Egypt Day 18 - Jordan Day 1: CAI => AMM - And More Mark Twain

 Sunrise in a room with a view of Amman 

Itinerary Day 18:  Egypt to Jordan

Last Day of Oriental Tours Egypt Itinerary 

"After breakfast, our rep and private car will pick you up for last transfer to Cairo Airport to board your flight to home" 

First Day of Jordan Select Tours Itinerary

"Arrival Amman - Upon arrival, a member of our staff will meet you at Queen Alia International Airport. Transfer to hotel in Amman."

Journal: 
We say our final fond farewells to our Egyptian hosts and are again expertly transported to and through the Cairo Airport. It's a short flight to Amman, but the Royal Jordanian Air flight was delayed over an hour before we got off the ground. Our bags were inspected three times from the curb to the seat. Once through an x-ray machine as we entered the airport. Again through the normal security as entered the gate area. Finally our carry-on bags were inspected by hand on the gangway as we boarded the plane. We're not sure whether to feel more secure or more nervous.

 Amman is colder than we expect, but the reception is warm.

This is an inflection point in the tour. Different country, different tour operator, but everything is still on track. Machmud greets us at the airport, escorts us through immigration, helps me get to an ATM and points me to the right network service to swap out the sim card on my Samsung.  We meet our driver Alaa who will be our point person accompanying us through our 10 days in Jordan. he drives us to the Le Meridien Hotel  through a cold rain. And, of course, yet another birthday cake and another room with a view. This is birthday cake number four if you are keeping track.

The Egypt portion of our trip is at end, but before we move on I feel compelled to wax poetic about the two weeks of amazing sites, sounds and people we experienced in this ancient land.  I feel like I should do that, but I don't have the poetic skills. So once again I will defer to Mark Twain from his 1869 travelogue "Innocents Abroad".

In this excerpt Clemons expresses frustration at using the written word to communicate the rich history and tapestry of touring Egypt and his reverence for what he saw.  If one of the greatest American writers of all time felt his skills inadequate to describe Egypt, what chance do I have with this little blog? So I'll once again just leave the task to Samuel Clemens and link the places he describes where they overlap our own experiences in Egypt:

"I shall not describe the great mosque of Mehemet Ali, whose entire inner walls are built of polished and glistening alabaster; I shall not tell how the little birds have built their nests in the globes of the great chandeliers that hang in the mosque, and how they fill the whole place with their music and are not afraid of any body because their audacity is pardoned, their rights are respected, and nobody is allowed to interfere with them, even though the mosque be thus doomed to go unlighted...  I shall not tell of Joseph’s well which he dug in the solid rock of the citadel hill and which is still as good as new, nor how the same mules he bought to draw up the water (with an endless chain) are still at it yet and are getting tired of it, too; I shall not tell about Joseph’s granaries which he built to store the grain in, what time the Egyptian brokers were "selling short," unwitting that there would be no corn in all the land when it should be time for them to deliver; I shall not tell any thing about the strange, strange city of Cairo, because it is only a repetition, a good deal intensified and exaggerated, of the Oriental cities I have already spoken of... 

I shall not speak of the boundless sweep of level plain, green with luxuriant grain, that gladdens the eye as far as it can pierce through the soft, rich atmosphere of Egypt; I shall not speak of the vision of the Pyramids seen at a distance of five and twenty miles, for the picture is too ethereal to be limned by an uninspired pen... 

I shall not tell how we feasted on fresh dates and enjoyed the pleasant landscape all through the flying journey; nor how we thundered into Alexandria, at last... as the mellow sun went down upon the oldest land on earth... I shall not speak a word of any of these things, or write a line. They shall be as a sealed book. I do not know what a sealed book is, because I never saw one, but a sealed book is the expression to use in this connection, because it is popular. 

