Egypt 2010


They say you can never go back but I don’t believe that. I never thought that in less than one year I would return to Egypt. The sights may be the same but there’s always something you missed before. There’s so much to see and learn here that for many it’s a life-long commitment. We left Cairo airport just in time to witness a beautiful sunset. The sky was blazing with pink, red as far as you could see. It goes down quickly. The driving here hasn’t changed one bit. As a matter of fact, driving through Cairo at night is not for the weak. We went along the ring road to avoid downtown traffic and yet it was bumper to bumper. There are bright street lights to pave the way and for that reason, drivers see little reason to put their headlights on. Headlights are used to find the exit ramp or to communicate that it’s safe for the one passing you to get in front or to avoid hitting those people taking a walk to cross the 3 or 4 lanes of highway traffic. We finally reached our hotel, the Mena House located in Giza and sits in the shadows of the Great Pyramids. It was originally built as a hunting lodge in the early 1800’s and sold in 1869 to be converted to a hotel. Today it is set on 40 acres with over 400 rooms. It was host to signing of the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel in 1979.
After a light dinner, my friends and I decided to stroll through the hotel and admire some of the beautiful Islamic design and furnishings. We passed by a private room where a party was going on so we took a peak. It was the rehearsal dinner for a Greek couple, Popi and Tossos. Before we knew it, people were taking us by the arms and inviting us in to the celebration. We danced with everyone and had a wonderful first night in Egypt.
The following morning we were off to Alexandria (ALX to the locals). It’s a 3-hour drive with not much to see so it gave us time to take a nap. As soon as we arrived, we were off sightseeing which included Cavafty’s House (Greek Poet), the Pompei Pillar and the Catacombs. It is really sad to see how much Alexandria has deteriorated over the years. Even the new buildings look old and sad. Being on the Med. Sea adds so much opportunity for visitors. This could be a beautiful jewel for Egypt with so much history including Cleopatra and Mark Anthony. We’re only here for one night and back to the Mena House tomorrow.
This morning we met our other traveling companions for Tauck Tours. There are 31 of us total. I must admit I miss our “tribe” of 20 from last year. Within a few hours everyone knew everyone’s name and we were all getting along so well.
It’s the end of the day and I know 3 names. Perhaps it’s the jetlag. This morning we visited the Great Pyramids, including the Cheops Boat. Imagine finding a wooden boat that is over 4000 years old. It was so perfectly sealed at the base of the Pyramid that when it was found in 1954, even some of the rope was still in the tomb. This time I took the camel ride to get that infamous picture in front of the 3 pyramids. Tauck arranges things to the detail. They gave us a roll of one-pound Egyptian coins for the toilets (everyone has to pay to use a toilet, even in the restaurants), arranged for a group photo in front of the pyramids and even gave us 5 Egyptian pounds each to give our camel attendant as a tip. At this rate I won’t have to be digging into my wallet much.