To Egypt and Jordan Via NYC
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| Joanne & Maureen |
Wednesday, October 23, 2019, 3:30 AM, and the alarm went off! The Big Day arrived and I
quickly dressed to meet Maureen & her husband, Hank, outside for
my ride to RSW, our airport in Ft Myers. Our flight was at 6:30 AM
direct on United to Newark Airport. Here we grabbed breakfast and
asked about shuttle buses into NYC because we had a lot of time to
kill before going to Kennedy Airport for our 10 hour direct Air Egypt
flight to Cairo at 6:30 PM.
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| Rockefeller Center in NYC |
The bus
dropped us off at Bryant Park and from here we found the luggage
storage place on 46th street between 5th &
6th Avenue. $5 a bag for 2-hrs was a great deal so we
stashed the luggage and off we went strolling around the Big Apple.
I wanted to go into St Patrick's to light a candle for my Grandma
Teaneck and Maureen wanted to visit Hotel Pierre, where her Dad was a
doorman for the important guests who frequented this lovely place.
We had quite an experience on the bus prior to it dropping us off.
While reminiscing about my Grandmother who was a nurse during the
1918 influenza epidemic, we met a woman who was researching an “old”
drug called Argyrol used during that era. Right as we were talking to her, my
almost 99 year-old Mom phoned me! I passed my phone over to her and
she had quite a conversation with Mom, who remembered the drug! The
woman gave me her card and I promised to email her when we returned
from Egypt to let her know how our trip went – and to have Mom
answer any more questions she might have. After all, she said, not
many people knew about the flu epidemic and Mom did! So it was quite
a coincidence that she overheard our conversation and we could help
her out.
Since
Maureen and I hadn't been in the city for a few years, we had a great
time wandering around. In St Patrick's, Maureen met a monsignor who
was about to say Mass. She discovered he was in the same parish in
Long Island as she was growing up. That was another coincidence that
we marveled about. We found the Hotel Pierre and Maureen was shown
the revamped Ball Room and related memories about her Dad. By then,
it was lunch time and people on the street heard us talking about
where we could eat. Two people wanted to help us. One man even
walked us to his favorite sandwich shop, where we enjoyed a deli
lunch. It hit the spot! All the New Yorkers seemed to help us
whenever we asked for directions. Again, this seemed miraculous and
was well appreciated.
Arriving in Egypt
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| Airport Greeting |
We
easily found another express shuttle that took us to Kennedy in less
than one hour. Our flight on Egyptian Air was great and we both
managed to sleep a little.
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Early arrival so we were treated to lavish
lunch at Egyptian day host home |
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| What a wonderful welcome! |
Next morning we arrived right on time
into Cairo. Two Friendship Force club members met us with signs and
kisses on both cheeks. Since we were the first of the group of 20 to
arrive, these members took us to one of their daughter's beautiful
homes. The home was a gorgeous villa with magnificent landscaping.
They had their maids from Algeria make us a fabulous lunch. The
entire dining room table was filled with delicious salads, meats and
Egyptian specialties. The food reminded me of what we had in Israel
and also had a Lebanese flair. I really enjoyed it. One of the
women made us a special banana cinnamon cake, which we had out on the
patio overlooking her lap infinity-edge pool. Wow, we felt very
special! These Egyptians in their Friendship Force Club are
definitely on a high social and economic strata!
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| Lovely Welcome Dinner |
Later
the rest of our group arrived from different spots in the US. Many
are from the Cleveland, OH area. Others are from Wisconsin, Houston, Iowa and some from Sacramento, CA. Maureen and I are the only ones from
Florida. The group is very friendly and well traveled and I am
enjoying them! We had a wonderful Welcome Dinner at another member's
gorgeous home in what they call a “Compound.” This is a high
scale gated community that is guarded. This home also had a large
staff of live-in help. The entrance way had a pool of lighted
candles in it! The rooms were very large and open with gorgeous
ornate furniture and draperies. Again, the food was plentiful with
platters of fish, chicken, beef, salads, fresh pomegranate juice
with many desserts e.g., mango mousse, chocolate cake, etc. There is
no alcohol served, but there are wonderful home squeezed juices and
coffee and tea.