We were glad to have seen the land which was the mother of civilization --which taught Greece her letters, and through Greece Rome, and through Rome the world... We were glad to have seen that land which had glass three thousand years before England had it, and could paint upon it as none of us can paint now; that land which knew, three thousand years ago, well nigh all of medicine and surgery which science has discovered lately; which had all those curious surgical instruments which science has invented recently; which had in high excellence a thousand luxuries and necessities of an advanced civilization which we have gradually contrived and accumulated in modern times and claimed as things that were new under the sun; that had paper untold centuries before we dreamt of it--and waterfalls before our women thought of them; that had a perfect system of common schools so long before we boasted of our achievements in that direction that it seems forever and forever ago; that so embalmed the dead that flesh was made almost immortal--which we can not do; that built temples which mock at destroying time and smile grimly upon our lauded little prodigies of architecture; that old land that knew all which we know now, perchance, and more; that walked in the broad highway of civilization in the gray dawn of creation, ages and ages before we were born; that left the impress of exalted, cultivated Mind upon the eternal front of the Sphinx to confound all scoffers who, when all her other proofs had passed away, might seek to persuade the world that imperial Egypt, in the days of her high renown, had groped in darkness." - Mark Twain

Editors Note: I intend to pre-load and schedule automated blog posts with the daily itinerary for our Egypt and Jordan adventure. For those interested, this may be an easy way to follow along. Internet access is always a crapshoot. My hope is that by pre-loading the itinerary it will be easier to add some pics and journal commentary as time and the internet permits. If there are no pics or commentary, you'll just have to wait until we get back. Further Edit: Links and pics will be added to Clemens excerpt as I get around to it updating this journal in the weeks and months following this trip. 

Egypt Day 17 - Disembarkation Esna / Luxor / Cairo and Home Cooking

Itinerary Day 17:  Disembarkation Esna / Luxor / Cairo

"After breakfast, we bid farewell to Captain Hassan and the crew. Your luggage will be collected and will be ready for you to travel to Luxor to get your flight to Cairo . when you arrive at Cairo airport our rep will be waiting for you to transfer you to your House in Cairo for overnight."

Journal: 

Our last full day in Egypt. Woke up to brilliant sunshine but still cold. Some other boats were moored behind us in the night. I threw the loaned fishing line off our balcony deck with a bobber in the vain hope I might still catch something while packing for departure. I can't help but think some of the warm feelings from the captain and crew on our sendoff last night were dissipated when they had to haul our four large heavy bags off the boat, up the embankment, and into the waiting car this morning.

The short flight to Cairo was uneventful. Once again the arrangements facilitated by Oriental Tours Egypt was seamless. The handoff from guide, to crew,  to driver and airport made the security and transfer process simple, fast and less painful than flying in the U.S.  In Cairo, we are again met by Ramadan, who met us on our initial arrival. It felt like a homecoming. Actually, it was a homecoming.

We are whisked through crowded Cairo streets to the home of Sayed and his wife Noha. Sayed is the owner/director of Oriental Tours Egypt, arranged the Egypt trip with Sigrid, and has invited us to spend our last night in Egypt in their guest house.

They have a meal waiting for us on arrival. The warmth and hospitality they show us is something very special.  We enjoy another spectacular home cooked feast with Sayed, Noha, and their three delightful daughters - Sama, Hana, and Rana.

After dinner we talked about the trip, showed pictures, discussed the state of the travel industry, and even indulged in a bit of politics and religion.

As mentioned before, Sayed and Oriental Tours Egypt specializes in custom and small group tours of Egypt. To at least some degree Chinese, Japanese, and Russian tourism have partially filled the gap left by the dearth of American tourists in Egypt. However, those tourists tend to travel in large groups. Sayed's approach of smaller, individualized custom tours with superior service is more appealing to American and European travelers. He's hoping that we are in the vanguard of  American tourists returning to Egypt in some numbers. We'll do our part. When (not if) we return to Egypt, there is no one else we would consider working with.

If you are planning to tour Egypt, you can't do better than working with Oriental Tours Egypt and Sayed. With the exchange rate you could not pick a better time than right now. As far as safety, don't worry about it. I mean, do you really want to create the impression that Americans have become bigger travel wimps than the Chinese and Japanese?

Editors Note: I intend to pre-load and schedule automated blog posts with the daily itinerary for our Egypt and Jordan adventure. For those interested, this may be an easy way to follow along. Internet access is always a crapshoot. My hope is that by pre-loading the itinerary it will be easier to add some pics and journal commentary as time and the internet permits. If there are no pics or commentary, you'll just have to wait until we get back. Further!

Egypt Day 8 - CAI => LXR

Itinerary Day 8:  Cairo - Luxor

"After breakfast we will get transfer to Cairo Airport to board our flight to Luxor, Modern Luxor is built on the site of ancient Thebes, the capital during Egypt’s New Kingdom and the period when the pharaohs reached the peak of their strength and empire. We get transferred from Luxor airport to hotel, in the afternoon we visit the lighted temple of Luxor . Overnight in hotel in Luxor."

