other pyramids. Nearby, we also discovered some other nobles' tombs.

--HOME BASE CAIRO... DINNER WITH PAUL: We learned that a fellow American Traveler named Paul whom we'd met in Beijing, was in Cairo. We got together for two nights of unbroken conversation, waterfront dining, sheeshahs, and all. Practically an expert on the Sheeshah pipes, Paul led us in taste testing apple, cantaloupe, and coca cola flavors. We all agreed, the more traditional apple was the best.

REDEYE: the last of a series of red eyes, we caught a flight to Turkey. Africa had been was one of the most unique and rich experiences in culture, history, and interpersonal experience of all of our travels.

PERSPECTIVES ON AMERICA: We have spent a lot of time everywhere talking with locals and travelers about ideology and politics. PEOPLE ALWAYS ASK how are we received as Americans. We have always been received warmly. Most people disagree with George W and American politics, but without exception, they distinguish us from our country's politics. Interestingly, people from almost every country and ethnicity volunteer that they miss the days of President Clinton. We had no idea before traveling how much the world appreciated him for his efforts to achieve peace. Of course, when they didn't speak of Clinton, they almost always brought up our famous California Governor.

NEXT TIME: TURKISH DELIGH AND A FAMILY NIGHT: back to Europe/Asia - the one country on both continents.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: Ruthie W., Sam R., Andy P., Scott W., Craig S., Pontius N., and Paul R.