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| Welcome Party Delicious Buffet |
After
the party I was transported to temporary lodging for one night
because my host was at a wedding. I sleep soundly for 11 hours,
until they woke me up at 10 AM!
Today
is Friday and it is a holiday. The day started with a lovely
breakfast of scrambled eggs, flat bread, salad, toast and jams with
coffee and tea. The club has hired a bus for the week. There is a
plain-clothes man guard (with weapons) to protect us on the bus. I
feel very safe here! (Later, I learned that it is a requirement of the US Embassy that American groups are protected in Egypt. In our case, we always had a guard on board and sometimes we had a flashing-light police car in front of our vehicle that tried to lead us quickly through heavy traffic areas.)
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| Me in construction zone |
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| Nora's beautiful home |
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| Maureen dancing near the Nile after a fabulous dinner |
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| And More Dancing with Nile in the distance! |
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| Me with host, Nora, Jackie, Hanaa, Helen & Maureen |
Tonight
I met my host, Hinar Ali El Shinawy. She is 55-years old and has one
daughter, who is learning to be a dermatologist technician to inject
fillers and botox. Her husband is a retired hospital administrator
who worked in Saudi Arabia. I am in a 3-story home that they own in
a lovely development. I have my own room and bath and am very
comfortable. So far, it has been a fabulous trip. Tomorrow, onto
the pyramids!
Saturday,
October 26
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| Reluctantly Riding a Camel at the Pyramids |
After a
quick breakfast, the bus pulled up at 8:30 for a ride to the long
awaited pyramids. As we entered into the pathway, I was amazed how
large the Great Pyramid is. The outside blocks look like they could
be climbed from afar; however, up close it would be impossible
because the height of each block is immense. It is hard to imagine
how they were constructed 4,600 years ago. We had many viewpoints
and even an opportunity to ride camels. I told the guide I would
only take a photo next to the camel. Somehow, he encouraged me to
get into the saddle and before I knew it, the camel rose with me in
it! I hollered to no avail so I decided to sit back and pose. Not
bad pictures for not wanting any part of it! Next, we traveled for
better vantage points of all the pyramids in the area. All in all,
we saw 9 of them.
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| Famous Sphinx |
Afterward,
we trekked over to gaze at the Sphinx
that guarded these pyramids for the kings. It had been almost
covered in sand, but through excavation, they have been able to
uncover it – and for its age, it looked great! On the way home, we
stopped for a lovely dinner of Egyptian food prepared in an authentic
place. On the menu were lamb and beef kabobs as well as rice wrapped
with chicken, tahini, baba ganoush, flat bread, egg plant in a tomato
sauce and lots more! We thoroughly enjoyed everything. Heading home
on the bus, we were all nodding off. Tomorrow is an early up day for
a long 3-hour bus ride to the famous port side city of Alexandria.
Sunday,
October 27
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Gorgeous inside of the ultra modern Alexandria Library,
which is SO MUCH more than just a library! |
Our
next stop was the most FABULOUS library. Built in 2002, it hosts
thousands of events annually. The architecture is very modern and it
was built to look like a rising sun. It has 4 museums and we rapidly
toured some of them, admiring especially the exhibit of Anwar Sadat,
a man of peace and some of the ancient manuscripts. We were amazed
by the computer technology – one can see the inside of a mummy!
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| Replica of Alexandria Lighthouse |
Next up
was a ride to the gorgeous King's Palace with a stunning view of the
Alexandria lighthouse and the Mediterranean. The day was complete
with a fresh seafood dinner of grilled mullet, salads, homemade flat
bread with dips. Yum!