Journal: 
Ramadan meets us at the hotel and guides us again through the Cairo airport.The process through security and to our domestic Egyptian Air flight is seamless. It's a short flight to Luxor. About an hour with mostly desert vistas out of the right side of the plane as we fly south. The terrains transforms dramatically from brown to green as we approach Luxor and cross the Nile.

On the ground we're met by, Ismael our guide for the Luxor portion of the trip. We check into the Old Luxor Winter Palace, now a Sofitel. This was a recommendation from our Egypt travel guru, Jeff. The staff got the room right the first time, we have view of the Nile looking toward the Valley of the Kings. Sigrid's happy, no need to change rooms.

We didn't have much time to enjoy the view. After dropping the luggage we were off for a sunset / evening tour of the Luxor Temple.

As the sun sets on the Luxor Temple, we get acquainted with our new guide, Ismael just as, undoubtedly, he is sizing up his new clients for the next week.  We're impressed immediately.  Soft spoken, authoritative, he demonstrates a tremendous depth of knowledge on Egyptian history by compressing 3,000 years of Pharaohs into 15 minute lecture - just to provide a little context before entering the Temple.

Most of the tour is under the lights, which may be the best way to see Luxor Temple. the low level lighting makes the carved reliefs and hieroglyphics pop off the walls.  We tour, listen, ask questions, and wonder again at the achievements of the ancient Egyptians. At the the end of the evening we take a stroll down the Avenue of the Sphinxes toward Karnak. But that will be another day. A great start to the Luxor segment of our tour.

Editors Note: I intend to pre-load and schedule automated blog posts with the daily itinerary for our Egypt and Jordan adventure. For those interested, this may be an easy way to follow along. Internet access is always a crapshoot. My hope is that by pre-loading the itinerary it will be easier to add some pics and journal commentary as time and the internet permits. If there are no pics or commentary, you'll just have to wait until we get back.

Egypt Day 7 - Horses No Courses

Itinerary Day 7:  Open Day 

"Free for leisure at your hotel or you have the opportunity to accept the invitation of Dr. Nasr Marei to visit his Arabian horse farm, Albadeia - The Pyramid Society."

Pre-Journal:  
I am preloading this photo of teenage Sigrid in a riding competition in anticipation of  our visit to The Pyramid Society. She grew up with her BFF Laurie riding Arabians competitively. One of Sigrid's show horses - Sky High Fad (not pictured) -  was sired by Fadjur of a famous Egyptian Arabian lineage. Sigrid contacted the horse farm and now we have an invitation to visit. Sigrid is excited.

Journal Guest Post - Sigrid:

"We had a unique experience, thanks to my best friend Laurie who I showed horses with for many years.  Her keen interest in Egyptian Arabian Horses made me aware of the Pyramid Society. I contacted Dr Nasr Marei and he graciously extended an invitation to visit him at Albadeia Egyptian Stud, a world renowned breeder of Straight Egyptian Arabian horses.

I learned that Nasr breeds for confirmation and performance. This was evident in the stallions, mares, foals, and yearlings that we were privileged to see. It was a memorable day and a highlight of our time in Cairo! Really great to be in an equine setting again." - SW 

A few samples of the hundred of  photos and video clips we shot  from the day:

Our afternoon was free after Sigrid's horse experience. I'd hoped to get out on the Mena Golf Course and play at a round under the shadow of the Pyramid. Unfortunately the course is closed for renovation, so that will have to wait for a future visit.

Instead we toured the old section of the historic hotel and decided to see the the sound and light show at the Pyramids. 

Finished the day with dinner at the restaurant.

This post is still under construction. I have some animations and video of the Arabians I'd like to post, but don't have the tools to properly edit  them here, and there is a problem with the gif animation tool I'm (using (see above). I'll get to it eventually.

Editors Note: I intend to pre-load and schedule automated blog posts with the daily itinerary for our Egypt and Jordan adventure. For those interested, this may be an easy way to follow along. Internet access is always a crapshoot. My hope is that by pre-loading the itinerary it will be easier to add some pics and journal commentary as time and the internet permits. If there are no pics or commentary, you'll just have to wait until we get back. Further!