20-21 November 2024


I cannot report what the group did today, the 20th,  except to say that we flew to Cairo together.  Last night and all day today, I barely coped with the "traveler's curse," headache, upset stomach, overactive lower digestive tract. This ailment affected five of us and probably stemmed from the salads at the farewell dinner in Aswan.  I don't think the others visited the mosques in Cairo, as planned. They probably went shopping or to general, unescorted sightseeing. Meanwhile, I stayed in my room and missed the second farewell dinner at the Cairo Marriott. The night was very short. 

On the 21st, most of us met in the lobby at 3am to catch the bus to the airport, which took about half an hour. There, we had to pass through three levels of security before boarding a tight, packed airbus, with a narrow aisle and no legroom, bound for London's Heathrow Airport. At Heathrow, we endured another two securithy gauntlets before scattering to find the gates for our various flights to the States. Fortunately, I had a four-hour layover, which allowed time for a nice cup of British tea. I began to feel better. This time, the plane, a  777, was commodious, and I had booked a level of seating above coach. My seat partner was a friendly Irish lady going to Atlanta to visit her sister. There was plenty of legroom, and the seats were wide. They reclined to an almost prone positions, and I was able to sleep a little. The flight arrived on time at Hartsfield International in Atlanta. Because of my "global entry" status, I was whisked through passport and customs controls without having to stop, but the luggage took so long to come that I almost missed the Groome shuttle--almost .... We drove toward Athens at 9:30 pm and arrived promptly at 11. I was home by 11:15-- 6:15 am Cairo time. 

Closing note: I asked Hend what animals were most representative of modern Egypt. At first she replied with the expected: camels. Then, after a brief hesitation: cats.


(this is Olga, a Ukrainian woman from Salt Lake City)




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
 9 November 2024 This morning we boarded the bus for the 30-minute drive to Giza, just outside Cairo, where the Pyramids, Sphinx, and Grand Egyptian Museum (the new museum) are located. It is Saturday, so the whole area was flooded with buses and cars carrying tourists and school groups. All around the biggest pyramid were hoards of people, some of them drumming us for money--for example, wanting to hand us a "gift" (perhaps a Chinese-made trinket or a photo) and then expecting from us a "gift" (i.e., money) in return. Our guide, Hend, had prepared us well for such approaches, so we weren't much bothered by them.  Although I had seen many pictures of the Pyramids, getting the three-dimensional view up close was very special. And the same goes for the Sphinx. I climbed up a few courses of the huge limestone blocks used the build the Great Pyramid, peaked into the entry door, and climbed back down. I didn't go in, because Hend had said that I would have to do ...
Read more
Image
 12 November 2024 Just before getting aboard the Amunet, we visited the small but beautiful Temple of Khnum in Esna. It was built and decorated by Egyptians during the Greek and Roman occupations. Smaller than the others we have seen, this temple is striking for the colors--the original colors--still clearly visible on the columns, walls, and ceiling. Later in this, our first afternoon aboard the Amunet, we visited a rural village of about 5,000 people. Our hostess was a villager in her 30s who welcomed us to her courtyard and house, and served us tea while we asked questions about village life. The paintings on the side of her house included a plane and a mosque, which announced that a member of her family had made the pilgrimage to Mecca. When we learned she had studied sewing in college and asked to see her work, she proudly displayed several items she had made and showed us the logo for her business. One of our fellow travelers bought one of her creations and modeled it for us....
Read more
 1:20 am, Cairo time, on 8 November 2024 I have just finished unpacking. "Michael" and a driver met me at the airport and whisked me through visa purchase, passport control, and customs. They drove me, with commentary along the way (we passed by two palaces, the original, huge rail stations) to the Marriott Cairo, which is on the Nile. Michael showed me the ropes and left me in my palatial room, with barely enough energy left to thank him for all his help. Tomorrow morning, I meet the group at 8:30 am and must compose myself and eat breakfast at the hotel restaurant before that.  The flight, by the way, was not as pleasant as the transatlantic one. The plane was smaller and was not divided into classes--just one long aisle with three seats on each side, all crunched up together without much leg room. But the attendants were very helpful and nice, and they fed us well.  More tomorrow. 
Read more