Monday
& Tuesday, October 28 and 29
The
early days of the week flew by! On Monday, we had lunch at Al Azhar
Park, a lovely oasis in downtown Cairo with lovely gardens with the
mosque in the distance. I felt like I was back in Spain at the
Alahambra because the building looked so much like it. It was an
ideal day for this lovely dining experience. We were treated to many
typical Egyptian appetizer sauces for the pita-like bread, e.g.,
tahini, yogurt with cucumber, a cheese dip and a mayo-garlic type
mixture. Next course was grape leaves stuffed with rice, kibbeh, and
other treats. Finally, the main course arrived complete with a
beef/lamb mixture, grilled chicken, a special rice made with little
bits of meat, onions and cinnamon.
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| Bazaar Shopping |
Next
stop was the Bazaar in the old city. The group combed the shops with
club Egyptian escorts who made sure we got “good deals.” We then
went to an authentic Folkloric show with one dancer who twirled in a
colorful costume for almost one hour!
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Mosaic depicting Joseph & Mary's
escape to Egypt with Baby Jesus |
Tuesday
was a day to explore the different religious faiths of Egypt. First
up, was the famous Coptic “hanging” church built over a Roman
fortification. I walked the path of Mary to a crypt that the Holy
Family hid from the Romans. I was surprised to learn that the Holy
Family hid in Egypt for 3-1/2 years and in each spot, a church was built
to the Virgin Mary. The Jewish synagogue was interesting because it
was built over the place that Moses was put in the River Nile.
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| Inside of a famous mosque |
The mosques were
ancient places. As we removed our shoes, we walked on the carpets
and stones throughout the place. We received a short course on Islam
and the traditions. I was impressed when one of the members chanted
songs to Allah. I thought that their tenets were Christian-like
especially that they are expected to contribute 10% of their profit
(savings) to the poor annually. This was the night to treat our host
to dinner. Hanaa arranged for a large part of the group to meet at
Mall of Arabia at a very nice restaurant. I treated Nora to dinner
and enjoyed chicken soup, tabouli, a mixed grill, rice, etc.
Afterward, we were invited to tea at the home of Hanaa's son. It was
quite a large gorgeous villa home resplendent with chandeliers,
lovely furniture and glittering silver and cut glass decorations.
They were very hospitable and we had some interesting conversations.
Tomorrow is our last day. We will have the Farewell Party at
Hanaa's home.
Wednesday,
October 30
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| Hanaa and her beautiful daughter |
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Beautiful Ramadan Tablecloths
with flags for decorations |
At
12:30 PM we traveled a short distance to Hanaa's home, the site of
the Farewell Party. The backyard was decorated colorfully with
beautiful Ramadan tablecloths. The buffet was lavish with many
delicious dishes e.g.,
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| Hanaa's great grandchildren were adorable |
grilled chicken, minced meat (lamb &
beef), eggplant, salads, dips, etc. Most club members were there
dressed in their finest outfits. A DJ entertained us with wonderful
music. Everyone danced to their heart's content. Speeches of
appreciation occurred and oh, the desserts were awesome. I will miss
these friendly people who so welcomed us to their country. Tomorrow
is a short flight to Aswan and the next day, we will board our boat
for our Nile River Cruise.
Thursday,
October 31 to Saturday, November 2
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| No one stays in the lanes in Cairo |
It has
been a whirlwind of activity since we left our Friendship Force Cairo
Club. We traveled very early (6 am) to the airport through heavy
traffic that often came to a standstill. “Driving is a “circus”
here,” is an apt quote, my host told me. No one stays in the painted
traffic lines – they only serve as a rough guide! There are old
men on donkey carts mixed in with motor cycles and other strange
looking vehicles and small cars that speed along. Oh, and then there
are people standing along the high-speed traffic lanes selling juice
and other 'stuff' I don't know how they don't get struck but somehow
it seems to work without too many accidents!
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| Great guide, Mahmoud |
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It's rare to find a FREE TOILET so
I captured this wonderful moment |
We
boarded our Air Egypt flight to Aswan, about a 1-1/2 hr flight south
in the desert area. We are now using a tour company called Memphis
Tours and they seem excellent. Aswan is home of 2 dams – an old
one built in the 1930's and a new modern one called High Dam (built
by Nassar and complete in the 1970s). In order to dam the Nile here,
they displaced the Nubian people, an ancient tribe of Egyptians. The
helped relocate the Nubians and there are little compounds of them in
this region. A huge lake formed called Lake Nassar. 70% of the
Egyptian population depend upon this dam along with many bordering
countries for the agricultural and electric power benefits.
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This map shows the path of the Nile
which is so important to many nations |
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Wonderful compatible roommate,
Chris, with Egyptian day host |
Next
stop was a preserved temple dedicated to their Falcon god. It was
submerged when the dam was built, but fortunately the world
contributed funds so that it could be moved from under water to
higher ground. We stayed for one night at Tulop Hotel. I was
rooming with Chris Budwine, who I met on our club's trip to Brazil.
We are very compatible and we had a wonderful meal at the hotel.
Next
morning was a very early wake up call – 3:30 AM! We boarded the
bus for a 3-hour drive to Abu Simbel, home of the amazing temple of
Ramses II. Along the way we saw a gorgeous sunrise over the Sahara.
We exited the bus and strolled along a pretty pathway. As we
rounded the corner, we gasped at the huge size of the Rameses
statues. What made it even more amazing, is the Egyptians dismantled
it block by block and moved it to higher ground (over 65 meters) when
the lake was in danger of flooding it! King Ramses II ruled for 65
years and had many children – 120 sons and 90 daughters! There was
an adjoining temple of Nefertiti that was also
impressive. I like the statue of the Cow Goddess and I was amazed
that some of the coloring of the figures were intact.
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| You really have to see this in person to understand the scope of this place! |
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| The Cow Goddess in Queen Nefertiti's tomb |
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| Our floating hotel, the Legacy, on the Nile River was excellent |
Today
we are traveling along the scenic Nile on a river boat called the Legacy. The banks have pretty trees
and rocks called cataracts (small rapids). It's a lovely day in the
70's. We will tour another temple later this afternoon in a horse
driven carriage. At this point, my lap top refused to take a charge. The rest of my description is by memory a week later!
We arrived in Luxor near the Valley of the Kings. This is a huge archaeological site in the desert. I loved the Temple of the Queen and I took pictures
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| A magic moment at the Temple of the Queens |
of some of the ancient hieroglyphics. I especially liked the stars painted on the ceilings, snakes that were created to guard the Pharaohs' tombs and the cool Avenue of the Rams statues at Karnak.
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| Snakes protect the kings buried in the tombs |
Later we were taken a little further away to look at 4 different tombs that were very well preserved. I was amazed that the colors were still vibrant in some of them! They built long ramps down to the tombs that were not too hard to negotiate. The walls were covered with interesting birds, snakes, symbols, etc. that told the story of who was buried there. I never expected to be so impressed by it all. It is just amazing to contemplate how these ancient people did all this with primitive tools, but of course they had lots of "slave" labor!
We finished up the day at the city of Luxor. Right in the city is an amazing site - the Luxor Temple dating from 1400 BC. It was part of the ancient city of Thebes. There are massive obelisks (stone pillars with pyramidal tops) that were our original skyscrapers. What was even more amazing were they were carved from a single piece of stone and then moved to the location and raised onto a base. We visited Karnak Temple, a wonder of engineering. One famous aspect of Karnak is the Hypostyle Hall, an area of 50,000 sq ft with 134 massive columns arranged in 16 rows. 122 of these columns are 10 meters tall and the other 12 are 21 meters tall with a diameter of 3 meters! How they were built is a matter of conflicting theories. It was hard to process it all! I also liked the Sacred Pond that was used for purification (maybe an ancient form of Baptism).
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| Obelisk |
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| Rams were impressive and lined up in rows |
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| Karnak pillars really amaze you |
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| The Sacred Pond used for purification rituals |
Monday, November 4, 2019
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| Having fun trying desert head coverings |
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| At the Airport - Amman is the capital of Jordan |
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| New building that changes shapes and colors |
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| Flag of Jordan |
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| Fun dinner with Zafira |
It was an early wake-up call for our flight from Aswan in the south of Egypt to Cairo where we connected to our flight out of Egypt to the country of Jordan's, capital city of Amman. Jordan is a small middle East country hat has one of the wonders of the modern world - Petra. Immediately, we knew we were in a different country. We checked into a nice hotel and our Friendship Force friends (Mitch & Nancy) hooked us up with a Jordanian woman, Zafira Labadi, who is interested in developing a Friendship Force club in Jordan. She is a lovely woman who walked us around the area and we wound up having a lovely dinner of traditional food in a shopping center.
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| Unusual cross overlooking desert by Mt Nebo |
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Beautiful church near where Moses found Promised Land
It was rebuilt in modern times |
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| Ebony and Ivory in church |
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| Beautiful mosaics on floor that are covered for protection |
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| Loved this stained glass window in the church |
Our first full day in Jordan started as a drive to Madaba. The single most important piece of Byzantine Christian mosaic art in the East is the Madaba map, made between 542 and 570 as the floor of the church of St George. It was rediscovered in 1894. The Madaba Map is the oldest surviving cartographic depiction of the Holy Land. It shows an area from Lebanon in north to the Nile Delta in the south and from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Eastern Desert. The largest and most detailed element of the topographic depiction is Jerusalem, at the center of the map. The map is enriched with many naturalistic features, like animals, fishing boats, bridges and palm trees. There were many intricate mosaics in the church.
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| Moses saw the Promised Land but could not enter it |
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Trying Dead Sea Mud
Treatment |
We drove to the spot where Moses led his people in the desert to the Promised Land. In 4th C, Christians built a church to commemorate Moses' death here with preserved spectacular mosaics. Later, we took a dip in the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth. We floated around the very salty water and I spread mud on my face to get rid of wrinkles. We agreed we all looked at least 10 years younger after the treatment!
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| Can you see the Treasury at the end? |
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| Look up for more Petra facades |
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| Petra's Beautiful Treasury |
Finally, the Grand Finale of our trip - Petra! It is considered one of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World and a famous archaeological site. As you enter, you walk through huge rose-colored rock formations. It reminded me a bit of the slot canyon in the U.S. called Zion National Park EXCEPT quite a surprise happens as you round the corner of the pathway - The famous TREASURY building. It was carved into the rock by the Nabatean Kingdom in 300 BC, a semi-Nomadic tribe of Arabs. The Treasury was a tomb for their important king. No one knows what happened to these people, but they left behind amazing tombs and temples. I felt that we did not have enough time here to explore and hope I can come back with Richard in the future.
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| Petra has many carved caves and tombs |
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| Relishing the moment! |
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Loved meeting Aggie!
She owns a sugar shack! |
That evening after packing, most of our group gathered at the top floor of our hotel's restaurant and discussed what we all found most memorable. Some of the items I remember are:
- The awesome Cairo Egyptian Club that were so welcoming and planned such a great agenda & itinerary - Hurrah, Hanaa!
- How appreciative we all are for the extraordinary organized efficient efforts of the best ever Journey Coordinator, Jackie Herriman, from Northeast Ohio
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| Fabulous Jackie |
- How everyone in our Friendship Force Group got along so well and enjoyed one another's company
- The spectacular size and scope of the pyramids and number of them
- Special entrance into the Grand Egyptian Museum due to be complete in 2020
- Seeing religious sites - especially where Moses was put into River Jordan, where Moses saw the Promised Land and the place Mary & Joseph with Baby Jesus hid from Herod's soldiers
- Learning about Islam, its values and tenets and distinguishing between the religion and the cultural aspects of the people
- Awesome Valley of the Kings, its tombs and well preserved carved and painted walls
- Lovely Nile River Cruise
- Great Memphis Tour guides - Mahmoud and Sam
- Petra - just amazing rock canyon with unbelievable cave and buildings carved into pink limestone
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| Our Group poses in front of Luxor Temple on our last day in Egypt |
Traveling with Friendship Force is so great. I feel so fortunate to have made this journey shared with fabulous people and made possible with efforts of the Cairo, Egypt Club.
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